Hot Smoke and Sasafrass - Bubble Puppy (1968)

[flydadj]

I was 15 when this came out....wow great memories!!!

[shellybellysf]

No this was 69..love the shot with the Funkadelic in Detroit. Makes sense

[shellybellysf]

I too remember having this on 45 in 68. This was real big in Detroit CKLW WABX played this a lot . Killer tune

[HonkIfYouLoveHonking]

With a name like Bubble Puppy they had to be good.

[sunshinesintx]

I was fortunate enough to grow up in Austin and got to see these guys at the Vulcan Gas Company. Bubble Puppy...Shiva's Headband...The 13th Floor Elevators. Oh what fun we had there. The light shows on the walls were fantabulous!

[mlong1954]

@sunshinesintx I had forgot all about The Vulcan Gas Company and Shiva's Headband, Been too long, and memory impaired for some reason...=)

[mickeymousebiker1]

Gosh. I remember buying this one on a 45. Where's the Way-Back Machine? I wanna go back! Anyone remember the tune, Apricot Brandy, by Rhinoceros?

[YRSAL]

Super !

[Civitatuccillo]

After listening to rap crap that I cant escape, this song is like "dying and going to heaven" but, oh well, I was young once and I suppose folks thought this music was driving them nuts,

At least for a few minutes, I remember my youth, being out with the boys, raising hell, and enjoying life

[TheOneartist]

@Civitatuccillo The difference with rap and mainstream pop, though, is that people of all ages hate it. I'm 18, and never did like it.

[georgiestar1]

I think this was recorded at the Vulcan Gas Company in Austin, Texas by Bill Josey.

[Louie1157able]

Bubble freakin Puppy! Don't mind me...I'm having flashbacks

[chickenwretch]

This song was always familiar but never knew who did it. Too bad there aint sounds out there like this, a real theme.

[col1rbtx]

I'd say that this group was very close to what was happening in 1968. There's a

little Hendrix band influence and it's a very good arrangement. There's no comparison between this and the 13th Floor

Elevators band that recorded on the same label in Houston. Bubble Puppy is it!

[coachbk1]

never heard this song before. I've seen the title listed and that it was a hit, but I have no memory of ever hearing it. Competent, but nothing great in my opinion.

[Louie1157able]

@coachbk1 What?? No wonder you don't get it...this ain't "competent" dude, this is Killer! It was years ahead of it's time. Intense shit back when I first hear the song (mid '70s) and, at least to me, still is.

[djepsonatmastnet]

I used to try to find the best radio (only AM then) I could and listen to the transistor radio under my pillow and went to sleep with it on. On cold winter nights could pick up WLS in Chicago (I was in KC), or a station in Des Moines that was good at night. Loved it. Remember well when this song came out, it was my favorite when I first heard it and still one of my top favorites now. Bubble Puppy and Blue Cheer, nice quiet music, just like the country music my dad wanted met to listen to then.

[dfailing1]

It is awesome..I have Their nearly mint album..A Gathering Of Promise

[twoangels100]

did Ted Franklin ever play with you guys and if so when and for how long? by chance did he ever record this song with you?

[kevtruth]

the 5 dislikes should go listen to some Barry Manilow

[pmccachren]

@kevtruth

Awsome song! I haven't heard this since Jr. High. Totally cool that I found this.

[ThrowMeAPillow]

reminds me of Yess; no?!

[takemeback2]

This was played ALOT back then. It's rockin' good.

[scotsmanlerxt]

I didn't know this band existed; very cool.

[longfootbuddy]

instruments sound good

[ultrakool]

don't bogart that joint

[unklewink]

I think this song was the start of what we now call heavy metal. Comments (?)

[Blackwood260]

@unklewink I'd say the band Blue Cheer was the start

[unklewink]

@Blackwood260 You could be right, though I think of Cheer as more leaning towards the psychedelic. HSAS for me had the more definitive sound that was a precursor to what became heavy metal. Thats just IMHO.

[asterius909]

This whole album is amazing.Most of the songs are even better than this one.

[PRIVATEAYEIEYE]

This knocked my prepubescent dick into the dirt when I first heard it.

