“Incense And Peppermints” by Strawberry Alarm Clock

Few records bottle 1967 as neatly as "Incense and Peppermints", the psychedelic rock single Strawberry Alarm Clock put out on Uni Records that May. By November it had floated all the way to number one on the Billboard Hot 100, where it held the top spot for a week, and it lent its title to the band's album the same year. Frank Slay Jr. was the producer.

The songwriting is knottier than the tune: the official credit reads John S. Carter and Tim Gilbert, but the song grew out of an instrumental idea from band members Mark Weitz and Ed King. Britain never bit, and the single missed the UK chart altogether. Screens were kinder later on, putting it in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery and the series Daisy Jones and the Six as instant shorthand for the flower-power moment.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.