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." Their most successful material was 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.
The Shadows of Knight were an American rock band from Chicago, Illinois, that played a version of British blues influenced by their native city. When they began recording in 1965, the band's self-description was "the Stones, Animals and the Yardbirds took the Chicago blues and gave it an English interpretation. We've taken the English version of the Blues and re-added a Chicago touch," to which rock critic Richie Unterberger commented: "The Shadows of Knight's self-description was fairly accurate."
Acid rock is a loosely defined type of rock music that evolved out of the mid-1960s garage punk movement and helped launch the psychedelic subculture. While the term has sometimes been used interchangeably with "psychedelic rock", acid rock also specifically refers to a more musically intense, rawer, harder, louder, or heavier subgenre or sibling of psychedelic rock. Named after lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), the style is generally defined by heavy, distorted guitars and often contains lyrics with drug references and long improvised jams.
The Steve Miller Band is an American rock band formed in 1966 in San Francisco, California. The band is led by Steve Miller on guitar and lead vocals. The group had a string of mid- to late-1970s hit singles that are staples of classic rock, as well as several earlier psychedelic rock albums. Miller left his first band to move to San Francisco and form the Steve Miller Blues Band. Shortly after Harvey Kornspan negotiated the band's contract with Capitol Records in 1967, the band shortened its name to the Steve Miller Band. In February 1968, the band recorded its debut album, Children of the Future. It went on to produce the albums Sailor, Brave New World, Your Saving Grace, Number 5, The Joker, Fly Like an Eagle, Book of Dreams, among others. The band's Greatest Hits 1974–78, released in 1978, sold over 13 million copies. In 2016, Steve Miller was inducted as a solo artist in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
The Outsiders were an American rock and roll band from Cleveland, Ohio, that was founded and led by guitarist Tom King. The band released the hit single "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 afterwards, and released a total of four albums in the mid-1960s.
White Lightning was an American psychedelic rock band, active from 1968 through 1971. The band was founded by guitarist Zippy Caplan and bassist Woody Woodrich. The band was very popular in Minnesota, mostly due to Caplan's fame playing with The Litter. The manager of radio station KDWB mistook the single "Of Paupers and Poets" for a song by Cream, giving valuable early airtime to the band. They also would perform a cover of the William Tell Overture.
The Rising Storm is an American rock group that was active at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, United States, between 1965 and 1967. Their music is considered to belong in the folk rock and garage rock genres. The original members of the group were Bob Cohan (guitar), Todd Cohen (bass), Charlie Rockwell (keyboards), Tom Scheft (drums), Tony Thompson, and Rich Weinberg.
Mouse and the Traps is the name of an American garage rock band from Tyler, Texas, United States, that released numerous singles between 1965 and 1969, two of which, "A Public Execution" and "Sometimes You Just Can't Win", became large regional hits. The leader of the band, nicknamed "Mouse", was Ronny Weiss. Two of their best known songs, "A Public Execution" and a cover of "Psychotic Reaction", are not actually credited to this band but, respectively, to simply Mouse and Positively 13 O'Clock instead. Their tangled history also included one single that was released anonymously under the name Chris St. John. The band are not to be confused with the girl group Mousie and The Traps who recorded for Toddlin' Town records around the same time.
"Whatcha Gonna Do About It" is the debut single released by the English rock group Small Faces, released in the UK on 6 August 1965. The song peaked at number 14 in the UK Singles Chart, and stayed on chart for a total of 14 weeks. It reached number 28 in Canada.
The Baroques were an American rock band formed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1966. The band reached regional success for their transition from garage rock to the psychedelic rock genre, and the controversary aroused from their single, "Mary Jane". The group released one studio album before its disbandment in 1968.
Twentieth Century Zoo was an American psychedelic rock band formed from the remnants of The Bittersweets in Phoenix, Arizona in 1967. The band released several singles, and an album to reach regional acclaim before disbanding in 1970. Their later works spanned across multiple genres, including early examples of proto-punk. The band was known for playing among other highly successful acts, and incorporating their influences into the group's own individual sound.
