Garage rock

In the late 1950s, the initial impact of rock and roll on mainstream American culture waned as major record companies took a controlling influence and sought to market more conventionally acceptable recordings.[48] Electric musical instruments (particularly guitars) and amplification were becoming more affordable, allowing young musicians to form small groups to perform in front of local audiences of their peers; and in some areas there was a breakdown, especially among radio audiences, of traditional black and white markets, with more white teenagers listening to and purchasing R&B records.

Numerous young people were inspired by musicians such as Chuck Berry,[49] Little Richard,[50] Bo Diddley,[50] Jerry Lee Lewis,[49] Buddy Holly,[51] and Eddie Cochran,[52] whose recordings of relatively unsophisticated and hard-driving songs from a few years earlier[49] proclaimed personal independence and freedom from parental controls and conservative norms.[53] Ritchie Valens' 1958 hit "La Bamba" helped jump-start the Chicano rock scene in Southern California and provided a three-chord template for the songs of numerous 1960s garage bands.[54] By the end of the 1950s regional scenes were abundant around the country and helped set the stage for garage rock the 1960s.[55]

Link Wray, pictured in 1993, who helped pioneer the use of guitar power chords and distortion as early as 1958 with the instrumental, "Rumble", has been cited as an early influence on garage rock.

Guitarist Link Wray has been cited as an early influence on garage rock and is known for his innovative use of guitar techniques and effects such as power chords and distortion.[56] He is best known for his 1958 instrumental "Rumble", which featured the sound of distorted, "clanging" guitar chords, which anticipated much of what was to come.[57] The combined influences of early-1960s instrumental rock and surf rock also played significant roles in shaping the sound garage rock.[58][55]

According to Lester Bangs, "the origins of garage rock as a genre can be traced to California and the Pacific Northwest in the early Sixties".[44] The Pacific Northwest, which encompasses Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, played a critical role in the inception of garage rock, hosting the first scene to produce a sizable number of acts, and pre-dated the British Invasion by several years. The signature garage sound that eventually emerged in the Pacific Northwest is sometimes referred to as "the Northwest Sound" and had its origins in the late 1950s, when a handful of R&B and rock & roll acts sprang up in various cities and towns in an area stretching from Puget Sound to Seattle and Tacoma, and beyond.[61]

There and elsewhere, groups of teenagers were inspired directly by touring R&B performers such as Johnny Otis and Richard Berry, and began to play cover versions of R&B songs.[62] During the late 1950s and early 1960s other instrumental groups playing in the region, such as the Ventures, formed in 1958 in Tacoma, Washington, who came to specialize in a surf rock sound,[63] and the Frantics from Seattle.[64] The Blue Notes from Tacoma, Washington, fronted by "Rockin' Robin" Roberts, were one of the city's first teenage rock & roll bands.[65] The Wailers (often referred to as the Fabulous Wailers) had national chart hit in 1959, the instrumental "Tall Cool One".[66] After the demise of the Blue Notes, "Rockin' Robin" did a brief stint with the Wailers, and with him on vocals in 1962, they recorded a version of Richard Berry's 1957 song "Louie Louie"—their arrangement became the much-replicated blueprint for practically every band in the region,[67] including Portland's the Kingsmen who went on to achieve a major hit with it the following year.[68]

Other regional scenes of teenage bands playing R&B-oriented rock were well-established in the early 1960s, several years before the British Invasion, in places such as Texas and the Midwest.[69] At the same time, in southern California surf bands formed, playing raucous guitar- and saxophone-driven instrumentals.[44] Writer Neil Campbell commented: "There were literally thousands of rough-and-ready groups performing in local bars and dance halls throughout the US prior to the arrival of the Beatles ... [T]he indigenous popular music which functioned in this way ... was the proto-punk more commonly identified as garage rock".[70]

As a result of cross-pollination between surf rock, hot rod music, and other influences, a new style rock sometimes referred to as frat rock emerged, which has been mentioned as an early subgenre of garage rock.[47] The Kingsmen's 1963 off-the-cuff version of "Louie Louie" [72] became the de facto "big bang" for three-chord rock, starting as a regional hit in Seattle, then rising to No. 1 on the national charts and eventually becoming a major success overseas.[73] The group unwittingly became the target of an FBI investigation in response to complaints about the song's alleged use of profanity in its nearly indecipherable lyrics.[74]

Though often associated with Pacific Northwest acts such as the Kingsmen, frat rock also thrived elsewhere.[55][75][76] In 1963 singles by several regional bands from other parts of the United States began appearing on the national charts, including "Surfin' Bird" by the Trashmen from Minneapolis,[77][78] which essentially fused together parts from two songs previously recorded by the Rivingtons, "The Bird is the Word" and "Papa Oom Mow Mow".[52] "California Sun" by the Rivieras, from South Bend, Indiana followed, becoming a hit in early 1964.[79] Frat rock persisted into the mid-1960s with acts such as the Swingin' Medallions, who had a top twenty hit with "Double Shot (Of My Baby's Love)" in 1966.[80]

The Standells in 1965

During the mid-1960s garage rock entered its most active period, prompted by the influence of The Beatles and the British Invasion.[81] On February 9, 1964, during their first visit to the United States, the Beatles made an historic appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show watched by a record-breaking viewing audience of a nation mourning the recent death of President John F. Kennedy.[82] For many, particularly the young, the Beatles' visit re-ignited the sense of excitement and possibility that had momentarily faded in the wake of the assassination.[83] Much of this new excitement was expressed in rock music, often to the chagrin of parents and elders.[84]

