Aaron, this has so many layers to it. What a rare find! 1. Did you notice the interaction between John Pollard and Frank when they bump into each other! Not a lot of affection there! LOL! This clip really shows how dancers jockeyed for position in front of the cameras. I love the way John Pollard is the only one that picks up on the real ending of "I&P" after the fake one and jumps into hyperdrive. 2. Look at me moping around in the stands! Yikes! I am obviously not happy unless I am dancing! Or, I was thinking about my upcoming summer school wishing I could go to the beach! This is proof that I could be a wallflower. I spotted a glimpse of my sister, Dona, dancing with Frank. 3. "Incense and Peppermint" was a surprisingly risky song for Rate a Record! Not a typical bomb with no substance. I don't know if Dick really even listened to the lyrics: Good sense, innocence, cripplin' mankind Dead kings, many things I can't define Occasions, persuasions clutter your mind Incense and peppermints, the color of time Who cares what games we choose Little to win, but nothing to lose Incense and peppermints, meaningless nouns Turn on, tune in, turn your eyes around Look at yourself, look at yourself, yeah, yeah Look at yourself, look at yourself, yeah, yeah, yeah, no To divide this cockeyed world in two Throw your pride to one side, it's the least you can do Beatniks and politics, nothing is new A yardstick for lunatics, one point of view 4. Question of the day: Happy go lucky "Summer of Love" just beginning and expressed outwardly by some, circuitously by others. Aaron, the dancers picked up on the "Trip" line as well evidenced by their vocal reaction to it which went right over Dick's head. Innocence was slipping away as the world was rapidly changing around us. One answer that stood out to me but received no reaction: Stan: "service" with a little wince. Off to Vietnam. I remember saying goodby to quite a number of friends that summer as they turned 18. "Old enough to fight, old enough to vote" was a slogan that helped fuel many protests throughout the country until July 1, 1971 when the voting age dropped from 21 to 18 as a result of the outrage. Thank you so much for posting this time capsule....it shows that we are not all perfect and innocent. Oh no! Bubble burst!

"I'm gonna take a trip... " .... That sure had a well understood double meaning in 1967.

Wow, the first Rate a Record (Incense & Peppermints) I actually enjoyed listening too. The kids liked dancing to it too. I give it a 95 in 2020.

strawberry alarm clock incense and peppermints was best rock pop singles from 1960s RIP Ed King who played guitar on that song he would later go on to the lynynd skynyrd co write sweet home Alabama

I met my first love on June 17, 1967 at a junior high graduation dance. We were both 15 and both fell in love at first sight. It is kind of cool to see that this episode was filmed that exact same day. Our first date was the following weekend and ironically enough we went to her girlfriends house and watched the Beatles televised event featuring the song "All you need is love". I have so many cool memories of the summer of love. This is as close to a time machine that we will ever get.

Hope the kid that went to Service made it alive and well

Let us not forget that the guitarist for Strawberry Alarm Clock was Ed King who later became one of the guitarists of Lynyrd Skynrd. RIP Mr. King

My best friend's older brother ran off to the Haight that Summer and got back in the Fall. It's cool these kids had not heard Incense & Peppermint a million times and did not know when it would end.

Incense and Peppermints would go on to top the Billboard Charts at #1 great song!

Did you hear when asking what they were going to do that summer? Some said they were going to Haight Ashbury in San Francisco. That's historical. '67 was the summer of love.

I was five in the summer of 1967. And after school I would go to a neighbors house to wait until my parents got home from work. I remember their teenaged kids playing this song over and over on their record player. I didn't really understand the song then, but I loved the sound!

He’s there!!!! And at number 1. The one, the only ..........Johnnnnnnnnnn Pollard. John Pollard, we love youuuuu!

This record was a huge hit for these guys!!! Everyone was into it!!

The generation of exceptional talent. Fantastic song, lyrics are stunning. Incense and peppermints.

They really responded well to the strawberry alarm clock. I never thought of it as a danceable song but they were kicking the jams out to that

wow..i didn't know that "Incense" was in rotation months earlier and the fella at 6:18 was definitely gettin' it!

All those plans for the summer of 67 bring to mind my own plans then. I played in the street all summer and was as happy as a lark just because school was out.

We loved this tune! I was 11 years old, always watched AB and wanted to be an AB dancer.

