" Say Ma,what are those kids doin' out in the garage with those trading stamp electric guitars?Don't sound half bad,I reckon. One of 'em told me they were gonna call themselves The Flamin' Groovies! "

I don't really consider myself to be a punk rocker. But I'm crazy about punk music. It combines strong elements of both garage rock from 1965/1966 and the scene in 1977/1978. And there were bands in the 1969-1974 era who played punk rock but they weren't part of the "hitmaker" scene. For Instance The MC5,The Stooges,The Velvet Underground, The New York Dolls, Jayne County, TheAlice Cooper Band and of course,The Flamin' Groovies. The first Flamin' Groovies recording I owned was "Shake Some Action" on an 8 track tape in 1976. Later I bought "Flamin Groovies Now!",then "Jumpin' In The Night". I bought "Teenage Head" and "Flamingo" in 1980. We all know it was Lester Bangs who coined the term punk rock in a 1970 issue of Creem Magazine. One day in 1978 I sat down with vinyl albums by The MC5,The Stooges,Patti Smith,The Velvet Underground,The Ramones and more. I listened to as much of these albums as I had time for on that particular day and I began to notice something disquieting but not unpleasant, I noticed the effect Top 40 Radio must've surely had on a vast majority these bands and musicians. In particular,I noticed specific songs that could be hit in an afternoon radio. It's Top 40 radio's that is the biggest influence on punk rock and not so the underground sounds on the FM stations. The Flamin' Groovies, and The Chesterfield Kings had the coolest 1966,British invasion and garage rock overtones in their music. Cyril Jordan has got the Wickedest Aftermath touches on songs like "First Plane Home" and "Yes I am". These riffs were influenced from "Goin' Home" on The Rolling Stone's 1966 "Aftermath" album. The Flamin' Groovies are an American rock 'n' roll band from San Francisco who first got started in 1965. Led by Cyril Jordan and Roy Loney. The band released three albums on Epic. The Flamin' Groovies have a large and loyal following but there were some glitches. Early in their career their manager at the time leased The Fillmore from Bill Graham which exposed the band to The Stooges and Alice Cooper.   Bill Graham booked the The Flamin' Groovies to close the Fillmore. Roy Loney split circa' 1971. Fifteen year old Chris Wilson took his place and the Groovies began their search for their signature kind of sound. The group caught the eye of producer Dave Edmunds who produced them. The Flamin' Groovies did three albums on Sire in 1976,1977,1979 I don't know what happened with all of that over the years but Seymour Stein and Sire Records were behind The Flamin' Groovies. This particular line-up of The Groovies broke up in 1981. Guitarist Jordan and Bass Player George Alexander continued to front The Flamin' Groovies and tour with Jack Johnson and Paul Zahl who would play with SVT.... Speaking for myself,I think those three Sire albums from The Seventies are virtually "Their Satanic Majesties Request" in three volumes for punk rock,garage rock and the era in which they were made. Those three albums are the perfect Kryptonite to use on for huge hits. The Flamin'Groovies began as a band called "The Chosen Few" in 1965 in their hometown of San Francisco. Cyril Jordan maintains that the Flamin' Groovies were his band. The most recent lineup of the band has consisted of Cyril Jordan,Chris Wilson,Chris Von Sneidern,Tony Sales. These guys are on the road just as often as they can be! A listing of Flamin' Groovies alumni includes Roy Loney,George Alexander, Danny Mihn, Michael Wilhelm, James Ferrel, Tim Lynch,Paul Zahl,Jack Johnson,Victor Penalosa. The Flamin' Groovies could even be compared to The most recent lineup of the band has done a video!   It's called "Crazy Macy"

William Tyler Smith and Kurt Feldhun are busy putting together "The Incredible Flamin' Groovies Movie". They recently interviewed their long time friend Bebe Buell. There is a petition making the rounds to get The Flamin' Groovies inducted to The 2019 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. So that's them for over 50 years since 1965!