Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube
    Nostalgia Central
    • Home
    • Blog
      • Lists
      • Playlists
    • Television
      • TV by Decade
        • TV – 1950s
        • TV – 1960s
        • TV – 1970s
        • TV – 1980s
        • TV – 1990s
      • Comedy
      • Drama
      • Kids TV
      • Variety
      • News & Sport
      • Advertisements
    • Music
      • Music by Decade
        • Music – 1950s
        • Music – 1960s
        • Music – 1970s
        • Music – 1980s
        • Music – 1990s
      • Artists – A to K
        • Artists – A
        • Artists – B
        • Artists – C
        • Artists – D
        • Artists – E
        • Artists – F
        • Artists – G
        • Artists – H
        • Artists – I
        • Artists – J
        • Artists – K
      • Artists – L to Z
        • Artists – L
        • Artists – M
        • Artists – N
        • Artists – O
        • Artists – P
        • Artists – Q
        • Artists – R
        • Artists – S
        • Artists – T
        • Artists – U
        • Artists – V
        • Artists – W
        • Artists – X
        • Artists – Y
        • Artists – Z
      • Artists – 0 to 9
      • Genres
      • Music on Film & TV
      • One-Hit Wonders
      • Online Radio
    • Movies
      • Movies by Decade
        • Movies – 1950s
        • Movies – 1960s
        • Movies – 1970s
        • Movies – 1980s
        • Movies – 1990s
      • Movies – 0 to 9
      • Movies – A to K
        • Movies – A
        • Movies – B
        • Movies – C
        • Movies – D
        • Movies – E
        • Movies – F
        • Movies – G
        • Movies – H
        • Movies – I
        • Movies – J
        • Movies – K
      • Movies – L to Z
        • Movies – L
        • Movies – M
        • Movies – N
        • Movies – O
        • Movies – P
        • Movies – Q
        • Movies – R
        • Movies – S
        • Movies – T
        • Movies – U
        • Movies – V
        • Movies – W
        • Movies – X
        • Movies – Y
        • Movies – Z
    • Pop Culture
      • Fads
      • Toys & Games
      • Fashion
      • Decor
      • Food & Drink
      • People
      • Technology
      • Transport
    • Social History
      • 1950s Year by Year
      • 1960s Year by Year
      • 1970s Year by Year
      • 1980s Year by Year
      • 1990s Year by Year
      • Events
    Nostalgia Central
    Home»Music»Artists - A to K»Artists - E
    Artists - E Music - 1960s 2 Mins Read

    Electric Prunes, The

    Share
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email

    The story of The Electric Prunes is the classic tale of a group plucked from obscurity.

    A group of friends from Taft High School in Los Angeles were practising in a garage one day when a passing real estate agent heard them and was inspired to introduce the group to her friend, RCA studio engineer Dave Hassinger.

    Hassinger believed the group had talent, but lacked songwriting ability and so brought in professional songwriters Annette Tucker and Nancie Mantz.

    electricprunes_005

    This pair had originally penned I Had Too Much To Dream (Last Night) as a slow piano ballad, but the group’s interpretation, inspired by the hippie scene of the day, was a fuzz and reverb-soaked trip into the fantastical.

    Double-tracked vocals and echoes added to its soaring sound and led to the track’s release as a single and it reached #11 on the US charts. This swiftly led to the recording of an album – mostly of Mantz/Tucker material – with the Reprise label.

    Their follow-up single, Get Me To The World On Time, was a similarly lush psychedelic affair, but failed to recreate the commercial success of their debut.

    The album – also called I Had Too Much To Dream (Last Night) – did well on both sides of the Atlantic, certainly equalling sales of contemporaries such as Jefferson Airplane and so – at least at the beginning – the Prunes were viewed as the frontrunners of the burgeoning West Coast psychedelic scene.

    electricprunes

    The group started taking themselves very seriously and recorded their album Mass in F Minor sung in Latin in what were supposed to be Gregorian chants. Despite their pious intentions, it was an unholy noise!

    Years later, the large number of copies of their debut album that became cheaply available in second-hand markets and the like led to them becoming a huge influence on garage punk bands in the 1970s, such as The MC5 and The Stooges.

