#25 - THE MUSIC MACHINE:
Their one hit wonder "Talk Talk" is a garage band classic. It reached #15 in early 1967 (and was recently requested by one of our readers as a "Today's Forgotten Hit" suggestion.) Hailing from Los Angeles, their bassist Keith Olsen became an in-demand record producer in the 1980's, working with artists like Ozzy Osbourne, Heart, Santana, Journey, Pat Benatar, Fleetwood Mac, Foreigner and The Grateful Dead amongst others. (kk)
The Music Machine’s ‘Talk Talk’ has to be the most powerful garage rock song to ever become a hit. The short but lethal tune introduced the world to Sean Bonniwell’s one glove wearing, black clad combo — and as a result probably scared more than a handful of people. The core members of the Los Angeles group — Ron Edgar, Keith Olsen, Mark Landon and Doug Rhodes — all ended up contributing mightily to rock and roll history. I won’t go into details here; look them up — you’ll be glad you did.
Mike Dugo / 60sGarageBands.com
#24 - COUNT FIVE:
Count Five is another artist that made our Top 20 All-Time Favorite Psychedelic Songs Countdown, thanks to their 1966 Top Five Hit "Psychotic Reaction."
You can find a more in-depth bio on our other Forgotten Hits webpage:
You can find a more in-depth bio on our other Forgotten Hits webpage:
Scroll down to #14 for all the details! (kk)
Although owing a great debt to the Yardbirds, the Count Five’s ‘Psychotic Reaction’ is a prime example of Garage Rock 101. The San Jose group quickly recorded an entire album after their classic song became a smash, but none of their other recordings came anywhere close to again gaining national prominence. With a song like ‘Psychotic Reaction’ as your signature tune, however … who cares? Lester Bangs further immortalized the Count Five in his 1972 book Psychotic Reaction and Carburetor Dung.
Mike Dugo / 60sGarageBands.com
#23 - THE SYNDICATE OF SOUND:
Another one hit wonder ... but what a GREAT, catchy tune. ("Little Girl" went all the way to #8 Nationally)
We used to play this one back in the day ... and it always got a great (if somewhat surprised) reaction. Recently I've seen a couple of other bands do this one, too ... ALWAYS to the delight of their audience. (See, we remember!!!)
I guarantee that your radio listeners would react the same way (if somebody would only play it!) Another band from San Jose, they'd chart twice more before they disappeared. (kk)
Another San Jose group (the third, by my count, to make this list), the Syndicate Of Sound’s ‘Little Girl’ reached the Top 10 in 1966. They did release an album and three follow-up singles, but nothing that attained the heights of ‘Little Girl’. The rest of their recordings should not be overlooked, however. ‘Mary’, ‘Keep It Up’ and ‘Rumors’ are all excellent.
We used to play this one back in the day ... and it always got a great (if somewhat surprised) reaction. Recently I've seen a couple of other bands do this one, too ... ALWAYS to the delight of their audience. (See, we remember!!!)
I guarantee that your radio listeners would react the same way (if somebody would only play it!) Another band from San Jose, they'd chart twice more before they disappeared. (kk)
Another San Jose group (the third, by my count, to make this list), the Syndicate Of Sound’s ‘Little Girl’ reached the Top 10 in 1966. They did release an album and three follow-up singles, but nothing that attained the heights of ‘Little Girl’. The rest of their recordings should not be overlooked, however. ‘Mary’, ‘Keep It Up’ and ‘Rumors’ are all excellent.
Mike Dugo / 60sGarageBands.com
#22 - THE TROGGS:
Could there BE a better definition of the grunge / garage band sound than "Wild Thing" by The Troggs??? A #1 Record and a timeless classic, The Troggs were a bit more diverse than this head-banger might indicate ... they also scored Top 40 Hits with the beautiful ballads "With A Girl Like You" and "Love Is All Around You". Although 148 of your votes still wasn't enough to get them into The Top 20, their legacy provided the perfect reason to do a Runners' Up List in the first place! (kk)
While their other top hits, especially ‘With A Girl Like You’, ‘Anyway That You Want Me’ and ‘Love Is All Around’, might portray them in a different light, the Troggs will forever be immortalized by ‘Wild Thing’, a song they initially were hesitant to record due to its “groovy” lyrics. The Troggs have been cited as inspirations by many later garage rock / punk bands, with ‘I Can’t Control Myself’ and ‘I Want You’ being particularly influential.
While their other top hits, especially ‘With A Girl Like You’, ‘Anyway That You Want Me’ and ‘Love Is All Around’, might portray them in a different light, the Troggs will forever be immortalized by ‘Wild Thing’, a song they initially were hesitant to record due to its “groovy” lyrics. The Troggs have been cited as inspirations by many later garage rock / punk bands, with ‘I Can’t Control Myself’ and ‘I Want You’ being particularly influential.
Mike Dugo / 60sGarageBands.com
#21 - THE 13th FLOOR ELEVATORS:
Another group who never really had a legitimate pop hit, ("You're Gonna Miss Me" was as close as they came when it peaked at #55 in 1966), they also rank amongst the hard-core garage band fanatics favorites. Thanks to their on-going "nuggets" classification, these guys also earned quite a few votes in our Favorite Psychedelic Song Poll a few years ago ... but not enough to make the list. Here, they just missed ... falling one spot outside The Top 20 with 159 readers selecting them as their favorite. (kk)
Often thought of as more a psychedelic group than a garage band, The 13th Floor Elevators only had one song that came close to being a hit — the screaming classic ‘You’re Gonna Miss Me’. While the Roky Erickson-led, electric-jug based group recorded four albums and released seven singles, it is ‘You’re Gonna Miss Me’ that they’ll most likely always be remembered for. The Texas group performed the song on both American Bandstand and Where The Action is, influencing countless bands across the country along the way.
Often thought of as more a psychedelic group than a garage band, The 13th Floor Elevators only had one song that came close to being a hit — the screaming classic ‘You’re Gonna Miss Me’. While the Roky Erickson-led, electric-jug based group recorded four albums and released seven singles, it is ‘You’re Gonna Miss Me’ that they’ll most likely always be remembered for. The Texas group performed the song on both American Bandstand and Where The Action is, influencing countless bands across the country along the way.
Mike Dugo / 60sGarageBands.com
The countdown of your Top 20 Favorites kicks off tomorrow
... EXCLUSIVELY in Forgotten HIts!!!
... EXCLUSIVELY in Forgotten HIts!!!