In the wake of the Beatles' first visit, a subsequent string of successful British beat groups and acts achieved success in America between 1964 and 1966, often referred to in the US as "the British Invasion". Such acts had a profound impact, leading many (often surf or hot rod groups) to respond by altering their style, and countless new bands to form, as teenagers around the country picked up guitars and started bands by the thousands.[85] In many cases, garage bands were particularly influenced by the increasingly bold sound of a second wave of British groups with a harder, blues-based attack, such as The Kinks, The Who, The Animals, The Yardbirds, Small Faces, Pretty Things, Them,[86][87] and The Rolling Stones[88] often resulting in a raw and primitive sound. Numerous acts sometimes characterized as garage rock formed in countries outside North America, such as England's the Troggs.[89] Their 1966 worldwide hit "Wild Thing" became a staple in countless American garage bands' repertoires.[90] By 1965, the influence of the British Invasion prompted folk musicians such as Bob Dylan and members of the Byrds to adopt the use of electric guitars and amplifiers, resulting in what became termed folk rock.[91] The resulting success of Dylan, the Byrds, and other folk rock acts influenced the sound and approach of numerous garage bands.[91]

Count Five in 1966

In the wake of the British Invasion garage rock experienced a boom in popularity. With thousands of garage bands active in the US and Canada, hundreds produced regional hits during the period,[92] often receiving airplay on local AM radio stations.[93] Several acts gained wider exposure just long enough to have one or occasionally more national hits in an era rife with "One-Hit Wonders".[94] In 1965 the Beau Brummels broke into the national charts with "Laugh, Laugh", followed by "Just a Little".[95] According to Richie Unterberger, they were perhaps the first American group to pose a successful response to the British Invasion.[96] That year, Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs' "Wooly Bully" went to No. 2, and they followed it up a year later with another No. 2 hit, "Little Red Riding Hood".[97] Also in 1965, the Castaways almost reached Billboard's top ten with "Liar, Liar", which was later included on the 1972 Nuggets compilation.[98] Featuring a lead vocal by Rick Derringer, "Hang On Sloopy" became a No. 1 hit for Indiana's the McCoys,[99] topping the Billboard charts in October 1965.[100] They were immediately signed to Bang Records and followed up with another hit in 1966, a cover of "Fever", originally recorded by Little Willie John.[99]

It is generally agreed that the garage rock boom peaked around 1966.[101] That April, the Outsiders from Cleveland hit No. 5 with "Time Won't Let Me",[102] which was later covered by acts such as Iggy Pop.[103] In July, the Standells from Los Angeles almost made it into the US top ten with "Dirty Water",[104] a song now often associated with Boston.[105] "Psychotic Reaction" by the Count Five went to No. 5 on Billboard's Hot 100 and was later memorialized by Lester Bangs in his 1971 piece "Psychotic Reactions and Carburetor Dung".[106]

"96 Tears" (1966) by Question Mark and the Mysterians, from Saginaw, Michigan, became a No. 1 hit in the US.[108] The song's organ riffs and theme of teenage heartbreak have been mentioned as a landmark recording of the garage rock era and recognized for influencing the works of acts as diverse as the B-52's, the Cramps, and Bruce Springsteen.[109] Two months later, the Music Machine, who reached the top 20 with fuzz guitar-driven "Talk Talk",[110] had a sound and image that helped pave the way for later acts such as the Ramones.[111] The Syndicate of Sound's "Little Girl", which featured a cocksure half-spoken lead vocal set over chiming 12-string guitar chords, reached No. 8 on the Billboard charts[112] and was later covered by acts such as the Dead Boys, the Banned, and the Chesterfield Kings.[113] Discovered by a Pittsburgh disc jockey in 1965, the resulting success of "Hanky Panky" by a defunct group, the Shondells, whose membership included Tommy James, revived James' career, where he assembled a new group under the name Tommy James and the Shondells.[114] They followed with twelve more top 40 singles.[115] In 1967, Strawberry Alarm Clock emerged from the garage outfit Thee Sixpence and had a No. 1 hit in 1967 with psychedelic "Incense and Peppermints".[116]

The Pleasure Seekers in 1966 (Suzi Quatro far right)

Garage rock was not an exclusively male phenomenon—it fostered the emergence of all-female bands whose members played their own instruments. One of the first of such acts was New York's Goldie and the Gingerbreads, who appeared at New York's Peppermint Lounge in 1964 and accompanied the Rolling Stones on their American tour the following year.[117] They had a hit in England with a version of "Can't You Hear My Heartbeat".[117] The Continental Co-ets from Fulda, Minnesota, were active from 1963 to 1967 and had a hit in Canada with "I Don't Love You No More".[118] The Pleasure Seekers (later known as Cradle), from Detroit, featured Suzi Quatro and her sisters.[119][120] Quatro went on to greater fame as a musical solo act and television actress in the 1970s.[119] The Luv'd Ones, also from Michigan, signed with Chicago's Dunwich Records and cut records with a sometimes somber sound, such as "Up Down Sue".[121][122]

San Francisco's the Ace of Cups became a fixture in the Bay Area scene in the late 1960s.[123] Other notable 1960s female groups were the Daughters of Eve from Chicago[124][122] and She (previously known as the Hairem) from Sacramento, California.[125] All-female bands were not exclusive to North America. The Liverbirds were a beat group from the Beatles' home city of Liverpool, England, but became best known in Germany, often performing in Hamburg's Star-Club.[126] All-female groups of the 1960s anticipated later acts associated with the 1970s punk movement, such as the Runaways and the Slits.[127]

In 1964 and 1965 the impact of the Beatles and the British Invasion shifted the musical landscape, presenting not only a challenge, but also a new impetus, as previously established acts in the Pacific Northwest adapted to the new climate, often reaching greater levels of commercial and artistic success, while scores of new bands formed. After relocating to Portland, Paul Revere & the Raiders in 1963 became the first rock-and-roll act to be signed to Columbia Records, but did not achieve their commercial breakthrough until 1965 with the song "Steppin Out", which was followed by string of chart-topping hits such as "Just Like Me" (originally recorded by the Wilde Knights) and "Kicks".[128]

