The obscure Southwest FOB climbed to #56 on the pop charts with their psychedelic hit “Smell of Incense”:
This cover of the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band tune by five high school pals from Dallas, Texas gained national exposure, and the kids released one album. They even opened some shows for a group that soon became much bigger – Led Zeppelin! But the band broke up, and Southwest FOB (which stood for ‘Free On Board’, don’t ask me why) was relegated to the Bargain Bins of rock history… almost. Two of the group’s members later became prominent in the 1970’s as one of that decade’s most boring soft-rock duos, England Dan and John Ford Coley:
Yes, the pair behind such snoozers as “Nights Are Forever Without You”, “We’ll Never Have to Say Goodbye Again”, and “Love Is the Answer” first hit it big with Southwest FOB. Should’ve stuck to psychedelia, boys!
Reblogged this on Through the Shattered Lens.
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oh my! Never heard of them or that weirdly not-so-good song, and I’m just guessing here, but I’m imaging their moms sewing their misshapen hipster outfits from a Simplicity pattern they got at the neighborhood Woolworths. Very strange, but still one of the best things I’ve seen today … thanks!
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