13层楼电梯

The 13th Floor Elevators was an American rock band from Austin, Texas, United States, formed by guitarist and vocalist Roky Erickson, electric jug player Tommy Hall, and guitarist Stacy Sutherland. The band was together from 1965 to 1969, and during that period released four albums and seven singles for the International Artists record label. Their debut single "You're Gonna Miss Me" was a national Billboard No. 55 hit in 1966.

Considered pioneers of psychedelic rock, the Elevators were the first band to refer to their music as such, with the first-known use of the term appearing on their business card in January 1966, likely coined by member Tommy Hall. As open proponents of drugs such as LSD, the group was targeted by local law enforcement, resulting in the 1969 arrest of Erickson for drug possession, effectively ending the group. With their inclusion on the 1972 compilation Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, 1965-1968, they also came to be recognized as precursors of punk rock. Their contemporary influence has been acknowledged by a wide range of artists.

In 2009, International Artists released a ten-CD box set entitled Sign of the 3-Eyed Men, which included the mono and new, alternative, stereo mixes of the original albums, together with two albums of previously unreleased material and a number of rare live recordings.

History

Formation

The 13th Floor Elevators emerged on the local Austin music scene in December 1965. The band formed when guitarist and singer Roky Erickson left his group the Spades, and joined up with guitarist Stacy Sutherland, bassist Benny Thurman, and drummer John Ike Walton who had been playing Texas coastal towns as the Lingsmen. Tommy Hall was instrumental in bringing the band members together, and joined the group as lyricist and electric jug player.

Walton has said the band's name developed from a suggestion by him to use the name "Elevators" and then Clementine Hall (Tommy's wife) added "13th Floor". Whereas Clementine Hall has said both parts were her suggestions. In addition to an awareness that a number of tall buildings in the US lack a designated 13th floor, it was noted that the letter "M" (for marijuana) is the thirteenth letter of the alphabet.

1966–1967: Psychedelic Sounds and Easter Everywhere

In early January 1966, producer Gordon Bynum brought the band to Walt Andrus' Studios Houston to record two songs to release as a single on his newly formed Contact record label. The songs were Erickson's "You're Gonna Miss Me", and Hall-Sutherland's "Tried to Hide". Bynum released them as a single on his own label, Contact, on 17 January, and it became a local hit.

On 27 January, the vice squad raided Hall's home and found two pounds of marijuana in the garage. They arrested Hall, Erickson, Sutherland, and Walton who were all present. Erickson's old apartment was raided also, and more was found there. All four were charged with possession. Their bail conditions forbade them from leaving the state, causing them to temporarily lose out on gigs further afield.

Around this time, Erickson met Janis Joplin at a party, while she was back in Texas between stints in San Francisco. After which Erickson wrote the line "I’ve seen your face before, I’ve known you all my life" about her. It would be included in the band's song "Splash 1", which was otherwise written by Hall's wife Clementine. After both Joplin and the Elevators played the same concert at the Methodist Student Centre on March 12th 1966, Hall asked Joplin to join the Elevators, though nothing came of it.

The band were now regularly playing in Houston and Dallas. They also played on live teen dance shows on TV, such as Sumpin Else in 1966, and The Larry Kane Show in 1967.

In May 1966, the band were invited to a meeting with Houston Record label International Artists, who then re-released "You're Gonna Miss Me". Thurman left the band around this time and was replaced by Sutherland's school friend Ronnie Leatherman. During the summer, the IA re-release became popular outside Texas, especially in the San Francisco Bay Area. It peaked on the national Billboard chart at the No. 55 position. Prompted by the success of the single, the Elevators toured the West Coast, made two nationally televised appearances on Where The Action Is and American Bandstand with Dick Clark, and played several dates at the San Francisco ballrooms The Fillmore and The Avalon.

The band members' trial for their earlier arrests came to court on 8 August. Hall and Sutherland were given two years' probation, Erickson got off on a technicality due to the warrant for his apartment having the wrong address, and Walton's charges were dismissed due to lack of evidence.

IA signed the Elevators to a record contract in the summer and released the album The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators in November 1966, preceding it with the single "Reverberation" which charted at 129 for one week only.