THE STANDELLS
Sunday, May 11 – Doors 8 p.m. - $15 adv.
The Standells are considered by many to be the godfathers of garage punk rock. The group was formed in the 1960's by keyboardist and lead vocalist Larry Tamblyn. Their first hit single "Dirty Water" was produced by Ed Cobb for Tower Records, "Dirty Water", reached #11 on the Billboard charts, #8 in Cashbox, and #1 in Record World. Other chart records include "Sometimes Good Guys Don't Wear White", "Why Pick On Me," and "Riot On Sunset Strip," which is featured as the kick-off song Grammy-nominated Where the Action Is, a Rhino Records boxed CD set. "Dirty Water" is listed in the Rock Hall of Fame as one of the 500 songs that shaped Rock & Roll.
Prior to their success on Tower Records, the group was signed by Liberty Records and issued an album "The Standells In Person At P.J.'s" in 1964 (later re-released as "The Standells Live and Out of Sight"). After having no success with Liberty, they signed with Vee Jay in 1965 for two singles, one of which was produced by Sonny Bono of Sonny & Cher. Cher did backup vocals on "The Boy Next Door".
The group appeared in several movies, including "Get Yourself a College Girl, performing their first Liberty recording "The Shake", and "Riot on Sunset Strip", performing the film's title song. The Standells also frequently appeared on television. The Group guest starred as themselves in an episode of the The Munsters. They were also featured in an installment of The Bing Crosby Show, and as a nightclub band on an episode of Ben Casey. In addition to TV shows like Shindig, American Bandstand and Where the Action is, they were featured on Art Linkletter's House Party, debating broadcasting mogul Gordon McLendon who banned their recording "Try It". McLendon deemed the song's lyrics to be obscene. (By all accounts, the Standells defeated him pretty handily.)
"Dirty Water" is played after every home victory won by the Boston Red Sox, Boston Celtics, and Boston Bruins as well as at Northeastern Huskies' hockey games. One would be hard-put to find either a sports fan or rock music lover in Massachusetts who had never heard of the Standells. The Massachusetts General Court has adopted "Dirty Water" as the 'unofficial victory anthem of the Boston Red Sox The group has been regular guests of the Red Sox, including Game 2 of the 2004 World Series, 2007 ACLS championship, and most recently at Game 6 of the 2013 World Series.
The Standells have continued to actively perform throughout the world. Their recent concert performances have been receiving rave reviews . They have just released their first new album in over 45 years. "Bump" has been garnering high praise from music critics. The group consists of original members Larry Tamblyn (lead singer & keyboard), John Fleck (bassist), plus Mark Adrian (co-lead singer & guitar) and drummer Greg Burnham.
Garage rock legends the Standells rock the Magic Bag on Sunday, May 11.