The spacey psychedelic sound of The Lemon Fog never sounded better with all their singles, previously unreleased outtakes, and complete version of âSummerâ, from the original master tapes. Hailing from Houston, Texas, The Lemon Fog blew many minds during 1967-68, quickly becoming a popular draw at the local Houston hot spot, âThe Living Eyeâ. Their first single âTheme For The Living Eyeâ (changed to âLemon Fogâ upon release) was a psych-pop flower power masterpiece released in the winter of 1967. The b-side âEchoes of Timeâ was nothing short of brilliant, reminiscent of the British psych scene. In June, 1968, the second Lemon Fog single, âSummerâ, was released and remains the signature track of the band with its moody and introspective sound, unusual for a summer themed song. âSummerâ should have been a number one hit. The Lemon Fogâs third and final single, âThe Prisonerâ and â Day By Dayâ was released in November 1968, but also failed to chart. The surreal lyrics and tight pl

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In 1967, Jimmy Duncan sent a tape of demos by The Lemon Fog to Ray McGinnis of Orbit Records. Duncan was a producer and songwriter, out of Houston. He also owned a local club called âThe Living Eyeâ(featuring an immense, pulsing eye in the middle of the ceiling). Ted Eubanks, keyboardist and songwriter for The Lemon Fog, recalls âwe named the band Lemon Fog at the request of Duncan. He wanted us to help him remain relevant and to make the progression into the rock world so we became the house band at âThe Living Eyeâ.
Our live act consisted of original songs and many covers of popular hits. We opened for The Electric Prunes, The Moving Sidewalks, The 13th Floor Elevators, Question Mark and the Mysterians, and Fever Tree. Mike Knust, Fever Treeâs guitar player, went to the same high school that we did, and most of the band lived in the neighborhood. Scott Holtzman wrote their hit âSan Francisco Girlsâ and managed them. He eventually managed us as well.â
The first Lemon Fog recording session was at Doyle Jones studio in Houston, during the summer of 1967. Five songs were completed, âLemon Fogâ, âSummerâ, âYes I Cryâ, âGirl From The Wrong Side Of Townâ, and âEchoes Of Timeâ. The songs were sophisticated psychedelic numbers written by Duncan and Eubanks. The oldest member of The Lemon Fog was seventeen year Chris Lyons, a senior in high school, the rest of The Fog were juniors.
The first single from the sessions was âLemon Fogâ b/w âEchoes Of Timeâ released in November, 1967. âLemon Fogâ was alternately titled âThe Living Eye Themeâ to tie in with Duncanâs club (he also wrote the lyrics). For âEchoes Of Timeâ Eubanks wrote the music and played the keyboards, which sounded like a Mellotron. In reality it was the Farfisa and phasing. The engineer would manipulate the tape as it moved across the heads to get that phasing sound. The master tape reveals that âEchoes Of Timeâ was taped for ten times, before the right band track was found on which to overdub Simmonâs lead vocals. As first singles go for a band, The Lemon Fog were miles ahead of the other bands with their unique sound and style of mixing spacey lyrics with even spacier psychedelic music.
The second Lemon Fog single, âSummerâ b/w âGirl From The Wrong Side Of Townâ was released right before school let out, in May, 1968. Eubanks wrote âSummerâ when he was sixteen and this was no typically written upbeat teen summer song, it was about alienation and boredom. The single mixed version was edited by almost two minutes, with the verse that includes âMy bird has flownâ omitted (the unedited complete version is track one on this album). The second Fog single was another winner, but according to Eubanks didnât make the charts!
If the Fog werenât hitting the charts with their singles, they did get on The Larry Kane TV show. The first time on, they performed âLemon Fogâ with a yellow tinted see-through sheet layered over the video and a foggy mist on stage. Their next and final appearance on Larry King was to perform âSummerâ.
The next Lemon Fog session was for the recording of âDay By Dayâ, and âThe Prisoner. By now Eubanks was writing all the bandâs material and he recalls,âwe recorded âDay by Dayâ and âThe Prisonerâ at Huey Meauxâs studioâ. The single is a existential example of the far out sound of The Lemon Fog, with obscure, philosophical lyrics and observances of life. Unfortunately this was to become The Lemon Fogâs third and final single. The band members graduated high school in June 1968 and went onto divergent paths. Eubanks says that â when I left The Lemon Fog I joined Duncan at his new Soundville recording studio where we recorded as âWichitaâ in 1970â. Wichita cut one single and an unreleased album before breaking up in 1971.