Aspiring musician and scenester Bob Markley managed to join the group the Laughing Wind in exchange for his connections in the music industry and substantial bankroll.
The group was formed in August 1965 when Los Angeles playboy Bob Markley, a wealthy law graduate and adopted son of an oil tycoon, organized a party at his home in Beverly Hills.
Markley previously hosted the television program Oklahoma Bandstand in 1958, until he was signed by a Warner Bros. Records executive, and purchased a luxury mansion in Los Angeles.
[2][6][7] While attending the Hollywood Professional School, Lloyd befriended the Harris brothers, who recorded the regional hit "Ski Storm" with rival act the Snowmen.
In early 1965, Shaun Harris collaborated with Lloyd in his newly formed band the Rogues, releasing the Harris-Lloyd composition "Wanted: Dead or Alive", on Fowley's Living Legend label.
[9] Recordings made or produced by these pre-WCPAEB acts were collected years later on the compilation album, The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band Companion in 2011.
[10] Markley became motivated by the large crowd a rock band like the Yardbirds attracted, particularly the number of teenage girls, and proposed he would finance and secure a recording contract for the Laughing Wind, in exchange for his inclusion into the group.
[16] In a review of a gig in 1967, the Los Angeles Free Press commended the WCPAEB's musicianship, but was critical of Markley for his "hypster" attitude and non-rhythmic tambourine playing.
[16] Although his bandmates did not like his pretentious on and off-stage antics, Markley did manage to negotiate a three-album deal with talent scouts of Reprise Records who had attended WCPAEB's performances.
[18] Lloyd remained in Los Angeles and participated in a number of studio projects with Fowley and Mike Curb such as October Country, the Smoke, St. John Green, and the Fire Escape.
His departure was partly due to his disillusionment with the group, primarily with the WCPAEB's lack of success, and it served as a waiting period while his brother, Danny, was being treated for depression.
The group toured the Midwest with Markley's state-of-the-art light show, and released two singles in its brief recording career, "Sassafras" (the same version featured on Volume One) and a cover of the Left Banke's "She May Call You Up Tonight", none of which were met with much attention.
[2][22] When Harris returned to the WCPAEB in 1968, he touted a completely different line-up, and promoted the California Spectrum with his column in the teen zine Tiger Beat until the group disbanded sometime in early 1969.
[18] For the first time, each track was credited either in whole or in part to members of the WCPAEB; however, Markley's manic narratives and questionable lyrical content (particularly young girls) dominate the record.
2 (Breaking Through) also features the anti-war song "Suppose They Gave a War and No One Comes", the full version of "Smell of Incense", and a rare instance of Markley singing is found on "Unfree Child".
[25] Band biographer Tim Forster described Volume 3 as the group's "most extraordinary achievement", one which utilized a "bizarre fusion of innocence and malice" heavily affected by the "exuberance of the British Invasion, folk rock, and flower power-era" being "swept away in a tide of bad drugs, paranoia, and protest".
[29] The album loosely possessed the components of a concept piece, narrated through the eyes of a young homeless girl named "Poor Patty" as she journeys through the chaos of post-Summer of Love Los Angeles.
However, Where's My Daddy?, as well as its accompanying single "Free as Bird", failed to reverse the WCPAEB's commercial fortunes, and it is regarded by critics and fans as the group's most lackluster album release.
The album benefited from the full involvement and production experience of Lloyd, who sang the majority of the lead vocals, provided keyboards, and organized the orchestral arrangements.