The Electras were an American garage rock band formed in Ely, Minnesota in 1962. The group recorded between 1965 and 1967 during their musical career, including their most-known tune "Dirty Old Man". The band, which also worked under the moniker, 'Twas Brillig, released a version of the song "Action Woman", a composition that was made into a garage rock classic by the Litter, and has consequently caused the two groups to be wrongly associated with each other.
"Action Woman" is a song by the American garage rock band the Litter, written by their record producer Warren Kendrick, and first released as the group's debut single on Scotty Records in January 1967. The song also appeared on the band's first album Distortions. Although "Action Woman" never broke out on the national charts, it is now revered as a classic piece of the musical genre of garage rock. Accordingly, the composition has appeared on several compilation albums – most famously as the opening track on Pebbles, Volume 1, incorporating a skip in the recording – and has been the subject of cover versions.
The Freeborne was an American psychedelic rock band formed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1966. The band was one of the numerous groups associated with the "Bosstown Sound", and is noted for releasing one eclectic album, Peak Impressions, in 1967, which exemplified the young members' versatility embedded in psychedelia.
The Stillroven were an American garage rock and psychedelic band from Robbinsdale, Minnesota, outside of Minneapolis, who were active in 1965–1969. They became a local success, enjoying a hit in the Twin Cites area with their version of "Hey Joe". In hopes of reaching a wider audience they relocated, playing for a short time in Tucson, Arizona, but eventually moved their base of operations to Denver, Colorado, where they briefly signed to A&M Records, recording an unreleased album for the label. The group made recordings at Norman Petty's studio in Clovis, New Mexico, before moving to Washington, DC in 1969 and auditioning in New York City to secure another recording arrangement that never materialized. In the intervening years since their breakup in 1969, the group's work has attracted the attention of garage rock and psychedelic enthusiasts and has been included on various re-issues and compilations.
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.
The Dearly Beloved were an American garage rock band from Tucson, Arizona, originally known as the Intruders, who began as an instrumental surf rock combo, but eventually incorporated vocals into their sound after the rise of the British Invasion. After recording their first single as the Intruders, they changed their name to Quinstrels, recording one single under that moniker, but later settling upon the name for which they are best known, the Dearly Beloved. Along with the Grodes, they became one of the top groups in the Tucson area, scoring a #1 hit in there, and were on the cusp of breaking to a wider national audience, even briefly recording with Columbia Records and receiving some airtime on radios stations in other parts of the country, but were unable to maintain the momentum long enough to achieve wider success. Their work is nonetheless highly regarded amongst garage rock and psychedelic enthusiasts.
Public Nuisance was an American rock band from Sacramento, California who were active from 1964-1970, first as Moss & the Rocks, then later as Public Nuisance. In 1965 they recorded the song "There She Goes" as Moss & the Rocks for a single released on the local Icon label. After changing their name to Public Nuisance in 1967, they began to incorporate psychedelic elements into their sound and a series of mostly unreleased songs recorded at various sessions from 1968-1969 that went for years unissued, but finally saw the light of day in 2002 with the release of the Gotta Survive anthology. Since then, their work, both as Moss & the Rocks and Public Nuisance, has attracted the attention of garage rock and psychedelic enthusiasts worldwide.
Danny's Reasons were an American garage rock band formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1962. The band, well known for a longevity which outlasted most garage bands of the era, released five singles throughout their recording career, including covers of "Little Diane" and "Under My Thumb". Although Danny's Reasons' popularity never precipitated to much national chart success, they performed regularly across the United States and have since been featured on compilation albums.
Distortions is the debut studio album by American psychedelic and garage rock band the Litter. It was released on May 1, 1967, by Warick Records and includes the single "Action Woman".
