Thanks again to everybody who participated ... the folks who voted, the deejays who helped promote it and the artists who responded ... we couldn't have done it without you and it is through your acts of kindness that we can publish these results today.
When all was said and done, we received just over 9000 votes ... that's good enough for us to declare this as the definitive list.
And so ... without any further adieu (Lord knows we've waited long enough for this list to be published as it is!!!), here come Your Top 10 Favorites!!!
#10 - THE KNICKERBOCKERS
Their Beatles-sound-alike hit "Lies" is what put these guys on the map. It was a #4 Smash here in Chicago ... and also earned a #17 national showing. (Honestly, I preferred "Lies" to every single that the REAL Fab Four released in 1966! It was certainly a harkening back to their earlier sound and style.)
Unfortunately, The Knickerbockers were never able to capture that sound again. A follow-up single "One Track Mind" stalled at #46 ... and then "High On Love" became their final chart single when it peaked at #94 later that same year.
Unfortunately, The Knickerbockers were never able to capture that sound again. A follow-up single "One Track Mind" stalled at #46 ... and then "High On Love" became their final chart single when it peaked at #94 later that same year.
It’s well documented that the Knickerbockers’ greatest success, ‘Lies’, was often times mistaken as the next Beatles song during its release in 1965. And while there are obviously many lesser groups a band can be compared to, the Knickerbockers recorded legacy still hold up fantastically well on its own. The New Jersey group really took off after migrating to Hollywood and, along the way, recorded such excellent songs as ‘High On Love’, ‘One Track Mind’, ‘I Can Do It Better’, ‘Rumors Gossip Lies Untrue’, ‘Please Don’t Love Him’ and ‘They Ran For Their Lives’.
Mike Dugo / 60sGarageBands.com
#9 - THE BOBBY FULLER FOUR
The Bobby Fuller Story is the greatest rock and roll movie never made ... nearly fifty years later there are still countless unanswered questions surrounding the mysterious death of Bobby Fuller, who scored a Top Ten rock and roll classic in 1966 with his version of "I Fought The Law". As quickly as his star rose, he was gone.
We've documented the story as we know it on our other Forgotten Hits Website:
We've documented the story as we know it on our other Forgotten Hits Website:
The Bobby Fuller Four earned 226 of your votes to land at #9 in our special countdown of your All-Time Top 20 Favorite Garage Bands. (kk)
Although hailing from El Paso, Texas, it wasn’t until the group moved to Hollywood that the Bobby Fuller Four truly experienced national success. Best known for their cover of Sonny Curtis’ ‘I Fought The Law’, the Bobby Fuller Four left behind an amazing legacy of classic songs. ‘Let Her Dance’ should have been a massive hit, and ‘Another Sad & Lonely Night’, ‘Love’s Made A Fool Of You’, ‘Don’t Ever Let Me Know’ and countless other songs place the group among the finest of all ‘60s rock bands. It’s unfortunate that today the mysterious circumstance surrounding Bobby Fuller’s death often times overshadows the group’s music.
Mike Dugo / 60sGarageBands.com
#8 - THE LEAVES
"Hey Joe" is a garage band classic ... there wasn't a band around that didn't play this one at the time. A relatively simple song to play, you didn't have to be a top-notch musician in order to sound like one when you played this song!
Although it has since gone on to be more closely associated with Jimi Hendrix (who slowed the tempo down dramatically), it was The Leaves who took this record all the way to #31 (and #9 here in Chicago!) in 1966. It would be their only chart hit ... but man, what a classic!
Apparently you guys agree ... that one hit propelled The Leaves to #8 on your Top 20 All-Time Favorite Garage Bands Countdown! (kk)
Since we’re being completely honest here, let’s unequivocally state that the Leaves version of ‘Hey Joe’ — their greatest chart success — blows Jimi Hendrix’ slowed down version out of the water … on this or any other planet. Although it was written by Billy Roberts and taught to the band by the Byrds, the Leaves took the song and made it uniquely their own. In doing so, they recorded a song that every garage band of the era also had to perform and / or record. The Los Angeles’ group follow-up, ‘Too Many People’, is another great example of garage rock.
Mike Dugo / 60sGarageBands.com
#7 - THE SEEDS
The Seeds topped the Chicago Charts with their first chart single, "Pushin' Too Hard". (Nationally it stopped at #36) Actually, their first single release, "Can't Seem To Make You Mine", failed to chart the first time around ... but when it was re-released as their third single, it just missed The Top 40, peaking at #41. Leader Sky Saxon died a few years back ... but the music of The Seeds plays on in Garage Band Heaven. You guys awarded them with 239 of your votes as your All-Time Favorite Garage Band ... and that's good enough for the #7 Spot on our special countdown. (kk)
Despite being the originators of “Flower Power”, most of the Seeds’ recordings are classic examples of garage rock. ‘Pushin’ To Hard’ was their biggest hit but they also had some chart success with ‘Can’t Seem To Make You Mine’ and ‘A Thousand Shadows’. Lead singer Sky Saxon personified the garage band front man with his exaggerated Jagger-like moves and atonal snarl. Mainly a Los Angles group, the Seeds managed to appear in the film Psych Out and made a classic appearance on the short-lived sitcom The Mothers-In- Law.
-- Mike Dugo / 60sGarageBands.com
And you have to admit that's it kinda cool that The Seeds follow The Leaves in this countdown ... a special kind of symmetry there, I think! (More symmetry to follow as we count down positions #6 and #5 ... y'all come back now, y'hear?!?!?) kk
And you have to admit that's it kinda cool that The Seeds follow The Leaves in this countdown ... a special kind of symmetry there, I think! (More symmetry to follow as we count down positions #6 and #5 ... y'all come back now, y'hear?!?!?) kk
