Detroit Rock City Part II

The Primer Movers in the mid-60's; Iggy Pop is second from left.

A while back I posted about some obscure 60’s Detroit bands that, in addition to the better known Stooges and MC5, created the hard, heavy Motor City sound of the late 60’s and early 70’s.  The Up, Frost, Death, and Frijid Pink among others developed an exciting, loud form of rock and roll that presaged most punk rock. 

I’m currently reading Paul Trynka’s dense, comprehensive biography of Iggy Pop from 2007 entitled “Iggy:  Open Up and Bleed”, and I was re-learning about the history of the Stooges in particular and of the Ann Arbor/Detroit music scenes in general in the mid-60’s.  Iggy himself played drums for a white boy blues band known as the Prime Movers.  None of their stuff is on iTunes but former Prime Movers lead singer Mike Erlewine has posted on YouTube  a number of old songs from a recently discovered tape, which offer an unbelievably valuable insight into the early history of Iggy Pop as a rock musician.  The songs are very authentic Chicago electric blues in the mold of Paul Butterfield, Junior Walker, BB King, etc.  “Walkin’, By Myself” is up-tempo blues and sounds like BB King and maybe a little Lightnin’ Hopkins; “Rock Me Baby” is slower and maintains the tight, Chicago blues focus of BB King and Buddy Guy as well. 

Similarly blues-y are the Rationals, who formed in 1964 with Scott Morgan on vocals, who would go on to sing in Sonic’s Rendezvous Band with Fred “Sonic” Smith and other notable Detroit musicians after the MC5 split up in the mid-70’s.  His vocals on their cover of Howlin’ Wolf’s “Smokestack Lightning” are outstandingly soulful and raspy; the guitar quickly leaves the traditional blues and becomes wild and feedback laden, almost psychedelic.    “Leaving Here” is another wild blues and R&B rave-up that also touches on 60’s garage rock like the Troggs or the Electric Prunes.  “I Need You” really apes early Kinks, such as “All Day and All of the Night”.

Before he became legendary as the guitarist then bassist for the Stooges, Ron Asheton played bass for another Ann Arbor R&B/blues outfit, the Chosen Few.  Only one song is available on iTunes, “It Just Don’t Rhyme” is organ-heavy British Invasion-influenced electrified R&B, with twangy Duane Eddy/Mickey & Sylvia guitar solos.  It’s a little more stereotypically 60’s but is still fun stuff.

The Scot Richard Case or SRC are another Detroit/Ann Arbor electric blues outfit but one that became much more psychedelic in their later career.  Their first single, “I’m So Glad”, from 1967, is available on YouTube and is similar to the cut by the Chosen Few above, with twangy, almost rockabilly guitar solos and lots of organ.  But most of the cuts off 1968’s SRC album show a much more psychedelic direction.  “Interval” starts with a high pitched guitar solo, wending its way eventually into soft vocal harmonies that bring to mind early Pink Floyd or even a less countrified Byrds; “Daystar” from the same album has a mellower, even more Byrds-like feel.  “Up All Night” is similar but with even wilder tremolo guitar, veering almost toward a more harmonized Steppenwolf.  “Turn Into Love”, has almost a girl-group or Motown feel, with the guitar more buried in the mix and the vocals and especially the female backing vocals much higher in the mix. 

Another band that achieved renown when one of its members achieved more widespread fame are the Pleasure Seekers.  Formed in 1964 by sisters Patti and Susie (soon to be Suzi) Quatro (formerly Quatrocchi), the all-female Pleasure Seekers became a hugely popular local draw in Detroit, mostly for their wild R&B raveups.  “What a Way To Die” is a good example of their sound, with its driving garage rhythm and Suzi’s raspy, wild girl vocals punctuated by shrieks and screams by the backing singers.  You can really hear the germ of Suzi’s eventual 70’s style here.  “Never Thought You’d Leave Me” is more sedate and sounds more like the Shirelles or Shangri-Las, with a dominant, swirling organ sound.