    Drummer Preston Ritter died on 30 March 2015 after suffering kidney problems. He was 64.

    Jim Lowe 
    Vocals, guitar
    Ken Williams 

    Guitar
    James ‘Weasel’ Spagnola 

    Guitar
    Mark Tulin 

    Bass
    Preston (James) Ritter 

    Drums
    Michael ‘Quint’ Weakley 

    Drums

    Related Posts

    • Gobbledegooks, The
      Gobbledegooks, The
      London group The Gobbledegooks changed their name from The Seekers to avoid confusion with the Australian group of the same…
    • Electric Flag, The
      Electric Flag, The
      The Electric Flag made their debut at the Monterey Festival in 1967 with Mike Bloomfield on guitar and Buddy Miles…
    • Electric Pandas
      Electric Pandas
      Because this Australian band's style was based on that of English punk group Exotic Pandas (who Lin Buckfield had known…
    • Champs, The
      Champs, The
      The Champs evolved from a group of Texan session musicians hired by Gene Autry for his fledgeling Challenge Records label…
    • Factory, The
      Factory, The
      UK group The Factory recorded two effects-laden psychedelic singles in the late 1960s which combined psychedelia with pop harmonies. Originally…
    • Fleetwoods, The
      Fleetwoods, The
      When childhood friends Barbara Ellis and Gretchen Christopher joined forces with Gary Troxel in Washington, the group Two Girls and…
    • Don & The Goodtimes
      Don & The Goodtimes
      Don and The Goodtimes emerged from the Pacific Northwest and were spotted by Dick Clark who made them regulars on…
    • Monks, The
      Monks, The
      In 1965, Ulm School Of Design graduates Karl Remy and Walther Niemann happened across a five-piece band playing in a…

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email
    Previous ArticleRace & Chase
    Next Article Earth, Wind & Fire

    Comments are closed.

    Follow us
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • YouTube
    You May Also Like
    • Cat Stevens
      Cat Stevens was born Steven Georgiou, the son of a Greek […]
    • Barbara Stanwyck Show, The
      1 9 6 0 – 1 9 6 1 (USA) 37 x 30 minute episodes Hollywood […]
    • Question Time
      1 9 7 9 – current (UK) Based on the BBC Radio 4 programme […]
    • Martin
      1 9 9 2 – 1 9 9 7 (USA) Comedian Martin Lawrence starred […]
    • 27th Day, The (1957)
      This quite extraordinary anti-communist tract masquerades as […]
    • High Rollers
      1 9 7 4 – 1 9 7 6 (USA) 1 9 7 8 – 1 9 8 0 (USA) 1 9 […]
    Comments Box SVG iconsUsed for the like, share, comment, and reaction icons

    OUR LATEST FACEBOOK POSTS

    www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-64442824 ... See MoreSee Less

    Link thumbnail

    Television frontman Tom Verlaine dies at 73

    www.bbc.co.uk

    His band rose to fame in the 1970s New York punk scene, scoring UK hits including Marquee Moon.
    4 hours ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 0
    • Shares: 0
    • Comments: 0

    Comment on Facebook

    www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-64418847 ... See MoreSee Less

    Link thumbnail

    Mr Blobby costume sells for more than £62,000 on eBay

    www.bbc.co.uk

    The character, made famous by BBC show Noel's House Party, had been in storage since the 1990s.
    1 day ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 0
    • Shares: 0
    • Comments: 0

    Comment on Facebook

    Put some beefiness into your mid-week menu with these recipe ideas published in a Birds Eye advertisement from the Radio Times on 30 September 1965.

    Put some "beefiness into your mid-week menu" with these recipe ideas published in a Birds Eye advertisement from the "Radio Times" on 30 September 1965. ... See MoreSee Less

    1 week ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 3
    • Shares: 0
    • Comments: 1

    Comment on Facebook

    They were awful. An overpowering savoury flavour that lingered in your mouth for hours. Heaven knows what unmentionable parts of a bull went into making them 😳

    More sad news 😪

    ... See MoreSee Less

    Link thumbnail

    US rock legend David Crosby dies aged 81

    www.bbc.co.uk

    Crosby, who co-founded both the Byrds and Crosby, Stills and Nash, had been ill for some time.
    1 week ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 0
    • Shares: 1
    • Comments: 0

    Comment on Facebook

    This is what they promised us when I was a kid. What happened? 

