"Stoned Soul Picnic" is a 1968 song by

Laura Nyro Laura Nyro ( ; born Laura Nigro; October 18, 1947 – April 8, 1997) was an American songwriter, singer, and pianist. She achieved critical acclaim with her own recordings, particularly the albums ''Eli and the Thirteenth Confession'' (1968 ...

. The best-known version of the song was recorded by

The 5th Dimension The 5th Dimension is an American popular music vocal group, whose repertoire includes pop, R&B, soul, jazz, light opera, and Broadway. Formed as the Versatiles in late 1965, the group changed its name to "the 5th Dimension" by 1966. Betwee ...

, and was the first single released from their album of the same title. It was the most successful single from that album, reaching No. 3 on the U.S. Pop chart and No. 2 on the ''Billboard''

R&B chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...

. It became a

platinum record Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

. The song was composed and recorded by Nyro for her album ''

Eli and the Thirteenth Confession ''Eli and the Thirteenth Confession'' is the second album by New York City-born singer, songwriter, and pianist Laura Nyro, released in 1968. History Nyro premiered some of the songs that were to appear on the album at the 1967 Monterey Pop Fes ...

'', released in March 1968. According to

Marilyn McCoo Marilyn McCoo (born September 30, 1943) is an American singer, actress, and television presenter, who is best known for being the lead female vocalist in the group the 5th Dimension, as well as hosting the 1980s music countdown series ''Solid Gol ...

, it was producer

Bones Howe Dayton Burr "Bones" Howe (born March 18, 1933) is an American record producer and recording engineer who scored a string of hits in the 1960s and 1970s, often of the sunshine pop genre, starting in 1965 with The Turtles cover of Bob Dylan's "It ...

who suggested that it would be a good song for the 5th Dimension to cover. The group would go on to record several more hits with Nyro songs, including "

Sweet Blindness "Sweet Blindness" is a song written by Laura Nyro, released in 1968, and included on her ''Eli and the Thirteenth Confession''. Background The song was a drinking song that sounded old fashioned, noted for its rhythm changes as well as its brass ...

", "

Wedding Bell Blues "Wedding Bell Blues" is a song written and recorded by Laura Nyro in 1966. The best known version was a number one hit for the 5th Dimension in 1969. The lyrics are written from the perspective of a woman whose boyfriend has not yet proposed to ...

", " Blowin' Away", and "

Save the Country "Save the Country" is a song written by Laura Nyro, first released by her as a single in 1968. Nyro released another version of the song on her 1969 album '' New York Tendaberry''. Background Nyro was inspired to write the song after the June 5, 1 ...

". An instrumental version was recorded by jazz vibraphonist

Roy Ayers Roy Ayers (born September 10, 1940) is an American funk, soul, and jazz composer, vibraphone player, and music producer. Ayers began his career as a post-bop jazz artist, releasing several albums with Atlantic Records, before his tenure at Pol ...

and became the title track to his 1968 album. The word ''surry'', used frequently in the lyric (e.g. "Surry down to a stoned soul picnic"), is a

neologism A neologism Greek νέο- ''néo''(="new") and λόγος /''lógos'' meaning "speech, utterance"] is a relatively recent or isolated term, word, or phrase that may be in the process of entering common use, but that has not been fully accepted int ...

by Nyro; its meaning is unclear. The verb ''surry'' is spelled differently from the noun ''surrey'' (an old-time carriage). When asked by producer Charles Calello, Charlie Calello what the word meant, Nyro told him, "Oh, it's just a nice word." One possible meaning is that surry is a shortening of "let's hurry."

Personnel

Billy Davis Jr. Billy Davis Jr. (born June 26, 1938) is an American singer and musician, best known as a member of the 5th Dimension. Along with his wife Marilyn McCoo, he had hit records during 1976 and 1977 with "I Hope We Get to Love in Time", " Your Love", ...

Florence LaRue Florence LaRue (born February 4, 1942) is an American singer and actress, best known as an original member of the 5th Dimension. Early life LaRue was born in Plainfield, New Jersey, but moved to Glenside, Pennsylvania, when she was young. She ...

Lamonte McLemore Lamonte McLemore (born September 17, 1939) is an American vocalist, composer, and photographer. He was a founding member of The 5th Dimension, a popular vocal group of the late 1960s and early 1970s. McLemore married Lisa Harvey and had a daught ...

Ron Townson Ronald Townson (January 29, 1933 – August 2, 2001) was an American vocalist. He was an original member of The 5th Dimension, a popular vocal group of the late 1960s and early 1970s; he is the only original member of the group who is no longer l ...

Additional personnel *

Mike Deasy Michael William Deasy (born February 4, 1941) is an American rock and jazz guitarist. As a session musician, he played on numerous hit singles and albums recorded in Los Angeles in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. He is sometimes credited as Mike De ...