Man that guy in the glasses was dancing ! You go man!

I was born that summer! 🏖️ July 1st, to be exact. And so, my summer plans involved a lot of spitting up!

I immediately loved that song back then and to this day it’s my most fav psychedelic era top 40 smash!!!!

This was an enjoyable Rate a Record and my summer plans are to get a job and enjoy myself. All while listening to the oldies station on my AM dial.

Wow, going to Haight Ashbury....

...I'm in my 40's & this has always been one of my favorite songs! (Incense and Peppermints)

These were the days when everyone was happy....wish I was back there! I'd give ANYTHING to go back!

Good pick by the judges!

For sure "Incense and Peppermints" had a lot of local AM radio airplay prior to this RAR. Far out, bitchen, psychedelic! So many great Summer of '67 songs. Betcha pensive Peggy was not a happy camper not having a partner to dance with to The Strawberry Alarm Clock. Aaron, you needed to be there. You would have had a blast!

First time I heard Incense & Peppermints was at the skating rink with the lights flashing and music loud. I was 13 and checking out the girls. I had arrived. 😂

People, on the dance floor, you cannot clap until the "shalalas" are over.

I would have thought "Incense and Peppermints" would be have been rated either 40-45 or in the 90s. Kind of good is not a rating I would have expected from such a groundbreaking radical song. Even though I know Dick had a strict dress code it is still strange seeing people dancing to "Incense and Peppermints", talking about going to "Haight-Ashbury" and going on a "trip" while so conservatively dressed. When you look at the disco era clips the dancers look "disco". I think Dick got the "trip" reference, the look he gave Mike was priceless. Being the pro he was he quickly had a funny comeback come with the " I wish you a lotta luck" statement. Hearing the Sandy Rhodes song for the first time more than 50 years after the fact the record is not nearly as bad as rated, it is a decent what would later become known as Sunshine Pop record.

Incense and Peppermint hit number one in September of 1967. This is one of the songs that was representative of the late sixties, there were so many. It's a terrific arrangement, with great Melody and unbelievable harmonies, so beautiful, and the Fantastic guitar playing of lead guitar Ed King who went on to be iconic with Lynyrd Skynyrd. Rip Ed King. You're underrated buy some but you were a shining star !

Why isn't this band (strawberry alarm clock) more popular? some of there tunes are top notch and imo right up there with the best bands of the 60s/early 70s.

Obviously, this was broadcast before the Summer of 1967 got fully underway and months before Incense & Peppermints was released. I spent the Summer of 1967 with the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. In September, many of us were on levy to go to the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, to go over to South Vietnam and link up with the first brigade that had been in-country since 1965. It was in September that we were given a two week leave in between before going to Campbell. It was at this time that Incense & Peppermints was released. I immediately liked this kick ass song and as the young lady said, it sounded different from all the rest. I also remember other songs at the time, Rock 'n Roll Woman, by Buffalo Springfield, being one of them. I went off to Vietnam and stayed for two tours serving as a combat medic, which led to my being in allied health for the rest of my life. So now here it is in 2020 and almost 72 years old, I am the one who is killing it out on the dance floor, performing disco, hip hop, the MJ style, and Scottish Country Dance. BTW, I also do Karaoke with Incense & Peppermints as part of my reportoire. I was singing along, happily, with this video.

The first song i ever knew of that was on Rate a Record. Another great clip

The first #1 single for the MCA-owned UNI Records from the Strawberry Alarm Clock, who made a couple of AB appearances in 1967.

I used my babysitting money to buy that portable record player with radio. I then took it with me to babysit. Lol i also bought the Strawberry Alarm clock album which I then took with me to babysit. Wish I still had the record player. I’m looking for an old one now:)

Hmmm... 17 year old Mike is "gonna take a trip" huh? Lol me thinks that's a double edged sword of a plan for his summer, and I think the kids & Dick's reaction agrees with me! The Sandy Rhodes song was cool, still fits in with that era, it's danceable. Not a hit to my ears though. And who woulda thought what a classic smash Incense & Peppermints would become? It was right on time & a great example of what Psychedelic Pop was gonna sound like for a few years. The 2 young ladies pretty much got it right with their ratings. Great clip Aaron, a nice mix of music trends going out & coming in.

Love that girl dancing on the left podium at the start of Incense and Peppermints.Great style.I'm writing this from Britain,hope she reads this message at some point.Would have loved to have danced with her back in 1967.

