I tend to lean more toward the Jefferson Airplane's Jorma Kaukonen. Kaukonen's unique sound can be heard on 'White Rabbit' and 'Somebody to Love'. IMO I consider that style to be the 'psychedelic' sound. Another great psychedelic guitarist was Michael Monarch of Steppenwolf. His incredible style can be heard on Steppenwolfs 'The Pusher'. Jimmy page should get credit for his guitar work on Donovans 'Hurdy Gurdy Man' a truely creative and inventive genius. I like Robby Krieger's (of the Doors) guitar style but would tend to say its more classical/latin than psychedelic. But all major platers in the 60's sound.
It was probably a handful of southwestern U.S. rock bands, who began experimenting with LSD while performing, The Charlatans being the first known band to do so.... skelter and lucifer sam definitely know more than me.
Syd Barrett had a huge impact in psychedelic music in Europe with Pink Floyd. Before Syd came along, Pink Floyd was more of a blues band.
I would put the 13th Floor Elevators, the Deep, and the Charlatans at the front as far as pioneering goes, but the Yardbirds definitely deserve mention for their 1965 classic, "Still I'm Sad." Really, the Byrds' "Eight Miles High" deserves mention as well for being one of the more early psychedelic hits. I wouldn't say that Jefferson Airplane pioneered psychedelia, though. Bands were releasing psychedelic music before Surrealistic Pillow was recorded.
I guess I was wondering if a hand full of musicians or (damn near impossible,... one musician!) was really at the vanguard of psycedelia. True the Charlatans were an early 60's group but reading articles about them they admitted they really didn't know how to play their instruments very well. I agree that the entire group, Jefferson Airplane, wasn't responsible for psychedelia, but had a unique sound due to Kaukonen's guitar abilities and his study of indian music and the sitar, simular to Harrisons technique. I am ready to agree with every post here and all musicians and bands mentioned as they all had a major impact on the future sound of rock music.. thanks for everyones imput!
Lots of people say the Byrds started the sound with "Eight Miles High". A great song, but they say it's not got to do with any drugs.......liars
Haha, I've talked to David Crosby before and I got a couple stories from him. I've read a lot of bios, I think there's a lot of divisions in the psychedelic sound and it will always be debated, but I'd say the 13th Floor Elevators and the Byrds. I say the Croz is the man because he got kicked out of one of the hottest/wildest bands at the time in LA. The Cafe Au Go Go holds a lot of history, but the Byrds are really my favorite. I find quite a bit of psych/acid rock to sound kinda cold, though.
I had heard mention of the The 13th Floor Elevators a long while back but could never find there music. I had seen Roky Erickson albums but never knew he had been with the band. Earlier I ran a check on the Elevators and found the articles very interesting, makes me wanna check out the music now. I heard alot of music by the Byrds, but apparently not enough to rattle off most of their songs at the top of my head. Guess it's time for me to do some research. Being into journalism, research is a labor of love for me.
it really picked up steam when the Beatles released Revolver and it had chart success. This meant that more people were willing to give money to record the others who were doing this sound. Hapsash was another leader in british psych early. Les Paul did alot of experimental recordings in the 50s that helped lead the sounds acceptance by listeners as well as teach engineers how to record that type of music.
History of Psychedelic rock chronological order: It started with Beau Brummels who paved the way for example the rolling stones The We five inspired Marty Balin to start the Jefferson Airplane. Bob dylan, Rolling stones and the Mojo men inspired the Mystery Trend The mystery Trend inspired The Charlatans. The first truly Psychedelic band. witch inspired the 13th Floor Elevators. that all inspired bands like the byrds, the Warlocks(greatfull death), the moby grape and the Sopwitch Camel.
!! Check them out now! They're one of my favorite bands... all three of their albums are pretty damn good.
thanks, I didn't do a complete search, mainly a bio search. I didn't know they had three albums but will take a listen and make a post at a future date. Thanks SR51.
No problem. But yeah, The Psychedelic Sounds of... and Easter Everywhere are their two most known albums, but they also released Bull of the Woods in 1968.
