60s Garage Era

tagStarted 1963Peak 1965-1967Last big hit 1968From United States

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Raw amateur American teen rock made in basements and garages: fuzzed-out riffs, cheap Farfisa or Vox organ, snotty sneering vocals and pounding two-chord drive. Crude, primitive and energetic — British Invasion swagger filtered through suburban inexperience, captured on regional labels with more attitude than polish, the proto-blueprint for punk.

History

Inspired by the British Invasion, thousands of American teen combos formed in 1964-65, recording one-shot regional singles. Bands like The Sonics and ? and the Mysterians scored hits, and the era's wildest sides were later canonized on the 1972 'Nuggets' compilation, codifying it as a genre.

Defining artists

Essential listening

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Sources

  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garage_rock
  • https://www.allmusic.com/style/garage-rock-ma0000002647
  • https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/nuggets-garage-rock/