Search - Jay & Techniques :: Apples Peaches & Pumpkin Pie

A Run-Of-The-Mill 60s Group

08/02/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"In the summer of 1967 there was such a plethora of similar sounding groups clamoring for attention that it was going take a real catchy tune to become noticed. Such was the case with Jay & The Techniques whose first big single for the Mercury subsidiary Smash, Apples, Peaches, Pumpkin Pie (b/w Stronger Than Dirt), rose to # 6 Billboard Hot 100 and # 8 R&B that September.



Unfortunately their bland sound wasn't enough to sustain a big following, nor was the fact that they were a racially-mixed group much of a novelty since that too had been done before (The Dell-Vikings and The Marcels for example). From Allentown, Pennsylvania, the group consisted of lead Jay Proctor, John Walsh, George Lloyd, Karl Landis, Chuck Crowl, Dante Dancho, and Ronnie Goosly.



Later in 1967 they had Keep The Ball Rollin' top out at decent # 14 Hot 100, and in 1968 produced two hit singles, Strawberry Shortcake (# 39 Hot 100 in February) and Baby, Make Your Own Sweet Music (# 64 Hot 100 in May).



That they stuck together more or less is evidenced by the fact that, in 1976, they made a brief return to the charts on the small Event label with Number Onederful which, b/w Don't Ask Me To Forget, just barely made the R&B Top 100, settling in at # 94 that February.



The quality of the CD is very good, and if you are - like me - a collector of charted singles from that era, this is the only CD that I know of which contains all their hits but one (the 1976 R&B entry)."