You're Gonna Miss Me (song)

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For other uses, see You're Gonna Miss Me.
"You're Gonna Miss Me"
Single by the 13th Floor Elevators
from the album The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators
B-side"Tried to Hide"
ReleasedJanuary 17, 1966
RecordedJanuary 2, 1966
StudioAndrus Studios, Houston, Texas
Genre
Length2:31
Label
Songwriter(s)Roky Erickson
Producer(s)Gordon Bynum
The 13th Floor Elevators singles chronology
"You're Gonna Miss Me"
(1966) 		"Reverberation"
(1966)

"You're Gonna Miss Me" is a song by the American

B-side "Tried to Hide" was influential in developing psychedelic rock and garage rock, and was one of the earlier rock compositions to use the electric jug. Accordingly, critics often cite "You're Gonna Miss Me" as a bona fide garage rock song and a classic of the counterculture
era.

"You're Gonna Miss Me" reached number 55 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it the 13th Floor Elevators' only single to chart in the U.S. The failure of the song to achieve a higher chart listing is attributed to poor distribution by a non-established record label. In addition, the band was prevented from consistently touring during their parole for possession of marijuana. The song was also included as a track on their debut album The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators in November 1966.

In Canada, the song reached number 54 on the RPM Magazine charts.[5]

Composition

The song's lyrics are, for the most part, about a woman doing the singer wrong, and his boasting that "you're gonna miss me" after the two have separated, which is traditional to the template that many other garage rock bands had followed.[6] An alternative motive to the song's concept was that the lyric, "you're gonna miss me", actually was directed toward songwriter Roky Erickson's extended absences from his family, which began when he was enrolled in junior high school. Erickson acknowledges that three compositions influenced the song's conception such as his musical role model, James Brown's "I Don't Mind", a key line of which is, "you're gonna miss me", as well as Buddy Holly's "Early in the Morning", and Muddy Waters' lesser-known recording, "You're Gonna Miss Me".[7][8]

After entertaining the idea of embarking on a music career as a

Tommy Hall and lead guitarist Stacy Sutherland of another local band, the Lingsmen, who swayed Erickson to join their ensemble, which soon became the 13th Floor Elevators.[10]

Recording

The master recording of "You're Gonna Miss Me" was made on January 2, 1966 at Walt Andrus's studio in Houston, with record producer Gordon Bynum arranging the sessions.

LSD, and attempt to "put the acid" into the song. According to Thurman, the band members were under the influence of the hallucinogenic drug throughout the recording process.[12][13] The 13th Floor Elevators managed to record one perfect take of "You're Gonna Miss Me" in the early morning, but the playback was completely wiped from the tapes. Thurman brought an electric fiddle in hopes of utilizing the instrument on "Tried to Hide", left it on the mixing console, and the magnetic pickup consequently interfered with the recording heads.[12]

Writer Austin Powell, in his 2011 book The Austin Chronicle Music Anthology, has noted that the influence of Little Richard's singing style is clearly heard in "You're Gonna Miss Me", with Erickson's primal shrieks and wailing.[14] In addition to the composition's striking lead vocal, the song is also highlighted by Sutherland's precise and driving guitar motif and classic E-D-A-G chord progression.[15][16] "You're Gonna Miss Me" exhibits the influence of John Coltrane, particularly in the distorted sound quality created by Hall's unique application of the electric jug. Hall was able to amplify the sound of the instrument by holding it near a microphone and through his vocal techniques.[17] In his book The A to X of Alternative Music, music historian Steve Taylor also considers the hearsay from band members that Hall altered the pitch, and musical textures by varying the amounts of marijuana in his jug. The author goes on to conclude that the results garnered interest from listeners, and was expanded upon in the 13th Floor Elevators' later recordings.[18]

