Allan Breed with the Third Level had only one release, “City Where I Once Lived” / “Many’s the Time”, both full pop productions with light psychedelic touches. By accident, some of the lyrics on “City Where I Once Lived” are incredibly apt to our situation in 2020:
Well here I am, in the city where I once lived,
But no one bothers to speak,
Attitude is simply oblique,
It’s not the same anymore.Love once surrounded me here,
In the city where I once lived,
But the love I once knew is gone,
Only faces of misery drawn,
Puts the blame of it all.Where are the people who once smiled and said hello,
Where did they go?Have I stayed away too long or is there really something really wrong?
So as I walk, through the city where I once lived,
And see this disease I’ve seen,
That destroys the reasons for being,
I can’t understand.
Allan Breed notably co-wrote “Frozen Sunshine” with Rick McClellan, which in recent years has become a well-known hit with retro club DJs, especially in Europe. Breed and McClellan collaborated on a number of songs, not all of which seem to have been released. The first may have been “Goodbye My Friend”, registered in 1966.
In May of 1968 they registered copyright on “City Where I Once Lived” and “Many’s the Time”. Allan Breed produced the songs with Steve Clark for release on their own label Treswood TW 101.
The following year, Lawrence Allen Breed and Rick McClellan wrote “Frozen Sunshine”, copyright registered in May of 1969. Breed and Mike Henderson (for Treswood Productions) produced that single on Ranwood R-849, and also his follow-up, “Redheaded Woman” / “2:30 in the Morning” for Quad Records QU 105, where Allan Breed was head of A&R.
Quad Records also reissued “Frozen Sunshine”, without the violins, and with a different B-side, “Julie Makes It Right”. A Cash Box notice from July, 1970 lists some other Quad releases and notes Al Perry was executive vice-president of Quad. An ad in Cash Box from the same month for Four Star / Stellar Music / BNP Music Publishing lists Alfred Perry and Fred Benson as VP, and has Allan Breeds name but without title.
Allan Breed would go on to produce a few more records with Mike Henderson, including two singles of Sandy & Dick St. John on Congress, and two by CaShears on pbm Records. Also on pbm Records Breed produced Sidro’s Armada’s “Little Girl from Greenwood, Georgia”.
Steve Clark is likely the same person who partnered with Curt Boettcher in Our Productions (thanks for the tip Max Waller). Clark and Mike Henderson both worked on some Tommy Roe productions from this period.
