View source for Garage Rock

{{Useful Notes}}
{{quote|''"They wanted to be [[The Beatles (band)|The Beatles]]. They wanted to be [[The Rolling Stones|the Stones]]. OK, so a couple of them made it… but what about the rest?"''
|Advertising blurb for the box set ''Nuggets II: Original Artifacts From the British Empire and Beyond''}}

Garage Rock is a raw form of rock music that is typically performed by amateur teenage musicians in [[Garage Band|Garage Bands]].

The first wave of garage rock lasted from around [[The Sixties|1963 to 1968]]. Perhaps the most influential (and definitely the most frequently covered) garage rock single was "Louie Louie", a tune written by Richard Berry, reintroduced by the Sonics and the Wailers and definitively covered by the Kingsmen. However, it was [[The British Invasion]] that really started the deluge; [[The Beatles (band)|The Beatles]], [[The Rolling Stones]], and all the movement's other groups inspired countless teens from all over the world to form their own bands. 

Nearly every early garage band that made a hit was a [[One-Hit Wonder]], although some bands like The Sonics, The Standells, The Seeds, and especially Paul Revere & the Raiders were slightly luckier. (Also, major names like [[Alice Cooper]], [[Ted Nugent]], [[Iggy Pop]] and [[Todd Rundgren]] got their starts in garage bands.) The double LP (and later box set) ''Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era: 1965-1968'', compiled by [[Patti Smith]] Group guitarist Lenny Kaye, contains a decent amount of these hits, as well as some "deep cuts" and even novelty songs from garage and [[Psychedelic Rock]].

There is significant overlap between garage rock, [[Surf Rock]], [[Folk Rock]], [[The British Invasion]], and proto-punk. Question Mark & the Mysterians, The Monks, and a few later garage rock bands such as [[The Stooges]] and [[MC5]] are often considered to be the first [[Punk Rock]] bands. 

In [[The Seventies]] and [[The Eighties]], punk bands like [[The Cramps]] and [[The Ramones]] would create the first garage rock revival. But the most successful garage rock bands were formed in the 2000s, when [[The White Stripes]], [[The Strokes]], and [[The Hives]] achieved commercial success that was unrivaled by even the first wave of garage rock bands.

The film ''[[That Thing You Do]]'' is a tribute to this genre.
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=== Some influential mid-60s American Garage Rock bands: ===
* [[The 13th Floor Elevators|The 13 th Floor Elevators]] ("You're Gonna Miss Me"; more [[Psychedelic Rock]] than garage, but very influential on both genres)
* The Blues Magoos ("We Ain't Got Nothin' Yet")
* The Castaways ("Liar, Liar")
* The Chocolate Watchband ("Sweet Young Thing", "Are You Gonna Be There (At the Love-In)?")
* Count Five ("Psychotic Reaction")
* The Electric Prunes ("I Had Too Much to Dream Last Night," "Get Me to the World on Time"; they were at the midpoint between garage and [[Psychedelic Rock]])
* The Flamin' Groovies (started in 1965, made their major impact in [[The Seventies]], and [[Long Runners|finally split up]] in 1992)
* The Kingsmen ("Louie Louie", "Jolly Green Giant")
* The Knickerbockers ("Lies")
* The Leaves ("Hey Joe" [which became a Garage Rock standard], "Too Many People")
* The Monks (five American servicemen stationed in West Germany whose unique sound was half-garage, half-[[Psychedelic Rock]])
* The Nazz ([[Todd Rundgren]]'s first band; hits included "Open My Eyes" and the original version of "Hello, It's Me") 
* Question Mark & the Mysterians ("96 Tears")
* The Remains ("Don't Look Back")
* Paul Revere & the Raiders ("Indian Reservation," "Kicks")
* The Rivieras ("California Sun")
* The Seeds ("Pushin' Too Hard," "Can't Seem to Make You Mine," "Mr. Farmer")
* The Shadows of Knight (their version of "Gloria" [[Covered Up]] Them's original on the American charts)
* The Sonics ("Strychnine," "Psycho," "The Witch"; considered ''the'' ancestor of Washington state's [[Alternative Rock]] scene)
* The Standells ("Dirty Water," "Sometimes Good Guys Don't Wear White")
* [[The Stooges]] ("No Fun," "I Wanna Be Your Dog," "1969"; they came along too late to be part of the original movement, but combined garage rock with proto-punk)
* The Turtles (started as a garage-y [[Folk Rock]] group before having pop hits like "Eleanor" and "Happy Together")
* The Trashmen ("Surfin' Bird")
* The Wailers (not ''those'' [[Bob Marley|Wailers]]; this group was from Tacoma and recorded the song "Tall Cool One", as well as one of the better known pre-Kingsmen revivals of "Louie Louie")

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=== Equally influental mid-60s UK bands who were kindred spirits: ===
* [[The Animals]]
* [[The Beatles (band)|The Beatles]] (without them, there would have been no British Invasion and hence no Garage Rock, at least not as we know it)
* The Creation ("Making Time")
* [[The Kinks]]
* The [[Pretty Things]] ("Rosalyn", "Don't Bring Me Down")
* [[The Rolling Stones]] (their influence on the genre can't be overstated)
* Them (Van Morrison's first band; hits included "Here Comes the Night" and the original version of "Gloria")
* The Troggs ("Wild Thing", "I Can't Control Myself", "Love Is All Around")
* [[The Yardbirds]]

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=== Bands from [[The Seventies]], [[The Eighties]] and later who helped revive Garage Rock: ===
* [[Arctic Monkeys]]
* [[Cage the Elephant]]
* The Chesterfield Kings
* [[The Cramps]] (they mixed Garage with [[Music/Rockabilly|Rockabilly]] and [[Exploitation Film|Exploitation Films]])
* DMZ and their [[Spin-Off]] The Lyres
* The Detroit Cobras
* The Fleshtones
* The Hives
* Lime Spiders (legends in Australia, but screwed themselves over by continuing to release their work mainly on vinyl and cassette in the late 80's and 90's)
* Music/Mudhoney
* [[The Ramones]]
* [[The Strokes]]
* The Vines
* The Von Bondies
* [[The White Stripes]]

{{creatortropes}}
* [[Flanderization]]: The original 60s garage bands were a diverse bunch; several bands performed [[Beatles]]-like [[Power Pop]] or [[The Byrds|Byrds]]-ish [[Folk Rock]]. However, the genre became best known for bands influenced by the tougher, R&B-inspired side of [[The British Invasion]], such as [[The Rolling Stones]], [[The Who]], [[The Animals]], [[The Kinks]] and [[The Yardbirds]].
* [[Name's the Same]]/[[Similarly Named Works|Similarly Named Groups]]: In those pre-internet days, it was all too easy for bands in different cities or countries to give themselves identical names without realizing it. Particular favorites included the Missing Links (used by 9 different bands), the Chosen Few (10 bands) and the Coachmen (11 bands).
* [[The Smurfette Principle]]: Most original garage bands were male, although there were a handful of female bands. 
* [[Three Chords and the Truth]]: Garage Rock makes musical and lyrical simplicity a virtue, partly out of necessity. One of its most appealing aspects is its contention that ''anybody'' can be in a band, with only a minimal amount of practice.

{{reflist}}
[[Category:The Sixties]]
[[Category:Music Tropes]]
[[Category:Garage Rock]]
[[Category:Music]]
[[Category:Music Genres]]