The Sonics from Tacoma had a raunchy, hard-driving sound that influenced later acts such as Nirvana and the White Stripes.[129] According to Peter Blecha, they "were the unholy practitioners of punk rock long before anyone knew what to call it".[130] Founded in 1960, they eventually enlisted the services of vocalist Gerry Rosalie and saxophonist Rob Lind and proceeded to cut their first single," The Witch" in 1964.[131] The song was re-issued again in 1965, this time with the even more intense "Psycho" on the flip side.[132] They released several albums and are also known for other "high-octane" rockers such as "Cinderella" and "He's Waitin'".[133] Prompted by the Sonics, the Wailers entered the mid-1960s with a harder-edged sound in the fuzz-driven "Hang Up" and "Out of Our Tree".[134]

The Remains in 1966

The Barbarians from Cape Cod, wearing sandals and long hair and cultivating an image of "noble savages", recorded an album and several singles, such as "Are You a Boy or Are You a Girl".[135] In 1964 the group appeared on the T.A.M.I. Show on same bill as the Rolling Stones, James Brown.[136] In the film of the show, their drummer, Victor "Moulty" Moulton, is seen holding one of his drumsticks with a prosthetic clamp while playing—the result of a previous accident in which he lost his left hand.[136][137] In 1966, Moulton recorded "Moulty", a spoken monologue set to music, in which he recounted the travails of his disfigurement, released under the Barbarians' name, but backed by future members of the Band.[136][138]

Boston's the Remains (sometimes called Barry & the Remains), led by Barry Tashian, became one of the region's most popular bands and, in addition to issuing five singles and a self-titled album, toured with the Beatles in 1966.[139] Also from Boston, the Rockin' Ramrods released the distortion-driven "She Lied" in 1964, which Rob Fitzpatrick called "a truly spectacular piece of proto-punk, the sort of perfect blend of melody and aggression that the Ramones would go on to transform the planet with a dozen or more years later".[140] The Squires from Bristol, Connecticut, issued a song now regarded as a garage rock classic, "Going All the Way".[141] Garage rock flourished up and down the Atlantic coast, with acts such as the Vagrants, from Long Island,[142] and Richard and the Young Lions from Newark, New Jersey,[143] and the Blues Magoos from the Bronx,[144] who got their start in New York's Greenwich Village scene and had a hit in 1966 with "(We Ain't Got) Nothin' Yet", which appeared on their debut album, Psychedelic Lollipop, along with a lengthy rendition of the Nashville Teens' "Tobacco Road".[144]

The garage craze came into full swing in California, particularly in Los Angeles.[145] The Sunset Strip was the center of L.A. nightlife, providing bands with high-profile venues to attract a larger following and possibly capture the attention of record labels looking to sign a new act.[91] Exploitation films such as Riot on Sunset Strip, Mondo Hollywood, captured the musical and social milieu of life on the strip.[146] In Riot on Sunset Strip, several bands make appearances at the Pandora's Box, including the Standells who are seen during the opening credits performing the theme song, as well as San Jose's the Chocolate Watchband.[147] The Seeds and the Leaves were favorites with the "in-crowd" and managed to achieve national hits with songs that have come to be regarded as garage classics: the Seeds with "Pushin' Too Hard"[148] and the Leaves with their version of "Hey Joe", which became a staple in countless bands' repertoires.[149]

Love, a racially integrated band headed by African-American musician Arthur Lee, was one of the most popular bands in the scene.[150] Their propulsive 1966 proto-punk anthem "7 and 7 Is" was another song often covered by other groups.[151] The Music Machine, led by Sean Bonniwell, employed innovative musical techniques, sometimes building their own custom-made fuzzboxes.[152] Their first album (Turn On) The Music Machine featured the hit "Talk Talk".[153] The Electric Prunes were one of the more successful garage bands to incorporate psychedelic influences into their sound,[154] such as in the hit "I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night)", whose opening featured a buzzing fuzz-toned guitar, and which appeared on their self titled debut LP.[155] Garage rock was also present in the Latino community of East L.A.[156] The Premiers, who had a hit in 1964 with "Farmer John", and Thee Midniters are considered prominent figures in Chicano rock,[157][158] as are the San Diego-based, Cannibal & the Headhunters, who had a hit with Chris Kenner's "Land of a Thousand Dances".[44]

San Jose and the South Bay area had a bustling scene featuring the Chocolate Watchband, the Count Five, and the Syndicate of Sound.[159] The Chocolate Watchband released several singles in 1967, including "Are You Gonna Be There (at the Love In)", which was also featured on their debut album No Way Out.[160] The album's opening cut was a rendition of "Let's Talk About Girls", previously recorded by the Tongues of Truth (aka the Grodes).[161]

The Shadows of Knight in 1966

Chicago, known for electric blues, continued to have a strong recording industry in the 1960s and was also a hotbed of activity for garage rock. Chicago blues as well as the Rolling Stones, the Pretty Things, and the Yardbirds influenced the Shadows of Knight,[162] who recorded for Dunwich Records and were known for a tough, hard-driving sound.[163] In 1966 they had hits with versions of Them's Van Morrison-penned "Gloria" and Bo Diddley's "Oh Yeah", and also released the aggressive "I'm Gonna Make You Mine",[164] which Mike Stax remarked "was recorded live in the studio with the amps cranked beyond distortion, this is 60s punk at its sexually charged, aggressive best."[165] Also recording for Dunwich were the Del-Vetts and the Banshees, who released the cathartic "Project Blue".[166][167] Other notable Chicago acts were the Little Boy Blues[168] and the New Colony Six.[169]

Michigan had one of the largest scenes in the country. In early 1966, Detroit's MC5 released a version of "I Can Only Give You Everything" before they went on to greater success at the end of the decade.[170] The Unrelated Segments recorded a string of songs beginning with local hit "The Story Of My Life",[171] followed by "Where You Gonna Go".[172] In 1966, the Litter from Minneapolis released the guitar-overdriven "Action Woman", a song which Michael Hann described as "one of garage's gnarliest, snarliest, most tight-trousered pieces of hormonal aggression".[173]

The Five Americans from Oklahoma had a hit with "Western Union" 1967.

