The roots of this album lie in a band formed by Californian teenagers Shaun and Danny Harris, together with their friend Michael Lloyd. Having joined forces with the much older Bob Markley (who paid for new equipment) in late 1965, they were renamed The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band, and issued some home recordings on the tiny Fifo label in early 1966. They soon won a contract with Reprise, though Lloyd was replaced by guitarist Ron Morgan. Their first proper album, Part One, was issued in February 1967, followed by Volume Two in November, but both sold poorly. Live work was hard to find and press interest was small, but Reprise still issued Volume III - A Child's Guide To Good And Evil in May 1968.
It was perhaps their best, but sales were still small, and they parted with the label following its release. Markley's weird lyrics and musical ineptitude had long frustrated the Harris brothers, and, given their lack of live work and record sales, they splintered at around the same time. Morgan went on to play with Three Dog Night and The Electric Prunes, while the Harris brothers got involved with The California Spectrum, who toured and issued a couple of rare 45s.
A living proved hard to make, however, and by 1969 the WCPAEB had reformed to make another LP, this time for the small Amos label (owned by Jimmy Bowen, co-producer of their early Reprise work). A strange blend of leftovers and newer tracks, with clear involvement from Michael Lloyd and Ron Morgan (neither of whom are shown on the cover), Where's My Daddy? was less adventurous and more pop-orientated than their previous efforts, but still contained intriguing and unsettling material. Upon its July release it sold no better than their previous LPs (and nor did a 45 pairing the title track and Free As A Bird). Bizarrely, the album also appeared in New Zealand.
Still searching for a hit, Markley convened the band (largely without Shaun Harris) once more that autumn to record a final LP, which appeared at the end of the year as Markley: A Group (with accompanying lyric insert). It contains some lovely songs, with delicate arrangements but Markley's insistence on naming the project after himself doomed it to abject commercial failure, and Lloyd (who'd arranged the deal with the small Forward label, an MGM subsidiary) has since said that he went along with the name change simply so as to be shot of him. Having produced obscure albums for JJ Light and Goodness & Mercy, Markley went on to become a considerable enigma.
By the mid-70s his interest in young girls had brought him to the attention of the police, and in ensuing years he seemingly lost his mind, shocking old acquaintances with his increasingly bedraggled appearance. By the late 1980s he was a physical ruin, going in and out of hospitals and asylums and totally unable to look after himself. To some it seemed like karma, though his unique combination of ambition and eccentricity made an major contribution to the remarkable music made by the various configurations of The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band.
Liner Notes
Tracks
1. Booker T. And His Electric Shock. (Bob Markley, Dan Harris) - 2:22
2. Next Plane To The Sun. (Bob Markley, Michael Lloyd) - 2:13
3. Markley - A Group. (Bob Markley, Dan Harris) - 2:44
4. Elegant Ellen. (Bob Markley, Dan Harris) - 2:18
5. Little Ruby Rain. (Bob Markley, Dan Harris) - 3:01
6. Message For Miniature. (Bob Markley, Michael Lloyd) - 0:26
7. Sarah The Bad Spirit. (Bob Markley, Dan Harris) - 2:35
8. Truck Stop. (Bob Markley, Dan Harris) - 3:19
9. Zoom! Zoom! Zoom! (Bob Markley, Dan Harris) - 2:11
10.Sweet Lady Eleven. (Bob Markley, Michael Lloyd) - 2:18
11.The Magic Cat. (Bob Markley, Dan Harris) - 2:58
12.Outside/Inside. (Bob Markley, Shaun Harris) - 2:39
Musicians
*Dan Harris - Vocals, Guitar
*Shaun Harris - Vocals, Bass
*Michael Lloyd - Vocals, Keyboards, Guitar
*Bob Markley - Vocals, Percussion
Related Acts
West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band
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