The Standells
The Standells | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Origin | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
Genres | Garage rock, psychedelic rock |
Years active | 1962–present |
Members | Larry Tamblyn Martin Blasick Greg Burnham Mark Adrian |
Past members | Tony Valentino Jody Rich Dick Dodd Benny King (Benny Hernandez) Gary Lane Gary Leeds Dewey Martin Dave Burke Lowell George Paul Downing Adam Marsland John Fleck (John Fleckenstein) Bruce Michael Miller |
The Standells are an American
History
The Standells band was formed in 1962 by lead vocalist and keyboard player Larry Tamblyn (born Lawrence Arnold Tamblyn, February 5, 1943),[2] guitarist Tony Valentino (born Emilio Bellissimo, May 24, 1941),[2] bass guitarist Jody Rich, and drummer Benny King (aka Hernandez).[3] Tamblyn had previously been a solo performer, recording several 45 singles in the late 1950s and early 1960s including "Dearest", "Patty Ann", "This Is The Night", "My Bride To Be" and "Destiny" for Faro and Linda Records. He is the brother of actor Russ Tamblyn and the uncle of actor Amber Tamblyn.
The Standells band name was created by Larry Tamblyn,
In 1964,
The group appeared in several low-budget
Some reports state that early versions of the band had a relatively clean image and performed only cover songs.
In 1965 the group – Dodd, Tamblyn, Valentino and Lane – signed with Capitol Records' label Tower, teaming up with producer Ed Cobb. Cobb wrote the group's most popular song, "Dirty Water", which the band recorded in late 1965. The song's references to the city of Boston are owed to Cobb's experiences with a mugger in Boston. The song also makes reference to the Boston Strangler and the dorm curfews for college women in those days.[11]
"Dirty Water" reached No. 11 on the
According to critic
"Dirty Water" is listed in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's "500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll."[13]
Dodd briefly left the Standells in early 1966, and was replaced by
The follow-up studio album, Why Pick on Me — Sometimes Good Guys Don't Wear White, was released in November 1966 and included the single "Why Pick on Me", which peaked at No. 54 on the Billboard chart. Gary Lane left the Standells in 1966, and was replaced by bass guitarist Dave Burke. John Fleck (born John William Fleckenstein in Los Angeles, August 2, 1946 – October 18, 2017),[14][15] formerly of Love, soon replaced Burke in early 1967. The band then released their third album, The Hot Ones! In early 1967. It was simply a selection of popular songs that they covered. The band's fourth studio album, Try It, released in October 1967, contained the song "Riot on Sunset Strip", which had been released earlier in 1967 to support the soundtrack for the movie of the same name. The title track "Try It" was later recorded by Ohio Express and Cobra Killer. Picked by Billboard magazine to be the Standells' next hit, "Try It" was banned by Texas radio mogul Gordon McLendon, who deemed the record to have sexually suggestive lyrics.[16] The Standells were asked by Art Linkletter to debate with McLendon on his House Party TV show in 1967. By most accounts, McLendon was handily defeated,[4][17] but, by then, most radio stations had followed McLendon's lead and would not play the record. A third single released from this album, "Can't Help But Love You", would be the Standells last entry into the Billboard Hot 100, reaching No. 78, while also peaking at No. 9 in the Cashbox charts.
In 1968, Dick Dodd left the band to pursue a solo career. The Standells continued to perform with a varying line-up thereafter, briefly including guitarist Lowell George who went on to play with Little Feat.[9]
Later reformations and versions of the band
In the 1980s, Dodd, Tamblyn and Valentino performed at a few shows with The Fleshtones. In 1984 the Standells played at the Club Lingerie on Sunset in Los Angeles and did some casino shows in Reno, Nevada.
In the late 1980s, the Standells, with Tamblyn and Valentino, recorded and released an independent single featuring Tamblyn singing "60's Band"
After a show at the
In September 2012, Dick Dodd briefly rejoined the group, and they appeared at the Monterey Summer of Love "45 Years On" Festival that month.[22][23][24] On August 9, 2013, they released a new album, Bump, on GRA Records.[25] Dodd did not participate in the album. In June, Dodd again departed from the Standells for personal reasons. The group (without Dodd) headlined at the Satellite Club in Los Angeles, California, August 9,[26] the Adams Ave. St. Fair, San Diego, California on September 28,[26] and at the Ponderosa Stomp in New Orleans, Louisiana, October 5, 2013.[27]
Dick Dodd died on November 29, 2013.[28]
The Standells completed an extensive national tour from April 27 through May 21, 2014. It was their first major U.S. tour since the 1960s.[29] The group performed in Parma, Italy, on July 5 for the Festival Beat, and returned to California for the Tiki Oasis on August 17, 2014.[30]
Former band member, Gary Lane (Gary McMillan) died on November 5, 2014, from lung cancer aged 76.[31]
John "Fleck" Fleckenstein died October 18, 2017, of complications of AML Leukemia.[32] He was also a noted cinematographer.[33]
On October 22, 2022, the Standells biography From Squeaky Clean to Dirty Water, written by Larry Tamblyn, was published by Bear Manor Media. On December 23, 2023, Larry Tamblyn was inducted into the California Music Hall of Fame, introduced and officially inducted by his brother, actor Russ Tamblyn.
