Song:Dirty Water
Album:Toga Rock
Dirty Water was the biggest hit for the Los Angeles garage band The Standells in 1966. Today they are called the Godfathers Of Punk Rock. The Standells were formed in 1962 by lead singer and keyboard player Larry Tamblyn. He is the brother of actor Russ Tamblyn and had recorded a few singles in the late 50s. Other members were Jody Rich on bass, Tony Valentino on guitar and Benny King on drums. The name The Standells comes from Tamblyn standing around booking offices waiting for work. Rich and King soon left and were replaced by bassist Gary Lane and drummer Gary Leeds. After releasing a single, The Standells signed with Liberty Records in 1964. Leeds left and would go on to be Gary Walker of The Walker Brothers. He was replaced by former Mouseketeer Dick Dodd who was also a member of The Bel-Airs. They released an album on Liberty and even appeared on The Munsters. They also appeared on The Bing Crosby Show and Ben Casey. This got them a deal with the Capitol label Tower Records. Tower released soundtracks for several youth oriented films. The Standells appeared in Get Yourself A College Girl and Riot On Sunset Strip. But they still needed that hit single. They got that teaming up with former Four Preps member Ed Cobb. He wrote and produced Dirty Water and it reached #11 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1966. Dirty Water is the victory song of the Boston Red Sox. Cobb wrote it after visiting Boston. Some of their other songs charted but Dirty Water was their only big hit. You can get it on this various artists budget comp from DCC Compact Classics. The cover and title are terrible but the music is good. After some personnel changes, The Standells split up in 1968. They are considered to be a big influence on 70s punk music. And that encouraged Tamblyn to reform The Standells in the 80s. They have reformed occasionally over the years and a new Standells CD Bump will be released Aug. 2013. Here's a video for Dirty Water by The Standells from 1966.
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