The Standells

In 1966 The Standells climbed to number 11 with "Dirty Water," a defining garage-rock single propelled by a riff echoing the Stones, a suggestive lead vocal, and the gritty interplay of guitar and organ. Although the band never returned to the Top 40, the forceful tracks they cut between 1966 and 1967 later earned recognition as enduring '60s punk classics. The polished, expansive production on their strongest sides further distanced them from raw garage aesthetics, incorporating inventive flashes of psychedelia and pop.

Formed in Los Angeles, the group had been working the local club circuit since the early '60s, relying chiefly on covers of pre-Beatles rock hits rather than the typical suburban-teen approach of obscure singles cut in makeshift studios. Drummer and eventual frontman Dick Dodd had previously appeared as a Mouseketeer, organist Larry Tamblyn was the brother of film actor Russ Tamblyn, and guitarist Tony Valentino had only recently arrived from Italy. Gary Leeds, who would later join the Walker Brothers, played drums briefly before Dodd took over.

Details of the Standells' activities before "Dirty Water" remain sketchy: they issued routine albums and singles on Liberty, MGM, and Vee Jay, appeared in the film Get Yourself a College Girl, and logged considerable television work, including a memorable spot on The Munsters that featured an ill-suited reading of "I Want to Hold Your Hand." Occasional moments of grit surfaced on early recordings such as "Big Boss Man" and "Someday You'll Cry," yet the band truly coalesced after linking with producer Ed Cobb, formerly of the Four Preps. Cobb supplied "Dirty Water," which sharply departed from the group's earlier clean-cut presentation; the members themselves reportedly disliked the song, and it required roughly six months to reach the charts.

Adopting a tougher stance, the Standells released four albums across 1966 and 1967 while also contributing the theme song to—and appearing in—the psychedelic exploitation picture Riot on Sunset Strip. Cobb continued to furnish their most durable singles, among them "Sometimes Good Guys Don't Wear White," "Why Pick on Me," and "Try It," the last widely banned for its suggestive tone. The musicians themselves delivered capable originals such as the urgent "Riot on Sunset Strip" and the psychedelic "All Fall Down," whose atmospheric qualities recall early Pink Floyd. Their LPs, however, veered wildly in quality—one consisted entirely of covers of mid-'60s hits and proved largely skippable—so greatest-hits anthologies that cull the highlights remain the most practical option for most listeners.

Lineup stability proved elusive; bassists came and went regularly, with John Fleck (also known as John Fleckenstein), briefly a member of an early incarnation of Love, among those who held the chair for a time. Dodd departed for a solo career in 1968, the same year the band issued its final single. Tower Records, like many labels of the era, flooded the market with product rather than pursuing coherent career development. The musicians compounded their difficulties by releasing the vaudeville-rock novelty "Don't Tell Me What to Do" under the transparent alias the Sllednats. No further recordings appeared after 1968, although the group persisted in various forms into the early '70s, at one point counting Lowell George among its members.