Love

After catching the Byrds live, Arthur Lee set out to marry their jangling folk sound to his own R&B. Signed as Elektra's first rock act, his Los Angeles band ranged from Burt Bacharach and Hal David's 'My Little Red Book' to '7 and 7 Is', a frantic blast whose drumming pointed towards punk.

Forever Changes (1967) went softer and more avant-garde, wrapping psychedelia in orchestral colour. Recorded in just 64 hours as tension grew with fellow songwriter Bryan MacLean, whose 'Alone Again Or' was its sole single, it charted far higher in Britain than at home, yet now ranks among the decade's greatest albums.

By 1968 the frontman alone remained, carrying on in a bluesier vein with new players. He later served six years in prison for firearms offences and died in 2006; original guitarist Johnny Echols has since toured the songs as Love Revisited.