In Texas, The 13th Floor Elevators from Austin, featured Roky Erickson on guitar and vocals and are considered one of the prominent bands of the era.[174] They had a regional hit with "You're Gonna Miss Me" and a string of albums, but the band was hampered by drug busts and related legal problems that hastened their demise.[175][176] Richie Unterberger singled out The Zakary Thaks, from Corpus Christi, for their songwriting skills,[177] and they are best known for the frantic and sped-up "Bad Girl".[178] The Moving Sidewalks, from Houston, featured Billy Gibbons on guitar, later of ZZ Top.[179][180] The Gentlemen from Dallas cut the fuzz-driven "It's a Cry'n Shame", which in Mike Markesich's Teenbeat Mayhem is ranked as one of the top two garage rock songs of all time,[181] second only to "You're Gonna Miss Me", by the 13th Floor Elevators.[182] The Outcasts from San Antonio cut two highly regarded songs, "I'm in Pittsburgh and It's Raining", which became a local hit, and "1523 Blair", that Jason Ankeny described as "Texas psychedelia at its finest".[183]

The Five Americans were from Durant, Oklahoma, and released a string of singles, such as "Western Union", which became a top 10 US hit in 1967.[184] From Phoenix, Arizona, the Spiders featured Vincent Furnier, later known as Alice Cooper, and eventually adopted that name as the group's moniker.[185] As the Spiders they recorded two singles, most notably "Don't Blow Your Mind", which became a local hit in Phoenix in 1966.[186] The group ventured to Los Angeles in 1967 in hopes of achieving greater success, however they found it not there, but while in Detroit several years later, re-christened as Alice Cooper.[186][187]

From Florida, Orlando's We the People came about as the result of the merger of two previous bands and featured songwriters Tommy Talton and Wane Proctor.[188] They recorded a string of self-composed songs, such as primitive rockers, "You Burn Me Upside Down" and "Mirror of my Mind", as well as the esoteric "In the Past", later covered by the Chocolate Watchband.[188] Evil from Miami, had a hard, sometimes thrashing sound and a reputation for musical mayhem, typified in songs such as "From a Curbstone" and "I'm Movin' On".[189]

The Paupers in 1967

Like the United States, Canada experienced a large and vigorous garage rock movement. Vancouver's the Northwest Company, who recorded "Hard to Cry", had a power chord-driven approach.[190] The Painted Ship were known for primal songs such as the angst-ridden "Frustration" and "Little White Lies", which Stansted Montfichet called a "punk classic".[191] Chad Allan and the Reflections from Winnipeg, Manitoba, began in 1962 and had a hit in the mid-1960s, Johnny Kidd & the Pirates' "Shakin' All Over," then went on to greater success in the late 1960s and early 1970s as the Guess Who.[192]

In 1966 the Ugly Ducklings from Toronto had a hit with "Nothin'" and toured with the Rolling Stones.[193][194] The Haunted from Montreal specialized in a gritty blues-based sound influenced by the Rolling Stones and released the single "1–2–5".[195] Two other bands from Toronto were the Paupers and the Mynah Birds. The Paupers released several singles and two albums.[196] The Mynah Birds featured the combination of Rick James on lead vocals and Neil Young on guitar, who both went on to fame as solo acts, as well as Bruce Palmer who later accompanied Young to California to join Buffalo Springfield in 1966.[197][198] They signed a contract with Motown Records and recorded several songs including "It's My Time".[198]

Outside of the mainland, garage rock became a fixture in the islands and territories adjacent to the continent.[199] The Savages from Bermuda recorded the album Live 'n Wild,[200] which features "The World Ain't Round It's Square", an angry song of youthful defiance.[201]

The garage phenomenon, though most often associated with North America, was not exclusive to it.[202] As part of the international beat trend of the 1960s, other countries developed grass-roots rock movements that closely mirrored what was happening in North America, which have sometimes been characterized as variants of garage rock or as closely related forms.[203][204][205][206]

Them, featuring Van Morrison (center), in 1965

Although Britain did not develop a distinct garage rock genre in the same way as the United States, many British beat groups shared important characteristics with the American bands who often attempted to emulate them, and the music of certain UK acts has been mentioned in particular relation to garage.[207][208]

Beat music emerged in Britain in the early 1960s, as musicians who originally came together to play rock and roll or skiffle assimilated American rhythm and blues influences. The genre provided the model for the format of many later rock groups.[209] The Liverpool area had a particularly high concentration of acts and venues,[210] and the Beatles emerged from this thriving music scene.[211] In London and elsewhere, certain groups developed a harder-driving, distinctively British blues style.[212] Nationally popular blues- and R&B- influenced beat groups included the Rolling Stones and the Yardbirds from London, the Animals from Newcastle, and Them, from Belfast, Northern Ireland, featuring Van Morrison.

