In a long-forgotten past, there were establishments known as “record stores,” where people would go to purchase discs that, when inserted into a CD player, would generate music. Two of the sections in these stores were “rock” and “oldies,” and woe to the artists who got filed under “oldies,” as it meant they had fallen short of the Beatles and other contemporaries, succumbing to also-ran status instead.
Sadly, many of those forgotten bands of the Beatles’ vintage had much to offer and deserve more than just a single “greatest hits” compilation. We’re listing 10 of those bands here, and hopefully, this will fill you with an unquenchable thirst to learn more about them and listen to their music since most of it is excellent.
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1. Vanilla Fudge
Vanilla Fudge are sometimes mentioned as early heavy-metallers thanks to their dense rearrangements of pop songs, most notably “You Keep Me Hangin’ On” by the Supremes, which they turned into a proto-metal dirge. They also gave similar treatment to “Ticket to Ride” by the Beatles, and guitarist Ritchie Blackmore said they were an influence in the early days of Deep Purple.
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2. Iron Butterfly
Iron Butterfly made some great music, but they remain best known for the song “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida,” which went on for over 17 minutes. The title derives from lead singer and songwriter Doug Ingle trying to sing “In the Garden of Eden” while inebriated.
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3. The Box Tops
It’s hard to be more of an unsung musical hero than the Box Tops’ Alex Chilton. He was a beloved musician who inspired lots of alternative rock songwriters but sadly never won mainstream acclaim. Having said that, if you play the song “The Letter,” you’ll probably recognize it, so at least Chilton wasn’t a total obscurity.
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4. The Strawberry Alarm Clock
“Incense and Peppermints” is one of the greatest songs of the entire psychedelic era, and if you play it this very minute, you will have a delightful two minutes and 47 seconds ahead of you. Sadly, that song was their only hit, and they were condemned to one-hit-wonder status shortly thereafter. Interestingly, the song was written by Ed King who would go on to join Lynyrd Skynyrd and write “Sweet Home Alabama.”
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5. Moby Grape
Along with Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead, Moby Grape was a part of the psychedelic scene in the San Francisco Bay Area, but unlike those bands, they had neither hits nor a massive worldwide cult following. Members Skip Spence and Bob Mosley both suffered from mental illness and between that and ongoing legal disputes with their management, the group was too bogged down with existential problems to become successful.
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6. Quicksilver Messenger Service
Quicksilver Messenger Service, like Moby Grape, was another San Francisco psychedelic band. While they didn’t suffer the same problems that plagued Moby Grape, they never broke through to achieve mainstream success. Correct this injustice by listening to their song “Fresh Air” immediately!
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7. The 13th Floor Elevators
The 13th Floor Elevators hailed from Austin, Texas, and featured the inimitable vocals of frontman Roky Erickson. They’re best known for the song “You’re Gonna Miss Me,” which science has conclusively proven is a banger. Today, every raw, unrefined garage rock band owes the 13th Floor Elevators a debt, whether they realize it or not.
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8. Blue Cheer
Blue Cheer also hailed from psychedelic San Francisco, but there was nothing mellow about their sound. The group is credited with helping invent heavy metal, and one listen to their 1968 debut album “Vincebus Eruptum” will explain why. Their cover of the early rock ‘n’ roll classic “Summertime Blues” is even louder and heavier than the Who’s famous version, and Blue Cheer did it two years earlier.
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9. The Zombies
The Zombies were tragically underrated, although they almost topped the Billboard Hot 100 with songs like “She’s Not There” and the exquisite “Time of the Season.” Their 1968 album, “Odessey and Oracle” (yes, it’s spelled that way) made Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list in 2012. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2019, so even if they never had blockbuster success, they definitely succeeded in making some waves.
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10. The Small Faces
The Small Faces were massively successful in their native UK, but it was a different story in the US. Bassist Ronnie Lane and drummer Kenney Jones would go on to become members of the Faces with Rod Stewart and singer Steve Marriott would go on to become a member of Humble Pie, but despite that success, the Small Faces are still not that well-known in the US, which is a shame. Go listen to “Itchycoo Park” or “Tin Soldier” please.
This article was produced and syndicated by MediaFeed.
Image Credit: Wikipedia.
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