Boston connection
Despite the references to
In 1997, "Dirty Water" was decreed the "official victory anthem" of the Red Sox, and is played after every home victory won by the
In 2007, "Dirty Water, as sung by the Standells" was honored by official decree of The Massachusetts General Court. The song is now played not only at Red Sox games, but also those of the Boston Celtics, the Boston Bruins, and the Northeastern Huskies' hockey games. A book Love That Dirty Water: The Standells and the Improbable Red Sox Victory Anthem was published.[38]
In April 2019,
Discography
Albums
Studio albums
Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | |
---|---|---|---|
US |
US C/B | ||
1966 | Dirty Water
|
52 | 39 |
Why Pick on Me — Sometimes Good Guys Don't Wear White
|
— | — | |
1967 | The Hot Ones!
|
— | — |
Try It
|
— | — | |
2013 | Bump
|
— | — |
"—" denotes a release that did not chart. |
Live albums
Year | Album details |
---|---|
1964 | The Standells in Person at P.J.s.
|
1966 | "Live" and Out of Sight
|
2000 | Ban This!
|
2001 | The Live Ones
|
2015 | Live on Tour - 1966
|
Compilation albums
Year | Album details |
---|---|
1983 | The Best of the Standells
|
1984 | Rarities
|
1998 | The Very Best of the Standells
|
2002 | Hot Hits & Hot Ones - Is This the Way You Get Your High?
|
Singles
Year | Title (A-side, B-side) Both sides from same album except where indicated |
Label | Peak chart positions | Album | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
US [40] |
US C/B | ||||
1963 | "You'll Be Mine Someday" (Larry Tamblyn and the Standels) b/w "The Girl in My Heart" |
Linda (112) | — | — | Non-album tracks |
1964 | "The Shake" b/w "Peppermint Beatle” |
Liberty (55680) | — | — | "Live" and Out of Sight |
"Help Yourself" b/w "I'll Go Crazy" |
Liberty (55722) | — | — | In Person at P.J.s | |
"Linda Lou" b/w "So Fine |
Liberty (55743) | — | — | ||
1965 | "The Boy Next Door" b/w "B.J. Quetzal |
Vee-Jay (VJ 643) |
102 | — | Non-album tracks |
"Don't Say Goodbye" b/w "Big Boss Man" |
Vee-Jay (VJ 679) | — | — | ||
"Zebra in the Kitchen" b/w "Someday You'll Cry" |
MGM Records (K 13350) | — | — | ||
"Dirty Water" b/w "Rari" |
Tower (185) | 11 | 8 | Dirty Water | |
1966 | "Sometimes Good Guys Don't Wear White" b/w "Why Did You Hurt Me" |
Tower (257) | 43 | 59 | |
"Ooh Poo Pah Doo" b/w "Help Yourself" | Sunset (61000) | — | — | In Person at P.J.s | |
"Why Pick On Me" b/w 'Mr. Nobody |
Tower (282) | 54 | 68 | Why Pick on Me – Sometimes Good Guys Don't Wear White | |
1967 | "Don't Tell Me What to Do" (as "The Sllednats") b/w "When I Was a Cowboy" |
Tower (312) | — | — | Non-album tracks |
"Riot on Sunset Strip" b/w "Black Hearted Woman" (from Why Pick on Me) |
Tower (314) | 133 | — | Riot on Sunset Strip soundtrack / Try It | |
"Try It" b/w "Poor Shell of a Man" |
Tower (310) | — | — | Try It | |
"Can't Help But Love You" b/w "Ninety-Nine and A Half" |
Tower (348) | 78 | 9 | ||
1968 | "Animal Girl" b/w "Soul Drippin'" |
Tower (398) | — | — | Non-album tracks |
1984 | "60's Band" b/w "Try It II" | Telco (101) | — | — | |
"—" denotes a release that did not chart. |
References
- ^ "The Standells @ pHinnWeb". Phinnweb.org. Retrieved August 22, 2014.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-57940-146-7.
