It's almost too easy to underestimate the importance of Jan & Dean in the history of rock & roll and its evolution into rock. The mere mention of their name today evokes images of suntanned California teens dancing and surfing on the beaches of Malibu. The ultimate good-time music act of the early '60s -- who only earned one gold record (for... [+] Read More

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Link Davis was born in 1914 in Wills Point, Van Zandt County, TX, near Dallas. One of eight children, he formed a trio with two of his brothers during the late '20s, playing local dances. A natural musician, Davis started out playing the fiddle and later took up the saxophone. He gravitated toward Western swing music when he turned professional... [+] Read More

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Along with Minnesota's Trashmen, the Astronauts (from Colorado) were the premier landlocked Midwestern surf group of the '60s. They recorded numerous singles and albums and achieved vast regional popularity, but only scored one modest national hit, "Baja." With little material of their own, they judiciously tapped heavyweights like Lee Hazelwood... [+] Read More

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In 1963, this teenage group from Santa Ana, CA, had one of the biggest and best instrumental surf hits, "Pipeline." Competent players who went heavy on the rumbling bass, ghostly reverb, and electric keyboards, they were very much a one-shot act; their repertoire was crowded with rock & roll covers and "Pipeline" sound-alikes, and none of their... [+] Read More

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Whatever interest this L.A. surf combo generates stems from the fact that future Moby Grape guitarist Peter Lewis was a member. Composed mostly of the sons of Hollywood actors (guitarist Bob Linkletter's dad, Art, being the most famous of these), they cut an extremely obscure LP and several singles for the tiny Garex label. Their cover-dominated... [+] Read More

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One of the best of the many instrumental surf bands working the Southern Californian region in 1963, the Lively Ones' recordings were built around storming, reverb-drenched Fender guitars, embellished by occasional raunchy sax breaks. Originality was not the Lively Ones' forte; over a period of about 12 months, they ground out about five albums,... [+] Read More

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One of several R&B vocal groups to record as the Pyramids, this particular combo formed in New Haven, CT, in 1955. According to Marv Goldberg's profile in the July 1997 issue of Discoveries, founding members Joe Stallings (tenor lead), Hubert Saulsbury (first tenor), Roland Douglas, Jr. (baritone), and Richard Foster (bass) met in the choir of... [+] Read More

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The Revells weren't an actual group, but one of the several surf-hot rod acts of the 1960s that were actually comprised of California session players and songwriters. They released one album, a novelty-concept LP of sorts jammed with songs about the then-hot slot car craze. Masterminded by Gary Usher (who produced the record and wrote most of... [+] Read More

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A Minneapolis rock & roll band, they evolved from Jim Thaxter & the Travelers, recording one single under that name ("Sally Jo"/"Cyclone"). The group comprises Tony Andreason (lead guitar), Dan Winslow (guitar/ vocals), Bob Reed (bass), and Steve Wahrer (drums/vocals). Unfairly depicted as a novelty act, the Trashmen were in actuality a... [+] Read More

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