Every so often a scene gets paired with a song that, for better or worse, ends up making it that much more memorable, and since last week we looked at the musical Russ Meyer tribute Viva, it’s only fitting to follow up by going more skin depth into the director’s own parody work, Beyond the Valley of the Dolls.
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Written by a then-unknown Roger Ebert, the film is loosely based on the notorious 1967 drama Valley of the Dolls, and what better way to capture the free-as-a-bird feel of the Summer of Love than with the Strawberry Alarm Clock’s hit single “Incense and Peppermints.” Originally released in May of 1967 as a B side when the band was still going by the name Thee Sixpence, the song ended up spending 16 weeks on the Billboard chart, including one magical week at the end of November in the coveted number one spot.
Three years later, the song pops up in this Meyers classic during one of Z Man’s legendary soiree’s, as Angel Ray’s rack pops out of her pink mini dress right before she ditches the costume completely to dance around naked. She one-ups the duo of incense and peppermints with an even better one -tits and ass!
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Further proof that the song is synonymous with the sex, drugs, and rock ’n’ roll of the swingin’ 60s, it was later used in both Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery and the fictional period series Daisy Jones the Six. But this isn’t the only music worth mentioning from the movie. Another popular band at the time, the easy listening artists The Sandpipers, also contributed a track for the film’s lesbian sex scene. About an hour and twenty nine minutes in, you can hear the dulcet tones of their title track as Erica Gavin caresses Cynthia Myers’ moonlit moneymaker and we sneak a peak at their lacy lady bubbles. It's a scene-setting, quintessential combo that's easy on the ears AND the eyes!
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You may know the Sandpipers from their other soundtrack single“Come Saturday Morning” from the 1969 film The Sterile Cuckoo. But it’s this sapphic scene that’ll have you coming Saturday morning, noon, and night!
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