The Standells

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The Standells
The Standells.png
General information
Genre (s) Garage skirt
founding 1963
resolution 1968
Founding members
Lawrence "Larry" Tamblyn
Tony Valentino
guitar
 Dave Burke (until 1967)
Gary Lane
Gerry Leeds (until 1965)
Last occupation
Vocals, keyboard
 Larry Tamblyn
guitar
 Tony Valentino
bass
 John Fleck
Drums
 Dick Dodd († 2013)

The Standells were an American band from Los Angeles .

The group is a classic representative of the garage rock of the 1960s. The music can be described as simple, rough rock 'n' roll or rhythm & blues . Some texts reflected the resentments of American youth against their parents and society. The band name is derived from the English word stand for standing . According to legend, the band stood up thinking about what to call themselves. When they realized they were standing around, the name was found.

Band history

The band began under the name Larry Tamblyn And The Standells and recorded their first single under the name in 1964 . The band then shortened their name to The Standells . The band's first releases were commercial-style twist or rock 'n' roll recordings. It came to a first album and several single releases on Liberty Records , then to releases on MGM and Vee-Jay Records . During that time, they were a popular local band who, after all, appeared in the movie Get Yourself A College Girl . They were featured on the soundtrack with two songs, which increased their popularity, but did not lead to great success. The Standells in the line-up Larry Tamblyn, Gary Lane, Tony Valentino and Dick Dodd appeared in 1965 in the episode "Far Out Munsters" (German: "Rock im Munster-Haus") of the TV series The Munsters , where they composed their own compositions Come On and Ringo and a cover version of the Beatles number I Want to Hold Your Hand played.

The U-turn came in the person of Ed Cobb. He produced the band for the two singles on the Vee Jay label. Enthusiastic about the band's potential, he persuaded them to record one of his compositions for the Tower Records label. This was published in 1966 under the title Dirty Water . Cobb produced the single and gave the band a rougher and more aggressive sound. The band hated these recordings and was surprised when the single climbed to # 11 on the American charts . Impressed by the success, they continued to work with Cobb. This was followed by the singles Sometimes Good Guys Don't Wear White (number 43 in the US charts) and Why Pick On Me (number 54 in the US charts) and three albums in the same year.

The year 1967 initially brought hardly any success. The single and the album Try It! were boycotted by radio stations and dealers because of the clear sexual innuendo in the text. In order to catch up with the previous successes, the subsequent single was released under the name The Sllednats ( Standells spelled backwards). It was thought to be a humorous marketing ploy that made the single's flop perfect. The following single Riot On Sunset Strip , which was about the unrest between cops and hippies on the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles , was able to place itself back in the charts at position 133. The single was recorded for the B-movie Riot On Sunset Strip , in which the band could also be seen alongside The Chocolate Watch Band . Two more singles were released by 1968, one of which had reached number 78 in the charts when the collaboration with Ed Cobb ended. It eventually led to the breakup of the band.

The Standells never recorded a composition by Ed Cobb called Tainted Love . Instead, he produced the song in 1968 with rhythm and blues singer Gloria Jones , but the recording was not a great success at the time. It wasn't until the middle of the seventies that the English Northern soul scene discovered the song and made it one of their greatest hits. There Marc Almond heard the song and made it the biggest hit for his group Soft Cell in the early eighties .

Discography

  • 1964: The Standells In Person At PJ'S Dirty Water ( live album , later re-released under the title Live And Out of Sight )
  • 1966: Dirty Water
  • 1966: Why Pick On Me - Sometimes Good Guys Don't Wear White
  • 1966: The Hot Ones
  • 1967: Try It!
  • 1964: Get Yourself A College Girl (Soundtrack)
  • 1967: Riot On Sunset Strip (Soundtrack)

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