- ^ Hans Kesteloo. "Beyond The Beat Generation – The Standells Interview". Home.uni-one.nl. Retrieved August 22, 2014.
- ^ a b Pore-Lee-Dunn Productions. "The Standells". Classicbands.com. Retrieved March 25, 2012.
- ^ "Passings: Gary (Lane) McMillan, Bass Player for the Standells (1938 - 2014)". VVN Music. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
- ISBN 978-1899855063.
- ^ Dick Dodd at Charlie Gillett.com. Some sources give a date of October 25, and/or a birth year of 1943.
- ^ "Dickie Dodd (Oct 27, 1945)". The Original Mickey Mouse Club Show. Retrieved November 15, 2008.
- ^ a b c d "The Standells | Music Biography, Credits and Discography". AllMusic. Retrieved August 22, 2014.
- ^ a b Nick Warburton (September 5, 2010). "The Standells". Garage Hangover. Retrieved August 22, 2014.
- ^ O'Nan, Stewart, and Stephen King. Faithful: Two Diehard Boston Red Sox Fans Chronicle the Historic 2004 Season. (Note that this book incorrectly refers to The Standells as a Boston proto-punk group, rather than a California garage band.)
- ^ a b "Gary James' Interview With Larry Tamblyn Of The Standells". classicbands.com. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
- ^ "Experience The Music: One Hit Wonders and The Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll | The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum". Rockhall.com. Archived from the original on May 9, 2012. Retrieved September 23, 2012.
- ^ "John Fleckenstein". IMDb.com. Retrieved August 22, 2014.
- ^ "Daniel Coston". Facebook.com.
- ^ [1] Archived April 20, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Standells". garage hangover. Retrieved March 25, 2012.
- ISBN 9781843531050. Retrieved August 22, 2014.
- ^ Andrew Ryan (June 12, 2006). "Standells rock group says Budweiser plays 'Dirty'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 15, 2011.
- ^ "Garage/Punk Legends, The Standells, to Record New Album by The Standells – Kickstarter". Kickstarter.com. Retrieved March 25, 2012.
- ^ "Standells". Schedule.sxsw.com. Retrieved September 23, 2012.
- ^ "The Standells – index". Summer67.com. Retrieved September 23, 2012.
- ^ "Dick Dodd Joins The Standells". Standells.wix.com. Retrieved September 23, 2012.
- ^ "Standells". Facebook. Retrieved September 23, 2012.
- ^ "Standells Record Release Party & Concert". Last.fm. Retrieved July 21, 2013.
- ^ a b "The Satellite-live music venue in Los Angeles » The Blackeyed Soul Club presents a rare performance with The Standells with special guest Johnny Echols of Love – Tickets – The Satellite – Los Angeles, CA – August 9th, 2013". Thesatellitela.com. August 9, 2013. Retrieved August 22, 2014.
- ^ "Ponderosa Stomp announces lineup for 2013 concert, at Rock n'Bowl Oct. 3-5". NOLA.com. March 11, 2013. Retrieved August 22, 2014.
- ^ "Dick Dodd dies at 68; Mouseketeer and musician". Los Angeles Times. December 2013. Retrieved August 22, 2014.
- ^ "Standells USA Tour". Standells.wix.com. Retrieved August 22, 2014.
- ^ "The Standells EPK". Standells-official.com. Retrieved August 22, 2014.
- ^ "The Dead Rock Stars Club : 2014 July To December". Thedeadrockstarsclub.com. Retrieved November 9, 2014.
- ^ Larry Tamblyn Facebook page Retrieved 2017-10-23
- ^ IMDB page for John Fleckenstein Retrieved 2017-10-23
- ^ a b "Red Sox Fans Love Their Dirty Water". Retrieved August 15, 2011.
- ^ Larry Katz (September 10, 1997). "Mass. entrepreneurs banking on world record down by the River Charles; Love that 'Dirty Water'". Boston Herald. Retrieved August 15, 2011.
- ^ Bill Plaschke (October 31, 2004). "Coming Through With the Big Hit at Fenway – Los Angeles Times". Articles.latimes.com. Retrieved August 22, 2014.
- ^ Dan Shaughnessy (October 3, 2007). "Beckett pumps up Boston – Sparkling shutout gives Sox a big first step in playoffs". The Boston Globe.
- ISBN 9781579401467.
- ^ Henry, Linda Pizzuti (April 13, 2014). "Thanks for playing "Dirty Water" by the Standells after the win today! Fun touch!pic.twitter.com/Uhedda0fPa". @linda_pizzuti. Retrieved April 26, 2019.
- ISBN 0-89820-155-1.