Coinciding with the "British Invasion" of the US, a musical cross-fertilization developed between the two continents. In their 1964 transatlantic hits "You Really Got Me" and "All Day and All of the Night", the Kinks took the influence of the Kingsmen's version of "Louie Louie" and applied greater volume and distortion, which in turn, influenced the approach of many American garage bands.[213] With Van Morrison, Them recorded two songs widely covered by American garage bands: "Gloria", which became a big hit for Chicago's the Shadows of Knight, and "I Can Only Give You Everything".[214][215] Keith Richards's use of fuzz distortion in the Rolling Stones' 1965 hit, "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" affected the sound of countless American garage bands.[216] Also influential were the Pretty Things and the Downliners Sect, both of whom were known for a particularly raw approach to blues-influenced rock that has sometimes been compared to garage.[217][218][219]

The Troggs in 1966

By 1965, bands such as the Who and the Small Faces tailored their appeal to the mod subculture centered in London.[220][221] Some of the harder-driving and more obscure bands associated with the mod scene in the UK are sometimes referred to as Freakbeat, which is sometimes viewed as a more stylish British equivalent of garage rock.[222][203][223] Several bands often mentioned as Freakbeat are the Creation, the Action, the Move, the Smoke, the Sorrows, and Wimple Winch.[203]

Some commentators have branded the Troggs as garage rock.[208][224][225] Extolling the virtues of their seemingly unrepentant primitivism and sexually charged innuendo, in 1971 Lester Bangs memorialized the Troggs as a quintessential "punk" [i.e. garage] band of the 1960s.[226] They had a worldwide hit in 1966 with "Wild Thing", written by American Chip Taylor.[227] The Equals, a racially integrated band from North London whose membership included guitarist Eddy Grant, later a popular solo artist, specialized in an upbeat style of rock—their 1966 recording "Baby Come Back" was a hit in Europe before becoming a British number one in 1968.[228]

Q65 in 1967

The beat boom swept through continental Europe, resulting in the emergence of national movements sometimes cited as European variants of garage rock.[229][230] The Netherlands had one of the largest scenes, sometimes retroactively described as Nederbeat.[230][231] From Amsterdam, the Outsiders, who Richie Unterberger singled out as one of the most important 1960s rock acts from a non-English speaking country, featured Wally Tax on lead vocals and specialized in an eclectic R&B and folk-influenced style.[232][233] Q65 from the Hague had a diverse but primitive sound, particularly on their early records.[234][235] Also from the Hague, the Golden Earrings, who later gained international fame in the 1970s and 1980s as Golden Earring, had a top ten hit in the Netherlands in 1965 with "Please Go", followed by "That Day", which went to number two on the Dutch charts.[236][237]

Having nurtured the Beatles' early development in Hamburg, Germany was well-positioned to play a key role as beat music overtook the continent. Bands from Britain and around Europe traveled there to gain exposure, playing in clubs and appearing on popular German television shows such as Beat Club and Beat! Beat! Beat![238][239] The Lords, founded in Düsseldorf in 1959, pre-dated the British Invasion by several years, and adapted their sound and look to reflect the influence of the British groups, even singing in English, but providing a comic twist.[240] The Rattles from Hamburg also had a lengthy history, but were more serious in their approach.[241] There were numerous bands active in Spain, such as Los Bravos, who had a worldwide hit with "Black Is Black",[242] as well as los Cheyenes and others.[243]

Los Mockers, from Uruguay in 1965

Latin America got swept up in the worldwide beat trend and developed several of its own national scenes. Mexico experienced its own equivalent to North American garage.[204] The nation's proximity to the United States was detectable in the raw sounds produced by a number of groups while the country simultaneously embraced the British Invasion.[244] One of Mexico's most popular acts were Los Dug Dug's, who recorded several albums and stayed active well into the 1970s.[245]

The beat boom flourished in Uruguay during the mid-1960s in a period sometimes referred to as the Uruguayan Invasion. Two of the best known acts were Los Shakers[246] and Los Mockers.[247] In Peru, los Saicos were one of the first bands to gain national prominence.[248] Their 1965 song "¡Demolición!" with its humorously anarchistic lyrics was a huge hit in Peru.[248] About them Phil Freeman noted "These guys were a punk rock band, even if nobody outside Lima knew it at the time".[249] Los Yorks became one of Peru's leading groups.[250] Colombia hosted bands such Los Speakers and Los Flippers from Bogotá, Los Yetis from Medellín.[251] Los Gatos Salvajes, who came from Rosario, Argentina, were one of the country's first beat groups,[252] and two of their members went on to form Los Gatos, a popular act in Argentina during the late 1960s.[252]

The Spiders in 1966

The far East was not immune to the beat craze, and Japan was no exception, particularly after the Beatles' 1966 visit, when they played five shows at Tokyo's Budokan arena.[253] The popular 1960s beat/garage movement in Japan is often referred to as Group Sounds (or GS).[205] The Spiders[lower-alpha 5] were one of the better-known groups.[205] Other notable bands were the Golden Cups[254][255] and the Tigers.[256][257]

Despite famine, economic hardship, and political instability, India experienced its own proliferation of garage bands in the 1960s, persisting into the early 1970s with the 1960s musical style still intact even after it fallen out of favor elsewhere.[258][259][lower-alpha 6] Mumbai, with its hotels, clubs, and nightlife, had a bustling music scene. The Jets, who were active from 1964 to 1966, were perhaps the first beat group to become popular there.[260] Also popular in Mumbai were the Trojans, featuring Biddu, originally from Bangalore, who later moved to London and become a solo act.[261] Every year the annual Simla Beat Contest was held in Bombay by the Imperial Tobacco Company.[262] Groups from all over India, such as the Fentones and Velvet Fogg, competed in the event.[263][259]

The Easybeats in 1966

Australia and New Zealand experienced a garage/beat explosion in the mid-1960s.[264] Before the British Invasion hit, the region enjoyed a sizable surf rock scene, with popular bands such as the Atlantics, who had several instrumental hits, as well as the Aztecs and the Sunsets.[265][266] In late 1963 and early 1964 British Invasion influence began to permeate the music scenes there.[266][267] In June 1964 the Beatles visited Australia as part of their world tour and were greeted by a crowd of an estimated 300,000 in Adelaide.[267] In response, many prior Australian surf bands adapted by adding vocals over guitars, and a host of new bands formed.[267] The first wave of British-inspired bands tended towards the pop-oriented sound of the Merseybeat.[268] With rise in popularity of bands such as the Rolling Stones and the Animals, a second wave of Australian bands emerged that favored a harder, blues-influenced approach.[268]

