The Electric Prunes - Kyrie Eleison (1968)

Originally known as The Sanctions, then Jim and the Lords, this group has had more than twenty rotating members. Among the many members they had in their lengthy history were Kenny Loggins (of primarily solo fame) and Peter Lewis (a founding member of Moby Grape). Although their first single, "Ain't It Hard/Little Olive," flopped, their second single, "I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night)," was a huge success in 1966. Despite constant personnel changes leading to the demise of the band in 1970, there was a revival in 1999 that led to the group creating three more albums and successfully touring the United States. In 2011, founding member Mark Tulin passed away and no tours have since taken place.

Written and produced by musical arranger David Axelrod, this song comes from the band’s third album, Mass in F Minor. Although the album wasn’t made with all of its original members, it was considered to be very innovative for the mixture of Latin-sung Church-style hymns with psychedelic melodies. Both the concept of the album and the album itself didn’t sell well, but this particular song would later be popularized when it was used in the counter-culture movie, Easy Rider, from 1969.



The Electric Prunes - Kyrie Eleison (1968)

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Lyrics:

Latin Lyrics	English Lyrics
Kyrie Eleison Kyrie Eleison Kyrie Eleison Kyrie Eleison Kyrie Eleison Kyrie Eleison Kyresta Kyresta Kyresta Eleison Eleison Eleison Eleison Kyresta Kyresta	Lord, have mercy Lord, have mercy Lord, have mercy Lord, have mercy Lord, have mercy Lord, have mercy Lord Lord Lord, have mercy Mercy Mercy Mercy Lord Lord