All I have is 700 channels of rubbish on the TV in High Def, TikTok, Facebook and a phone I can take photographs with . . .

    This is what they promised us when I was a kid. What happened?

    All I have is 700 channels of rubbish on the TV in High Def, TikTok, Facebook and a phone I can take photographs with . . .
    ... See MoreSee Less

    1 week ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 54
    • Shares: 22
    • Comments: 7

    Comment on Facebook

    I thought we would have moving pavements by now when I was a kid 😂

    Totally agree!!!

    The new Tesla, 4.6 next century.

    We got transvestite story hour instead

    We appear to be going backwards

    There's actually a very good David Graeber essay on this very topic: thebaffler.com/salvos/of-flying-cars-and-the-declining-rate-of-profit

    The Jetsons strike again.

    View more comments

    Renowned Australian singer Renee Geyer is dead at 69 following complications from hip surgery. Such a fabulous voice. RIP😢

https://nostalgiacentral.com/music/artists-l-to-z/artists-r/renee-geyer/

    Renowned Australian singer Renee Geyer is dead at 69 following complications from hip surgery. Such a fabulous voice. RIP😢

    nostalgiacentral.com/music/artists-l-to-z/artists-r/renee-geyer/
    ... See MoreSee Less

    2 weeks ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 0
    • Shares: 0
    • Comments: 1

    Comment on Facebook

    That is so sad to hear 😥 rest in peace 🙏 🕊 xx

    Gina Lollobrigida: Italian screen star dies at 95
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-64292026

    Gina Lollobrigida: Italian screen star dies at 95
    www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-64292026
    ... See MoreSee Less

    2 weeks ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 4
    • Shares: 0
    • Comments: 1

    Comment on Facebook

    😍😍😍😍

    Vale Jeff Beck. Dead at 78. 😢

    ... See MoreSee Less

    Link thumbnail

    Jeff Beck: British guitar legend dies aged 78

    www.bbc.co.uk

    One of rock's most influential guitarists, he was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice.
    2 weeks ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 1
    • Shares: 0
    • Comments: 0

    Comment on Facebook

    Hi everyone. Were in the process of moving www.nostalgiacentral.com to new dedicated servers to better cope with the volumes of traffic. Please ignore any SSL security errors you may receive when visiting the site over the next 24 hours while the move completes.

    Hi everyone. We're in the process of moving www.nostalgiacentral.com to new dedicated servers to better cope with the volumes of traffic. Please ignore any SSL security errors you may receive when visiting the site over the next 24 hours while the move completes. ... See MoreSee Less

    3 weeks ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 5
    • Shares: 0
    • Comments: 2

    Comment on Facebook

    Ironically, this post has jumped off the page at me. You'll probably get most traffic today because everyone will want to see what they might be missing!

    Martin Platt

    RIP Fred White, drummer with Earth, Wind and Fire, who has died aged 67. 😢

    RIP Fred White, drummer with Earth, Wind and Fire, who has died aged 67. 😢 ... See MoreSee Less

    4 weeks ago
    View on Facebook
    · Share
    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
    View Comments
    • Likes: 4
    • Shares: 2
    • Comments: 1

    Comment on Facebook

    Great band

    Load more
    Please note


    Nostalgia Central covers the period 1950 to 1999 and contains some words and references which reflect the attitudes of those times and which may be considered culturally sensitive, offensive or inappropriate today.
    Popular Tags
    1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1975 1976 Action Figures Amicus Arcade games Australia Beach movies Beatles Blaxploitation Board games Britpop Canada Crime Disney Doo-Wop Elvis Presley Girl groups Glam Goth Hammer Heavy Metal Irwin Allen Labels Merseybeat Mod revival Motown New Romantic New Wave NWOBHM Oi! One-hit wonders Power Pop Pub rock Punk Radio Scotland Ska Soul music Sport Surf music
    Search Nostalgia Central
    Copyright © 1998, 2023 Nostalgia Central
    • About Nostalgia Central
    • Contact
    • FAQ

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.