Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube
    Nostalgia Central
    • Home
    • Blog
      • Lists
    • Television
      • TV by Decade
        • TV – 1950s
        • TV – 1960s
        • TV – 1970s
        • TV – 1980s
        • TV – 1990s
      • Comedy
      • Drama
      • Kids TV
      • Variety
      • News & Sport
      • Advertisements
    • Music
      • Music by Decade
        • Music – 1950s
        • Music – 1960s
        • Music – 1970s
        • Music – 1980s
        • Music – 1990s
      • Artists – A to K
        • Artists – A
        • Artists – B
        • Artists – C
        • Artists – D
        • Artists – E
        • Artists – F
        • Artists – G
        • Artists – H
        • Artists – I
        • Artists – J
        • Artists – K
      • Artists – L to Z
        • Artists – L
        • Artists – M
        • Artists – N
        • Artists – O
        • Artists – P
        • Artists – Q
        • Artists – R
        • Artists – S
        • Artists – T
        • Artists – U
        • Artists – V
        • Artists – W
        • Artists – X
        • Artists – Y
        • Artists – Z
      • Artists – 0 to 9
      • Genres
      • Music on Film & TV
      • One-Hit Wonders
      • Playlists
      • Online Radio
    • Movies
      • Movies by Decade
        • Movies – 1950s
        • Movies – 1960s
        • Movies – 1970s
        • Movies – 1980s
        • Movies – 1990s
      • Movies – 0 to 9
      • Movies – A to K
        • Movies – A
        • Movies – B
        • Movies – C
        • Movies – D
        • Movies – E
        • Movies – F
        • Movies – G
        • Movies – H
        • Movies – I
        • Movies – J
        • Movies – K
      • Movies – L to Z
        • Movies – L
        • Movies – M
        • Movies – N
        • Movies – O
        • Movies – P
        • Movies – Q
        • Movies – R
        • Movies – S
        • Movies – T
        • Movies – U
        • Movies – V
        • Movies – W
        • Movies – X
        • Movies – Y
        • Movies – Z
    • Pop Culture
      • Fads
      • Toys & Games
      • Fashion
      • Decor
      • Food & Drink
      • People
      • Technology
      • Transport
    • Social History
      • 1950s Year by Year
      • 1960s Year by Year
      • 1970s Year by Year
      • 1980s Year by Year
      • 1990s Year by Year
      • Events
    Nostalgia Central
    Home»Music»Artists - 0 to 9
    Artists - 0 to 9 Music - 1960s 2 Mins Read

    13th Floor Elevators

    Share
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email

    Featuring the yelping vocals and visionary – occasionally demented – lyrics of Roky Erickson, The 13th Floor Elevators were one of the original acid-rock bands.

    Formed in Texas in the mid-60s, The Elevators started as a garage rock outfit, scoring their one and only modest national hit with You’re Gonna Miss Me (1966).

    Originally recorded in 1965 by the teenage Erickson’s first band, The Spades, the song was the perfect showcase for both Erickson’s blood-curdling shrieks and Tommy Hall’s demonic “electric jug”.

    While Erickson’s loopy persona, along with Hall’s odd jug percussion, was the band’s most distinguishing feature, several members of the group’s original line-up contributed strong material to their albums.

    21465125_4

    Although these inconsistent efforts sometimes wander off into a cloudy haze, they also include sturdy folk-rock tunes and driving psychedelic rockers.

    Trips to San Francisco established the group as up-and-coming underground favourites, but Erickson’s drug problems led to the singer’s commission to a state mental hospital in 1969.

    He copped an insanity plea to beat a marijuana possession rap, but it was an ordeal from which he never fully recovered. Shock therapy and heavy medication followed until he was finally released three and a half years later.

    With Erickson in Austin’s Rusk State Mental Hospital, guitarist Stacy Sutherland took the reins for their third and final album, Bull Of The Woods (1969), largely cobbled together from outtakes and re-recordings of early songs.

    13thfloorelevators_008Erickson returned from hospital a changed man. Moving from Austin to Los Angeles he put a new band together called Bleib Alien, who would eventually record as Roky Erickson & The Aliens.

    The 13th Floor Elevators were really only at full power for a couple of albums, although all of their releases for the legendary International Artists label – produced by, of all people, Kenny Rogers’ brother Leland – are revered among psychedelic collectors.

    Live recordings and outtakes of the Elevators continue to surface.

    Roky Erickson 
    Vocals, guitar
    Stacy Sutherland

    Guitar, vocals
    Tom Hall 

    Jug, vocals
    Benny Thurman 

    Bass, violin
    Jon Walton 

    Drums
    Ronnie Leatherman

    Bass, drums
    Dan Galindo 

    Bass
    Danny Thomas

    Drums
    Duke David 

    Bass

    Related Posts

    • Eclection
      Eclection
      UK-based folk rockers Eclection actually only had one British musician…
    • Red Crayola, The/Red Krayola
      Red Crayola, The/Red Krayola
      The Red Crayola began as a psychedelic experimental rock band…
    • Spirogyra
      Spirogyra
      Formed in Bolton in 1967, acid-folk band Spirogyra found their…
    • Rare Earth
      Rare Earth
      Having played the club circuit since 1961 under the name…
    • Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, The
      Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, The
      The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band came together in California in…
    • Seeds, The
      Seeds, The
      The Seeds formed in 1965 and comprised vocalist Sky Saxon,…
    • Grass Roots, The
      Grass Roots, The
      The Grass Roots began as a studio-only project by Los…
    • Traffic Sound
      Traffic Sound
      Formed in 1967, Peruvian band Traffic Sound - an exalted…

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email
    Previous Article10cc
    Next Article Music in the 1950s – Introduction

    Comments are closed.

    Follow us
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Instagram
    You May Also Like
    • Flying Lizards, The
      Kent-based Irish exile David Cunningham specialised in […]
    • Freddie & Max
      1 9 9 0 (UK) 6 x 30 minute episodes Thames Television dug deep […]
    • Lipstick (1976)
      Composer and music teacher Gordon Stuart (Chris Sarandon) […]
    • Foundations, The
      Often cited, alongside The Equals and Blue Mink, as British […]
    • Dr Finlay’s Casebook
      1 9 6 2 – 1 9 7 1 (UK) 200 x 50 minute episodes The […]
    • Conceptions of Murder
      1 9 7 0 (UK) 6 x 30 minute episodes Playwright Clive Exton […]
    Twitter Feed
    Please note


    Nostalgia Central covers the period 1950 to 1999 and contains some words and references which reflect the attitudes of those times and which may be considered culturally sensitive, offensive or inappropriate today.
    Popular Tags
    1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 Action Figures Amicus Arcade games Australia Beach movies Beatles Blaxploitation Board games Britpop Canada Crime Disney Doo-Wop Elvis Presley Girl groups Glam Goth Hammer Heavy Metal Irwin Allen Labels Merseybeat Mod revival Motown New Romantic New Wave NWOBHM Oi! One-hit wonders Power Pop Pub rock Punk Radio Scotland Ska Soul music Surf music
    Search Nostalgia Central
    Copyright © 1998, 2022 Nostalgia Central
    • About
    • Contact
    • FAQ

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.