Song:Popsicles and Icicles
Album:Romancing The '60s: This Magic Moment
The 1963 top five hit Popsicles and Icicles was the only chart single for the girl group The Murmaids. And then they all returned to school. The Murmaids were from Los Angeles. Sisters Carol and Terry Fischer grew up in show business. Their father Carl Fischer was Frankie Laine's musical director and mom sang with Stan Kenton. Grandma was in vaudeville. The third Murmaid was their neighbour Sally Gordon. These high school students recorded demos with future TV theme composer Mike Post. He was just beginning his career. Chattahoochie Records producer Kim Fowley liked the demos and he wanted the girls to record Popsicles and Icicles. Fowley had already worked on hits like Alley Oop and Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow and he's a legendary figure in the Los Angeles music scene. Popsicles and Icicles was written by David Gates who went on to fame as the leader of Bread. He wrote and produced all kinds of artists before Bread. The vocal arrangement was by Skip Battin of Skip and Flip and later on The Byrds. Popsicles and Icicles reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. And that was it. The Murmaids recorded enough songs for an album. But the album wasn't released and only surfaced recently when Collectables released a Murmaids CD. Part of the problem was the girls refused to quit school and tour. And I guess Fowley soured on them for that reason. And he even tried to continue the Murmaids with different girls. You can get Popsicles and Icicles on this 2CD Time Life various artists budget comp. There are also CDs covering David Gates' early career and Kim Fowley's career. In 1969, Terry Fischer was a member of The Carnival, a spinoff of Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66. Then in the 70s, she was a background singer for TV talk show bands and in Las Vegas. The Fischer sisters reunited The Murmaids in 1998 with a third singer and they released a CD in 2002. But The Murmaids will forever be remembered for the innocent sound of Popsicles and Icicles. Here's a video for Popsicles and Icicles by The Murmaids.
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