James Lowe, the lead singer in psych-rock band the Electrical Prunes, has died. In a press release shared on Fb, Lowe’s household mentioned he died of pure causes on Thursday (Could 29). “Dad leaves behind a legacy of sound, love, and boundless creativity,” his household wrote. “On the heart of all of it WaS our superb mother, Pamela – his guiding star, enduring muse, and spouse of 62 years. We all know how deeply he cherished this neighborhood, and we really feel that love too..” Lowe was 82.
The founding member the Electrical Prunes, Lowe’s imaginative and prescient for groovy, trippy psych-rock had a big affect on the route and recognition of the style—particularly in America—in the course of the Nineteen Sixties. Their greatest hit, “I Had Too A lot to Dream (Final Night time),” scaled the Billboard Sizzling 100 to safe a spot in its higher tier. It additionally landed a important spot on Nuggets, the 1972 psych and garage-rock compilation that garnered a cult following. The Electrical Prunes’s self-titled LP boasted what would develop into their last High 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—partly because of him being born in San Luis Obispo, California, and rising up in Los Angeles.
Surf rock–impressed storage band the Sanctions—based by Lowe on vocals and guitar, bassist Mark Tulin, lead guitarist Ken Williams, and drummer Michael Weakley—ultimately morphed into the Electrical Prunes in 1965 when an actual property agent launched them to Dave Hassinger, the sound engineer at RCA Studios who wished to supply an album. Throughout the band’s recording session, Hassinger recommended the group change its identify, and Lowe tossed out the Electrical Prunes as a joke. “It’s the one factor everybody will bear in mind,” Lowe rationalized. “It’s not engaging, and there’s nothing horny about it, however folks gained’t overlook it.”
Regardless of the band’s early singles failing to achieve traction, Reprise Data signed the Electrical Prunes to a contract overseen by Hassinger. Though a couple of lineup modifications and songwriter sub-ins happened, they settled into the studio and churned out “I Had Too A lot to Dream (Final Night time).” Constructing off its success, they recorded the albums The Electrical Prunes and Underground, each launched in 1967, and went on a profitable tour of Europe.
Hassinger pitched the Electrical Prunes on the thought of an idea album that utilized Gregorian music and psych-pop, and nabbed the late David Axelrod to compose the songs—launching a brand new, slowly lauded period for the band. The ensuing Mass in F Minor was an formidable, unwieldy document, and considered one of its spaced-out tracks, “Kyrie Eleison,” gained a belated reputation bump when it was synced for the cult 1969 movie Straightforward Rider. Years later, it turned coveted fodder for hip-hop producers like MF Doom and Madlib, who labored samples from Mass in F Minor into their songs.
