Garage rock

Garage Rock was a simple, raw form of rock & roll created by a number of American bands in the mid-'60s. Inspired by British Invasion bands like the Beatles, Kinks, and Rolling Stones, these midwestern American groups played a variation on British Invasion rock. Since they were usually young and amateurish, the results were much cruder than their inspirations but that is what made the sound exciting. Most of the band emphasized their amateurishness, playing the same three chords, bashing their guitars and growling their vocals. In many ways, the garage bands were the first wave of do-it-yourself punk rockers. Hundreds of garage bands popped up around America and a handful of them — the Shadows of Knight, the Count 5, The Seeds, the Standells — had hits, but most were destined for obscurity. In fact, nearly all of the bands were forgotten in the early '70s, but The Nuggets compilation brought them back to the spotlight.

In the '80s, there was a garage rock revival that saw a number of bands earnestly trying to replicate the sound, style, and look of the '60s garage bands. This movement died down at the end of the decade but there was another revival in the 2000s with bands like The White Stripes, The Hives, The Strokes, The Libertines, The Datsuns, The D4 and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club owing more than a little to the style.

'Bands':

• 13th Floor Elevators
• The Count 5
• Dick Dale
• Electric Prunes
• Human Beinz
• Kinks
• The Nuggets
• Pretty Things
• The Seeds
• The Shadows Of Knight
• The Sonics
• The Standells
• The Stooges
• The Troggs
• Question Mark and the Mysterians
• The Ugly Ducklings
• Chocolate Watchband
• The Leaves
• Blues Magoos