James Lowe, frontman of ’60s psych-rock icons The Electric Prunes, who were best known for their Top 10 hit “I Had Too Much to Dream Last Night,” has died, aged 82, according to published reports.
Lowe, who went on to a successful career as an engineer and producer, working with such artists as Sparks and Todd Rundgren, died on May 22, his family reported, according to Variety.
Lowe left the music industry in the early ’70s and eventually found a second act in the world of industrial filmmaking, according to Variety.
Lowe reunited the Prunes in the late 1990s and continued to perform through the end of his life, according to Variety.
In a statement, Lowe’s family said the singer “passed away … from natural causes – suddenly, yet peacefully – surrounded by family and music.”
Lowe leaned into the wave of nostalgia for his old combo band that only seemed to heighten in recent years. He performed for an adoring crowd in Los Angeles at a “Nuggets” tribute show in 2023 (“I Had Too Much to Dream Last Night” was the kickoff song to that classic garage-rock compilation). He also recently gave retrospective interviews for a series of rock podcasts, according to Variety.
“James left this world peacefully – his heart giving one final electric beat, surrounded by the loving embrace of his family and enveloped by the sounds of his favorite music,” his children Lisa, Cameron, and Skylar said in a statement, according to Variety.
“He was a creative force, a rock star without pretense, and someone who lived and loved fully. But the most important ingredient to James’ life was his 62-year marriage to Pamela, his guiding star and enduring muse for all things. … James was a visionary, a dreamer, a doer who never stopped creating, exploring, lifting others up – or believing in what’s possible,” his family said.
