Psychedelic, Baby! Trivia Quiz

Answer: Green Tambourine

Written by Paul Leka and Shelley Pinz, the song was recorded by the Lemon Pipers in 1967.

"Green Tambourine" used the electric sitar which had experienced a surge in popularity in psychedelia. This didn't sit well with George Harrison. In a 1966 interview with "Music Maker" he said, "What I dislike about the sitar is the way it's become the 'in thing.' I never wanted this. It's just become a part of the bandwagon, with too many people having a go with it, just to be considered 'in.'"

It still managed to remain on U.S. Billboard Hot 100 for thirteen weeks and peaked at #1 on February 3, 1968!

Answer: Change is Now

In the 1968 album the Byrds successfully blended aspects of psychedelia, electronic and folk rock. Its use of the Moog synthesizer was one of the first times mainstream musicians embraced the previously thought of "avant-garde" sound.

In the "Rolling Stone" interview McGuinn " also said [the lyrics] of 'Change Is Now' expressed a quasi-philosophical ideology which may or may not have been truly appreciated and recognized."

Answer: True

Ironically when the song was written the band wasn't having too many beautiful days. Feeling trapped by Seattle's rainy and cloudy winter, living in an attic with little money and food, the song was born from the band's desire to be free. The chorus "White bird must fly or she will die" is repeated throughout the song.

Answer: Eden

It's hard to believe the title/lyrics weren't written with a deep, mysterious or mystical meaning. When an inebriated Ingle played the song for drummer Ron Bushy he was slurring his words so badly that Bushy wrote them down as he (mis)heard them. Of course their record company thought it was great because it sounded so spiritual and exotic.

On an interesting note, Bushy never intended the song to be seventeen minutes long. The band recorded what was merely supposed to be soundchecks to test levels for the engineer, Don Casale. Unbeknownst to them, as they were awaiting the arrival of their producer, Casale kept the tape rolling. Even with mistakes the band decided that it was a keeper.

Answer: Quicksilver Messenger Service

"Who Do You Love" was originally written and recorded by Bo Diddley in 1956. The lyrics, a play on the word "Hoodoo," which is a folk religion similar to Voodoo popular in the American South.

Quicksilver Messenger Service began performing it live in the mid to late 1960s and included a twenty-five minute live version on their second album, "Happy Trails".

Music critic Greil Marcus praised the song as "one of the best recordings to emerge from San Francisco". In addition "AllMusic" reviewer, Matthew Greenwald wrote "Quicksilver take the Bo Diddley classic and expand it almost beyond comprehension, encompassing blues, rock, psychedelic, and other elements, while still (remarkably) retaining its core groove".

Answer: Moby Grape

In the lyrics of "Hey, Grandma" Moby Grape referenced some common aspects of Haight-Ashbury culture. The title comes from hippy girls in long "granny dresses". "Fillmore Slim", who was a colorful neighborhood musician, hustler and raconteur, also got a mention. And of course the lyric "Robitussin make me feel so fine" eludes to getting high with cough syrup because it was cheap and available.

Answer: H.P. Lovecraft

Apparently the band shared a penchant for the author's works. They successfully paired psychedelia with folk rock. "Spin, Spin, Spin" was written by Kent Foreman and originally recorded by Terry Callier, who was a friend of George Edwards, one of the band's earliest members.

The track was included in the band's second album, "H.P. Lovecraft II", released in 1968. Even with the impressive harmonies/vocals and ethereal nature the album failed to chart.

Answer: Pete Townsend

Pete Townsend met John "Speedy" Keen, through session work and Keen wrote the song "Armenia City in the Sky," which appeared on the album "The Who Sell Out" in 1967. Townshend recognized Keen's songwriting ability and assembled a band around him, made up of guitarist Jimmy McCulloch and the group's namesake, jazz pianist Andy "Thunderclap" Newman.

In a 1975 interview with "ZigZag" (magazine) Keen stated,"[The song] was a reflection of what I was seeing at the time, I wrote it about two months before we recorded it and we put it out as a joke." It was included in their 1970 album "Hollywood Dream", produced by Townsend.

Answer: Arthur Brown

"The Crazy World of Arthur Brown" are an English band whose original lineup included the founder Arthur Brown, Nick Greenwood, Vincent Crane and Drachen Theaker. Many consider the band to be a one hit wonder with their song "Fire", but the song has a rather quirky backstory.

Brown came up with the idea of rock opera which he titled "The Fire Suite". The concept was an inner journey, which developed into a story of a man facing his demons by heading into a figurative fire. His journey leads him to the "God of Hellfire". "Prelude/Nightmare" is the first track on "The Crazy World of Arthur Brown" album. As the journey progresses, the protagonist enters an inferno deep in a psychedelic trip, which is the second track "Fanfare/Fire Poem" and lastly descending into an abyss meeting the returning character who tells him "I am the God of Hellfire, and I bring you... Fire." The minimal use of guitars/bass guitar was unusual at the time; instead Crane's Hammond organ was used. There was also an orchestral arrangement by Crane, influenced heavily by brass.

With Brown's stage persona often encompassing a flaming helmet, flowing yellow/orange robes and extreme face paint, he became known as "the God of Hellfire". British Beat writer, Charles Fox, hailed Brown as "disconcerting, even faintly perverse, but distinctly original and very, very English" and the album "an exhilaratingly reckless slice of psychedelia"!

Answer: Itchycoo Park

"Itchycoo Park" was written by Ronnie Lane and Steve Marriott and released in 1967 by Small Faces. It pioneered the use of "phase-shifting" production (comb filtering), an audio effect where vocals and drums became distorted in the song. At the time it required three tape machines, two playing the same thing at different frequencies and the third recording it.

George Chkiantz, a studio staff producer at Olympic Studios, was credited with creating the effect. Small Faces were looking for new sounds and decided to use it. According to Ronnie Lane, the song was a joke. During recording sessions the band would clown around to amuse their manager. As it started sounding so good they took it seriously and the result was a major hit in the UK and the US.