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Cover of The Lemon Pipers' record "Green Tambourine."

The Lemon Pipers were a 1960s bubblegum/psychedelic pop band from Oxford, Ohio, known chiefly for their song "Green Tambourine", which reached number one in the United States in 1968.

The band was made up of singer Ivan Browne (b. 1947), guitarist William Bartlett (b. 1946) (subsequently of Ram Jam), keyboardist Robert G. "Reg" Nave (b. 1945), drummer William Albaugh (1948-1999) and bassist Steve Walmsley (b. 1949). Many of the group's songs were written by Shelley Pinz and Paul Leka, though Bartlett contributed several.

Though remembered primarily as a bubblegum pop group, the Lemon Pipers actually wanted to play more psychedelic, drug influenced music. Their label Buddha Records, however, threatened to fire them unless they played more mainstream, commercially viable pop. Several of the tracks on their Green Tambourine album show strong influences of folk rock, among other things, showing that the band wasn't completely the pop outfit it appeared to be.

The band eventually did gain artistic control over their work, but by this time they had all but faded into obscurity.

Drummer Bill Albaugh died on January 20, 1999 at age 53.

• Quiet Please / Monaural 78 -- Carol 107 -- 1966
• Turn Around And Take A Look (#132) / Danger -- Buddah 11 -- 10/67
• Green Tambourine (#1) / No Help From Me -- Buddah 23 -- 12/67
• Rice Is Nice (#46) / Blueberry Blue -- Buddah 31 -- 3/68
• Jelly Jungle (Of Orange Marmalade) (#51) / Shoeshine Boy -- Buddah 41 -- 5/68
• Wine And Violet / Lonely Atmosphere -- Buddah 63 -- 1968
• Hard Core / Rainbow Tree -- Buddah 124 -- 1969
• I Was Not Born To Follow / Rainbow Tree -- Buddah 136 -- 1969

• Green Tambourine (#90) -- Buddah BDM-1009 (Mono)/BDS-5009 (Stereo) -- 2/68

Rice Is Nice / Shoeshine Boy / Turn Around And Take A Look / Rainbow Tree / Ask Me If I Care / Straglin' Behind / Green Tambourine / Blueberry Blue / The Shoemaker Of Leatherwear Square / Fifty Year Void / Through With You

• Jungle Marmalade -- Buddah BDM-1016 (Mono -- promotional release only)/BDS-5016 (Stereo) -- 1968

Jelly Jungle / I Was Not Born To Follow / Everything Is You / Catch Me Falling / Hard Core / Love Beads and Meditation / I Need Someone (The Painter) / Lonely Atmosphere (mistitled as "Mirrors" on the album cover) / Wine And Violet / Dead End Street/Half Light

• Green Tambourine: The Best Of The Lemon Pipers -- Buddha 99798 -- 2001

Green Tambourine / Rice Is Nice / Shoeshine Boy / Rainbow Tree / Blueberry Blue / The Shoemaker Of Leatherwear Square / Jelly Jungle (Of Orange Marmalade) / Everything Is You / Love Beads and Meditation / Catch Me Falling / I Was Not Born To Follow / Wine And Violet / Dead End Street/Half Light

• AMG overview
• Classicwebs
• The Lemon Pipers (a fan site)

http://home.comcast.net/~bubblegumusic/lemon.htm