Sydney was the host to numerous acts. The Atlantics switched to a vocal rock format and brought in veteran singer Johnny Rebb, formerly with Johnny Rebb and His Rebels.[269] "Come On" was their best-known song from this period.[269] The Easybeats, featuring vocalist Stevie Wright and guitarist George Young, the older brother of Angus and Malcolm Young of the later hard rock group AC/DC, became the most popular group in Australia during the mid-1960s.[270] One of Sydney's most notorious acts was the Missing Links, who throughout 1965 went through a complete and total lineup change between the release their first single in March and on the subsequent releases later that year, such as the primitivist anthems "Wild About You", as well as their self-titled LP.[271][272] In 1966, the Throb had a hit in Australia with their version of "Fortune Teller", and later that year released "Black", a brooding version of a traditional folk ballad noted for its expressionistic use of guitar feedback.[273] The Black Diamonds' "I Want, Need, Love You" featured an intense and hard-driving guitar sound that Ian D. Marks described as "speaker cone-shredding".[274]

From Brisbane came the Pleazers[275][276] and the Purple Hearts,[277] and from Melbourne the Pink Finks, the Loved Ones,[278] Steve and the Board,[279] and the Moods.[280] Like Sydney's the Missing Links, the Creatures were another notorious group of the period, who Iain McIntyre remarked "Thanks to their brightly coloured hair and bad-ass attitude, the Creatures left in their wake a legacy of multiple arrests, bloodied noses and legendary rave ups".[281][282] The Masters Apprentices' early sound was largely R&B-influenced garage and psychedelic.[283][284]

From New Zealand, the Bluestars cut the defiant "Social End Product", aimed at social oppression much in the manner of 1970s punk rock acts.[285][286] Chants R&B were known for a raw R&B-influenced sound.[287][288] The La De Das recorded a version of the Changin' Times' "How is the Air Up There?", which went to No. 4 on the nation's charts.[289]

Increasingly throughout 1966, partly due to the growing influence of drugs such as marijuana and LSD,[291] numerous bands began to expand their sound, sometimes employing eastern scales and various sonic effects to achieve exotic and hypnotic soundscapes in their music.[292] The development was nonetheless the result of a longer musical evolution growing out of folk rock and other forms, and prefigured even in certain surf rock recordings.[293][294][lower-alpha 7] As the decade progressed, psychedelic influences became pervasive in much garage rock.[297][298]

By the mid-1960s numerous garage bands began to employ tone-altering devices such as fuzzboxes on guitars often for the purpose of enhancing the music's sonic palate, adding an aggressive edge with loudly amplified instruments to create a barrage of "clanging" sounds, in many cases expressing anger, defiance, and sexual frustration.[299] The genre came into its peak of popularity at a time when a collective sense of discontent and alienation crept into the psyche of the youth in the United States and elsewhere—even in the largely conservative suburban communities which produced so many garage bands.[300] Garage bands, though generally apolitical, nonetheless reflected the attitudes and tenor of the times.[301] Nightly news reports had a cumulative effect on the mass consciousness, including musicians.[302] Detectable in much of the music from this era is a disparate array of raw sounds and emotions, coinciding with surrounding events, such as the assassinations of major political figures and the ongoing escalation of troops sent to Vietnam,[303] yet certain commentators have also noted an apparent bygone innocence as part of the style's appeal to later generations.[304]

In 1965, the influence of artists such as Bob Dylan, who moved beyond political protest by experimenting with abstract and surreal lyrical imagery[305] and switched to electric guitar, became increasingly pervasive across the musical landscape, affecting a number of genres, including garage rock.[306] The members of garage bands, like so many musicians of the 1960s, were part of a generation that was largely born into the paradigm and customs of an older time, but grew up confronting a new set of issues facing a more advanced and technological age.[307] Postwar prosperity brought the advantages of better education, as well as more spare time for recreation, which along with the new technology, made it possible for an increasing number of young people to play music.[308] With the advent of television, nuclear weapons, civil rights, the Cold War, and space exploration, the new generation was more global in its mindset and began to conceive of a higher order of human relations, attempting to reach for a set of transcendent ideals, often expressed through rock music.[309] Though set to a backdrop of tragic events that proved increasingly disillusioning,[310] various forms of personal and musical experimentation held promise, at least for a time, in the minds of many.[53] While opening boundaries and testing the frontiers of what the new world had to offer, 1960s youth ultimately had to accept the limitations of the new reality, yet often did so while experiencing the ecstasy of a moment when the realm of the infinite seemed possible and within reach.[311][lower-alpha 8]

The Electric Prunes in 1966

Tapping into the psychedelic zeitgeist, musicians sonically pushed barriers and explored new horizons. Garage acts, while generally lacking the budgetary means to produce musical extravaganzas on the scale of the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band or the instrumental virtuosity of acts such as Jimi Hendrix or Cream, nonetheless managed to infuse esoteric elements into basic primitive rock.[312] The 13th Floor Elevators from Austin, Texas, are usually thought to be first band to use the term "psychedelic"—in their promotional literature in early 1966.[175] They also used it in the title of their debut album released in November, The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators. In August 1966, the Deep traveled from New York to Philadelphia to record a set of hallucinogenic songs for the album Psychedelic Moods: A Mind-Expanding Phenomena, released in October 1966, one month before the 13th Floor Elevators' debut album, and whose all-night sessions produced mind-expanding stream of consciousness ramblings.[313] Other notable bands that incorporated psychedelia into garage rock were the Electric Prunes, the Music Machine, the Blues Magoos,[314] and the Chocolate Watchband. Garage rock helped lay the groundwork for the acid rock of the late 1960s.[315]

Certain acts conveyed a world view markedly removed from the implicit innocence of much psychedelia and suburban garage, often infusing their work with subversive political or philosophical messages,[316] dabbling in experimental musical forms and concepts considered at the time to be decidedly out of the mainstream.[317] Such artists shared certain characteristics with the garage bands in their use of primitivistic instrumentation and arrangements, while displaying psychedelic rock's affinity for exploration—creating more urbanized, intellectual, and avant garde forms of primitivist rock, sometimes characterized as variants of garage rock.[318] New York City was the home to several such groups. The Fugs, who formed in 1963, were one of rock's first experimental bands and its core members were singer, poet, and social activist Ed Sanders, along with Tuli Kupferberg and Ken Weaver.[319] They specialized in a satirical mixture of amateurish garage rock, jug, folk, and psychedelic laced with leftist political commentary.[319][320][321] In a 1970 interview, Ed Sanders became the first known musician to describe his music as "punk rock".[34][322]

The Monks's music imbued garage rock with avant-garde elements.

