History of Northwest Rock Vol. 1 (1959-1968)

by Tom Dyer

supported by

	/

Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album
“Dyer, a 35-year local rock stalwart and head cheese at local indie label Green Monkey Records, dips into the well of first-wave Northwest rock and roll. The result is the joyous audio equivalent of the best sloppy-drunk sweaty house party you ever crashed. Like any good band rocking a house party, Dyer and his bandmates play with grittily fun-loving chemistry, and that’s what makes this ragged little record sing.” Tony Kay – The Sun Break

“Louie Louie, in Dyer’s hands takes not only a huge left turn but an unplanned detour down an alley, across the freeway, and off into the hinterlands, so unique is the arrangement … he set out to capture the DIY spirit and the maverick vibe that the songs’ creators represented. Methinks he succeeded.” Fred Mills – BLURT

Includes unlimited streaming of History of Northwest Rock Vol. 1 (1959-1968) via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

ships out within 1 day

Purchasable with gift card

$10 USD or more
Streaming + Download

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Purchasable with gift card

$7 USD or more

1.	The Witch 03:31	info	buy track
2.	Walk Don't Run 02:25	info	buy track
3.	I Wanna Hold Your Hand 02:43	info	buy track
4.	You Got Your Head On Backwards 03:03	info	buy track
5.	Hungry 03:44	info	buy track
6.	Angel of the Morning 03:57	info	buy track
7.	Louie Louie 03:12	info	buy track
8.	Dirty Robber 02:55	info	buy track
9.	Come Softly to Me 03:32 video	info	buy track
10.	Just Like Me 02:49	info	buy track
11.	Out of Our Tree 03:28	info	buy track
12.	Little Sally Tease 03:37	info	buy track
13.	Werewolf 02:06	info	buy track
14.	Busybody 02:50 video	info	buy track
15.	She's Boss 03:19	info	buy track

about

Videos:

Busybody
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ultTJCeVauE

Come Softly To Me
youtu.be/By6vXcZGmYE

History of Northwest Rock Vol. 1 (1959-1968) Trailer
youtu.be/2GMuYK-5yM0

I have been thinking about making this record for a long time. Why, you may ask? Why dredge up a bunch of moldy regional figs from the far left corner of America for an album, and even worse, why do a covers album? Why not just get the originals and put them out? They are certainly better. The simple answer is I am a Northwest guy who grew up with these songs and I love these songs. Their raw goodness is permanently aligned with my caveman brain. These songs were mostly put out on little independent Northwest labels like Etiquette and Dolton, and I like that too. Finally, there is some strange commonality about these mostly guitar-driven songs by these rained-on Pacific Northwesters that not only links them, but somehow informs much of the NW music in the decades that follow.

I like that too.

My original inspiration for this project was an album called The History of Northwest Rock Volume 1, released on the Great Northwest Music Company label in 1976, one of many labels owned by NW impresario Jerry Dennon (of Jerden Records). When the album came out these songs were ancient artifacts, ten or twelve years old. I don’t have the album anymore, but I still have a cassette I made from it, to which I added tracks that I thought rightfully should have been there in the first place, like The Wailers, Merrilee Rush and the Raiders, recordings to which Jerry no doubt did not own the rights. For this album, I didn’t record every song on that old cassette tape, but I did a lot of them.

There is not one band whose work is represented here that I ever saw live in their heyday. Most of these were songs I heard on the Seattle AM radio. KJR (you can get all their playlists from 1962-64 here) or KOL. Didn’t really know if they were local hits or national hits. They were just cool. A couple songs I’d never even heard of before I started preparing to make this record, Howie (Monkey #2) and I did a little homework and came up with “Busybody” and “I Wanna Hold Your Hand.” When I started out this project I had a much bigger list of possible bands than what we ended up with, including Dave Lewis, Bonnie Guitar, The Bards, The New Yorkers, certainly Jimi Hendrix and a lot of other fine NW artists worth exploring. (We recorded two Hendrix songs, but iniitally I was not able to license them, so they were released a few months later as a single).

The idea of putting together a band (for my last non-Xmas album, I Ain’t Blue Any More, I played all the instruments) and figuring out some new approaches to these songs seemed like my idea of a good time. I had assembled a killer band a year and a half back to record “No Lou This Xmas” – Scott Sutherland (King County Queens and Chemistry Set plus more), Scott Vanderpool (those same KCQs & Chem Set, the Green Pajamas plus many more) and Joe Ross (the Green Pajamas, 64 Spiders and a few million more). It was so much fun, I asked them if they wanted to make a record. They said sure and this is it. We recorded the songs in my dining room last summer. I asked Jeff Kelly of the Green Pajamas to guest as “Jeff The Organ Player”; he gave assent. Our approach was to keep it simple. Basically come up with an arrangement that we could play live with two guitars, bass and drums – bang! Add a little organ later as special sauce as needed. Some of the arrangements hew closely to the originals, some move off into left field a bit. In all cases there is an aesthetic that we tried to keep at the core. I wanted to do justice to all these great bands and great songs.

