Flanner - thanks for that interesting article. But whether LSD was a Surbiton lassie or not is irrelevant to how the song was perceived - perception is the key though it may have been perceived wrong a la Paul Is Dead when a song was played backward.

And as the article says the name Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band was inspired by the psychedelic bands of the US West Coast

<Academics will also debate the record’s cultural influence at a seminar at the University of Leeds this month. The keynote speech will question whether Sgt. Pepper’s “tangerine trees and marmalade skies” set the cultural agenda for the Summer of Love, or were mere optimistic escapism>

and i do think the song was instrumental in launching the Summer of Love - perhaps just because it came along at the right time to be a major catalyst

<Forty Years of Sgt. Pepper, a day-long celebration of the album, will be broadcast today on BBC Radio 6 Music. The rerecording will be aired on Radio 2 tomorrow at 9pm and on BBC Two at 10.45pm.>

note that BBC 6 will play Sgt Pepper all day - have they done this with Ticket to Ride? don't think so because it's not nearly such a seminal departure from previous hit music. Seems some Brits appreciate the cultural significance as well as musical significance of Sgt Pepper!

I would have to disagree about the Sgt. Pepper album setting the cultural agenda for the Summer of Love. The Beatles did reflect and contribute to cultural tenor of the times, but the local groups here in S.F. set the agenda.

The Summer was fueled, among other things, by easy access to music. Just pool your money for gas, pile into a car and go. Bands would appear for free and The Fillmore and Avalon Ballroom would put 4 groups on a bill for $1.50-$3.00. Bands would play in small out of the way clubs. And bands really did play. None of this 8 songs and we're out of here nonsense.

We also had Djs who were willing to take risks with their playlists and provide direction in the rapidly changing music scene. These were FM stations, and with San Francisco being a hilly city, sometimes the reception was spotty. But this contributed to the renegade, counter culture feel.

The Beatles obviously had a tremendous impact worldwide, but the agenda (if there was one)for the Summer of Love was set by local musicians. Local musicians such as The Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Big Brother and the Holding Company with Janis Joplin, and Country Joe and the Fish were actually living the hippie lifestyle. Moby Grape, Capt. Beefheart and Blue Cheer rounded out this cadre. The appeal of some of these groups must've been their availability and willingness to fill out the bill. With the exception of the first three groups, I don't think the others were particularly memorable. But you knew a lot of these guys had been involved in the alternative lifestyle for awhile; it takes a few years to grow your hair past shoulder length, and this was only 1967. They were the real deal.

Truthfully, the Summer of Love had been building for quite awhile, and was maybe passe by the time it actually got underway.

Maybe we, and rock, were growing up. By the end of summer it was all about Jim Morrison and Hendrix. A far cry from Penny Lane.

Perhaps Sgt. Pepper was a siren call to kids in the cornfields of Iowa to head west. As for me, I was saving my money to head to England.

I certainly hope no one was influenced to come out here by the most cringe-worthy and insipid song of all time: If You're Going to San Francisco Be Sure and Wear Some Flowers in Your Hair. (My sincere apologies to anyone who gets this song "stuck in their head" for the next week)

specs, you lit my fire!

specs, can I add Quicksilver Messenger Service to your list of second tiers? How about Santana?

thereyet

Santana: I saw this hambone. That's three hours of noodling and drum solos I wasted my life on.

Seeing that there's alll these bloody hippies on her I will share this with you. It's Bill Grahams archive of the concerts at the Filmores and Winterland from about 1967 onwards (and yes - it's legal). This link takes you to the Grateful Dead (hambones) but it's easy to find what you like.

http://concerts.wolfgangsvault.com/C...=grateful+dead

Come on now Audere, we are just a product of our times. In Santana's case at least he did win a Grammie some 35 years later!

thereyet

Presumably it was for his welfare work in employing so many, otherwise destitute, drummers.

It was 40 years ago today that Sgt Franklin taught the band to play "Respect" and Motown's influence caught more fire

Now THERE was a proper pop song.

Yeah yeah yeah
Yeah yeah yeah

thereyet, good call. I did forget Quicksilver (and I expect with good reason) At this time there were a lot of bands that are best forgotten.

As to bands noodling around endlessly,this was certainly the era. However, it did give you a chance for a potty break, time to put more change in the meter or move your car, or check your waist length hair for split ends. Or you could watch the light show put on by Little Princess 109. Talk about low tech. This was a projected image of paint wiggling around on a plastic coffee can lid. Every once and a while a big hand would appear and change the color scheme.

By the end of summer there was less tolerance for endless noodling and with the exception of the self-indulgenct meanderings of the Dead, bands were putting on tighter shows. I think Bill Graham was cracking the whip and was definitely more selective about who would play and how many people could be on the guest list and get in for free.

Forgot to mention that the bands took a long time setting up, so in between there might be poetry reading by Rod McKuen or Leonard Cohen singing about how life sucked. All of this was pitch perfect for the audience as there were more than a few of us who were consumed with existential angst and the rest of us were dealing with the angst of split ends. In any case people spoke of them with self-righteous piety and adopted a studied look of humility. (Richard Gere is still stuck in this phase. Will someone please tell him it's over!)

I think the Summer of Love was also shaped by Motown. Otis Redding, the Temptations, etc. played Basin St. West on a regular basis. These shows always drew a mixed audience, and race was irrelevant. When Richie Havens, Taj Mahal, Hendrix arrived, their race was was non-issue. This was also true for B.B. King and other bluesmen. (and Prince today) People just wanted to come out and party.

I'm not sure if Santana was on the scene in '67, maybe a little later? When they did arrive, their shows were tight, riveting, and full-on from the moment they took the stage. They were home boys from the Mission District making the most of their big break. I still think their first album holds up after all these years. But agree Carlos is following a different muse these days.

Well, that's enough blathering for a morning. I'm now flashing you all the peace sign, and hoping you too will take a hand away from the keyboard and hold two fingers up. The Summer of Love lives on!

.

Front page of local fish wrap June 1 shows a picture of a crowd at local Borders Books and Music gathered to hear "British teen singing sensation Joss Stone"

and the front page sub headline, in large type says JOSS STONES WOWS HER FANS AT BORDERS

picture shows the fans, mainly 20 and 30s types and largely female enthusiastically clapping

Who is this teen British sensation - some product of Idol?

Is this the tip of a new wave of British Invasion musically?

For me the "new British invasion" is more like Bloc Party, Kaiser Chiefs, Muse, Arctic Monkey, Franz Ferdinand.

thereyet

or Simon Cowell? ugh

Joss Stone is a 20 year old from Devon who sings like a sixty year old black woman from Philadelphia.

She's not hard to look at either.