The Wailers

The Wailers occupy an indisputable position in rock history as one of the earliest American garage bands, possibly the first of its kind. Supporting vocalist Rockin' Robin Roberts, they reworked the little-known R&B number "Louie Louie" into a regional 1961 success that became the blueprint for the innumerable covers which established it as the era's premier garage anthem. Their aggressive, gritty fusion of R&B and rock also shaped the Sonics, who carried that same abrasive edge to unprecedented heights. Though their raw, self-reliant style prefigured the British Invasion acts, the absence of compelling original material and reliance on an old-fashioned sax-and-organ frat-rock approach confined them to a lesser tier. Later in the decade the band folded in gentle folk-rock and psychedelic touches, yet these changes produced little commercial traction or alteration to their core sound.