The Love Generation

If you were writing an episode of The Simpsons that called for a stereotypical 1960's hippie band singing about peace and love, you might easily come up with a group called the "Love Generation" singing a hit song called "Groovy Summertime", and laugh about it all day. You might even think about putting out a fake "Love Generation" album in the tradition of the Rutles and Spinal Tap, ripping off chords from early Beatles records or the Mamas and the Pappas along the way.

Yet here is the genuine article. I searched high and low for some clue that this record is someone's idea of a practical joke, but it appears they were serious when they made this thing. It's even on Liberty Records, a respectable label best know for giving us The Ventures. You might expect something like this to show up on one of those shoddy me-too record labels like Oscar Records, or perhaps the half-serious Buddah. But the folks at Liberty should have known better.

With song titles like "The Love In Me", "Meet Me At The Love-In", and "A Touch Of Love" (are you seeing a theme here?), it's hard to imagine even the most die-hard peacenik listening to this album without vomiting his organic brown rice all over the record player. In the title song, "Groovy Summertime", these guys leave nothing to chance, using the "g" word an amazing three times in the first four lines of the song: It's a groovy day, you're a groovy girl, throw your cares away, it's a groovy world. I can't wait until the weather warms up so I can pop this baby into the cassette player of my VW Beetle and head for San Francisco!

You don't have to like the tunes, just give them credit as ones from an innocent and often naive timeframe.
Certainly, the genre is light-years away from today's misogenic, bitter and cynical thug songs. (06-29-2008)

chotty says:
I am (almost) positive that The Cowsills did the Love American Style theme song! (11-20-2007)

Charlie (from Argentina) (charlie_ramella@yahoo.com.ar) says:
Great ... magnifics voices !!! Jhon & Tom the best singers in the world !!! I very big fan this Ray Conniff singers of the 70's!!!
"Tie a yellow ribbon round the ole oak tree"...fantastic Bahler Brother's verssion for Ray Conniff. (11-14-2007)

Jim (jim_p1953@yahoo.com) says:
I know I'm in the minority, but I didn't think the album was all that bad. I bought it just to have the "Montage from 'How Sweet It Is'", so if only for that song it was worth what I spent, but there are some other nice things on there. (07-12-2007)

Robin Stone (bricology@mail.com) says:
I'm surprised by the snarky comments here; perhaps few commenters have actually listened to this music. The Love Generation, at their best, were as good as just about any sunshine pop group, and better than most. I defy anyone to find fault with "Catchin' Up on Fun", "Love is a Rainy Sunday", "Montage" or "You".

When I first heard their album a couple of years ago, I had one of what I like to call a "Kites are Fun experience" -- which is to say, a rare, transcendent experience of reliving the best emotions of my boyhood in the late '60s/early-'70s, as exemplified by The Free Design.

Big props to Jim Wasson for his part in creating some great music. I wish there was a lot more like it. And to those who have dissed the young lady in the front of the picture -- don't be fooled by one bad photo; Miss Marilyn Miller was damned cute, as the pictures at http://www.cmongethappy.com/aguide/lovegeneration.html clearly show. (07-06-2007)

Kpaxoid says:
This album contains the very hard-to-find recording of the Montage from How Sweet It Is, authored by Jimmy Webb, and, it is very "Jimmy Webb". Owning a copy of this song is a must for all Webb fans, although in his book "Songsmith", Webb seems to be oddly ashamed of this song, which incidentally contains in the ending, a few bars from "Up, Up and Away".

In any case, this group definitely has "strong group vocals". You don't get much of that anymore. (07-04-2007)

scott says:
Wasn't the blond in orange Nico, fresh from her
gig with the Velvet Underground? I would swear
that this was Andy Warhol's idea of a very bad joke, to get back at Lou Reed......damn you, Mr. Warhol! (04-23-2007)

dragster says:
Hey, Groovy Summertime sounds like the Monkees meet Abba via Mamas and the Papas!!! Groooooooovy!! (02-09-2007)

Jim Wasson (j_w@earthlink.net) says:
Geeeez. After reading everybody's comments, I had to take an anxiety pill!!! I was a part of The Love Generation. What most of the comments suggest is that we copied everybody and everything that ever came after us. Well, think about it. When we started recording in 1967, (almost) none of the groups that you're comparing us to existed. We acutally did it FIRST. It's true that our "sound" seems to be a stereotype of the period, but keep in mind that we WERE that period! It's like listening to the Beatles today and saying they copied everybody that came after them. No, we weren't the Beatles, or anything close to them, but in 1967 there were very few groups like us.
(Yes, I know. We "groovied" ourselves silly, but that's what was happening at the time.) I wrote the lyrics to most of our songs and believe me, I didn't steal from anyone. By the way, I'm the one in glasses, in the PINK flowered shirt, leering over the shoulder of the blonde in orange. (11-27-2006)

jeff (jeff131@hotmail.com) says:
http://www.cmongethappy.com/aguide/lovegeneration.html
this is there home page! (07-21-2006)

Benlu 66 (neezerl@yahoo.com) says:
This kind of music (Up With People), these kinds of lyrics (it's a loving scene etc), are why a lot of heads today don't dig the 60s. (07-03-2006)

skunkgoddess (dont_fornicate_with_us@hotmail.com) says:
We were just talking about "See You at the Love-In" tonight which was preced by some other groovy tunes by "The Carrie Nations" Groovy great music!

Would luv to see a posting of "See You at the Love-In". Let me know if you do.

Peace baby (06-18-2006)

Robert Schotland (Dirojan@comcast.net) says:
I have the "Sundazed" cd reissue of this album and It's a great easy listener, but I recommened you listen to it only when you're alone. If you play it on your boombox in public or at a party for your friends, they'll think you're an oddball. The Bahler brothers & company would have better luck as the background singers for David Cassidy on the Partridge Family. So if you're a Partridge Family Fan, consider this an early P.F. project without David's involvement. (05-27-2006)

sebastian says:
Bah bah bah bah bah BAH,
bah bah bah bah BAH,
bah bah BAH,
BAH BAH,
bah BAH BAH BAH (02-28-2006)

Brett Blumfield (eeriemind@brettblumfield.com) says:
Has anyone ever tried to play Groovy Summertime backwards? It's even trippier than hearing it forwards...come to think of it, the tune even sounds the same. (12-11-2005)

Kevin says:
In addition to being the vocalists on the Partridge Family, and the other groups previously mentioned, these guys also sang the theme song for "Love - American Style" and were the Union Gap for Gary Puckett. (09-30-2005)

DICK TATER says:
I saw her again last night....OOPS! Wrong group again! (09-29-2005)

DICK TATER says:
BUH BUH BAH BUH BUH, Groovy, like far out, I mean like trippin' man, and uh, so what, what like was that song, man? (09-29-2005)

Jesus Christ says:
How'd ya think crappy Christian rock got started? (08-21-2005)

Alan (lionheart1957@excite.com) says:
The blending voices of the brothers Bahler is
one of a kind, and FANTASTIC. I of course discovered them doing the Partridge back-up, but
that just made me love their unique harmonies even
more. The Love Generation shows how it all began.
They also sang with Bobby Sherman, Davy Jones,
The Sugar Bears, The Difrancco Family, and MANY
more. When Ray Coniff "updated" his sound around
1972, these in-demand, talented brothers were
called to be the "new" Ray Conniff singers! I totally dig these awesome Bahler brothers!! (07-18-2005)

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