Psychedelic rock band formed in Los Angeles, 1966. Spun off from the folk-rock band Ashes, incl. John Merrill (guitar/ vocals), Alan Brackett (bass/ vocals), Barbara Robison (vocals), Spencer Dryden (drums) and Jim Cherniss (guitar/ vocals). Ashes recorded a 45 for Vault Records mid-1966, after which Dryden split to San Francisco to replace Skip Spence in Jefferson Airplane. Around this time Robison had given birth to a son (Scott) and Merrill had left for Europe, while Cherniss also parted ways with the group. Brackett then hooked up with a new guitarist named Lance Fent and a new drummer, Jim Voigt.
According to Alan Brackett: "I got together upon John's recommendation with Lance Fent and Jim Voigt and, with the help of Owsley, we learned 50 or so songs in one day and went out that night and got our choice of about three gigs in Hollywood. We played at the Sea Witch on Sunset Blvd. as the Crossing Guards. We were a power trio, and then John and Barbara joined back up with us and we changed our name to the PBC. The PBC was a name that Jim Voigt came up with-- actually it was the Peanut Butter Controversy originally, but we changed it to Conspiracy right away."
Their first release under their new moniker was the late-1966 gem "Time Is After You", a song they later re-visited on THE GREAT CONSPIRACY. Their new manager Billy James had already succeeded in getting the Rising Sons their deal with Columbia, and he made sure the PBC signed up with CBS after a bidding war ensued with Elektra. The debut 45 for the new label was the timely "It's a Happening Thing", produced by west coast studio impresario Gary Usher. The single cracked the KHJ "Boss 30" in February of 1967 and eventually became a regional hit, charting at 93 nationally. The follow-up single "Then Came Love" featured a magnificient lead vocal from Barbara Robison (or "Sandi Peanut Butter" as she was called at that time), but it failed to chart. However, the song is still notable for being one of the earliest (and best) attempts at symphonic rock music, predating the Beatles' SGT PEPPER'S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND.
The new band's debut LP, THE PEANUT BUTTER CONSPIRACY IS SPREADING, was also recorded with Gary Usher at the helm. During the sessions Gary called upon musicians such as Glen Campbell and James Burton to help bolster the sound, and the group later disavowed the record for that reason. Nevertheless, it stands as a fine relic from the early Flower Power era with strong original compositions by Merrill and Brackett, particularly the memorable "Most Up 'til Now" and the cautionary "Why Did I Get So High?" The album scraped the lower reaches of the Billboard Top 200, largely based on word-of-mouth surrounding the band's live shows. In the studio the Peanut Butter Conspiracy crafted intricate melodies with adventurous progressions that were by turns dark and optimistic. Their blend of male and female voices reminded many of the Mamas and Papas. They were at their best when they let Sandi Peanut Butter take center stage, conjuringing up dreamy psychedelic riffs around her soulful vocals. (Sandi could sound like Cher one minute and Cass Elliot the next; a very commercial sound for an underground band, but it worked.)
Their late '67 single "Turn On a Friend (to the Good Life)" again failed to chart, but overall they had still sold a fair amount of records for an American rock group of their time. With one album remaining on their Columbia contract, the PBC undertook recording sessions in New York and L.A. during the latter half of 1967. The result of these sessions was the late '67 GREAT CONSPIRACY album, hands down their finest work. This time the group played on every track and handled all the writing themselves. A national tour and the addition of new lead guitarist Bill Wolff (formerly of Sound Machine) had made the PBC a tighter unit instrumentally, and they were able to stretch out the arrangements accordingly. Among the best results were the gorgeous "Lonely Leaf", "Living, Loving Life", spacey "Too Many Do" and "Ecstacy". The lyrics could still be overreaching at times ("Firecracker sky / filled with roots of fusion / trash cans floating by / we're so far ahead we're losin'") but the songs were all melodically adventurous, running the gamut of chord changes and stops and starts. "Too Many Do" garnered significant FM airplay and was one of the first long cuts to be played on the radio. THE GREAT CONSPIRACY ultimately made it into the low 90s on the Billboard Pop Album chart.
The PBC played many high profile live shows in '67 and '68, including the famous Sky River Rock Festival in Sultan, Washington, and gigs at San Francisco's Fillmore and L.A.'s Whisky a-Go-Go. Brackett, Merrill and Robison also collaborated with producer/ arranger Stu Phillips, adding their trademark vocals to many of Phillips' movie scores. The group's final Columbia single was Brackett's kinetic "I'm a Fool", which found them moving in a more soulful direction with another stand out performance from Barbara. The 45 garnered extensive airplay on the west coast, but without much of a push from Columbia it could only chart as high as 125 on Billboard. Shortly after the "I'm a Fool" single had run its course, the group parted ways with Columbia.
Surfacing on the Warner subsidiary Challenge, with a revamped line-up featuring ex-Clear Light organist Ralph Schuckett and drummer Michael Ney (Stevens), the group recorded and released their final album FOR CHILDREN OF ALL AGES. The disc was written and conceived by Al Brackett without the assistance of John Merrill, though Merrill did play on it. The result was a hit-and-miss collection of white California soul, bolstered instrumentally by Schuckett's subtle B-3 fills. Explains Alan Brackett, "I had written a bunch of songs on (the most recent) tour and went into Hollywood Sound to record the demos for Four Star, my publisher. In the middle of this demo session, Dave Burgess-- VP and producer for Four Star on this session-- said, 'That sounds great! Bring in the eight track!' This was at the time when four track recording was just changing over to eight track, which was more expensive. All of a sudden we were making an LP. The tracks were sweetened and put out as the FOR CHILDREN OF ALL AGES LP on Challenge. This may explain to you why it was so different (from the other PBC albums)-- it was really just my songs and not really a planned PBC release."
Many of the album's highlights came courtesy of Barbara Robison, who was now no longer billed under her "Sandi Peanut Butter" alias. "It's Alright" and "Try Again" featured some of her most stunning leads. The new unit toured briefly, but to little avail. Like most of the other "food groups" of the 1960's (Strawberry Alarm Clock, Chocolate Watchband, Electric Prunes, Ultimate Spinach et. al.) as the novelty of their name wore off, good music couldn't overcome listener preconceptions in the face of a changing musical spectrum. They split up ca. 1970, with Merrill and Brackett continuing on in the business writing and producing for other artists. Robison toured with her new husband throughout the seventies to little recognition. Sadly, she passed away in 1988, ending any hopes of a full PBC reunion. We are also sad to report that original PBC drummer Jim Voigt passed away a couple of years ago.
