Elephant Candy

The Fun & Games were signed to Uni Records by Gary Zekley, a West Coast songwriter known by his work for The Mamas & The Papas, The Grass Roots, The Clique, Jan & Dean, Spanky & Our Gang… it’s quite a resumé. He also wrote the lion’s share of the songs on Elephant Candy, one of the better albums from the nexus of bubblegum and sunshine pop. The group came closest to a hit with “The Grooviest Girl In The World,” whose rambunctious energy and sass are pure bubblegum, but if anything, The Fun & Games excelled at the gentler, more pop-sike side of things: “Topanga Canyon Road,” the album’s highlight, is lusciously toothsome in its arrangement and the generosity of its languorous melody. If you’re a sucker for this sound, Zekley’s other sunshine pop protégés, The Yellow Balloon, are well worth hearing, too.