Latest news with #ElectricPrunes
New York Times
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
James Lowe, Rock Outsider With the Electric Prunes, Dies at 82
James Lowe, the frontman of the 1960s rock band the Electric Prunes, whose 'free-form garage-rock' approach, as he called it, yielded the swirling psychedelic hit 'I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night),' died on May 22 in Santa Barbara, Calif. He was 82. His daughter Lisa Lowe said he died in a hospital of cardiac arrest. The Electric Prunes arrived on the rock scene with a jolt: a menacing electric buzz that sounded like an oncoming swarm of deadly hornets. The sound, which opened 'I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night),' was the result of a playback error on a tape of the guitarist Ken Williams noodling with a fuzz box and a guitar tremolo bar. It was so raw and powerful that Mr. Lowe argued to keep it. The track would come to be hailed as a cornerstone of garage psychedelia. With its trippy title and astral sound, 'Too Much to Dream' was widely interpreted as a drug song, but its lyrics actually detailed the woe of an abandoned lover. Then again, the Electric Prunes, who swung from paisley pop to proto-punk to, yes, religious hymns sung in Latin, were always difficult to pin down. 'We were always outsiders,' Mr. Lowe recalled in a 2007 interview with Mojo, the British rock magazine. 'We weren't hip enough to be crazy, drugged-out characters.' In addition, he said: 'The music was too eclectic. It sounds like 10 different bands on those records.' Despite its maximalist sensibility, the band, which emerged from the Woodland Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, scored two early hits. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
James Lowe, Singer in Psych-Rock Band the Electric Prunes, Dies at 82
James Lowe of the Electric Prunes, photo byJames Lowe, the lead singer in psych-rock band the Electric Prunes, has died. In a statement shared on Facebook, Lowe's family said he died of natural causes on Thursday (May 29). 'Dad leaves behind a legacy of sound, love, and boundless creativity,' his family wrote. 'At the center of it all was our amazing mom, Pamela – his guiding star, enduring muse, and wife of 62 years. We know how deeply he cherished this community, and we feel that love too.' Lowe was 82. The founding member the Electric Prunes, Lowe's vision for groovy, trippy psych-rock had a large influence on the direction and popularity of the genre—especially in America—during the 1960s. Their biggest hit, 'I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night),' scaled the Billboard Hot 100 to secure a spot in its upper tier. It also landed a critical spot on Nuggets, the 1972 psych and garage-rock compilation that garnered a cult following. The Electric Prunes's self-titled LP boasted what would become their final Top 40 single: 'Get Me to the World on Time.' Coasting over the tracks was Lowe's smoky, soulful voice, an embodiment of easygoing Californian cool – in part thanks to him being born in San Luis Obispo and growing up in Los Angeles. Surf rock-inspired garage band the Sanctions—founded by Lowe on vocals and guitar, bassist Mark Tulin, lead guitarist Ken Williams, and drummer Michael Weakley—eventually morphed into the Electric Prunes in 1965 when a real estate agent introduced them to Dave Hassinger, the sound engineer at RCA Studios who wanted to produce an album. During the band's recording session, Hassinger suggested they change their name, and Lowe tossed out the Electric Prunes as a joke. 'It's the one thing everyone will remember,' Lowe rationalized. 'It's not attractive, and there's nothing sexy about it, but people won't forget it.' Despite their early singles failing to gain traction, Reprise Records signed the Electric Prunes to a contract overseen by Hassinger. Although a few lineup changes and songwriter sub-ins took place, they settled into the studio and churned out 'I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night).' Building off its success, they recorded the albums The Electric Prunes and Underground, both released in 1967, and went on a successful tour of Europe. Hassinger pitched the Electric Prunes on the idea of a concept album that utilized Gregorian music and psych-pop, and nabbed the late David Axelrod to compose the songs – launching a new, slowly lauded era for the band. The resulting Mass in F Minor was an ambitious, unwieldy record, and one of its spaced-out tracks, 'Kyrie Eleison,' gained a belated popularity bump when