Garage rock is a raw and energetic style of rock and roll that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The style is characterized by basic chord structures played on electric guitars and other instruments, sometimes distorted through a fuzzbox, as well as often unsophisticated and occasionally aggressive lyrics and delivery. Its name derives from the perception that groups were often made up of young amateurs who rehearsed in the family garage, although many were professional.
The Bobby Fuller Four was a popular mid-1960s American rock & roll band started by Bobby Fuller. First formed in 1962 in Fuller's hometown of El Paso, Texas, the group went on to produce some of its most memorable hits under the Mustang Records label in Hollywood, California. The band's most successful songs include "Let Her Dance", "I Fought the Law" and "Love's Made a Fool of You".
The Electric Prunes are an American psychedelic rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1965. Much of the band's music was, as music historian Richie Unterberger described it, possessed of "an eerie and sometimes anguished ambiance." It mainly consisted of material by songwriters Annette Tucker and Nancie Mantz, though the group also penned their own songs. Incorporating psychedelia and elements of embryonic electronic rock, the band's sound was marked by innovative recording techniques with fuzz-toned guitars and oscillating sound effects. In addition, guitarist Ken Williams' and singer James Lowe's concept of "free-form garage music" provided the band with a richer sonic palette and exploratory lyrical structure than many of their contemporaries.
Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era is a compilation album of American psychedelic and garage rock singles that were released during the mid-to-late 1960s. It was created by Lenny Kaye, who was a writer and clerk at the Village Oldies record shop in New York. He would later become the lead guitarist for the Patti Smith Group. Kaye produced Nuggets under the supervision of Elektra Records founder Jac Holzman. Kaye conceived the project as a series of roughly eight LP installments focusing on different US regions, but Elektra convinced him that one double album would be more commercially viable. It was released on LP by Elektra in 1972 with liner notes by Kaye that contained one of the first uses of the term "punk rock". It was reissued with a new cover design by Sire Records in 1976. In the 1980s, Rhino Records issued Nuggets in a series of fifteen installments, and in 1998 as a 4-cd box set.
The Gants was an American garage rock band that formed in 1964 in Greenwood, Mississippi, in the cultural and geographic Deep South.
The Outsiders were an American rock and roll band from Cleveland, Ohio, that was founded and led by guitarist Tom King. The band is best known for its hit "Time Won't Let Me" in early 1966, which peaked at No. 5 in the US in April. The band had three other Hot 100 top 40 hit singles in 1966, but none on the Hot 100 beyond then, and released a total of four albums in the mid-1960s.
The Litter was an American psychedelic and garage rock band, formed in 1966 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. They are best remembered for their 1967 debut single, "Action Woman". The group recorded three albums in the late 1960s before disbanding, but they re-united in 1990, 1992, and again in 1998, when they recorded a new studio album consisting of both old and new material. All of their Minneapolis recorded material was produced by Warren Kendrick, who owned the Scotty and Warick and Hexagon labels.
We the People was an American garage rock band from Orlando, Florida, that was formed in late 1965 and professionally active between 1966 and 1970. Although none of their singles charted nationally in the U.S., a number of them did reach the Top 10 of the local Orlando charts. The band are perhaps best remembered for their song "Mirror of Your Mind", which reached the Top 10 in a number of regional singles charts across the U.S. during 1966. The song has subsequently been included on several compilation albums over the years.
The Crusaders was an American garage rock band, whose 1966 album Make a Joyful Noise with Drums and Guitars is considered one of the first gospel rock releases, or even "the first record of Christian rock".
Peter Wheat and the Breadmen were an American garage rock band formed in Fremont, California, in 1964. The group became a popular live attraction regionally, and released one single that has since been reissued on compilation albums.
The Bees was an American garage rock and psychedelic band from Covina, California, that was active in the mid-1960s, and was best known for the 1966 paranoiac anthem "Voices Green and Purple". The song has been mentioned as an innovative example of early protopunk.
"Voices Green and Purple" is a song by the Bees, an American garage rock and psychedelic band from Covina, California who were active in the mid-1960s. It has been mentioned as an innovative example of early protopunk and has become highly prized by various garage rock collectors and enthusiasts.