The Velvet Underground, whose roster included Lou Reed, are now generally considered the foremost experimental rock group of the period.[317] At the time of recording their first album, they were involved with Andy Warhol, who produced some its tracks, and his assemblage of "scenesters" at the Factory, including model-turned-singer Nico.[323] She shared billing with them on the resulting album, The Velvet Underground & Nico.[323] The album's lyrics, though generally apolitical, depict the world of hard drugs in songs such as "I'm Waiting for the Man" and "Heroin", and other topics considered taboo at the time.[323]

Outside of New York were the Monks from Germany, whose members were former US servicemen who chose to remain in Germany, where in 1965 they developed an experimental sound on their album Black Monk Time.[324][325][326] The group, who sometimes wore habits and partially shaven tonsures, specialized in a style featuring chanting and hypnotic percussion.[325]

Even at the height of garage rock's popularity in the mid-1960s, the success of most of its records, in spite of a handful of notable exceptions, was relegated to local and regional markets.[93] In the wake of psychedelia, as rock music became increasingly sophisticated, garage rock began to fade.[327] After the release of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and other late-1960s big-production spectaculars, rock albums became increasingly elaborate and were expected to display a high level of maturity and complexity, while the 45-RPM single ceded to the long-play album as the preferred medium.[328][329]

Album-oriented FM radio stations[lower-alpha 9] eventually overtook AM radio in popularity, and as the large major-label record companies became more powerful and less willing to sign new acts, the once plentiful local and regional independent labels of the mid-1960s began to fold.[330] Radio playlists became more regimented and disc jockeys began to have less freedom, making it increasingly difficult for local and regional bands to receive airplay.[37] Teen clubs and dance venues which previously served as reliable and steady engagements for young groups started to close.[331] The garage sound disappeared at both the national and local level, as band members graduated and departed for college, work, or the military.[332] Musicians in bands frequently faced the prospect of the Vietnam War draft, and many were selected for service.[333] Some died in action.[334][335] With the tumultuous political events of 1968, the tense mood of the country reached a breaking point, while increasing use of drugs and other factors intermingled with shifting musical tastes.[336] New styles either evolved out of garage rock or replaced it, such as acid rock, progressive rock, heavy metal, country rock, and bubblegum.[337][338] By 1969 the garage rock phenomenon had largely passed.[327]

Though the garage rock boom faded at the end of the 1960s, a handful of maverick acts carried its impetus into the next decade, seizing on the style's rougher edges, while brandishing them with increased volume and aggression.[339][340] Such acts, often retroactively described as "proto-punk", worked in a variety of rock genres and came from various places, most notably Michigan, and specialized in music that was often loud, but more primitive than the typical hard rock of the time.[341]

Iggy Pop was a member of the Stooges, who are considered one of the preeminent proto-punk acts.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, several Michigan bands rooted in garage rock[342][343][186] recorded works that became highly influential, particularly with the 1970s punk movement.[344] In 1969, MC5 issued their live debut LP, Kick Out the Jams, which featured a set of highly energetic, politically charged songs.[170][340][345] The Stooges, from Ann Arbor were fronted by lead singer Iggy Pop,[340] Describing their approach, Stephen Thomas Erlewine commented: "Taking their cue from the over-amplified pounding of British blues, the primal raunch of American garage rock, and the psychedelic rock (as well as the audience-baiting) of the Doors, the Stooges were raw, immediate, and vulgar."[340] The group released three albums during this period, beginning with the self-titled The Stooges in 1969[340][346] and culminating with Raw Power (now billed as Iggy and the Stooges) in 1973, which featured the cathartic "Search and Destroy" as its opening track.[347] The Alice Cooper band (previously the Spiders) relocated to Detroit, where they began to gain success with a new "shock rock" image, and recorded 1971's Love It to Death, which featured their breakout hit "I'm Eighteen".[187][186]

Two bands that formed during the waning days of the Detroit scene in the early 1970s were the Punks and Death. The Punks had a sometimes thrashing sound that caught the attention of rock journalist Lester Bangs, and their song "My Time's Comin'" was retroactively featured in a 2016 episode of HBO's Vinyl.[348] In 1974, Death, whose membership was made up of brothers David, Bobby, and Dannis Hackney, recorded tracks for an album that remained unreleased for over 30 years, ...For the Whole World to See, which, along with the release of their other previously unissued tracks, finally earned them a reputation as pioneers in punk rock.[349][350][351] Death's music anticipated the arrival of later African American punk acts such as the Bad Brains.[350]

In Boston, the Modern Lovers, led by Velvet Underground devotee Jonathan Richman, gained attention with their minimalistic style.[352][353] In 1972, they recorded a set of demos that formed the basis of their belated Modern Lovers album in 1976.[352] In 1974, an updated garage rock scene began to coalesce around the Rathskeller club in Kenmore Square.[354][355] The Real Kids, a leading band in the scene, were founded by former Modern Lover John Felice.[356] The Electric Eels, who formed in 1972, were a fixture in the underground rock scene in Cleveland, Ohio, which has sometimes been mentioned as a precursor to the punk scenes in New York and London.[357][358] The Electric Eels were notorious for mayhem at their shows and had a markedly nihilistic approach suggestive of later acts[357] and recorded a set of demos in 1975, from which the single "Agitated" b/w "Cyclotron" was eventually released in 1978, several years after the group's demise.[357][359]

