The Blues Magoos were an American garage-rock/psych band from the Bronx that released three albums through 1968 on Mercury. Their 1966 debut, Psychedelic Lollipop, spawned “(We Ain’t Got) Nothin’ Yet,” a Top 5 hit and later Nuggets classic. After a four-fifths lineup overhaul, two further albums appeared in 1969/70 on ABC. Guitarist/singer Peppy Castro (the […]
The Shadows of Knight were an American garage-rock band that released the 1966 Dunwich albums Gloria and Back Door Men, followed by a 1970 self-titled album on Super K. They are best known for the proto-punk classic “Gloria,” originally by Them. Members: Warren Rogers (lead guitar, rhythm guitar), Roger Spielmann (rhythm guitar, lead guitar, vocals, […]
The Music Machine was an American garage-rock band that released the 1966 album (Turn On) The Music Machine on Original Sound. It spawned a Billboard Top 20 hit with “Talk Talk,” a much-comped proto-punk classic. Singer-guitarist Sean Bonniwell retained the name through a revised lineup and the 1968 Warner Bros.-Seven Arts album The Bonniwell Music […]
The Seeds were an American garage-rock band that released four 1966–67 studio albums and a 1968 live album on GNP Crescendo. They are best known for the folk-pop number “I Can’t Seem to Make You Mind” and the proto-punk classic “Pushing Too Hard,” both mainstays of sixties psych comps. Members: Sky Saxon (vocals, bass), Daryl […]
The Chocolate Watchband was an American garage-rock band that released three 1967–69 albums on Capitol–Tower. Their songs “Let’s Talk About Girls” and “Are You Gonna Be There (At the Love-In)?” appear on numerous psych comps. Members: Mark Loomis (guitar, keyboards, 1965-67, 1968-70), Rich Young (bass, 1965-66), Jo Kemling (organ, 1965), Ned Torney (guitar, 1965, 1968-70), […]
The Remains were an American garage-rock band from Boston that released a self-titled album on Epic and scored a 1966 regional hit with “Don’t Look Back,” later anthologized on the original Nuggets. Members: Barry Tashian (lead vocals, guitar), Bill “Billy” Briggs (keyboards, harmonica, vocals), Vern Miller (bass, guitar, vocals), Rudolph “Chip” Damiani (drums, vocals, 1964–66; […]
The Count Five was an American garage-rock band that released the 1966 album Psychotic Reaction on Double Shot, followed by four 1967–69 singles. They are best-known for their Billboard Top 5 hit “Psychotic Reaction,” a Yardbirds-style fuzz rocker that appears on numerous psych and proto-punk comps. Members: Craig Atkinson (drums), Sean Byrne (vocals, rhythm guitar), […]
Syndicate of Sound was an American garage-rock band that scored a 1966 hit with “Little Girl,” the title-track of their singular album on Bell Records. They released eight singles, culminating with the 1970 Buddah 45’s “Brown Paper Bag” (b/w “Reverb Beat”) and “Mexico.” Members: Don Baskin (vocals, guitar), John Sharkey (guitar, keyboards), Larry Ray (guitar), […]
The Saints played as fast as possible to hide their initial lack of skill, and to change from song to song before spectators could bore of any given number. The style initially clicked with audience members seeking maximum energy, but angered a lot of listeners who sought masculine reinforcement in rock, typically embodied in strong, […]
The Leaves were an American garage-rock band that released the 1966 album Hey Joe on Mira, followed by the 1967 Capitol release All the Good That’s Happening. They made the first commercially available version of “Hey Joe,” a non-copyrighted blues and rock standard made famous by Jimi Hendrix. Members: Robert Lee Reiner (guitar), Jim Pons […]
The ID was an American studio-based psychedelic rock band that released the 1967 RCA album The Inner Sounds of the Id. Outtakes from the sessions surfaced on the 1968 Alshire International releases The Animated Egg and Astro-Sounds From Beyond the Year 2000 (as 101 Strings). Members: Jerry Cole (guitar), Don Dexter (drums), Rich Cliburn (guitar), […]