The Brigands were an American garage rock act who are best known for the 1966 song, "(Would I Still Be) Her Big Man", which appeared as the A-side of a single released on Epic Records. Little is known about them other than that the song was recorded in New York City. Their origins are unknown, but some have attributed their residence to Forest Hills, Long Island, New York. Others have speculated that they were an ensemble of session musicians who recorded the song as a one-time act under the moniker "the Brigands." One reason mentioned by exponents of this hypothesis is that there would be more known about them, if they had indeed been an actual performing unit. They point out that there are no printed artifacts available, such as flyers and listings of live performances, records of battles of the bands, and newspaper clippings. They also point out that, since the song was released on Epic Records and produced by Artie and Kris Resnick, who wrote the Young Rascals' "Good Lovin'" and other popular hits of the time, it is unlikely that such an unknown band would have received the attention of such well-known and established fixtures, unless the song had been recorded by a "ghost band" of session musicians under their tutelage.
The Humane Society were an American garage rock band from Simi Valley, California who were active from 1965 through 1968, who are best known for their 1967 protopunk anthem, "Knock Knock."
The Palace Guard was an American garage rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1964. Though the band never obtained national success, they made a huge splash in Southern California with their song "Falling Sugar". The group is also notable for featuring the first commercial appearance of Emitt Rhodes, later a member of the Merry-Go-Round.
The Groupies were an American garage rock-psychedelic rock band from New York City who were active in the 1960s and are known for an innovative approach to primal blues-based rock exemplified in such songs as "Primitive". They were a popular fixture in the New York club scene and recorded for Atco Records, later venturing to Los Angeles. Due to their uncompromising stance the Groupies failed to attract a wider audience outside of their local enclaves. In recent years they have come to the attention of garage rock and psychedelic enthusiasts and their work has been included on various compilations such as the 1998 Nuggets four-CD box set, which was released on Rhino Records. In recent years their material has been re-issued on various garage rock and psychedelic compilations such as the Pebbles, Volume 10 LP and the 1998 Nuggets four-CD box set.
The Knack was an American garage rock/psychedelic rock band from Los Angeles, California who were active in the 1960s. They are not to be confused with either the American band of the same name who became popular in the late 1970s, nor the British band of the same name in the 1960s. They were noted for their melodic and instrumental finesse and secured a recording contract with Capitol Records. The band nevertheless failed to break through to a national audience. In the intervening years their work has come to the attention of 1960s music collectors and enthusiasts, especially with the release of the Time Waits for No One anthology.
"Time Won't Let Me" is a garage rock song that was recorded by the Outsiders, from Cleveland, Ohio, in September 1965, and which became a major hit in the United States in 1966, reaching #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 on the week of April 16 of that year. It is ranked as the 42nd biggest American hit of 1966. In Canada, the song also reached #5 in the weekly charts.
The Underdogs were an American garage rock band from Grosse Pointe, Michigan who were active in the 1960s. They became a regular attraction at the Hideout, a club that was an early venue for acts such as Bob Seger, Glenn Frey, and The Pleasure Seekers, featuring Suzi Quatro, and it also served as the home to the Hideout record label, which released several of the Underdogs' singles. The group enjoyed success in the region and came close to breaking nationally with two records released though a joint deal on Reprise Records and then their last on Motown. The Underdogs' work has been included on various garage rock compilations such as the 1998 Nuggets 4-CD box set released on Rhino Records.
You Got Yours! East Bay Garage 1965-1967 is a compilation album featuring American garage rock bands that were active in the San Francisco Bay area between 1965 and 1967. It was released on September 18, 2007 on Big Beat Records and is the twenty-third installment of the Nuggets from the Golden State album series. Generally overshadowed by the garage scenes located in Los Angeles and San Jose, the San Francisco scene was uniquely influenced by the surplus of folk rock, which would eventually develop into psychedelic rock. For the most part, the groups presented on You Got Yours! do not exemplify the teenage-angst and rawness associated with the garage rock genre, but rather display a level of professionalism not expected from an adolescent band.