Between 1969 and 1975, other movements further removed from the American garage rock tradition emerged, that nonetheless displayed hallmarks of proto-punk, such as Glam and pub rock in Great Britain, as well as Krautrock in Germany.[360][361] Conversely, glam rock had an influence on the garage/proto-punk sound of the New York Dolls from New York, exhibited on their 1973 self-titled debut album and its follow-up, Too Much Too Soon.[362][363] The Dictators, fronted by Handsome Dick Manitoba, were another influential New York act of this period.[364] The music from these disparate scenes helped set the stage for the punk rock phenomenon of the mid- to late- 1970s.[365]

The Ramones (pictured in 1977), who were influenced by garage rock, spearheaded the mid-1970s punk movement in New York.

Identification of garage rock by certain critics in the early 1970s (and their use of the term "punk rock" to describe it), as well as the 1972 Nuggets compilation exerted a marked degree of influence on the punk movement that emerged in the mid-to-late 1970s.[366] As a result of the popularity of Nuggets and critical attention paid to primitive-sounding rock of the past and present, a self-conscious musical aesthetic began to emerge around the term "punk"[367] that eventually manifested in the punk scenes of New York, London, and elsewhere between 1975 and 1977, and in the process transformed into a new musical and social movement having its own separate subculture, identity, and values.[368]

The mid- to late-1970s saw the arrival of the acts now most commonly identified as punk rock. Frequently mentioned as the first of these[369] were the Ramones from New York, some of whose members earlier played in 1960s garage bands.[370] They were followed by the Sex Pistols in London, who struck a far more defiant pose and effectively heralded the arrival punk as a cause célèbre in the larger public mind.[371] Both bands spearheaded the popular punk movement from their respective locations.[372][371] Simultaneously, Australia developed its own punk scene,[373] which derived some of its inspiration from the 1960s Australian garage/beat movement.[373] One of its leading bands the Saints, from Brisbane, included a rendition of the Missing Links' 1965 song "Wild About You" on their 1977 debut album.[373]

Despite the influence of garage rock and proto-punk on the originating musicians of these scenes,[374] punk rock emerged as a new phenomenon, distinct from its prior associations,[375] and the garage band era of the 1960s came to be viewed as a distant forerunner.[376][377]

Garage rock has experienced various revivals in the ensuing years and continues to influence numerous modern acts who prefer a "back to basics" and "do it yourself" musical approach.[378]

The earliest group to attempt to revive the sound of 1960s garage was the Droogs, from Los Angeles, who formed in 1972 and pre-dated many of the revival acts of the 1980s.[379] In the early 1980s, revival scenes linked to the underground music movements of the period sprang up in Los Angeles, New York, Boston, and elsewhere, with acts such as the Chesterfield Kings, the Fuzztones, the Pandoras, and the Lyres earnestly attempting to replicate the sound and look of the 1960s garage bands.[380] This trend fed in into the alternative rock movement and future grunge explosion, which embraced influences by 1960s garage bands such as the Sonics and the Wailers.[381]

The Black Keys performing in 2011

Out of the garage revival, a more aggressive form of garage rock known as garage punk emerged in the late 1980s. It differed from the "retro" revival in that its acts did not attempt to replicate the exact look and sound of 1960s groups, and their approach tended to be louder, often infusing garage rock with elements of Stooges-era proto-punk, 1970s punk rock, and other influences, creating a new hybrid.[382][383] Several notable garage punk bands were the Gories, thee Mighty Caesars, the Mummies and thee Headcoats.[384] Originally associated with the 1960s garage revival of the early 1980s, the Pandoras' sound became increasingly harder as decade progressed.[385] Out of Japan came Guitar Wolf from Nagasaki[386] and the 5.6.7.8's from Tokyo.[387] Garage punk and revival acts persisted into the 1990s and the new millennium,[382] with independent record labels releasing records by bands playing fast-paced, lo-fi music.[388] Some of the more prolific independent labels include Estrus,[389] Get Hip,[390] Bomp!,[391] and Sympathy for the Record Industry.[392]

In the early 2000s, a garage rock or post-punk revival[393] achieved the airplay and commercial success that had eluded garage rock bands of the past. This was led by four bands: the Strokes of New York City, the Hives of Fagersta, Sweden, the Vines of Sydney, and the White Stripes from Detroit, Michigan.[394] Other products of the Detroit rock scene included the Von Bondies, Electric 6, the Dirtbombs, the Detroit Cobras, and Rocket 455.[395] Elsewhere, acts such as Billy Childish and the Buff Medways from Chatham, England,[396] the (International) Noise Conspiracy from Umeå, Sweden,[397] and Jay Reatard and the Oblivians from Memphis, enjoyed moderate underground success and appeal.[398] A second wave of bands that gained international recognition as a result of the movement included the Black Keys,[399] Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Death from Above 1979, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, the Killers, Interpol, Cage the Elephant, and Kings of Leon from the US,[400] the Libertines, Arctic Monkeys, Bloc Party, Editors, and Franz Ferdinand from the UK,[401] Jet from Australia,[402] and the Datsuns and the D4 from New Zealand.[403]

The mid-2000s saw several underground bands achieve mainstream prominence. Acts such as Ty Segall, Thee Oh Sees, Black Lips[404] and Jay Reatard,[405] that initially released records on smaller garage punk labels such as In the Red Records, began signing to larger, better-known independent labels.[406] Several bands followed them in signing to larger labels such as Rough Trade[407] and Drag City.[408]

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