For more about the bands, check the info for each song. Where possible I included some links for you.

I am grateful to be from a place where such great music pops up from the trees.

Tom Dyer May 2015

credits

released July 17, 2015

Produced by Tom Dyer

Basic tracks recorded May and July 2014, engineered by Steve Fisk.
TD’s vocals engineered by Howie Wahlen. Overdubs, mixing and mastering by Tom Dyer.

Tom Dyer – Vocals and Guitar
Scott Sutherland – Lead Guitar and Backing Vocals
Joe Ross – Bass and Harmonica
Scott Vanderpool – Drums and Backing Vocals
Jeff The Organ Player – Organ and Piano
Kat Dyer – Backing Vocals on Angel of the Morning

Front cover photo, Howard O. Wahlen (1962)
Cover design and layout by Tom Dyer.

The Witch & You Got Your Head On Backwards by Gerry Roslie © Fairwood Music (UK) Ltd OBO Burdette Music Company
Walk Don't Run by Johnny Smith © Peermusic Ltd.I Wanna Hold Your Hand by Anthony Smith, Richard Gerber, Dave Erickson © Bolmin Publishing Company
Louie Louie by Richard Berry © EMI Longitude Music Co.
Angel of the Morning by Chip Taylor © EMI Blackwood Music Inc.
Come Softly To Me by Gary Troxel, Barbara Ellis, Gretchen Christopher © EMI Unart Catalog Inc.
Dirty Robber by Rich Dangel, John Greek, Kent Morrill © C.F.G. Publishing Co.
Just Like Me by Rick Dey and Rich Brown © Universal Music Careers OBO Daywin Music, Inc.
Out of Our Tree by Kent Morrill, Ron Gardner & John Ormsby © EMI Unart Catalog Inc.
Little Sally Tease by James Valley © Fairwood Music (UK) LTD, Bolmin Publishing Company
Werewolf by Terry Wadsworth, Gary Hodge © EMI Unart Catalog Inc.
Busybody by R.L. Johnson © Sony/ATV Songs LLC
She's Boss by Tex Hughes, Butch Tuner © Fairwood Music (UK) LTD OBO Burdette Music Company

Thanks to: The New Pagan Gods* who made this record so damn cool and are such fine gents to work with. Thanks to Kat who came up with better backing vocal parts for Angel than I did. Thanks to Sheila D. and my sister Susan for the earlier backing vocal parts I ended up not using. Thanks to Howie for much consultation and advice as I went through what seemed at times an endless process. Thanks to Vicki and the neighbors who put up with the racket. And more than anything, thanks to the great bands who first did these great songs. Respect.

* I had another band called the New Pagan Gods for two nights in 1987 or so. You know who you are.

license

about

Tom Dyer Olympia, Washington

Tom Dyer is a Pacific NW singer, musician, songwriter, producer with 18 albums and many more singles and tracks, most recently his 40-song 3-CD (see Tom Dyer and the True Olympians) opus “Olympia: A True Story.” “This (Olympia) is a glorious, beautifully presented project … remarkable.” Graham Reid – Elsewhere.
His next album will be his best. He has faithfully run Green Monkey Records since 1983. ... more

greenmonkeyrecords.com

Recommendations

contact / help

Contact Tom Dyer

Streaming and
Download help

Shipping and returns

Redeem code

Report this album or account

Tom Dyer recommends:

Correo Aereo + Tiptons Sax Quartet: Mujer o Bruja?
by Amy Denio / Spoot Music

This is a soulful, intelligent work composed for theater that comes off great as a beautifully recorded experience. So good! Tom Dyer
go to album
Gallows Wine [KLP287]
by Calvin Johnson

Yet another fabulous album from Mr. Calvin Johnson, a swamp fest recorded in Mississippi with Hartle Road. So thick. So gooey. So good. Tom Dyer
go to album

If you like Tom Dyer, you may also like:

Tokyo Bay/Crying Inside
by Nick Lowe

The first new release from Nick Lowe in 5 years includes two originals and two rollicking covers. Bandcamp New & Notable Apr 6, 2018
go to album
The Songs & Tales of Airoea – Book III
by The Chronicles of Father Robin

featured on Bandcamp Radio Mar 15, 2024
go to album
In Search Of Lost Time
by Partner

Continuing the rock tradition of talking about awkward, intimate minutiae and nerdy obsessions via mammoth guitar lines. Bandcamp Album of the Day Sep 12, 2017
go to album
Desert Love (Rejoicer Remix)
by Ouzo Bazooka

featured on Bandcamp Radio Feb 18, 2014
go to album