Rainy Daze

Psychedelic pop combo the Rainy Daze formed in Denver, CO, in 1965. Comprised of singer/guitarist Tim Gilbert, his brother Kip on drums, lead guitarist Mac Ferris, bassist Sam Fuller, and keyboardist Bob Heckendorf, the group started as little more than a covers act, nevertheless parlaying a string of frat party gigs into a local television appearance that reportedly caught the attention of famed producer Phil Spector, who extended a management contract. A massive publicity campaign was in the planning stages when the spectacular failure of his magnum opus, Ike & Tina Turner's "River Deep, Mountain High," left Spector's career in shambles; the Rainy Daze were among the collateral damage, and only in 1967 did their debut single, "That Acapulco Gold" -- written by Tim Gilbert in collaboration with his college roommate John Carter -- appear on Denver producer Frank Slay's Chicory label. When the single caught fire locally the fledgling UNI label snapped up national distribution rights, but with "That Acapulco Gold" at number 70 on the Billboard charts, the bottom fell out. Once radio programmers finally intuited the song's pro-marijuana content, it was pulled from play lists coast to coast. The Rainy Daze quickly resurfaced with "Discount City," which went nowhere. The follow-up, "Fe Fi Fo," was quickly deleted and reissued under the new and improved title "Blood of Oblivion," even securing a U.K. release but still failing to crack pop radio. After an LP, That Acapulco Gold, and a Tim Gilbert solo single, "Early October," UNI dropped the group. However, by this time Gilbert and Carter were earning notice as a crack songwriting duo, and via Slay earned a crack at revamping a demo track cut by an unknown psych-pop outfit known as Thee Sixpence. Gilbert and Carter added...