The style had been evolving from regional scenes as far back as 1958. "Dirty Robber" by The Wailers, and "Rumble" by Link Wray are mainstream examples of the genre in its formative stages. By 1963, garage band singles were creeping into... [more]

The style had been evolving from regional scenes as far back as 1958. "Dirty Robber" by The Wailers, and "Rumble" by Link Wray are mainstream examples of the genre in its formative stages. By 1963, garage band singles were creeping into the national charts in greater numbers, including the Kingsmen (Portland), Paul Revere and the Raiders (Boise), the Trashmen (Minneapolis) and the Rivieras (South Bend, Indiana). Other influential garage bands, such as the Sonics (Tacoma, Wa.), never reached the Billboard 100. In this early period, there was a cross-pollination between garage rock and frat rock. Frat rock (another heavy influence and precursor to punk rock) was also a loosely defined genre of rock and roll which featured raw, energetic, usually party-themed anthems. It is sometimes viewed as merely a sub-genre of garage rock. The British Invasion of 1964-1966 did greatly influence the garage band sound as many local American bands (often surf or hot rod groups) began augmenting their sound with a British Invasion lilt. The British Invasion also inspired new, and often very raw, bands to form. Garage rock bands were generally influenced by those British bands with a harder, blues-based attack, such as The Kinks, The Who, The Animals, The Yardbirds, The Small Faces, The Pretty Things and The Rolling Stones. Another influence was the folk-rock of the Byrds and Bob Dylan, especially on bands such as the Leaves. [show less]