The Lollipop Shoppe was an American garage rock band formed in

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...

, in 1966. In 1964, Fred Cole ( lead vocals) recorded his first single, a R&B original with a group known as the Lords, but the band proved to be short-lived, and in 1966, Cole formed the Weeds. The Weeds consisted of Cole, Eddie Bowen (

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 ...

), Ron Buzzell (guitar), Bob Atkins (

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 Tim Rockson ( drums). After releasing a single, "It's Your Time". on the local Teenbeat Club label, the group headed to San Francisco, where they had been promised a gig at the legendary Fillmore Auditorium. Upon arrival, however, they learned that nobody associated with the Fillmore knew anything about the gig. It was around this time that the band members, who were all of draftable age, decided to relocate to Canada. As it turned out, however, they only had enough gas money to make it to Portland, Oregon, where they began to perform on the local club circuit, gaining a cult following. The Weeds eventually attracted the attention of

Uni Records Uni Records (short for the label's legal name Universal City Records and rendered as UNI) was a record label owned by MCA Inc. The brand, which long featured a distinctive UNi logo, was established in 1966 in music, 1966 by MCA executive Ned Tanen ...

(a subsidiary of MCA), who signed the group to a recording contract. Without the knowledge or consent of the band their new manager, 'Lord' Tim Hudson, changed the band's name to The Lollipop Shoppe to assimilate into the trend of bubblegum pop music. The band's actual recordings, including the 1968

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...

'' Just Colour'', are in actuality a mix of garage rock and

psychedelia Psychedelia refers to the psychedelic subculture of the 1960s and the psychedelic experience. This includes psychedelic art, psychedelic music and style of dress during that era. This was primarily generated by people who used psychedelic ...

. The album and its single, "You Must Be a Witch" – later included on the compilation album '' Pebbles, Volume 8'' – are regarded as garage rock classics for its hard-edge musical stance, and is still prized by record collectors, though neither made the charts. Two of The Lollipop Shoppe's songs appeared in the film, '' Angels from Hell''. The group toured and released one more single, "Someone I Knew" b/w "Through My Window", before breaking up in 1969. They reunited as The Weeds for a 1971 single on the Portland, OR NWI label, "Stop" b/w "No Good News", but soon disbanded for the final time. All of the band's recordings have been reissued on the compilation, ''The Weeds – AKA The Lollipop Shoppe'', in 2007 on Way Back Records. Australian garage band

The Philisteins The Philisteins were a garage punk band formed in Hobart in 1985 as The Cheesemongers with a line-up including; Aydn Hibberd on guitar, vocals and harmonica; and Guy Lucas on guitar, vocals and organ. In 1986 Konrad Park joined on drums and the ...

covered "You Must Be a Witch" on their 1988 EP ''Bloody Convicts''. Pittsburgh garage band

The Cynics The Cynics are an American garage rock band from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The band, at the time consisting of guitarist Gregg Kostelich, drummer Bill Von Hagen, vocalist Michael Kastelic who joined in 1985, bass player Steve Magee, and keyboa ...

covered "You Must Be a Witch" on their 1993 LP ''Learn to lose''. Memphis synth punk band

Lost Sounds Lost Sounds was a rock band from Memphis, Tennessee. Starting in March 1999, the band was made up of Rich Crook on drums, Patrick Jordan on bass, Jay Reatard on synth, guitar and vocals, and Alicja Trout on synth, guitar and vocals. The band, ori ...

covered "You Must Be a Witch" on their 2000 LP ''Memphis Is Dead''. The

Black Lips Black Lips is an American garage rock band from Atlanta, Georgia formed in 1999. History The band formed in Dunwoody, Georgia after guitarist Cole Alexander and bassist Jared Swilley left the Renegades, and guitarist Ben Eberbaugh left the Rer ...

recently covered "You Must Be a Witch" during their ''Rhapsody Originals'' set.

Discography

Singles

As the Weeds * "It's Your Time" b/w "Little Girl" – Teenbeat Club TB-1006, 1966 * "Stop" b/w "No Good News" – NWI Records NWI-2784, 1971 As The Lollipop Shoppe * "You Must Be a Witch" b/w "Don't Close the Door" –

UNI-55050, 1968 * "Someone I Knew" b/w "Through My Window" – Shamley Records S-44005, 1969

Albums

* '' Just Colour'' – Uni Records UNI-73019, 1968 * ''The Weeds – AKA The Lollipop Shoppe'' – Way Back Records MMCD-66026, 2007

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lollipop Shoppe, The American psychedelic rock music groups Uni Records artists Musical groups established in 1966 Musical groups disestablished in 1969 1966 establishments in Nevada 1969 disestablishments in Nevada