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.
James Luther Dickinson was an American record producer, pianist, and singer who fronted, among others, the band Mud Boy and the Neutrons, based in Memphis, Tennessee.
Tav Falco's Panther Burns, sometimes shortened to (The) Panther Burns, is a rock band originally from Memphis, Tennessee, United States, led by Tav Falco. They are best known for having been part of a set of bands emerging in the late 1970s and early 1980s who helped nationally popularize the blending of blues, country, and other American traditional music styles with rock music among groups playing in alternative music and punk music venues of the time. The earliest and most renowned of these groups to imbue these styles with expressionist theatricality and primitive spontaneity were The Cramps, largely influenced by rockabilly music. Forming just after them in 1979, Panther Burns drew on obscure country blues music, Antonin Artaud's works like The Theater and Its Double, beat poetry, and Marshall McLuhan's media theories for their early inspiration. Alongside groups like The Cramps and The Gun Club, Panther Burns ranked among the contributing influences and progenitors of the Southern Gothic-tinged roots music revival scene that arose during the last two decades of the 20th century and continued into the early 2000s.
Robert G. Lee Sowell. known as Bobby Sowell, is an American musician, pianist and composer. He spent much of his early years playing rockabilly piano in the late 1950s, playing organ in rock-and-roll bands in the 1960s and playing piano in numerous country music bands from the 1970s to the 1990s. He was a Mid-South Fair winner in 1966 and was inducted into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame in 2002. In 1994, he went out as a solo artist. As a pianist and composer, Sowell has recorded eight albums, crossing many genres of music, from jazz, pop, rock and roll, honky tonk and blues to country music, gospel and easy listening.
The Savages were a garage rock band from Bermuda that were active in the mid-1960s. They are best remembered for their album, Live 'n Wild, which was composed largely of self-penned tunes and recorded in front of a live audience, has been mentioned as a seminal work in the genre, and features the song, "The World Ain't Round It's Square". This song has become regarded as a classic 1960s anthem of youthful defiance.
Live 'N Wild is a live album released in 1966 by The Savages, a garage rock band from Bermuda, which was recorded live at the Hub, a nightclub at the Princess Hotel in their native country. Consisting of mostly self-composed songs, the album is considered a seminal work in the garage rock genre, and features the song, "The World Ain't Round It's Square," which has come to be regarded as a classic '60s anthem of youthful defiance.
The Liberty Bell was an American garage rock/psychedelic rock band from Corpus Christi, Texas who were active in the 1960s. They specialized in a blues-based brand of proto-punk influenced by British groups such as the Yardbirds. The band failed to reach wider audience in the time, but have come to the attention of garage rock collectors and enthusiasts in the intervening years since their breakup, with their work appearing on several compilations.
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 Penthouse 5 were an American garage rock band from Oak Cliff, Texas, a suburb of Dallas and were active from 1964-1967. The band's style was highly influenced by popular British act, such as of the Beatles and the Kinks, as well as the folk rock of the Byrds. In 1967 they shortened their name to the Penthouse and also began to play occasional gigs with a horn section as a soul outfit under the name of Dr. William’s Soul Emporium.
The Lost was an American garage rock and psychedelic band from Plainfield, Vermont who were active in the Boston rock scene 1960s. They were initially an interracial rock band, one of the few at the time, and, along with the Remains and the Rockin' Ramrods, later became one of the most popular live acts in Boston, landing a contract with Capitol Records. In spite of having a regional hit with their first record, they were unable to find greater commercial success and broke up in 1967. In the intervening years their work has come to the attention of garage rock collectors and enthusiasts with the release of the anthology, Early Recordings and Lost Tapes, on Arf! Arf! Records.
T.C. Atlantic was an American garage rock/psychedelic rock band from Minneapolis, Minnesota who were active in the 1960s. They were one of the most popular groups in the Twin Cities, but failed to break nationally. In the intervening years since their breakup, their recordings have attracted the interest of '60s music collectors and enthusiasts, and they are particularly remembered for their 1966 fuzz-tinged song, "Faces", which has been mentioned as one of the earliest garage rock songs to display psychedelic characteristics.
Yesterday's Children were an American psychedelic rock band formed in Cheshire-Prospect, Connecticut, outside of New Haven, in 1966. The group's earliest release was the psychedelic rock-influenced single "To Be or Not to Be". Though, at first, Yesterday's Children were a standard garage band, they transitioned into a psychedelic proto-heavy metal outfit that released one cult classic album before disbanding in 1970.