it was synced for the cult 1969 film Easy Rider. Years later, it became coveted fodder for rap producers like MF DOOM and Madlib, who worked samples from Mass in F Minor into their songs. After playing that new material just once live in concert, though, Lowe and Weakley decided to leave the band in early 1968, disenchanted with the Electric Prunes' financial difficulties and musical roadbumps. Tulin and Williams followed suit several months later. Lowe pivoted to a life behind the board, becoming a recording engineer and working with artists like Todd Rundgren and Sparks instead. Later on, Lowe also ran a TV production company. With the reins in Hassinger's hands, the Electric Prunes continued on with a different lineup until 1970, releasing two additional albums: 1968's Release of an Oath, as composed by Axelrod and belatedly heralded in experimental and hip-hop circles for its hallucinatory grooves, and 1969's Just Good Old Rock and Roll. However, come 1999, the original lineup of Lowe, Tulin, Williams, and Weakley reunited to record new music and perform live again. In 2001, they released their first comeback album, Artifact, which uncorked the psych-rock sound they originally courted in their earliest days. They went on to record three additional studio LPs: 2004's California, 2006's Feedback, and 2014's WaS. During that later run, the Electric Prunes were one of several notable bands who signed to Billy Corgan and Smashing Pumpkins producer Kerry Brown's new record label. In a 2011 interview, Lowe reflected on his past experiences in the Electric Prunes and stressed the importance of supporting bands you enjoy in real time. 'I have mentioned 'We felt like failures' many times in this process. It sounds corny, but later in life you learn you were not as bad as you thought. I have decided not to beat myself up so much,' he said. 'I encourage people to support their favorite bands by buying something from them on their websites or showing up when they play live in your town. For some, this is the only way they can continue to record and play live. If you don't want to order something, at least give encouragement and support for what they have done for you. It means a lot to get a nice email and this is all most musicians really want for their efforts: a little 'YES!!!!' when it works.' Originally Appeared on Pitchfork
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'60s Psychedelic Rock Icon Dies at 82
'60s Psychedelic Rock Icon Dies at 82 originally appeared on Parade. Psychedelic rock pioneer James Lowe, of The Electric Prunes, has died at age 82. Lowe's family — namely his three children — announced the news of their father's passing via the band's official Facebook page on Thursday, May 29. "It is with heavy and electric hearts that we announce the passing of our beloved dad, James Lowe - lead singer and founder of The Electric Prunes," Lowe's kids wrote in their heartfelt tribute to their father. (Lowe shared children Lisa, Cameron and Skylar with wife Pamela, to whom he was married for more than 60 years.) "He passed away peacefully of natural causes on Thursday, May 22nd, 2025, surrounded by music, our incredible mom, and the three of us - his kids: Lisa, Cameron, and Skylar," they continued. "Dad leaves behind a legacy of sound, love, and boundless creativity. At the center of it all Was our amazing mom, Pamela - his guiding star, enduring muse, and wife of 62 years." The Lowe family concluded their statement with wise words from the "I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night)" singer. "In his words - Rock On!" they declared. "And we will." The Electric Prunes were known for their psychedelic sound in the 1960s, with hits like "I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night)" and "Get Me to the World On Time." Despite their legendary status in the psychedelic rock world, Lowe told Psychedelic Scene last year that drugs did not actually play a major role in the cultivation of their music. "I think maybe some of us were [doing drugs], but it wasn't the core of the band," Lowe told the outlet in July 2024. "We didn't get high, sitting in there and record and stuff. It wasn't like that." "The people that did use any substances used it on their own. And sort of apart from the band," he elaborated. "We didn't make it a part of the music or a part of the band, even though people associate it with that." '60s Psychedelic Rock Icon Dies at 82 first appeared on Parade on May 31, 2025 This story was originally reported by Parade on May 31, 2025, where it first appeared.