The flip side, "Lonely" has some great proto-Allman Bros dual lead work as well.

The rest of the LP? Let's just say it typified an era...

[wasthere1]

Have the 45. No I don't think it sounds so much like Funk 49. A nice jam. And good to see up here.

[wonderlin1]

GARAGE - PSYCHEDELIC - long hair, one hit wonders?, was a hit on the AM radio stations - GROOVY

[chickenwretch]

this sounds like puppy gut carpet suck.

[NilezII]

Ah this almost-forgotten song! The drumming kicks ass-this is like the tuff side of psychedelia.

[Civitatuccillo]

can't get enough!!!!!

[dangers386]

gibson rules big ass geetar

[Aldebaron9]

@dangers386  I'm sorry, did you say FENDER ?????

[SuperMegaUberGenius]

this is funk 49

[flossflink]

best rock song ever!

[jkgramps]

How many of you remember this "blast from the past"? I have the '45'.

[HEARTHEANGELSVOICES]

DID JOE WALSH RIP THESE GUYS OFF WITH FUNK #49 ? WHAT CHEW THINK BOYS & GIRLS?

[starbearry]

I had this on a 45 when I was in 1st grade. I played it til I wore it out. Wish I still had it. Cant remember the B side...anybody?.....anybody?..­..... Bueller?

Oh wait, now theres a Bubble Puppy website? You gotta be effin kiddin me! Youtube really does rock!

[bucky468]

Sounds like The Who.

[Sternodox]

God, this song COOKS!!!!

[griffinmatter]

Awesome song. The whole album is great.

I remember calling a record store that sold old albums, and he said he didn't have it, but if he did, it would cost $300 dollars.

It's cool that I was able to buy the cd for $13 diollars later. lol

[216missmary]

@griffinmatter I have the 45!

[evets530]

Is this in 7?

[bubblepupAMY]

Bubble Puppy is having a reunion show @ Threadgills in Austin TX June 4th 2011!!!! I think it is going to be an awesome show!! They are older and wiser now but can still rock with the best of 'em!!

[centerforce2]

I ♥ Sassafras.

[forumghost1]

clotho98 Can't beleive I'm hearing this! It's still awesome, and exactly how I rembered it (since it is embedded in one of the few brain cells I have remaining from all that time ago!) Thanks!

[barukanaka]

IM Paco Rubio, And my grandma was afriend of George Rareys mom, my friend from one of the best rock groups in Austin Tex, in my youth, and in one of their rehersals i took some mexican beer, etc. and tod played a Mexican toon, acording to him that said:

Maria, Maria, pass me some tequila PORFAVOR.........

A Super good texan rock group. Is someone still around there?

I helped you chasnge home to a floating house in lake Travis, wow, what memories.

[annikastarr]

groovy baby

[Joannegmurphy]

Man, I thought I was the ONLY ONE who rememberered this one! Thanks for uploading.

[fafsa89]

Great tune. Excellent Texas psych

[paulgad]

This song came out the year i was born, and I am glad I missed it. i guess you had to be there kind of thing. i just hear a sports radio announcer, in the Providence RI., area say he wishes this was their theme song, so i kept repeating bubble puppies all the way home, and i am sorely dissapointed. BOOOOOOOOO Mother fucking hooooooooooooo

[mikeyz124]

@paulgad HAHAHA... I did the same thing... I love Planet Mikey... but i think he was a little off on this one.. Not as bad as you thought, but i wont be adding it to my i-tunes for sure... Go Red Sox!!!

[paulgad]

@mikeyz124 Yup, I love Planet Mikey too. He was waaay off, I agree. GO SOX!!!!!!!!!!

[wouldntyoulike2know]

I do love this song. :)

[saabturbografx]

In the mist of sassafras Many things will come to pass And the smoke shall rise again To the place above where it began Time will bring the fire and flame As surely as it brought the rain But in the gardens of the moon Time is held within the silver spoon If you're happy where you are Then you need not look too far If you've found your place at last Then you need not use the looking glass

[PorroFirst]

Intro: primitive version of System of a Down's "War".

