The Standells

The Standells are a Los Angeles punk/garage rock group that was formed in 1962. The original line-up was Larry Tamblyn (organ/vocals), Tony Valentino (guitar), Gary Lane (bass) and Gary Leeds (drums). Leeds was later replaced by former Mouseketeer Dick Dodd, who not only played drums but also handled lead vocal chores as well. The band began its career doing gigs in various L.A. clubs in the early 1960s. They recorded albums and singles for such labels as Liberty, Vee Jay and MGM, and popped up in the silly Get Yourself a College Girl (1964). They scored a substantial success with the tough-'n'-snarly "Dirty Water," which peaked at #11 on the Billboard pop charts on June 11, 1966. The group's follow-up songs include the incisive "Sometimes Good Guys Don't Wear White," the bitter "Why Pick on Me," the racy "Try It" (banned from many radio stations because of its suggestive lyrics), the bluesy "Have You Ever Spent the Night in Jail," the ferocious "Barracuda" and the atypically gentle and melodic "Animal Girl." The Standells are prominently featured in the groovy American-International Pictures hippie exploitation classic Riot on Sunset Strip (1967), singing the terrific opening credits theme song. In addition, they made a memorable guest appearance on _"The Munsters" (1964) {Far Out Munsters (#1.26)_. The band proved to be a key influence on the punk rock music movement of the 1970s and 1980s. The hardcore band Minor Threat covered "Sometimes Good Guys Don't Wear White" while The Inmates did their own rendition of "Dirty Water." In 1999 several band members got back together to do a live show at the Cavestomp festival. They also reunited to perform at both the second game of the 2004 World Series and the first game of the 2007 American League Division Series at Fenway Park.