I just love watching these videos and reading the comments, don't know how I have missed this one. I am just a few years younger than most of those dancers, but I do remember the times and they were changing. I would stop what ever I had going on to watch AB. I watched it primarily to catch glimpses of what I thought was the prettiest girl of the bunch. It took about 52 years to find out her name and it was on one of these videos comments. Those were great times.

You can't define psychedelic without mentioning Strawberry Alarm Clock. The judges got it right here though maybe not so enthusiastically...they were probably aware that most Rate-a-Records went nowhere. They got it wrong in 1972 when they scored Gallery's "Nice to Be With You" 40-something. I didn't think the first record was bad at all, it was danceable and had a good Sunshine Pop sound. It's the first time I saw people of the same gender judging r-a-r, maybe neither of them wanted to be mathematician. A few months earlier, our 5th-grade class took a field trip to San Francisco and as the bus went through Haight-Ashbury we were in awe at seeing those hippies. In high school a few years later somebody said he was taking a trip which generated a response "Oh????????!!!!!!" And speaking of earthquakes I went through Loma Prieta 30 years ago. Among other things that's one way to get to know your neighbors.

A rare Rate-A-Record in which one of the records made its way up the charts. I don't know why they didn't feature upcoming releases by top artsts most of the time as they surely were made aware what was coming out by Billboard Magazine, A&R guys or promotion men.

Take a trip 👍

Ed King nailed the guitar solo, that dude could play, RIP Mr King, i miss you

Wow I love that portable record player & am/fm radio! How kewl was that? Strawberry Alarmclock should have been rated higher

To Adrian DeVore: Sorry, can't find your post. To answer your question I was on from 67-69, pretty sure, first guest was Neil Diamond which might have been end of 66 season. It's nice people seem to enjoy "the guy with the glasses."

The 60s… what a time to be alive.

New subscriber, thank you for the American Bandstand uploads. Grew up with Dick Clark every Saturday.

Best summer of my life!

“Haight Ashbury.” The times they were a changing.

Lol. I had a record player similar to the one they received for rating a song. I saved my baby sitting money to buy it. I made 50 cents an hour- big bucks lol.

They're all having a great time☺💖

I like that portable AM/FM radio/record player! Nice and slim!

Wow ! This is great !

Incense and Peppermints would later be arriving on most Radios in September of 1967 and was a big hit as we know . I remember watching a Rate A Record in January of 1966 when Nancy Sinatra’ s These Boots Are Made For Walking was featured . It got a low rating in the 40’s . Then soon after that became a number one record .

The Strawberry Alarm Clock on AB-how awesome is that!😃😃

The record was only released a few weeks before this show.....so that's pretty good traction for the time...and hit # 1 in November.....such a great song

I dig the guy with glasses, he was really enjoying the StrawberryAlarm Clock at 4:39. Indeed Summer of Love, 0:43 I’m going to Haight Asbury for the summer. Wow, wonder how that went. There is a great clip of Dick showing the kids the Beatles Strawberry Fields Forever and Penny Lane promo films a few months before this recording. Some hip kids really liked the clips others not so much, even complaining about the guys new mustaches. For those who didn’t, I remember it was only three years after “She Loves You”, so I can imagine the rapid changes in looks and music was jarring even for the kids in California, which was more conservative in those days.

thank you .

I would have given I and P a 95 and the other a 10 back then and today 2019...unlike todays music..songs of the 60's up through the 80's had a good message or story in the lyrics .

Really far out song that was on the cutting edge of electronic dance music. I’m sure the kids were having a ball dancing to this crazy tune.

Strawberry Alarm Clock played my friends High School prom.

I really enjoy watching your videos! Dick Clark was so handsome! I love watching them dance and seeing the hairstyles and clothing. I feel like I'm dancing with them and enjoying the music too! I don't think they look that much different than we do today. Little did they know how big Incense & Peppermint would become!

...My Mom had just turned 20 years old on 6/12/67 just five days prior to this.

So much fun.

If Clark interviewed me in the roll call, I would have said, “going to work and living through an earthquake,” which we Californians did the past few days. But I’m doing fun stuff too this summer.😀 Thinking about all us who live out (including me) in Southern California who went through the shaking. Oh and btw. “Incense and Peppermint” went on to become a big hit and only hit for the Strawberry Alarm Clock. Have a groovy weekend, Aaron!!

