The group formed in 1967 under the name "New York Times" playing to local gigs in the mid-Atlantic states. It was signed to Decca Records in 1968 at the behest of talent agent Alan White at Action Talents in NYC, who brought it to New York and showcased it for producer Paul Leka who saw the group play and sing both a medley of the Mamas and the Papas and the 5th Dimension tunes.[2] The group changed its name to "The Peppermint Rainbow" following its signing by Leka.
Under Decca the group was produced by Paul Leka; its first single "Walking in Different Circles" b/w "Pink Lemonade" did not chart. The second single, "Will You Be Staying After Sunday",[3] reached No. 4 on KHJ on April 2, 1969.[4] Nationally, it spent 14 weeks on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and reached No. 32 on May 3, 1969,[5] selling over one million copies and receiving a gold disc.[6] The song also reached No. 21 on the Cash Box Top 100,[7] and in Canada it peaked at No. 19.
The group made an appearance on the 2 May 1969 episode of The Generation Gap television quiz show[8] from which the promotional clip of the song originates. As with most similar clips of the period, the performance is a lip-and-finger sync, noted mainly by the fact that none of the electric instruments is plugged in. The group's third release, "Don't Wake Me Up in the Morning, Michael", spent nine weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, and reached No. 54 on July 26, 1969,[9] while reaching No. 21 on Billboard's Easy Listening chart.[10] The LP, Will You Be Staying After Sunday, barely missed the Top 100 of Billboard's albums chart, peaking at No. 106.[11]
After recording three more post-album singles which also did not chart, including "Walking in Different Circles" (which had some minor airplay in the UK), and "You're the Sound of Love", the band split up in 1970, after which the chorus of the latter tune would come to be re-arranged and re-recorded in the early 1970s as "We're the Sound of Love" and used as an ID jingle for a number of radio stations featuring love songs prominently on their playlist.