[MelissaBrookeEstrada]

Roy Cox is an amazing man and i have had the pleasure to play gigs with him and learn from him (: Oh and live right down the road from him! Love you Roy Man! come over soon!!

[fleekawadog]

This tune jams, Haven't heard this since 1973 when I was in kindergarten. My mom used to play this on the Hi-Fi. I swear I thought this was "Yes" till around 1980. Now that I've heard it today, that's not Jon Anderson. I guess my mom always played Yes and in between must have played this. THANKS FOR POSTING!!

[DaDa2Phlux]

Hey they beat Focus to the endless repetitive riff

[notfragile33]

Man, I KNOW it had to have been EXTREMELY difficult to be a hippie AND a native Texan back in the day, when everyone else desiring to join the counterculture like Janis, Meat Loaf, etc was fleeing for the West Coast and ACCEPTANCE! Somehow, the likes of them, Bloodrock, and ZZ TOP managed to stay and survive. I suppose they quickly learned what it was like to be black in the South!

[jdmfonte]

I saw these guys open the show for SPIRIT at a place that was then the PusiCat bar San Antone Tx. December, 1968. They blew everyone off the stage.

[kevhead66]

@jdmfonte sounds like a great show. I was 2 at the time lol

[beegeelovessurf]

Usually beat "Incense and Peppermint" in the San Diego radio battle of the bands in early 1968.

[TheStatue1]

I'm a 63 old hippie sympathizer and this song still sounds as fresh and great as when I first heard it back in good ole' 1969.

[flyinv1967]

@TheStatue1 Right on a hippie i'll always be too hasta la vida que viene

[jodonte1]

man... talk about the shit that made me rock out at 11 yrs. old .. finding this song is like fucking for the first time.....thanx.....

[Jimboyc21]

As an "senior" member of this Internet gen I must say that it is a good thing that we keep the music of my and all generations alive. That is a good thing. This song was way off the charts and way different even back then, but was a must have 45 in the collection. Yes the times were a changing and these guys helped push the envelope. Thanks!

[novaflo339]

taste it.

[rathert3]

Texas psych at its best. Long live the Lone Star State!

[spacepatrolman]

@rathert3 there have been many musicians from texas that are great johnny winter buddy holly bobby fuller roy orbison the bubble puppy sounds like a texas group from san fransisco

[flydadj]

Brings back the memories!! Kennedy High in Willingboro, class of '71.

[homemoviescolorado]

Song title taken from an expression used by Granny on the Beverly Hillbillies

[sexypsuedonym]

agreed!!!! Amazing. Helped make those years tolerable.

[RedVynil]

Now you need to post, "I, You", by The Rugbys!!!! It's a PERFECT follow-up with this song!!!!

[ZSOSER69]

Saw the Puppy when this album had just come out. They were the warm up band for Steppenwolf in Albuquerque NM. Great concert. I think the tickets were about $5.00.

[LuvIzAhl]

Haven't heard this for forever, man. We all loved it, way back when....

[kygent508]

I remember this! I might even have this on a 45.

[ZedPusley]

A great great song way ahead of it's time. Still rocks!!

[JHallia]

@ZedPusley I agree, it's almost like an early prog/metal song. I loved this record as a kid, it still sounds quite amazing.

[mlatessa41]

When music was really cool.

[mitch222ful]

I had my 1st band in 68 I ws 14 this song ws harder than it sounds.Its like drag raceing now u hve nitrous & all this tech. but back then it ws all MOTOR & F@!#*&ING TALENT. (And thats all I hlf to say about that ) THANK U FORREST GUMP!

[mlbinseattle]

I remember this as a kid. It's definitely a lost classic of the era. Bubble Puppy was about as close as an American band could come to the British psychedelic bands that appeared during the mid-60's (in my opinion).

[USAStratMike]

When I had this record, I know I played the first 30 seconds of the song a couple hundred times. The guitar feedback was new to me and I loved it!

[rathert3]

A classic single that should have made Bubble Puppy world famous and wealthy. Despite all odds it hit the top 15 despite International Artists best efforts to give the song no support whatsoever or an album to tour along with this great single. A great twin guitar band. Cloned into Demian and released one album before calling it a day for many years.

