The Peppermint Rainbow

The Peppermint Rainbow was an American sunshine pop group from Baltimore, Maryland. They formed in 1967 under the name New York Times, playing to local gigs in the mid-Atlantic states before changing their name to The Peppermint Rainbow in 1968. They were signed to Decca Records at the behest of their fellow Baltimorean Cass Elliot, who saw them play and sang with them on-stage when they performed a medley of The Mamas & the Papas tunes.[1]

Under Decca the group was produced by Paul Leka; their first single "Walking in Different Circles" b/w "Pink Lemonade" did not chart. Their second single, "Will You Be Staying After Sunday",[2] reached No. 4 on KHJ on 2 April 1969[3] and No. 32 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 on 3 May 1969, selling over one million copies and receiving a gold disc.[4] The song also reached No. 21 on the Cash Box Top 100,[5] and in Canada it peaked at No. 19.

The group made an appearance on the 2 May 1969 episode of The Generation Gap television quiz show[6] from which the promotional clip of the song originates. As with most similar clips of the period, the performance is a lip-and-finger sync, noted mainly by the fact that none of the electric instruments are plugged in.

Another single entitled Green Tambourine also did not chart despite the fact that Leka had stripped away the vocals of The Lemon Pipers' hit from the previous year and given the backing track to the group to record their own cover. Their third release, "Don't Wake Me Up in the Morning, Michael", hit No. 54 the same year.[7]

Their LP, Will You Be Staying After Sunday, barely missed the Top 100 of the album charts, peaking at No. 106.[8]

After recording three more post-album singles which also did not chart, including Walking in Different Circles (which had some minor airplay in the UK), and You're the Sound of Love, the band split up in 1970, after which the chorus of the latter tune would come to be re-arranged and re-recorded in the early 70's as We're the Sound of Love and used as an ID jingle for a number of radio stations featuring love songs prominently on their playlist.

Chart performance of "Will You Be Staying After Sunday?"

Chart (1969) Peak
position
Canada RPM Adult Contemporary [9] 7
Canada RPM Top Singles [10] 19
KHJ (AM) survey (Los Angeles) [3] 4
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 [4] 32
U.S. Cash Box Top 100 [5] 21
WLS-AM survey (Chicago) [11] 14

Members

References

  1. ↑ Biography, Allmusic.com
  2. ↑ "Will You Be Staying After Sunday (lyrics)". Retrieved 2011-07-08.
  3. 1 2 "KHJ's 'Boss 30' Records in Southern California, Official Issue No. 196, Previewed April 2, 1969". Retrieved 2012-04-11.
  4. 1 2 Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p. 245. ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
  5. 1 2 "Cash Box Top 100 4/26/69". 50.6.195.142. 1969-04-26. Retrieved 2016-01-30.
  6. ↑ "The Generation Gap series episode list (TV Tango version)". Retrieved 2011-07-07.
  7. ↑ Billboard Singles, Allmusic.com
  8. ↑ Billboard, Allmusic.com
  9. ↑ "Image : RPM Weekly - Library and Archives Canada". Bac-lac.gc.ca. Retrieved 2016-01-30.
  10. ↑ "Image : RPM Weekly - Library and Archives Canada". Bac-lac.gc.ca. Retrieved 2016-01-30.
  11. ↑ "WLS89 : HIT PARADE". Oldiesloon.com. 1969-04-28. Retrieved 2016-01-30.
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