The 1960s produced plenty of fuzzy, buzzing guitars, but few recordings announced themselves as dramatically as “I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night)” by the Electric Prunes.
That extraordinary opening sound came from guitarist Ken Williams using fuzz, tremolo and a Bigsby vibrato arm. During the recording process, the tape was played backward, transforming the guitar into something resembling an electric swarm or a machine arriving from another planet. The band immediately knew it had found the beginning of the song.
Written by Annette Tucker and Nancie Mantz, “I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night)” reached No. 11 in 1967. Its title is a play on having too much to drink, but the lyric describes waking after dreaming about a former lover. The hazy words and disorienting production fit together perfectly.
Then there is the band’s name. The 1960s gave us plenty of wonderfully peculiar names, and newer bands occasionally continue the tradition. But the Electric Prunes remains spectacularly dumb—and completely unforgettable. Kudos.
You can read more about how the band chose its name.
The song later opened the enormously influential Nuggets compilation, where it helped introduce new generations to 1960s garage rock. More than half a century later, that first burst of backward guitar still sounds startling.