[mitch222ful]

@rathert3 But back then It wsn't about the money It ws about the music & their fans.

[bwanna23]

Austin in the mid-sixties with Bubble Puppy, 13th Floor Elevators and who knows who else, carved its psychedelic niche deep in the heart of Texas. Nothing like psychedelic cowboys and cowgirls!

[SuperGogetem]

Wow, this does remind me a lot of Yes.

[1969alias]

I saw Bubble Puppy at Love Sreet, 67",I think ...They blew me away. Of course Hot Smoke was the hit, but Begenning was my favorite. Later when they became Demian, then Sirius, I invited them to come to my radio program on K.P.F.T., and they stayed most of the night...Not quite sure what kept us awake...I still see Todd occasionally, and I'm looking for David Fore..if you're out there,message me. Alias

[akenaton97]

Gran banda

[lindaharris26]

great tune...and great flashback! i remember hearing this on the big-8..cklw windsor-detroit! thanks for posting this! russ

[JWirtel]

Was Nick their Mgr.?

[willgonow]

thx 4 this !!!

[Doobie1975]

Great song, I'm glad this song made the Top 20, I only wish it would get some heavy classic rock airplay, I love 60s acid rock

[notfragile33]

late 60s Texas rock--, like this, Bloodrock and very early ZZ Top reminds me of Steppenwolf for some reason.

[TheMadcapPiper]

well their manager was in Steppenwolf...

[notfragile33]

I might also add in a dash of early Deep Purple with the vocal harmonies of the Amboy Dukes--I was not surprised at all to learn that Rod Evans and Captain Beyond covered this jam

[bigroy38]

Todd's a great friend.

[MISSEDHERSIR]

jimmy page ripped this one off as well!!!!!

[MLGxSLasH]

what a fkn' riff OMG

[apple1953]

Great 1 hit wonder!

[kngofqns]

yeaa rating #68 (1968) :) what a time of changing soundsz! :)

[syr1811]

This song blew me away when I heard it in '68. It actually got played on AM radio for a while.

[6motion6]

I thought the same thing when I heard it in "68. AM radio programming was much better back then.

[Lunacyk]

Holy shit! The other dudes in the photo with them were early Parliament Funkadelic! RIGHTEOUS!!

[Lunacyk]

11 dudes in that one shot LOL. More than Mr. Bungle, Slipknot or Oingo Boingo haha. I digress though, great stuff like this never gets play on radio. It really needs to, because so many bands were around back then playing great stuff!

[wallyho58]

I always thought the name ''Bubble Puppy'' was a jab at'' Puppy Love/Bubble Gum Music'' . I guess I'm wrong , but the music right!!

[goingdownhill1]

I believe that in 1970 they switched their name to Demian just 'cause people thought they were playing "bubblegum" music

[MattHatter]

@wallyho58: Actually it says in my CD that they got the name from Huxley's book "Brave New World" in which a game called "Bumble Puppy" was mentioned. They were tripping on acid while reading passages from the book and just changed it to "Bubble Puppy."

[wallyho58]

Thanks 4 the low down on that. I'll now be searching for the offical rules to play ''Bumble Puppy''!!

[xarton5]

so few people know this song, or even this genre of music and i can't imagine my life w/o songs like this

[tittle14]

I have this album. We listened to it over and over back in the 'good ol' hippie days.

I thought they were from Houston though.

[MattHatter]

@tittle14: They moved to Houston to record after they built up their fan base in Austin.

[mossmanism]

bubble puppy will live gain

[anorak52]

this song is bad ass!

[Spartacus2008]

This came out when I was in 6th grade..I still have the original 45 !  as you see in the video with the yellow

international artists label....brings back great memories

[w4kwd]

I have this track on 45.

[PythonNF]

Pictures of Matchstick men was by Status Quo and later covered by Camper Van Beethoven

[Danimalization]

actually i think Machstick men was Small Faces with steve marriott I remember this song though along with amboy dukes with Ted Nugent all hot hits in the late 60's such a furtile period for these types of songs there's hundreds of them

[Bobjb999]

Ya gotta love YT! Where else to find this song - one I knew when it was a '68 hit, but literally haven't heard in near -on 40 years till today! In '68, 2 guys I hung out with had 2 fave songs, "Hot Smoke", and the Amboy Dukes' "Pictures of Matchstick Men". Among other things they dug the bass on Hot Smoke (Quote: "That song's so BASS!").