The Guardian
02-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
James Lowe, singer of psychedelic rock trailblazers the Electric Prunes, dies age 82
James Lowe, the singer of psychedelic rock band the Electric Prunes, has died aged 82. His family said in a statement that he died of natural causes. 'Dad leaves behind a legacy of sound, love and boundless creativity,' they said on Facebook. 'At the centre of it all was our amazing mom, Pamela – his guiding star, enduring muse and wife of 62 years. We know how deeply he cherished this community, and we feel that love too.' Formed in Los Angeles in 1965, the band's second single, 1966's I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night), reached No 11 in the US, and proved their biggest hit. (Most of their hits were written by Annette Tucker and Nancie Mantz.) More significant, perhaps, was the song's inclusion on the 1972 psych and garage compilation Nuggets, a cult favourite for more than 50 years, and their general influence over the emerging psychedelic scene. Lowe said that the band wanted to make 'free-form garage music'. The band's name started as a joke and they had a short-lived, tumultuous existence, with Lowe later admitting that they were learning to play their instruments as they went along, with one significant early woodshedding session taking place at the house of Leon Russell. Members came and went, a David Axelrod-produced album of psychedelic pop and Gregorian music flopped and inspired a disastrous live performance, and producer and engineer Dave Hassinger's rights to the name allowed him to reassemble the band at will. Lowe left in 1968. The so-called New Improved Electric Prunes released their last album, Just Good Old Rock and Roll, in 1969 and split a year later. Lowe distanced himself from the band until interest resurged in the 1990s and he began touring and recording with other members of the group. The song Kyrie Eleison, from the Gregorian-inspired album Mass in F Minor, had been used in the 1969 film Easy Rider and part of the album were later sampled by the likes of MF Doom and Madlib. At the time of his death, he was the last surviving original member. Lowe was born in San Luis Obispo, California, on 5 March 1943 and lived in Hawaii for a time as a teenager. When he returned to California, he performed folk music and worked in rocket engine production before forming the Sanctions, the band that evolved into the Electric Prunes. After the band's split, Lowe worked as a recording engineer, contributing to significant works such as all three albums by Todd Rundgren's band Nazz and the first album by the band that would become Sparks, then known as Halfnelson. That record flopped, prompting Lowe to leave music to work in television production. In 2000, he told US author Richie Unterberger that the band's reunion had reminded him 'how much fun music is. Take away the profit motive and all that greed and you get back to trying to make a good record … it's very hard.' Of the Electric Prunes' brief existence, he said: 'Some things are meant to be short and sweet. Life is but a dream.'
Yahoo
31-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘He was a creative force': Lead singer of '60s psychedelic rock legends dead at 82
James Lowe, frontman of '60s psych-rock icons The Electric Prunes, who were best known for their Top 10 hit 'I Had Too Much to Dream Last Night,' has died, aged 82, according to published reports. Lowe, who went on to a successful career as an engineer and producer, working with such artists as Sparks and Todd Rundgren, died on May 22, his family reported, according to Variety. Lowe left the music industry in the early '70s and eventually found a second act in the world of industrial filmmaking, according to Variety. Lowe reunited the Prunes in the late 1990s and continued to perform through the end of his life, according to Variety. In a statement, Lowe's family said the singer 'passed away ... from natural causes - suddenly, yet peacefully - surrounded by family and music.' Lowe leaned into the wave of nostalgia for his old combo band that only seemed to heighten in recent years. He performed for an adoring crowd in Los Angeles at a 'Nuggets' tribute show in 2023 ('I Had Too Much to Dream Last Night' was the kickoff song to that classic garage-rock compilation). He also recently gave retrospective interviews for a series of rock podcasts, according to Variety. 'James left this world peacefully - his heart giving one final electric beat, surrounded by the loving embrace of his family and enveloped by the sounds of his favorite music,' his children Lisa, Cameron, and Skylar said in a statement, according to Variety. 'He was a creative force, a rock star without pretense, and someone who lived and loved fully. But the most important ingredient to James' life was his 62-year marriage to Pamela, his guiding star and enduring muse for all things. … James was a visionary, a dreamer, a doer who never stopped creating, exploring, lifting others up - or believing in what's possible,' his family said. Read the original article on MassLive.
