Best pre-punk rock'n'roll bands

[zmdem]

No particular order, but I like:

MC5
Flamin' Groovies
Stooges
New York Dolls
Dictators

Have I missed anything ?

[HEyHEY]

1. SOme would argue "the who"

[BigMcLargehuge]

10. I would be one of them

T...t....t....t....taaaaalkin bout my generation!

[zmdem]

11. I would too

But I was focusing on immediate predecessors. The Who, The Pretty Things, etc defintely count, (not to mention The Sonics, Link Wray etc.)

As The Chocolate WatchBand said, "I gotta love 'em all, not just a few"

[DBoon]

44. Any band that smashed their instruments on stage

has the spirit of punk in them

[Seldona]

2. The Ramones.

If they are considered pre-punk anyway.

Still got to love em.

[zmdem]

12. I'm old enough

That I consider The Ramones a punk group, (w/o the pre). Saw 'em twice in 1977. Amazing.

[auburngrad82]

36. I saw them at the Strand Theater in Marietta, GA

A great show by a great band. I miss Joey Ramone.

[Seldona]

3. The Ramones.

If they are considered pre-punk anyway.

Still got to love em.

[dwckabal]

4. what's your definition of punk?

Most of these are considered "punk" by musicians and journalists. If you want to really go pre-punk, you've got to include the Velvet Underground, with the Stooges, MC5, New York Dolls and Ramones taking over from there.

[IrishBloodEngHeart]

7. I think punk started early to mid 60s, personally

with a lot of the Texas garage bands. But that's just me.

[enigmatic]

9. "Mouse & The Traps" for one.. n/m

[zmdem]

17. Texas rocked

in the 1960's.

Plenty to like there, my fave is The 13th Floor Elevators. "Easter Everywhere" is a great LP, as is their first. I also have soft spot for the Live bootleg from SF, 1966 put out ages ago by Dave Gibson.

[Bridget Burke]

39. The Elevators really rocked--beyond "Psychedelia"

The title of their first album was "Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators" but the best of their music was hard-driving rock. (You're Gonna Miss Me, She Lives, Fire Engine)

The famous compilation "Nuggets: Orig Artyfacts From First Psychedelic Era" includes You're Gonna Miss Me & lots more fine proto-punk hits. Definitely worth a listen--for education, or to bring back some memories.

www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00004ZDZW/qid=1092411639/sr=2-3/ref=sr_2_3/102-4192198-1147342

[zmdem]

15. VU is a good call

I'm just not as big a fan of them as the others I mentioned.

As to a definition, well I consider a lot of earlier artists as "punk". Its not a style, it's an attitude towards R'n'R. Wynonnie Harris, Jerry Lee Lewis, Link Wray, The Sonics qualify just as well as The Damned or The Dead Kennedys, in my book.

[enigmatic]

23. You got it...

"Punk" pre-1975 really was more of an state of mind/style than movement. Hell, I think "Cry, Cry, Cry" by Johnny Cash is as punk as anything that The Dead Boys did..

[zmdem]

25. Ahh, The Dead Boys

Who can or can't forget. Stiv Bators, Cheetah Chrome, Lords of the New Church, etc.

Johnny Cash rules. Good call.

[enigmatic]

27. I'm 41...

So I was lucky enough to be hitting my early teens when the whole Clevo scene was really hitting in 74-77; I had the pleasure of seeing The Dead Boys a few times before they made their way to NYC; god, that was an awesome time..

You ever want to do a punk music show, let me know; I've been thinking about putting one on my station...

[zmdem]

28. Thanks for the invite

I used to a "musician", and enjoy discussing it here. Do a punk rock show, that would be cool. I'm not sure how DUers conact each other "offline". You can contact me at:

jbarntt at spamblocked dot com

[enigmatic]

30. Right on..

You can pm me (It's the second clickee on the left next to my name on my post) and we'll get the ball rollin'!

I used to be a musician, too; my terrible hearing in my "war wound" ;)

[Magrittes Pipe]

34. Jimmy Zero works at a guitar shop in Cleveland.

Nice guy.

A little paranoid. But a nice guy.