A brief history of psychedelic rock from 1964-66: 1964: the first known use of the word 'psychedelic' on a pop record (Holy Modal Rounders - Hesitation Blues) Spring 1965: the psychedelic rangers, including (future) Doors drummer John Desmore, is formed. This is the first known instance of a rock 'n roll band referring to themselves as psychedelic. June 29 1965: the charlatans make their debut performance in virginia city. This is the first known instance of a rock band playing music under the influence of lsd (the audience was tripping too). This event is also seen as the birth of the psychedelic concert poster. July 1965: Kim Fowley releases 'The Trip'. The first obviously inspired LSD-record. August 1965: First known instance of LSD appearing in song lyrics (The Fugs - I Couldn't get high) October 1965: The beatles record 'Norwegian Wood', a song which contains psychedelic elements. Two of them had taken LSD at this point. November 5 1965: the first acid test by Ken Kesey & the Merry Pranksters. The Grateful Dead perform at the event. November 5 1965: Kim Fowley places an ad in a L.A. newspaper, offering remaining copies of 'The Trip' and referring to it as having a 'psychedelic sound'. One of the earliest instances of connecting rock music with the term. December 1965: The 13th Floor elevators are formed, with the intent of making LSD-inspired music. The tunes 'rollercoaster' and 'fire engine' are written. December 1965: The Great Society (Pre-Jefferson Airplane) record 'Free Advice' and 'Someone to Love (= Somebody to love)'. December 22 1965: The Byrds record 'Eight Miles High'. January 1966: The words 'psychedelic rock' appear on the 13th Floor Elevators' business card. The first known use of this term. January 21 1966: The 3-day Trips Festival is held in San Francisco. February 10 1966: A review of a 13th Floor Elevators' live gig in a local newspaper heads "Unique Elevators shine with 'psychedelic rock'". The first ever documented media reference to psychedelic rock music. March 11 1966: Pink Floyd introduce a psychedelic light show at a gig in Essex (UK). March 14 1966: The Byrds release the 'Eight Miles High' single. The First psychedelic single. April 1966: The beatles begin recording 'Tomorrow Never Knows'. April 1966: The Dovers from california release the psychedelic 'The third eye'. May 4 1966: Brian Wilson of the beach boys begins work on 'Good Vibrations'. June 1966: Country Joe & The Fish record tracks for their upcoming first EP. August 1966: The Beatles' 'Revolver' is released. August 1966: The Deep record the LP 'Psychedelic Moods'. The first LP with a consistent psychedelic theme throughout. October 1966: The Deep release The 'Psychedelic Moods' LP. The Blues Magoos release the 'Psychedelic lollipop' LP. November 1966: The 13th Floor Elevators release the 'Psychedelic Sounds' LP. The Electric Prunes release the 'I Had too much tood dream last nigh' single. The Jefferson Airplane begin recording their 2nd LP which contains a lot of psychedelia. So i'd say that the charlatans, the 13th floor elevators, the beatles, the byrds and the deep are the five pioneers of psychedelic rock (in that order!). Yes, the Yardbirds' 'Still i'm sad' and the Kinks' 'See My Friend' (both released in '65) contain some psychedelic elements, but i don't regard them as pioneers.
I don't know if you ever heard Piper at the Gates of Dawn, Pink Flyod's first album. That definatley sounds psychedelic to me.
Syd Barrett was with Floyd from their incarnation (1965 I believe) until they kicked him out... there are a few recordings with him as singer when they were still a blues band, their most known ones being "Kingbee" and "Lucy Leave".
Not on the history lesson timeline posted above... In 1963 the London mod scene was fueled by the opening of Michael Weymouths trend clothiers. Throughout most of the mid60s, this was the place to rub elbows with Mich Jaggers, Paul McCartneys, Marianne Faithfuls, Twiggys, and anyone else who was with it. Also, there was a real psych scene building in Texas in the early 60s that led to the rise of bands like the 13th Floor Elevators, as well as the punk scene of the 70s.