The Human Beinz were an American garage-rock band that made the 1968 Capitol albums Nobody but Me and Evolution. They scored a 1967 Billboard Top 10 hit with the Isley Brothers cover “Nobody But Me” and had back-to-back Japanese No. 1’s with “Hold on Baby” and the Bobby Bland cover “Turn On Your Love Light.” […]
The Electric Prunes were an American garage-rock band that released five 1967–69 albums on Reprise Records. They are best known for their 1967 Billboard hit “I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night),” a much-comped psychedelic nugget. Members: James Lowe (vocals, guitar, 1965-68), Ken Williams (lead guitar, 1965-68), Mark Tulin (bass, keyboards, 1965-68), Mike Weakley […]
The Monks were a garage-rock band formed by American GIs stationed in Germany. In 1966, they released the album Black Monk Time on International Polydor. Members: Gary Burger (guitar, vocals), Larry Clark (organ, vocals), Dave Day (banjo, vocals), Roger Johnston (drums, vocals), Eddie Shaw (bass, vocals) The Monks formed as The 5 Torquays in 1964 […]
The Lollipop Shoppe was an American garage-rock band based in Portland, Oregon, that released the 1968 album Just Colour on Uni Records. It contains “You Must Be a Witch,” a much-comped heavy psych song noted for its gasping, dramatized vocals. Frontman Fred Cole led numerous garage bands in the ensuing four decades. Members: Fred Cole […]
The Other Half was an American garage-rock band responsible for the 1966 blues-rock classic “Mr. Pharmacist” and a 1968 self-titled album on Acta Records. Guitarist Randy Holden also played in Blue Cheer and made the 1970 album Population II. Members: Jeff Nowlen (vocals, harmonica, guitar), Geoff Westen (guitar, vocals), Larry Brown (bass), Danny “Woody” Woods […]
The Balloon Farm was an American garage-rock band that released two 1967–68 singles on Laurie Records, including the fuzz-psych classic “A Question of Temperature.” They also recorded as Adam and The Huck Finn. Members: Mike Appel, Don Henny, Jay Saks, Ed Schnug The Balloon Farm evolved from Adam, a New York combo that cut the […]
The Sonics were an American garage-rock band that released the 1965–66 albums Here Are the Sonics!!! and Boom on Etiquette Records. Members: Larry Parypa (guitar, 1960-72, 2007-15), Mitch Jaber (drums, 1960-62), Stuart Turner (guitar, 1960-62), Jerry Parypa (saxophone, 1960-61), Andy Parypa (bass, 1961-72, 2009), Tony Mabin (saxophone, 1961-63), Rich Koch (guitar, 1962-63), Marilyn Lodge (vocals, […]
The Standells were an American garage-rock band that released four 1966–67 albums on Capitol–Tower. Their best-known songs include “Try It,” “Sometimes Good Guys Don’t Wear White,” and the Billboard Top 20 hit “Dirty Water.” Members: Larry Tamblyn (keyboards, guitar, vocals), Tony Valentino (lead guitar, 1962-68), Jody Rich (bass, 1962-63), Benny King (drums, 1962-63), Gary Lane […]
The Del-Vetts were an American garage-rock band that released three singles, including the 1966 proto-punk classic “Last Time Around.” In 1967, they morphed into Pride and Joy for two further singles on Dunwich. Members: Jim Lauer (guitar, lead vocals), Bob Good (bass, guitar, harmonica, vocals), Lester Goldboss (guitar, 1963-?), Paul Wade (drums, 1963-?), Jeff Weinstein […]
The Elastik Band was an American garage-rock band that released four 1967–69 singles, including the proto-punk classic “Spazz.” Members: David Cortopassi (guitar, vocals, vibraphone), Scott Williams (guitar, bass, vocals), Rusty Kierig (bass, vocals), Russel Kerger (keyboards, vocals), Vince Silvera (drums, vocals) The Elastik Band formed as This Side Up in 1966 in Belmont, California. Discography: […]
The Vagrants were an American garage-rock band that released six singles between 1965 and 1968 on Vanguard and Atco. Guitarist Leslie West later formed Mountain. In 1986, Arista issued The Great Lost Vagrants Album. Members: Leslie West (guitar), Larry West (bass, vocals), Peter Sabatino (vocals), Jerry Storch (keyboards), Roger Monsour (drums) The Vagrants formed in […]
