The Pope Smokes Dope Explained

The Pope Smokes Dope
Type:	album
Artist:	David Peel & The Lower East Side
Cover:	David Peel - The Pope Smokes Dope.jpeg
Released:	April 17, 1972
Recorded:	1972
Studio:	Record Plant Studios, New York City
Genre:	Folk rock
Length:	42:01 (vinyl edition) 56:04 (CD edition)
Label:	Apple
Producer:	John Lennon, Yoko Ono
Chronology:	David Peel
Prev Title:	The American Revolution
Prev Year:	1970
Next Title:	Santa Claus Rooftop Junkie
Next Year:	1974

The Pope Smokes Dope is the third album by David Peel and the Lower East Side, released on April 17, 1972 through Apple Records.^[1]

History

Peel, along with John Lennon and Yoko Ono, performed Peel's "The Ballad of New York", on The David Frost Show, with Lennon playing tea-chest bass.^{[2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]} The trio, joined by The Lower East Side Band, played several songs by Lennon and Ono.^[7] This episode was recorded on December 16, 1971 and broadcast on January 13, 1972.^{[7] [8]}

The album was released on April 17, 1972.^{[9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]}

The CD was released in 2005 by Orange Records International.

Track listing

Bonus tracks on CD edition

13. "Amerika" (Edit) – 4:15
    • with Yoko Ono
14. "How Did You Meet David Peel?" – 2:07
    • interview with John Lennon
15. "Everybody's Smokin'" (Remix) – 7:41

Personnel

• Bagtwo (Jeffery Levy) – design, artwork
• Roy Cicala – engineering
• Jack Douglas – engineering
• Bill Ferrara – photography
• Robert L. Heimall – art direction
• Allan Steckler – production supervision
• John Lennon – production, voice (tracks 6 & 12), backing vocals (12)
• Yoko Ono – production, percussions (track 1), voice (6)
• David Peel – vocals, guitar
• Eddie Mottau – guitar
• Chris Osborne – guitar
• Charlie Wolff – guitar
• Eddie Ryan – drums
• The Lower East Side Friends – chorus
• Tom Doyle – guitar, backing vocals
• Bruce Bierman – backing vocals
• John Robertson – guitar
• Billy Minelli – bass
• Frank Lanci – drums
• Lenny Mars – harp (tracks 4 & 7), flutes (1,4,6 & 8), piano (7), percussions (1, 8 & 10), banjo (1, 4 & 7), mandolin (7 & 10)

Notes and References

1. Web site: John Lennon. invaluable.com.
2. Web site: Episode #4.84. 13 January 1972. www.imdb.com.
3. Web site: David Peel THE BALLAD OF NEW YORK CITY / JOHN LENNON – YOKO ONO. PS109VanBurenHigh. 11 May 2013. YouTube.
4. Web site: John Lennon's Most Memorable — and Notorious — NYC Moments. 17 December 2015 .
5. Web site: David Peel: The Dope-Smokin' Pope of the New York City Hippies. Dana. Spiardi. 1 May 2017.
6. Web site: Peel the Lower East Side and Enjoy Pre-Punk Punk. 4 October 2011.
7. Book: Miles, Barry . Badman, Keith . The Beatles Diary After the Break-Up: 1970–2001 . 2001 . Music Sales Group . London . 9780711983076 . reprint.
8. News: David Peel, Downtown Singer and Marijuana Evangelist, Dies at 74. William. Grimes. The New York Times . 9 April 2017. NYTimes.com.
9. Web site: The Pope Smokes Dope – Busy Beaver Button Museum. www.buttonmuseum.org.
10. Web site: David Peel & the Lower East Side ~ 1972 ~ The Pope Smokes Dope – Oldish Psych and Prog. oldishpsychprog.ucoz.com.
11. Web site: HoZac Records » David Peel. hozacrecords.com.
12. Web site: East Village icon David Peel in critical condition after heart attack. BrooklynVegan. 2 April 2017 .
13. Web site: The Pope Smokes Dope. Rebeat Digital – Guenter Loibl, Rico. Zschau. Rebeat-Artist-Camp.
14. Web site: David Peel on John Lennon and the FBI. Paul DeRienzo. 23 May 2009. YouTube.
15. Web site: [{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r15000/charts-awards|pure_url=yes}} The Pope Smokes Dope – Awards ]. Allmusic . October 31, 2012.