Released 19 May 1967 Recorded 1967 | Format 7" single Length 2:47 | |
B-side "The Birdman of Alkatrash" Genre Psychedelic pop
psychedelic rock | ||
"Incense and Peppermints" is a song by the Los Angeles-based psychedelic rock band Strawberry Alarm Clock. The song is officially credited as having been written by John S. Carter and Tim Gilbert, although it was based on an instrumental idea by band members Mark Weitz and Ed King. It was released as the A-side of a single in May 1967 by Uni Records and reached the #1 position on the Billboard Hot 100, where it stayed for one week before beginning its fall down the charts. Although the single was released in the United Kingdom it failed to break into the UK Singles Chart.
Contents
History
Prior to the release of "Incense and Peppermints", the Strawberry Alarm Clock had already issued four singles ("Long Day's Care" b/w "Can't Explain", "My Flash on You" b/w "Fortune Teller", "In the Building" b/w "Hey Joe", and "Heart Full of Rain" b/w "First Plane Home") on All-American Records under the name Thee Sixpence. During recording sessions for "Incense and Peppermints", the band expressed a dislike for the song's lyrics (written by John S. Carter), so the lead vocals were sung by a friend of the band, Greg Munford, who was attending the recording session as a visitor. The regular vocalists in the band were relegated to providing background and harmony vocals on the record. Band members Mark Weitz and Ed King were both denied songwriting credits by producer Frank Slay, despite the fact that the song was, at least partially, built on an instrumental idea of Weitz and King's. King would go on to greater fame as a member of the 1970s Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd.
"Incense and Peppermints" initially appeared on the B-side of Thee Sixpence's fourth single, "The Birdman of Alkatrash", released on All-American Records in April 1967. However, local radio stations began playing "Incense and Peppermints" instead of the A-side and the song began to gain in popularity in and around Los Angeles. Sensing the possibility of a national hit, Uni Records (a subsidiary of MCA) picked up the record for national distribution and the single was re-released in May 1967: this time with "Incense and Peppermints" on the A-side and "The Birdman of Alkatrash" as the B-side. By the time of this second pressing, the band had changed their name to "Strawberry Alarm Clock" due to the existence of a local group with a name somewhat similar to Thee Sixpence.
"Incense and Peppermints" spent 16 weeks on the Billboard chart, finally reaching the #1 spot for the week ending 25 November 1967. The single earned a gold disc from the RIAA on 7 December 1967 for sales of one million copies.
Appearances in popular culture
The song is performed by Strawberry Alarm Clock in the films Psych-Out (1968), Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970), Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997), and Recess: School's Out (2001). The song is also featured on several episodes of The Simpsons, as well as in the Vietnam War game Men of Valor (2004).