– electric guitar *

Joe Osborn Joseph Osborn (August 28, 1937 – December 14, 2018Hal Blaine Hal Blaine (born Harold Simon Belsky; February 5, 1929 – March 11, 2019) was an American drummer and session musician, thought to be among the most recorded studio drummers in the music industry, claiming over 35,000 sessions and 6,000 singles. ...

– drums, percussion *

Larry Bunker Lawrence Benjamin Bunker (November 4, 1928 – March 8, 2005) was an American jazz drummer, vibraphonist, and percussionist. A member of the Bill Evans Trio in the mid-1960s, he also played timpani with the Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestra. ...

– percussion *

Larry Knechtel Lawrence William Knechtel (August 4, 1940 – August 20, 2009) was an American keyboard player and bassist who was a member of the Wrecking Crew, a collection of Los Angeles-based session musicians who worked with such renowned artists as Simon ...

– piano *

Jimmy Rowles James George Hunter (August 19, 1918 – May 28, 1996), known professionally as Jimmy Rowles (sometimes spelled Jimmie Rowles), was an American jazz pianist, vocalist, and composer. As a bandleader and accompanist, he explored multiple styles in ...

– organ *The Sid Sharp Strings – string section *The Bill Holman Brass – horn section

Chart history

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Sampling and covers

Crystal Waters Crystal Waters (born November 19, 1961) is an American house and dance music singer and songwriter, best known for her 1990s dance hits " Gypsy Woman", " 100% Pure Love", and 2007's " Destination Calabria" with Alex Gaudino. All three of her s ...

sampled the song on her single " Ghetto Day" from her 1994 album ''Storyteller''. The British pop group

Swing Out Sister Swing Out Sister are a British pop group best known worldwide for the 1986 song " Breakout". Other hits include "Surrender", " Twilight World", " Waiting Game", and a remake of the Eugene Record soul composition "Am I the Same Girl?" Histor ...

included it on their 1997 album, ''

Shapes and Patterns ''Shapes and Patterns'' is the fifth studio album by British pop group Swing Out Sister. It was first released in Japan in March 1997 on Mercury Records, and in Europe and the United States the following year. Producer Paul Staveley O'Duffy, who ...

''. Afro-Celtic artist Laura Love recorded the song in 2000 for her album 'Fourteen Days.' It was also recorded by

Julie London Julie London (née Peck; September 26, 1926 – October 18, 2000) was an American singer and actress whose career spanned more than 40 years. A torch singer noted for her sultry, languid contralto vocals, London recorded over thirty albums ...

on her 1969 album ''

Yummy, Yummy, Yummy "Yummy Yummy Yummy" is a song by Arthur Resnick and Joey Levine, first recorded by Ohio Express in 1968. Their version reached No. 4 on the U.S. Pop Singles chart in June and No. 5 on the UK Singles Chart. It has since been covered by many ar ...

''; and by the

New York Voices New York Voices is a jazz vocal group that was founded in 1987 by Peter Eldridge, Caprice Fox, Sara Krieger, Darmon Meader, and Kim Nazarian. All except Krieger were members of an alumni group from Ithaca College that toured Europe in 1986. They ...

on their 2007 album ''A Day Like This''. It also appeared on the 2004 album '' Don't Talk'', recorded by British

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

singer Claire Teal. Singer-Songwriter

Jill Sobule Jill Sobule (born January 16, 1961) is an American singer-songwriter best known for the 1995 single "I Kissed a Girl (Jill Sobule song), I Kissed a Girl", and "Supermodel (Jill Sobule song), Supermodel" from the soundtrack of the 1995 film ''Cl ...

recorded it for release as a single in 2001. It also appears on the

Billy Childs William Edward Childs (born March 8, 1957) is an award-winning American composer, jazz pianist, arranger and conductor from Los Angeles, California, United States. Early life When he was sixteen he attended the Community School of the Performing ...

album '' Map to the Treasure: Reimagining Laura Nyro'' sung by

Ledisi Ledisi Anibade Young (; born March 28, 1972), better known simply as Ledisi, is an American R&B and jazz recording artist, songwriter, music producer, author and actress. Her name means "to bring forth" or "to come here" in Yoruba.Ledisi AllMusi ...

Chicano Batman Chicano Batman is an American band based in Los Angeles, California. Formed in 2008, the band is composed of Eduardo Arenas (bass, guitar, vocals), Carlos Arévalo (guitars, keyboards), and Bardo Martinez (lead vocals, keyboards, guitar). Curren ...

has a song with the same title on their 2014 album ''Cycles Of Existential Rhyme''.

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1968 singles Laura Nyro songs The 5th Dimension songs Songs written by Laura Nyro Psychedelic soul songs 1968 songs Song recordings produced by Bones Howe