Remembering P. F. Sloan

For a brief period of time from 1964 to 1968, a young genius songwriter and musician had a profound influence on rock and roll. P.F. Sloan was still a teenager when he wrote one of the most important protest songs of the 1960’s, “Eve of Destruction”. The song was instrumental in helping lower the voting age in America. He followed it up with the classic “Secret Agent Man” (1966), which became a hit in both the United States and the U.K. He was compared to Bob Dylan as he penned great songs for The Turtles, the Searchers, and the Grass Roots. Along the way he also played with The Wrecking Crew and it was him playing the famous seven-second intro to “California Dreamin’” (1966). Then he left the music scene as suddenly as he appeared.