Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Garage Bands (Part 1)

More of your Garage Band comments and suggestions today ... 

>>>The Standells' "Dirty Water" has been one of my favorites ever since the very first time I heard it ... and, for some reason, this song always reminds me of "Tobacco Road" by The Nashville Teens, who, believe it or not, only have FOUR votes so far in our Garage Band Survey!  (kk)  
I, too, have always thought they closely resembled one another.  
David Lewis  
And votes for both of these increased after we featured them the other day!  In fact, several hundred more votes came in this week ... and very soon we'll be posting the "final ballot" so all of you can cast your votes one more time.  Then, we'll announce your Top 20 Favorite Garage Bands in early June ... so keep those votes comin'!  (kk)  

Kent,
Two things about Tuesday's comments. The posting you made of TOBACCO ROAD by the  Nashville Teens ... I am not sure, but I don't believe that's the original 45 rpmversion as put out by London Records. I could be wrong. It is the Nashville Teens, I am sure, but not the version initially played on top 40 radio stations. No big deal! I
believe a few months ago you had readers write in about songs being heard on theradio that were somewhat similar to the original versions when they came out.
I am like you in that, would you believe just last week for whatever reason, I started to think about the song FARMER JOHN by the Premiers with their remake of the Don and Dewey tune. As you know, that is one of the few songs I guess that when it came out, on the label it said it was recorded "live" at some location, normally a club or restaurant. But then again, if you stopped to think about it, every record that came out was recorded "live", the Grateful Dead not withstanding.
Larry  
No, it was NOT the original version ... and, even more frustrating is the fact that I replaced it THREE TIMES that morning ... and for whatever reason, it kept defaulting to this remade version ... I've never seen it do that before!  So then I looked online and there were something like 35 versions to choose from ... and I sampled every single one of them ... and every single one of them was a remake ... I couldn't believe it.  Very, very frustrating ... even the version on their "official" greatest hits cd, which plays fine and is the correct version, changed to a remake version when I downloaded it!  Like I said, I've never seen that happen before.  Very strange ... and very frustrating. I finally had to give up and go into work!  But I DID finally get the correct version to download today (thanks to an Eric Records "Hard To Find 45's" CD) ... so we're giving it another shot here today!  (kk)
   

Here's my vote(s) for favorite garage bands. I guess I prefer the "poppy" types:  
1) Bobby Fuller 4   
2) The Knickerbockers  
3) The New Colony Six  
4) Paul Revere & The Raiders  
5) The Buckinghams  
6) The Yellow Balloon  
7)  Beau Brummels 
8) Dino, Desi & Billy (Yes, I'll join the "believers"!)  
9) The Fun & Games / The Sixpentz  
10) The Robbs (Wisconsin's own!) 
11) The Five Americans  
12) The Outsiders  
I realize some people will think that a few of these groups shouldn't be classified as being within the "garage" genre, but it's MY vote here, right? Plus they've all had at least one song on a Nuggets compilation at some point, I think (with the exception of #9, perhaps), which I think should automatically qualify a band.
Thanks, Kent. Great idea!
Jon Olsen,
Stevens Point, Wisconsin
The Robbs have scored quite a few votes already in our Garage Band Poll ... and I don't think we've featured them yet ... so let's give the guys from Oconomowoc a special shout-out today!  (kk)
   

Hey Kent, 
Really enjoyed the story of the making of Dino, Desi and Billy. 
Imagine having connections like that. 
And thanks so much for posting the Jolly Green Giant song. I can't believe how quickly the words came out. 
Stacee 

Kent,  
I wouldn't throw Dino, Desi & Billy in the garage mix, but it WAS a great story Billy told about their early days.  They certainly had a built in audience getting on any TV show and being in all the fanzines those days.  I loved the Dino, Desi & Billy garage band stories!  About 45 years ago (in a month or two), here's what the rich garage guys were doing!


FYI, the opening screams heard on the intro of "Farmer John" by the Premiers was always played at the opening of WLS' Ron Riley first hour of his show over the first record he would play back in the 67 era.  I always thought it was cool to hear that and know I had a solid three hours of Big 89 music from the "Double R" coming my way!
WLSClark



I heard Davie Allan and the Arrows'  hit, "Blue's Theme" again, not long ago. Maybe they should be considered for "Best Garage Band". Makes you want get on your chopper and ride!
-- John LaPuzza
Counting yours, Davie Allan and the Arrows are now up to NINE votes in our on-going Best Garage Bands Poll.  ("Blues' Theme" is one of my favorites ... in fact, it's cycle-delic!)  Look for a final list tomorrow regarding the finalists!  (kk)


 

Hi Kent -
Glad to hear my two favorite Garage Bands, The Shadows Of Knight and ? and the Mysterians (Gloria and 96 Tears) are leading the pack!!!!!
As for the Rivieras, I always liked their tune "Somebody New". Do you remember that one? I may be wrong but wasn't Bill Simzak (spelling?), who produced Hotel California, 
affiliated with the Rivieras?
When in doubt ask the master!!!!
Carolyn
The main guy behind The Rivieras was a guy named 76Bill Dobslaw, who first met the band after they auditioned to play at his Tipton Terrace Dance Club.  Eventually, he became their promoter / manager ... and, eventually, the lead singer of the band!  I don't recall hearing anything about a Bill Szymczyk connection to The Rivieras ... musically speaking, he came along a bit later in the game, first hooking up in the early '70's with artists like Electric Flag and B.B. King ... and later The James Gang and The J. Geils Band ... before landing prominently in The Eagles' camp.  The Rivieras earned quite a bit of votes after we featured their track last week.  As for "Somebody New", that one missed the national charts ... but was a #32 Hit here in Chicago back in 1965.  (kk)


More on Bill Szymczyk here:  Click here: Bill Szymczyk | AllMusic

Hi Kent,
Given all the fabulous chat about Garage Rock going on, I thought I'd pass this link on.
I believe these are liner notes from a Fanbox of artists from CAL. from 1964 - 69. Good reading IMO.  Lots of names we all will recognize but didn't know their roots.
Bill
http://lagemstones.blogspot.com/


 
Check back tomorrow to see the final list of eligible artists vying for your votes as The All-Time Favorite Garage Band.  (Any band with less than 20 votes has been eliminated from the list ... those "unaccounted for" votes have then been evenly distributed amongst the remaining artists ... so you're now voting for the very best of the best.)
Even if you've voted before, vote again for the final tabulation.
You can vote for up to TEN different bands.  If you prefer to rank these in order, please indicate this on your ballot and we will prorate the votes accordingly.  If you have no personal preference, we will distribute your votes evenly amongst those on your list.

We're getting REALLY close to announcing our winners ... so get back to us soon on this ... and then watch for The Top 20 Posting during the first week of June!  (kk)