line up 1 (1967-70)

- Anton 'Tony' Corey -- percussion

- Skip Harris (RIP) -- bass, backing vocals 

- Bonnie Lamdin -- vocals, keyboards, guitar

- Pat Lamdin -- vocals, keyboards

- Doug Lewis -- guitar, backing vocals 

 

- As You Like It (Skip Harris)

- The Better Half (Doug Lewis)

- Inner Cyrkle (Doug Lewis)

- The New Diablos (Skip Harris)

- The New York Times

- The Phoenix Admirals (Doug Lewis)

- The Progressions (Skip Harris)

- The Hubcaps (Doug Lewis)

Genre:  pop

Rating: *** (3 stars)

Title:  Will You Be Staying After Sunday

Company: Decca

Catalog: DL 75129

Year: 1969

Country/State: Baltimore, Maryland

Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+

Comments: minor ring and edge wear

Available: 2

Catalog ID: 2155

Price: $8.00

Genre:  pop

Rating: *** (3 stars)

Title:  Will You Be Staying After Sunday

Company: Decca

Catalog: DL 75129

Year: 1969

Country/State: Baltimore, Maryland

Grade (cover/record): NM/NM

Comments: sealed copy

Available: 2

Catalog ID: 2686

Price: $20.00

Ah, mid-1960s American sunshine pop !!!  After years of critical disdain and public indifference, suddenly the genre is getting a great deal of well deserved attention.

By 1967 bassist Skip Harris and guitarist Doug Lewis had played in a number of mid-'60s Maryland-based bands including The Mustangs.  With the addition of drummer Tony Corey and sisters/singers Bonne and Pat Lamdin the began performing  p and down the mid-Atlantic as The New York Times. In 1968 they morphed into The Peppermint Rainbow getting their  initial break when Cass Elliott caught their act (which included a Mamas and the Papas medley)  in a Washington, D.C. nightclub and subsequently put them in touch with producer/songwriter Paul Leka.  

Back cover left to right:  Anton "Tony" Corey  - Pat Lamdin - Bonnie Lamdin - Doug Lewis - Skip Harris

With support from Cass and Leka, Jack Wiedenmann signed the group to a recording contract with Decca, quickly releasing a pair of nifty sunshine pop singles:

- 1968's "Pink Lemonade" b/w "Walking In Different Circles" (Decca catalog number 732316) 

- 1968's "Will You Be Staying After Sunday" b/w "I'll Be There" (Decca catalog number 732410)

YouTube has a partial television performance of the latter at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iT3Fcdx4iJA

The debut 45 did little commercially, but their sophomore release proved a fluke top-40 hit and, as was standard marketing practice, they were rushed into the studio to record a supporting LP.   With Leka producing (he also contributed a couple of songs), the cleverly-titled "Will You Be Staying After Sunday" wasn't half bad.  Pulling together the first two singles (though the liner notes failed to list "Pink Lemonade"), with newly recorded material, try to imagine a not-quite-as-hip Mamas and the Papas, or Spanky and Our Gang and you'll be in the right aural ballpark.  The group certainly had some talent; the Lamdin's were quite accomplished harmony singers, though neither Harris nor Lewis were all that impressive (check out the painful performance on the 'rocker'  'Run Like the Devil').  Sure, tracks such as 'If We Can Make It To Monday', 'Jamais' (when will people learn that French lyrics are never a good thing in a pop song) and 'Sierra (Chasin' My Dreams)' were a little too MOR to be considered hip. Elsewhere the album included a strange cover of The Lemon Pipers 'Green Tambourine'.  To my ears it sounded like they simply dubbed new vocals on top of the original backing track.    It was almost as if they were a little late to the party ...   seriously, had this album been released in 1967, rather than in 1969 it would have made all the difference in the world.  Instead of being 1967 cutting edge, in 1969 these tracks already sounded hopelessly obsolete.   Deduct half a star for the matching polyester outfits which gave them a very lounge act vibe !!!   

"Will You Be Staying After Sunday" track listing:

(side 1)

1.) Will You Be Staying After Sunday   (Al Kasha - Joel Hirschorn) - 2:22   rating: **** stars

No matter how middle-of-the-road it sounds, there's no denying 'Will You Be Staying After Sunday' had immense commercial appear.  In fact, if you were going to pick a song that sounded like it had been written for maximum commercial impact, you'd be hard pressed to do better than this one.  The fact it sounded like a Spanky and Our Gang castoff really didn't make much difference given the Lamdin sisters did such a knockout job on vocals.

2.) Pink Lemonade   (Shelly Pinz - Paul Leka) - 2:03    rating: *** stars

For some reason the track listing manage to overlook the fact 'Pink Lemonade' was on the LP ...  Their debut single, this one featured the guys on lead vocals with the Lamdin sisters providing backup vocals.  Co-written by Shelly Pinz and producer Leka), this one was a great example of mid--1960s pop-psych mixing up were almost childlike lyrics with a distinctive lysergic flavor.