[auburngrad82]

38. Or Johnny Cash's "Delia's Gone" or "Cocaine Blues"

[enigmatic]

5. A whole Bunch..

Television
Rocket From The Tombs
The Velvet Underground
Pere Ubu
Sham 69
The Stooges
Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers

[zmdem]

18. Nice choices, but a few disagreements

Not on quality, but I view Television, RFTTs, Sham, PU as punk groups, not precursors. Could be my age, 48

[enigmatic]

22. Hey, we're both right...

Television got together in '73, so the were just before the punk explosion really took off (at least in the underground, anyway) in '75. PFTT really was pre-punk in my mind; my musical hero Peter Laughner was playing w/ most of them informally as earlier as '73 when they were all living in The Plaza in Downtown Clevo (where i grew up)..

You're right about Sham 69, though; I just love "If the Kids Are United" so much that I put them there anyway! Play them both all the time on my station, too..

[zmdem]

24. Cool

Yeah, the early punk bands did start out in the pre-punk era. "Marquee Moon" is a great Lp. The second one is OK, but not as good. I can't really comment on RFTT. I only know them by their rep.

Sham ? My memory of them was that they did some good stuff and some bad stuff. A mixed bag. The good stuff was cool. Didn't they have a good tune called, (something like), "Borstal Breakout" ?

Hey, how about the early Irish punk band that had a tune called "Alternative Ulster". Name escapes me.

[enigmatic]

26. Stiff Little Fingers?

I think that was them..

[zmdem]

29. Yep

I was beating my brains out trying to remember. You got it.

Trivia question: Where did they get their name ?

[enigmatic]

31. Oh crap!

I know this, but it won't come to me until 4am and I'm about to go to sleep!

[zmdem]

32. The Vibrators

A song title from their first, and great LP.

Sleep tight ;)

[democracyindanger]

6. Just a few

Led Zeppelin
The Who
The Kinks
The Animals
Lynrd Skynrd
Allman Bros.
Bruce & the E Street Band
Buddy Holly
The Ventures
The Beach Boys
and so on
and so on

[enigmatic]

8. "Shake Some Action" by The Groovies...

is one of the greatest records ever made..

[zmdem]

19. I love the Groovie's

The earlier "Flamingo" and "Teenage Head" LPs rock too. I'm a big Roy Loney fan ;)

[CanuckAmok]

13. Suicide. The Sonics. T-Rex.

[DBoon]

14. The Kinks

The Yardbirds
The Who

[zmdem]

20. Agree, to an extent

I'm a big fan of all the groups you mention, and they certainly influenced the punk rock movement of the late seventies, but they were not really direct precursors.

[DBoon]

41. The Doors

If you believe the book "We Got The Neutron Bomb", a history of the LA Punk scene, Jim Morrison was a heavy influence on Iggy Pop, to the point where a young Iggy tried out as lead singer for the band after Jim's demise.

[fizzana]

16. Graham Parker and the Rumour

Incredible live act. His first two albums, "Heat Treatment" and "Howlin Wind" are classics.

[zmdem]

21. You take me back

I do remember those LPs, fondly. I'm a bit surprised no one has mentioned Elvis Costello. Second LP, "This Year's Model" rocked. Saw 'em Live at the time too.

[mac56]

42. "Heat Treatment" is one of my desert island discs.

There's not a bad song on that whole album.

[flamingyouth]

33. Rocket from the Tombs

Electric Eels
Radio Birdman
Telepaths

[Howardx]

35. i think you'd have to add the velvets

just for the influence factor

[auburngrad82]

37. The Doors

Listen to "20th Century Fox" and tell me it's not an early punk song.

I'd also include early Rolling Stones.

That said, I love the punk bands of the 70s, Ramones, The Clash, Sex Pistols, NY Dolls, Television. Great bands one and all.

[GumboYaYa]

40. I would add Mott the Hoople, Captain Beefheart and Zappa

to the list.

[DBoon]

43. Zappa!

"If your children ever found out how lame you really are, they'd murder you in your sleep" (Freak Out, 1966)

If that ain't punk, then the Pope ain't Catholic!

[ProfessorGAC]

45. Ooooh! Gumbo, Buddy!

I was a Mott fanatic, and loved Beefheart too. Zappa is no big deal, because everyone liked Frank, but finding someone else who was a fan of, and thought highly of, Mott and Beefheart is rare indeed.
The Professor

[GumboYaYa]

46. It doesn't surprise me that you agree prof.

We tend to have the same taste or at least similar.