H. P. Lovecraft (band)

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H. P. Lovecraft was a Chicago-based psychedelic rock band formed in 1967. They mixed folk rock with trippy psychedelic sounds and were named after the horror writer H. P. Lovecraft, with much of their music inspired by his stories. They released their first single, Anyway That You Want Me, in early 1967 and followed with the debut album H. P. Lovecraft later that year. The song The White Ship became their best-known piece.

The group moved to San Francisco and became a live favorite at venues like The Fillmore and the Winterland Ballroom. In 1968 they issued H. P. Lovecraft II, which included the track At the Mountains of Madness, but the band broke up in early 1969.

A new version of the band, sometimes called Lovecraft, carried on with some of the original members. They released Valley of the Moon in 1970 and later shortened the name to Love Craft, putting out the 1975 album We Love You Whoever You Are. A further version formed in 1980 with new members but did not achieve major success.

Over the years, various members went on to other projects, while the original band’s eerie, atmospheric sound and its Lovecraft-inspired themes left a lasting mark on psychedelic rock.