3.) And I'll Be There   (Paul Leka - Denise Gross) - 2:04.  rating: ** stars

Opening up with some nice jangle rock guitar (they almost sounded like an electric sitar) and harpsichord, 'And I'll Be There' took an unfortunate turn to MOR-ballad.  To my ears it actually sounded like an attempt to recreate the earlier hit.   

4.) Run Like the Devil   (Paul Leka - Irwin Schuster) - 2:41.  rating: ** stars

Hum, Peppermint Rainbow tries to get heavy ...  well about as heavy as a group in matching polyester outfits could get.  Doug Lewis  handled the lead vocals on 'Run Like the Devil' and I'll give him credit for trying to toughen up their sound.  The results were ragged and barely in tune, but at least he tried.   Unfortunately the songs heavy orchestration managed to negate most of his work.   Forgettable.    

5.) Jamais   (Anita McCafferty - Earl Fraile) - 3:22 .  rating: ** stars

As mentioned above, French lyrics in pop songs are not a good thing and that's certainly the case with this soggy ballad.  This one sounded like a third tier Four Seasons outcast,  Simply hideous.   Hard to imagine anyone being able to get through this one without cringing.  Okay, listening to the Landim sisters repeat the title over and over had a certain cheap camp value.  

6.) Don't Wake Me Up In t he Morning Michael   (Al Kasha) - 2:45    rating: *** stars

I actually remember hearing 'Don't Wake Me Up In t he Morning Michael ' as a child and thinking it was a Mamas and the Papas song.  Quality sunshine-pop which explains why Decca tapped it as the band's third single.  

(side 2)

1.) Walking In Different Circles   (Laurence Weiss - Scott English) - 2:20    rating: *** stars

Slightly more up-tempo than much of their catalog, 'Walking In Different Circles' was actually a pretty good slice of jangle rock.  While it won't make you forget the Goldie and the Gingerbreads version, The Lamdin sisters turned in a flawless vocal performance and the harpsichord arrangement was priceless.  Unfortunately the orchestral arrangement was overwhelming.    

2.) Sierra (Chasin' My Dreams)   (Cary De Carlo - Dan Green) - 3:21 .  rating: ** stars

Kicked along by some pretty acoustic guitar, the ballad 'Sierra (Chasin' My Dreams)' would have been a dandy single had it not been for Leka's overwhelming orchestral arrangement.  The hackneyed orchestration essentially drown out the rest of the song.   Harris on lead vocals.    

3.) Green Tambourine   (Shelly Pinz - Paul Leka) - 1:25 .  rating: ** stars

The group's cover of The Lemon Piper hit 'Green Tambourine' was unlike anything else on the album.  It certainly sounded like Leka had simply re-cycled the original instrumental backing, slapping a new vocal on it.  Other than for pure financial reasons (he co-wrote the song with Shelly Pinz), you were left to wonder why they bothered ?    Carey featured on lead vocals.  

4.) Rosemary   (Paul Leka) - 3:15 .  rating: ** stars

Opening up with heavy orchestration the ballad 'Rosemary' was another strange performance. Complete with what was almost an Asian vibe, to my ears the song sounded like it had been written for a stage show.  Interestingly Decca tapped this track as the band's third single, but then had second thoughts and started to promote the 'B' side 'Don't Wake Me Up In t he Morning Michael'. 

- 1969's 'Rosemary' b/w 'Don't Wake Me Up In the Morning Michael' (Decca catalog number

732498)

5.) I Found Out I Was a Woman   (Alan Bernstein - Victor Millrose) - 2:31.  rating: ** stars

Another all-out slice of sunshine pop, 'I Found Out I Was a Woman' was one of those songs that sounded like it was custom written for a late-1960s television theme song.  Where were The Brady Family when you needed them ..

Supported by television appearances and touring (they even opened up for Sly and the Family Stone), the LP proved a decent enough seller, peaking at # 106 which led Decca to release a couple of non-LP singles:

- 1969's 'You're The Sound Of Love' b/w 'Jamais' (Decca catalog number 732562)   YouTube has a clip of the band lip-synching the song at:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UiWkrL_pKI 

- 1969's  'Don't Love Me Unless It's Forever' b/w 'Good Morning Means Goodbye' (Decca catalog number 732601)

Having recently been married and simply tired of the ongoing touring regimen, Bonnie Lamdin turned her attentions and by mid-1970 the group was history.  

Carey dropped out of music, moved to Alaska and works as a house painter.

Harris is dead - no idea when, or under what circumstances he passed on.

Bonnie Lamdin-Phipps spent 30 years working in health care, including a stint as the president and CEO of St. Agnes Hospital.

Pat Lamdin Brown carved out a career working in the juvenile court system. 

Lewis reappeared as a member of The Better Half and is still in the music business, fronting the wedding band The New Monopoly LLC (with his son Justin).  I'm guessing they won't object to a little free publicity: http://www.newmonopoly.com/New_Monopoly/Home.html 

Thanks to Joey Palumbo for the LP cover information; for knowing who sang lead vocals on the various songs,  and for letting me know what his uncle Doug Lewis is doing today.   Joey was in the recording studio while some of the album was being recorded.