Even pretending to be inclusive is hopeless here. But it'll offer a taste.
Some important/influential garage rock artists/songs include:
1. The Seeds: Pushin' Too Hard
Arguably the most "successful" of all the garage bands, the Seeds, from Los Angeles, benefited from the right label, GNP/Crescendo and the right location and time, Sunset Strip 1966-1967. As a result, they were allowed to make five albums; few garage bands ever even got to make one. Calling them a true "garage band" is a misnomer anyway, although they're usually tagged as one. Leader Sky Saxon had been hustling around town for a couple of years trying to make things happen; the Seeds were formed when he answered an ad placed by organist Daryl Hooper, guitarist Jan Savage, and drummer Rick Andridge in 1965. Within a year, they had their GNP contact and were sharing venues with the Byrds, Love, and the Doors. Musically, they were utter primitives, with Saxon snarling seedy, druggy lyrics over Hooper's dementedly repetitive organ and Savage's sometimes-three, sometimes-two chords and Andridge's Neanderthal bashing. That's what made them great; "Pushin' Too Hard" was their biggest hit, peaking at #36; "Can't Seem To Make You Mine", also from their debut, just missed the top-40 at #41. The band fell apart in a druggy haze in 1968, but Saxon and Hooper attempted to release singles as the Seeds until 1972.
2. The Kingsmen: Louie Louie
If one is looking for a starting point for garage rock, The Kingsmen's 1963 hit "Louie Louie" marks a useful milestone, although the earliest garage bands stretch back into the late 50's. "Louie Louie" peaked at #2 in 1963, practically the only "rock" song outside of the Beach Boys to hit big in that chilly year before the Beatles' arrival. From the unusually fertile garage band spawning grounds, the Pacific Northwest (Portland, specifically), the Kingsmen's recording is about as amateurish as you can get, from a blown vocal entering a verse too soon to barely enunciated lyrics that were rumored to be dirty (they aren't), all somehow made more noticeable by a notably muddy small-studio production job. Lead singer/guitarist Jack Ely taught the band the rhythm to the Richard Berry original (also not dirty) incorrectly, which resulted in the lurching party fest their version is. Quasi-garage band Paul Revere & The Raiders tried to steal their thunder by recording their own version for the Northeast market, but it is the Kingsmen's version that endures. Ely was gone by the time the band had their only other hit, "Jolly Green Giant" in 1965; the band essentially ceased to exist in 1966.
Article comments
1 - The Proprietor
The Standells reunited for a live show in 1999 (with Dodd, Valentino and Tamblyn; Gary Lane didn't participate) released as "Ban This! Live From Cavestomp".
The definitive Remains recording was the Capitol audition, which was released as "A Session With The Remains" by Sundazed a few years back. It's an especially fierce recording (their original "Why Do I Cry" is much more powerful than on the Epic LP).
2 - Victor Plenty
Excellent work as always, uao. Interesting mix of stuff almost everybody knows about ("Louie Louie" for example) right alongside songs many of us may never have heard of.
One minor quibble on your title: I'd recommend taking out the apostrophe. It makes the construction look like a possessive, rather than a plural; garage rock belonging to 1960, rather than garage rock from the entire decade of the Sixties.
Also interesting that "96 Tears" came from such obscure origins. The local "classic rock" station plays it all the time. For some reason I'd always assumed it was from a more well-known band with lots of other hits.
3 - uao
Thank you Proprietor, for your ever-useful nuggets of knowledge; I always appreciate them.
Victor Plenty: as an English language instructor, I'm sensitive to apostrophes. However, I've been taught that in addition to denoting a passive, they can also be used when puralizing a specific number: 1960's vs. 1960s. Maybe I'm wrong; I'm too lazy to fish out my Elements of Style right now. But I'll sleep on it, and if the title bugs me in the moring, I'll change it.
Thanks ;-)
4 - uao
I meant "possessive" not "passive" I am a famously lousy typist.
5 - Victor Plenty
It can be equally correct to pluralize a number with an apostrophe, or with just a plain S. You are of course quite right about that, as a general rule. In this specific case, it's the context that makes the construction seem possessive and not plural.
If the title had been "Garage Rock of the 1960's" it would be clear you intended the plural, with or without the apostrophe.
Of course the larger cultural context makes it unlikely any native English speaker would interpret "1960's Garage Rock" as a reference to only the year 1960, but for the benefit of any readers who might not share that cultural context, it would be more clear to leave the apostrophe out.
As I said before, it's a minor quibble, but I at least wanted to make it a clearly stated quibble. :)
6 - uao
For me it's like talking shop, I like it. Your point is a good one, given the wording of the title. You've convinced me; I've reworded it.
7 - godoggo
Where are the chick's?
8 - godoggo
Correction: Wheres.
9 - Michael J. West
Awesome list, UAO! Thanks for linking to the Essential Pebbles collection, too--in any era, that awesome CD is as indie (and as freakin' great) as it gets.
10 - godoggo
Just out of curiosity, I googled both names for the decade in the NY Times, figuring they'd have it standardized. Apparently I figured wrong.
Results:
about 24,200 from nytimes.com for "1960's"
about 23,400 from nytimes.com for "1960s"
A lot (not all) of the latter are from book etc. titles, so I guess the apostrophe wins. But I don't like it, myself.
11 - GoHah
Great article. Maybe this group is more borderline Garage (since they evolved into different directions), but I think the biggest amphetimine-jolt of that time comes from Love's "7 and 7 Is"--that'll give you chills.
Oh, I think the decades are supposed to be written apostrophe-free (but spoken with the apostrophe left in).
12 - wum
Good article, look forward to part 2.
13 - Grammar Cop
Apostrophes never make something plural. 1960s is correct.
14 - JC Mosquito
1960s is indeed correct, but doesn't look as psychedelic as 1960's.
15 - Dr Dreadful
1960s is correct.
1960's is incorrect.
You will not use it.
You will be assimilated.
16 - Christopher Rose
This 3 year old article has been corrected, thanks Grammar Cop.
Resistance is futile.