-'Fraid it's yet another great song inexplicably  blacklisted by fascistic oldies radio formaters. F*** those idiots,

& DEATH to crap commercial radio!

[Bobjb999]

Oops, maybe it was Status Quo who did Pictures of Matchstick Men...I think Amboy Dukes' "Journey to the Center of the Mind" was a 3rd fave Top 40 single among my young pals in '68.

All 3 are great songs that still stand up today!

[Connerysr11]

Thanks!!

[stuartcoyne85]

ive got a heavier version in some psych compilation cd its pretty cool...well surprised to see this!

[urheadonastick]

I know great-this is great-

[niniamakwa]

I've got one of the original promo copies that were sent out to the radio stations, I was just a kid and worked at the Local FM album rock station, one of the djs gave me all kinds of promos. Dr John was his call name.

[Geraldolini]

rembered this as soon as I heard the intro.. must have heard this only a couple of times back in 68

[cedarvalley]

One last comment here. Does anyone know who did the song 12 oclock high by the Fergeson Tractor. Been looking for another 40 years.

[cedarvalley]

What a cool song. I always wanted to know who the band was. Tried to find this signal for years. Thank you YouTube. Now I finally know after 40 years who the band was that did this cool great neat song.

[clyde8her]

Check out the Kustom amp in one of the photos...

[ecajja]

wore this 45 out back in Asbury Park NJ every band I was in did this song.

[phused]

I lived in Wilmington, NC in 1968 and this song played regularly on the local AM radio station and totally rocked my little world. It was one of the only 45s I ever bought, the other one was "Magic Carpet Ride" by Steppinwolf. facelesshorseman mentioned Cream... I can remember my friends thinking I was nuts for putting out "big bucks" to buy the double album "Wheels of Fire."

[wfarnaby]

All I can say is "great minds think alike" !

[1963carman]

I remember buying this on a 45...wore it out

[tlcompanion]

Far out ....awesome sound...

[Trying00]

I was working for a radio station when this came out.....they freaked....didnt know whether to play it or not...LOL...needless to say it went on to become a great oldie

[thimoneus]

That is a really good song, but it is very obscure. I am a classic rock fanatic, but I never would have heard of that song if I didn't just happen to come across it on a rare compilation CD somebody I barely knew played one time. I am very glad I discovered it.

[kevhead66]

@thimoneus Its mind blowing how vast rock music is. you think you've heard all the classics and along comes this gem right under my nose.

[jxeyes]

@kevhead66 Its mind blowing how vast *ALL* music is.

FTFY

[Kirke182]

One of the original metal tunes although everything else I've heard from them was pretty tame in comparison. I wished they'd explored that hard edge a bit more.

[sweetytwome2]

this band was so underappreciated.

so together, so intune with each other.

too bad i think this the only album they ever made. very tight playing.

our loss.

[facelesshorseman]

On my first unrestricted visit to a record store I bought:

Hot Smoke and Sassafrass/Lonely ...Bubble Puppy

Over Under Sideways Down/Happenings Ten Years Time Ago...Cream

Pretty good for a Cub Scout!

"Lonely" has some very Allmanesque guitar work, and is worth a listen.

[facelesshorseman]

Crap! Yardbirds! I meant Yardbirds!

Brain fart!

[joedoors]

thanks 2009 , wow

[record1207]

Very cool song! Do not know if they got much cooler in 68. This was Hard rock. Blew everyones minds or sent them running for the exits! (Pussy's). Great post.

[jofordj]

Is it just me, or does this sound like J. H. Experience meets Yes?

[gothsdontcry]

Bubble Puppy,Status Quo,Amboy Dukes Blue Cheer-------acid rockers from the '60's,rock on

[Billykid514]

see my website for updated ROY COX

[020338]

Cool song, cool pictures!