Song about Fruit Brings Fame to Band
By Sean Hillegass, 4.26.05

During the summer of 1967, which has been labeled the “Summer of Love,” many songs epitomized that era. One song, titled “Apple, Peaches, Pumpkin Pie,” by Jay & the Techniques, was about fruit.

Just one year earlier in Allentown, Pa., Jay Proctor had decided to form a band.

“I was working a day job and I decided I didn't want to work anymore, so I quit. That night I was at a local bar having a beer and before I finished that beer I formed Jay and the Techniques,” Proctor said. The band began playing the college fraternity circuit and local bars.

Soon after, Jay & the Techniques entered a battle of the bands contest in Allentown. Instead of winning first place, they left the contest with a demo-recording contract from Jerry Ross, who had a production deal with Mercury records. Ross discovered many acts whose songs went to the top of the charts, including Bobby Hebb “Sunny,” Keith “98.6,” and Spanky & Our Gang, “Sunday Will Never Be The Same.” It would not be long before Jay & the Techniques would be Ross's next top act.

In early 1967, the band traveled to New York City for their recording single. Suddenly, the song about fruit brought the local band into the national spotlight.

“When we arrived at the recording studio I was given the lyrics to the song we were to record called “Apple, Peaches, Pumpkin Pie,” Proctor said. “I was stunned we were asked to record a song about fruit, I just couldn’t believe it. “At this time I was listening to James Brown, Otis Redding, Marvin Gaye and the Temptations.”

“Initially, I refused to record it, but when I thought about it I figured nobody else asked me to record any thing so I did,” he said.

Proctor was not alone in his opinion of “Apple, Peaches, Pumpkin Pie.” Bobby Hebb, who had had a hit in 1966 with “Sunny,” was initially offered the song but declined.

During the summer of 1967, Ross called Proctor and informed him that the song was a hit.

“Apple, Peaches, Pumpkin Pie” was on Billboards Top 40 singles chart for 11 weeks and peaked at number six in September 1967.

“I've always had confidence in myself and I always knew that what ever song I recorded would be a hit. I just knew it, but I had reservations about that song,” Proctor said.

If Proctor was surprised at the success of “Apple, Peaches, Pumpkin Pie,” then what happened next totally shocked him. Jay & the Techniques performed on the Ed Sullivan show on December 31, 1967.

“It was New Years Eve 1967 and we performed our follow up single “Keep The Ball Rollin” on the Ed Sullivan show. After we performed, Mr. Sullivan presented us with a gold record for “Apple, Peaches, Pumpkin Pie,” he said. “It was a total surprise; I was not forewarned he was going to present it to us. It was great. That is my best memory from all my years in the music business,” Proctor said.