In the mood for some slightly underrated garage rock classics from the 1960s? These gems are likely well-known by hardcore garage rock nerds, enough that they’d scoff at the inclusion of them on a list of “underrated” songs. But these jams aren’t popular among many modern-day listeners, and I’d like to change that. Let’s look at a few tasty slices of music history, shall we?
“Kicks” by Paul Revere & The Raiders from ‘Midnight Ride’ (1966)
Most people remember Paul Revere & The Raiders for their No. 1 hit song “Indian Reservation (The Lament Of The Cherokee Reservation Indian)” from 1971. But I remember this garage rock band for their earlier hit, “Kicks”, which made it to No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1966. Despite being such a successful song at the time, “Kicks” really does fade in the background in favor of their No. 1 hit. I think that’s a shame, because this really is a garage rock classic. That chorus is still so insanely catchy.
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“Melvin” by The Belles (1966)
I’ve written about this song before and feel it deserves a spot on our list of underrated garage rock classics. The Belles were an extremely underrated garage rock outfit made up of some seriously talented women, and they even took a Van Morrison classic and completely reimagined it. That classic is “Gloria”, made famous by both Morrison’s version and a punk rock version released by Patti Smith. The Belles, however, took the song in 1966 and turned it into a song about a man, interestingly titled “Melvin”. That’s admittedly not the sexiest name in the world (sorry to all the Melvins out there), but The Belles managed to make it romantic in their own way.
“Tobacco Road” by The Nashville Teens from ‘Tobacco Road’ (1964)
The Nashville Teens weren’t from Tennessee (they were English, after all), but they did score a pretty successful song in the US with “Tobacco Road”. This garage rock jam got some retrospective love when it was featured in an episode of Mad Men, but back in 1964, it was also successful among listeners. It peaked at No. 14 on the Hot 100 and No. 6 in the UK. The group would enjoy more success in their native country, but “Tobacco Road” would remain their only major US hit. I’ll chalk that up to the British Invasion crowding the charts with far too many other English groups. The Nashville Teens really did deserve further success.
(Photo by Chris Ware/Keystone Features/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
More The List
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CHICAGO, IL – MARCH 7: Singer Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam performs at the Chicago Stadium on March 7, 1994 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Paul Natkin/Wire Image) -
CIRCA 1966: Singer Mick Jagger of the rock and roll band "The Rolling Stones" performs onstage in circa 1966. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images) -
John Lennon, Beatles associate Alexis Mardas (aka Magic Alex), Paul McCartney, and John's driver Les Anthony at London Airport, 11 May 1968. John and Paul were bound for New York to launch the Beatles company Apple. (Photo by Mirrorpix via Getty Images) -
The Bee Gees, who had multiple massive hit songs in 1978 -
Lynyrd Skynyrd, who recorded some of the best classic rock songs for the Fourth of July -
British singer-songwriter and musician Robert Palmer (1949-2003) performing on US talk show 'Nightlife' in New York City, New York, September 1986. (Photo by Vinnie Zuffante/Getty Images) -
Alanis Morissette, Torhout/Werchter Festival, Werchter, Belgium, 7th July 1996. (Photo by Gie Knaeps/Getty Images) -
Alice Cooper, whose hit song was popular among teens in 1972