The Peanut Butter Conspiracy

The Peanut Butter Conspiracy was an American, Los Angeles-based, psychedelic pop/rock group from the 1960s. The band is known for lead singer Barbara Robison and for briefly having Spencer Dryden of Jefferson Airplane as a band member. History The band formed in Los Angeles in August 1966 from the folk rock group "The Ashes", which included John Merrill (guitar/vocals), Barbara "Sandi" Robison (vocals), Alan Brackett (bass/vocals), Spencer Dryden (drums), and Jim Cherniss (guitar/vocals). The group had earlier been known as The Young Swingers, who released two obscure singles. The Ashes released a first single on the Vault label in February 1966, "Is There Anything I Can Do?", written by Jackie DeShannon. Dryden left The Ashes (May 1966) to replace Skip Spence in Jefferson Airplane, Robison left (June 1966) to give birth, and the group temporarily disbanded. Alan Brackett hooked up with a new guitarist, Lance Baker Fent, and a new drummer, Jim Voigt, naming the new trio "The Crossing Guards". Merrill and Robison rejoined and the five-piece band became The Peanut Butter Conspiracy. The group signed with Columbia Records in late 1966, releasing a single "It's A Happening Thing" produced by Gary Usher. It reached number 93 on the national pop chart. The band's first album, The Peanut Butter Conspiracy Is Spreading, followed. It was also produced by Usher, who brought in studio musicians including Glen Campbell and James Burton to bolster the group's sound. The album charted at number 196 on the Billboard 200. Their late 1967 single "Turn On a Friend (to the Good Life)" also failed to chart. However, they toured nationally with a new guitarist, Bill Wolff, and recorded a second album for Columbia, The Great Conspiracy. The group recorded songs for movies, including Angels from Hell, Run Angel Run, Jud, Cherry Harry and Raquel, Hell Ride, 2000 Years Later, and Beyond the Valley of the Dolls. In 1968, they moved to the Warner Bros. Records subsidiary label Challenge with a revamped line-up featuring ex-Clear Light organist Ralph Schuckett and drummer Michael Ney (Stevens). They recorded their final album, For Children of All Ages, written and conceived by Brackett, in 1969. Meanwhile, Merrill had reformed a version of Ashes, whose only LP was eventually released in 1970 on the Vault label.