The Escapades were an American garage rock band from Memphis, Tennessee who were active in the 1960s. They became one of the most popular groups in the Memphis area during the mid-1960s and recorded two singles. "I Tell No Lies", the A-side of their debut single, became a big hit in Memphis and around the South. They were signed to Verve Records, who released their follow-up, "Mad, Mad, Mad", which featured a fuzz-toned guitar line. Their work is highly regarded by garage rock enthusiasts and collectors and has appeared on various compilations.
Joe Frank and the Knights were an American garage rock band from Leland, Mississippi who were active between 1959–1965. They were led by Joe Frank Carollo. In the early-to-mid 1960s their popularity grew beyond the Mississippi delta and Memphis areas as they became one of the most popular groups in various parts of the Southern United States. They had a regional hit with "Can't Find a Way", which attracted the attention of ABC Records who picked up the record and re-released it for national distribution. However, the band broke up shortly thereafter, and Carollo joined the T-Bones, who later evolved into the soft rock trio Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds in the early 1970s.
The Breakers were an American garage rock band from Memphis, Tennessee who were active in the 1960s. They became one of the most popular bands in the Memphis area and enjoyed considerable success with their regional hit "Don't Bring Me No Flowers ". There has been a resurgence of interest in the Breakers amongst garage rock collectors and enthusiasts in recent years.
The Dagenites were an American garage rock a band from Oxon Hill, Maryland near Washington, DC, who were active in the 1960s. They shared management and frequent billing with noted guitarist and performer Link Wray. In recent years their work has become highly regarded amongst garage rock enthusiasts and collectors and has been included on several compilations. The Dagenites are especially known for their proto-punk anthems, "I Don't Want to Try it Again" and "I'm Gone Slide", both of which have been mentioned as garage rock classics.
The Oxford Circle was an American garage rock and psychedelic rock band from Davis, California, near Sacramento, who were active from 1964-1967. They became a popular garage rock act with a proto-punk sound influenced by Them and other blues-based bands of the British Invasion, that, in addition to heavy guitar feedback, came to encompass psychedelia. The group began to make appearances in San Francisco, where they became a top draw in venues such as the Avalon Ballroom. They taped a show at the Avalon in 1966 and, after lying in the vaults for years, it was rereleased in 1997 on the Nuggets from California: Live at the Avalon 1966 anthology. In 1967, they released the single, "Foolish Woman" b/w "Mind Destruction", which is also included, along with several other studio outtakes, on the Nuggets from California compilation. In 1967, drummer Paul Whaley left to play in pioneering heavy rock act Blue Cheer. Lead vocalist and guitarist Gary Lee Yoder and bassist Dehner Patten left to form Kak, who recorded for Epic Records. Yoder subsequently went on to join Blue Cheer in one of their later configurations.
The Kreeg were an American garage rock band from Albuquerque, New Mexico who were active in the 1960s. They were one of the most popular groups in the Albuquerque area and enjoyed local hits from both sides of their 1966 single "How Can I" b/w "Impressin'". Their work has come to the attention of garage rock enthusiasts with the release of the 1996 anthology Impressin', which features their complete recordings.
The Chessmen were an American garage rock band from Denton, Texas, near Dallas, who were active since the 1960s till date. They were one of the most popular bands in the region and recorded for Bismark Records, where they recorded three singles including, "I Need You There", which is now considered a garage rock classic. The band is notable for including several members who went on to greater fame. Jimmie Vaughan, brother of Stevie Ray Vaughan was briefly a member, joining after the death of original band leader, guitarist, and vocalist, Robert Patton, who died in a boating accident in 1966. Drummer Doyle Bramhall later played with and wrote songs for Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Bill Etheridge later played bass with ZZ Top. Following the breakup of the Chessmen, several of their members, including Jimmie Vaughan, went on to form a group that would come to be known as Texas Storm, which eventually included Stevie Ray Vaughan on bass, in 2010 Ejim Chukwudiebube Daniel started it up and the group it's active till date, head office is now located in Abuja Nigeria.
The Tamrons were an American garage rock band from Concord, North Carolina, near Charlotte who were active in the 1960s. They became one of the most popular bands in Concord and the Charlotte area during the mid-1960s and enjoyed a regional hit with their single, "Wild Man" backed with "Stop, Look, Listen" recorded at Arthur Smith's studio in Charlotte and released on his Pyramid label. They broke up in 1968. In the intervening years their work has become highly regarded by garage rock enthusiasts and has appeared on several compilations.
