Lucifer And The Peppermints - The Green Itch Got The Bear / Money Back Guarantee MP3 FLAC

Without the input of rich kid, lawyer and former Oklahoma Bandstand emcee Bob Markley, the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band would have been a band with little art or experiment about it. However, in 1966 Markley promised Dan and Shaun Harris (the band's core members) equipment, fame and fortune if he could join them and be a popstar adulated by as many teenage girls as possible. A mutual beneficiary act so to speak. Effectively Markley (who was twice the age of the Harris' brothers) took over the WCPAEB, writing lyrics, producing records and playing the tambourine - out of sync - on stage. He even managed to convince the band to release their final album not as the WCPAEB but as "Markley, A Band"! Even though Markley was undoubtedly egocentric and not easy to work with, he did give the WCPAEB a unique identity, which was never fully appreciated by the Harris' brothers. After a string of highly collectable, beautiful but stunningly unsuccessful albums, the band broke up in 1970. After the demise of the band, Markley disappeared from sight. Even though he did pop up over the years here and there, no one really knows what happened to him and all that is left today are rumours of mental illnesses, hospitalisation and even unconfirmed death.
There are those who disregard Markley as a charlatan or a clown with no musical merit whatsoever, but they miss the point: Markley was an essential part of the WCPAEB, shaping the band we all know and love. Little is known of Markley's career prior to the WCPAEB. He released two solo singles for Warners in the early 60's that didn't sell. Even more obscure was this single "The green itch got the bear" which Markley wrote and performed as Lucifer and The Peppermints. This single is probably the rarest of all WCPAEB-related releases. Markley yelps and screams the bizarre lyrics (about one of his three favourite subjects; money - the other two being war and, you guessed it, teenage girls) to a freak beat backing.