Bubble Puppy is an American psychedelic rock band originally active from 1967 to 1972. They are best remembered for their Top 20 hit, "Hot Smoke & Sasafrass".

History

Origins

Bubble Puppy was formed in 1966 in

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

, by Rod Prince and Roy Cox, who had previously performed together in the rock group called The Bad Seeds. Looking to form a "top gun rock band" based on the concept of dual

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featu ...

s, Prince and Cox recruited Todd Potter, an Austin, Texas

gymnast Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, sh ...

saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pro ...

, and

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

ist. With the addition of Danny Segovia and Clayton Pulley, the original lineup of Bubble Puppy was complete. The name "Bubble Puppy" was taken from "Centrifugal Bumble-puppy", a fictitious children's game in

Aldous Huxley Aldous Leonard Huxley (26 July 1894 – 22 November 1963) was an English writer and philosopher. He wrote nearly 50 books, both novels and non-fiction works, as well as wide-ranging essays, narratives, and poems. Born into the prominent Huxle ...

's 1932 novel ''

Brave New World ''Brave New World'' is a dystopian novel by English author Aldous Huxley, written in 1931 and published in 1932. Largely set in a futuristic World State, whose citizens are environmentally engineered into an intelligence-based social hiera ...

''. Bubble Puppy's live debut was as the opening act for

The Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

in San Antonio in 1967. After some lineup changes (drummer Clayton Pulley being replaced by Craig Root, and the departure of Danny Segovia), the final roster for Bubble Puppy settled at Rod Prince and Todd Potter on lead guitars, Roy Cox on

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

, and David "Fuzzy" Fore on drums. In the spring of 1967, Bubble Puppy moved to

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

, and signed a recording contract with

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

-based

International Artists International Artists (IA) was an American independent record label based in Houston, Texas, United States, that originally existed from 1965 to 1970. It is not to be confused with International Artists Records, a classical music record label foun ...

. Bubble Puppy were one of the last groups to signed by the label before its demise in 1971. The band appeared and toured with many notable artists from 1967 until 1971, including The Who, Grand Funk Railroad, Canned Heat, Steppenwolf, Jefferson Airplane, Bob Seger, Johnny Winter, and Janis Joplin. The use of dual lead guitars was pioneered by Bubble Puppy's Prince and Potter, as exhibited in live performances as early as 1967.

Chart success

Bubble Puppy scored a hit in 1969 with the psychedelic single "Hot Smoke & Sasafrass", which became International Artists' biggest single, peaking at number 14 on the

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streamin ...

and number 15 on the Canadian ''

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'' chart. In addition to its misspelling of "

sassafras ''Sassafras'' is a genus of three extant and one extinct species of deciduous trees in the family Lauraceae, native to eastern North America and eastern Asia.Wolfe, Jack A. & Wehr, Wesley C. 1987. The sassafras is an ornamental tree. "Middle ...

", the title was inspired by a line of dialogue heard in an episode of ''

The Beverly Hillbillies ''The Beverly Hillbillies'' is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on CBS from 1962 to 1971. It had an ensemble cast featuring Buddy Ebsen, Irene Ryan, Donna Douglas, and Max Baer Jr. as the Clampetts, a poor, backwoods family f ...

''. Attempting to capitalize on the song's unexpected success, Bubble Puppy released their debut album that year, titled ''A Gathering of Promises'', but sales were poor and the group parted ways with International Artists in 1970.

Demian

Signing Nick St. Nicholas of Steppenwolf as a manager, Bubble Puppy moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

in 1970. Their name was changed to Demian, after

Hermann Hesse Hermann Karl Hesse (; 2 July 1877 – 9 August 1962) was a German-Swiss poet, novelist, and painter. His best-known works include ''Demian'', '' Steppenwolf'', '' Siddhartha'', and ''The Glass Bead Game'', each of which explores an individual's ...

's 1919 novel, at the suggestion of St. Nicholas' wife.Vorda, p. 63 This was to avoid contractual difficulties with their previous record company but also because the former name appeared to link them with

bubblegum music Bubblegum (also called bubblegum pop) is pop music in a catchy and upbeat style that is considered disposable, contrived, or marketed for children and adolescents. The term also refers to a rock and pop subgenre, originating in the United States ...

. The group signed to

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

- Dunhill Records and released one self-titled album in 1971, but its failure to perform on the charts led to financial difficulties with the label and the group's break-up in 1972. Potter stayed in California, working as a session player, before joining and touring with Rusty Wier's Fabulous Filler Brothers.

Later years

The members of Bubble Puppy continued to be active in the music industry after the band's demise. Potter and Prince played with SiriusVorda, p. 65 during the 1970s, and Fore drummed with the Texas punk rock band D-Day, co-writing their cult hit "Too Young to Date". In 1984, the original Bubble Puppy line-up reunited for performances and recordings, and they released their second LP, ''Wheels Go Round,'' in 1987. Roy Cox founded The Blues Knights and released two CDs: ''Before I Go'' in 1999, and ''Road To Freedom'' in 2001. He formed the NYC Outlaws in September 2007 in New York City, along with Tony Saracene on guitar, Dan Curley on guitar, Cody Willard on guitar, Evan Hammer on bass, and Billy Brooks on drums. Cox died on April 2, 2013.

Reunion and 2011–2018 appearances

On March 19, 2011, three of the original members of Bubble Puppy reunited for the first time in 25 years for a performance at The Austin Music Awards. The band also added Mark Miller (guitar) and Jimmy Umstattd (bass) to the line-up. David Fore met the two while playing in Austin cover band the Kopy Kats. Fore and Miller also played together in the mid-1970s in another Austin cover band, Zeus. In April 2013, Gregg Stegall joined the line-up, taking Todd Potter's place in the band. Stegall has a long-standing musical affiliation with Miller and Umstattd, dating from the early 1970s. David Fore is currently taking a leave of absence, with Randall Maxwell on drums since mid-2018.

Band members

Original members

* Rod Prince ‒ lead guitar, vocals * Roy Cox ‒ (died 3 April 2013) bass guitar, vocals * Todd Potter ‒ lead guitar, vocals * David Fore ‒ drums, vocals

Current members

* Rod Prince ‒ guitar, lead vocals * Mark Miller - guitar, vocals * Jimi Umstattd ‒ bass, vocals * Gregg Stegall ‒ guitar, vocals * Randall Maxwell - drums, groove

Discography

Singles

Studio albums

* 1969: Bubble Puppy ‒ ''A Gathering of Promises'' (International Artists) * 1971: Demian ‒ ''Demian'' (ABC-Dunhill)

Live albums

* 1987: Bubble Puppy ‒ ''Wheels Go Round'' (One Big Guitar)

Compilation albums

* 2000: Bubble Puppy ‒ ''Hot Smoke'' (Actual Artists)

References

External links

bubblepuppy.com
Official Site
Bubble Puppy
on

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

* {{Authority control Musical groups from San Antonio Psychedelic rock music groups from Texas