Release

"You're Gonna Miss Me" was released on January 17, 1966 on Bynum's newly established Contact Records (the name alluding to the "contact high" the music created), reaching number two in Austin, Texas.[19] Following the single's release, the 13th Floor Elevators were drawing sold-out audiences as advertised psychedelic music artists on a weekly basis, but also attracted the attention of the authorities. This resulted in the band being busted for possession of marijuana, a report which circulated across Texas's music underground.[11] Additionally, the group was barred from traveling outside the state or from performing at their regular venues the Jade Room and the Wig. The 13th Floor Elevators countered by having their debut at the new venue, the New Orleans, which was broadcast live on KAZZ-FM radio, and perversely their outlaw status won them a larger audience.[20]

In May 1966, the group negotiated a contract with International Artists to distribute "You're Gonna Miss Me" in the U.S. The reissue peaked at number 55 on the Billboard Hot 100, on October 9, 1966 and spent two months on the charts. As a consequence of poor distribution, label confusion between International Artists, Contact Records, and Hanna-Barbera Records, and excessive bootlegging, the single failed to achieve a higher positioning nationally.[21] Nonetheless, "You're Gonna Miss Me" managed to reach the Top 10 regionally in Miami, Dallas, Detroit, and San Francisco.[22] At the height of their popularity, the 13th Floor Elevators performed the tune on Dick Clark's American Bandstand on October 29, 1966. Infamously, prior to their act, Clark asked who the head of the group was to which Hall replied, "We're all heads!"[23]

In November 1966, "You're Gonna Miss Me" was featured as the opening track to the 13th Floor Elevators' debut album

Live: I've Seen Your Face Before. It is also included on Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, 1965–1968, The Collection, The Psychedelic World of the 13th Floor Elevators, and The Very Best of the 13th Floor Elevators Going Up. The Spades' original version was released in 1965 on Zero Records.[6]

Personnel

References

  1. ISBN 978-1-8440-3717-9
    .
  2. ^ Stiernberg, Bonnie (August 27, 2014). "The 50 Best Garage Rock Songs of All Time". Paste. Retrieved May 15, 2016.
  3. ISBN 9780879306533
    .
  4. ^ Hughes, Rob; Dome, Malcolm (October 9, 2018). "16 of the Best Psychedelic Rock Albums". Classic Rock Magazine. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
  5. ^ "RPM Top 100 Singles - October 3, 1966" (PDF). Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 2 June 2019.
  6. ^ a b Unterberger, Richie. "You're Gonna Miss Me – Song review". Allmusic.com. Retrieved July 23, 2015.
  7. ^ a b The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators (CD booklet). Charly Records. 2005.
  8. ^ Moser, Margeret. "High Baptismal Flow Part 1". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved December 12, 2015.
  9. ISBN 978-0976082262
    .
  10. ^ Swanson, Dave (28 March 2015). "Everything You Need to Know About the 13th Floor Elevators". Ultimateclassicrock.com. Retrieved August 7, 2015.
  11. ^ a b Heatley, Michael (1997). The Masters (CD booklet). Eagle Records.
  12. ^
    ISBN 978-0976082262
    .
  13. ^ Lundborg, Patrick. "A QUEST FOR PURE SANITY: The Psychedelic Poetry of Tommy Hall". lysergia.com.
  14. ISBN 978-0292722705
    .
  15. ISBN 978-0789320896
    .
  16. ^ Moser, Margaret. "High Baptismal Flow: Part 2 The 13th Floor Elevators' ground floors: Where are they now?". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved August 8, 2015.
  17. ISBN 0634055488
    .
  18. ISBN 978-0826482174
    .
  19. ^ "The 13th Floor Elevators". scarletdukes.com. Retrieved August 8, 2015.
  20. ISBN 978-0976082262
    .
  21. ISBN 9781782790945
    .
  22. ^ "Roky Erickson". hopscotchmusicfest.com. Retrieved August 8, 2015.
  23. ^ "The Thirteenth Floor Elevators - Your Gonna Miss Me". waybackattack.com. Retrieved August 8, 2015.
  24. ^ "13TH FLOOR ELEVATORS, THE PSYCHEDELIC SOUNDS OF... (DOUBLE HEAVYWEIGHT VINYL / 2CD DIGIBOOK)". internationalartists.com. Retrieved August 8, 2015.

External links

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