The Leaves

The Leaves were a Los Angeles band that formed in 1964. They started out playing surf rock but shifted toward psychedelic sounds as the mid-60s arrived. In 1965 they signed with Decca and put out their self-titled debut album, which included the single "Too Many People." That song reached the Billboard Hot 100's top 40 in 1966, giving the group its one real commercial hit.

Their lineup originally had Jim Pons on vocals and rhythm guitar, Billy Strange on lead guitar, John Beck on bass, and Michael Ney on drums. Strange and Beck left toward the end of the decade, part of a series of changes that made it hard for the band to build on that early success. They released two more albums, "Hey Gyp!" in 1966 and "Try to Remember" in 1969, but nothing else caught on the way "Too Many People" had.

The Leaves broke up in 1970. Some members kept making music on their own; others left the business. They're remembered now mostly for that one 1966 single, a track that still turns up on playlists of 60s psychedelic rock.