This one was a great episode ! Imagine; hearing "Incense and peppermints" BEFORE it became a hit ?! I have to say, the dancers were really digging this song AND, they clapped after song ended ! WHOM ELSE remembers this song when it came out ? It was late summer when I first heard it in 1967. Just started 2nd grade :)

1967 I was 18 years old and out of high school. I went to Haight Ashbury during the Summer of Love , went to the beach , fell in love with a beautiful girl from NYC, rode my BSA motorcycle and went into the US Army.

Good music little before mi time born 1964 love 1960s music more than anything

The one 18 year old when asked what he was going to do for the summer he said, “the service “ Welcome to Vietnam

That 🍓 Strawberry Alarm Clock has got some potential! Up and comers! Hopefully they can get a gig on Hullabaloo too!

The interesting thing about "Incense and Peppermints" is that Strawberry Alarm Clock was did not actually have a singer so they used a 17 year old friend of one of the band members who was visiting the recording session to sing on it (double-track). The kid never toured with the group so they had a lead lip-sync the kid's lead. That kid's name is Greg Munford.

That song sounds amazing while your stoned!

Incense & Peppermints by The Strawberry Alarm Clock went to number 1 on the Hot 100 for the week ending November 25, 1967. It was originally the B side, but jocks turned it over and made it a hit. The original A side was "The Birdman of Alkatrash" released in April when the band was called "Thee Sixpence". kzfaq.info/get/bejne/sNCTodeV0LHKh3U.html DC looks really hip here and in his prime. Was Bandstand ever considered by the rock press as a "greaser" type show or a relic from the 50's? Dick really made a great effort to keep it contemporary. How was he viewed in 1967? Great clip Aaron! Thanks!

"?" of the Day: What are your summer plans? I'm visiting "Backyard, Texas" ...in other words, no further than my backyard. :----) Very psychedelic dancers today on AB! (Looks like our friend, D.S., knew that a camera was ready to attack from behind like a shark during Incense Peppermint!) Great summer post, AARON!!

Buddy such a great award winning dancer

@0:43 "I'm going to Haight-Ashbury to finally meet my pen-pal, Charlie Manson. I'm excited!"

I'm going to take a trip best dancer ever

How can a dance song be too fast? If I had been a teen in 1967 I would have hung out with the guy in the glasses in a second. He looks like he had a good sense of humor and he played baseball.

Why do they bother to show the wallflowers in the peanut gallery? I've never understood that.

The guy with glasses gots the moves!

Ed King, (wrote sweet home Alabama), of Lynrd Skynrd, was in the alarm clock.

i often wonder if any of the kids dancing, ever tune in now to see thems elves on this show 57 years ago?

Summer of 67 watching history Detroit Riots, wishing I was in Viet Nam with my cousin

Mike Condon's answer cracked me the hell up! 😂 Some of the guest and even, Clark, new [immediately] what he was referring to. Lmfao. He(Condon) even gives the impression and stuck out compared to the rest, just by body language and laidbackness, that he's in that kind of a scene during that era. Ol' boy, probably has half a sheet of blotter under his dresser ready for summer to turn on, tune in and drop out. Freaking genuine, hip of a suburban teen, recreational psychedelic user of the late 60s! 😂😭🤣 kzfaq.info/get/bejne/hbSDltySrsqmkok.html

Groovy song

Apparently there were some hip chicks in that year!

I love psychedelic music of the sixties. Electric Prunes had a few good songs. Balloon Farm with Question of Temperature.

Incense & Peppermints....#1 from 1967

"I'm going to take a trip." It's 1967. Gee, I wonder what kind of trip.

The summer of dreams when everything seemed possible.

Who remembers cool , boss, groovy, gear !

I was a junior in high school when this was on TV in 1967, where did the years go?

more cow bell

Love incense and peppermints

4:37 LOL. The dude with the glasses in the center of the screen is really getting into it. A couple of years later I bet he could be found lying in the mud and stoned out of his mind in a cow field at Woodstock.

Just wondering... how many of those guys were draft bait for Vietnam?

I think the first song would have been more popular in the late 50s early 60s you can see how music was changing by the rate a record

Finally a smile ftom that girl

Such a scowl Peggy Waggoner.

The dancers still alive in that video