13th Floor Elevators

1,710,820 plays (157,484 listeners)
In your library (0 plays)

Listening now: El_Tren, rockcharts, imightbegiantoo

230 shouts

Add to my Library Share

Get Ringtones

Austin, United States

Hailing from Austin, Texas, the members of 13th Floor Elevators were quite possibly the first artists to describe their music as psychedelic. Their lyrics and sleeve notes openly and religiously endorsed the use of drugs (particularly LSD) to alter human consciousness for the better.

The band rattled to the middle of the Hot 100 in 1966 with

You’re Gonna Miss Me, anchored by Roky Erickson’s unforgettable yelping vocals, Stacy Sutherland’s guitar, and Tommy Hall’s jug runs. According to myth, Tommy’s jug was tuned by the amount of marijuana stored in it.

The group pioneered some of the first garage psychedelia on its albums The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators 1966, and the followup Easter Everywhere 1967.

However, Texas at that time was an extremely conservative area that still hadn’t come to terms with 50’s rock ‘n’ roll. The authorities and the police set out to bust the entire band for pot (and—not surprisingly—succeeded).

Stacy Sutherland was jailed. To avoid a prison term, Roky pleaded insanity—a misguided ploy that landed him in Rusk State Hospital for the criminally insane for 3 years. That turn of events spelled the end of the band, although there was a posthumous 1969 LP, Bull of the Woods.

Tagged as:

psychedelic, psychedelic rock, garage rock, 60s, rock
See more…

Similar Artists

Top Albums

The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators
13th Floor Elevators
Buy
- Download Album
- Amazon MP3 Search
- 7digital Search
- iTunes Search
- Buy Album
- Amazon $16.13
- eBay Search
Easter Everywhere
13th Floor Elevators
Buy
- Download Album
- Amazon MP3 Search
- 7digital Search
- iTunes Search
- Buy Album
- Amazon Search
- eBay Search
Psychedelic Sounds Of; Elevators Live!
13th Floor Elevators
Buy
- Download Album
- Amazon MP3 Search
- 7digital Search
- iTunes Search
- Buy Album
- Amazon Search
- eBay Search
Bull of the Woods
13th Floor Elevators
Buy
- Download Album
- Amazon MP3 Search
- 7digital Search
- iTunes $11.99
- Buy Album
- Amazon $24.68
- eBay Search

Top Tracks

1	You're Gonna Miss Me full track	1,682
2	Roller Coaster full track	624
3	Don't Fall Down full track	458
4	Fire Engine full track	448
5	Kingdom Of Heaven full track	391
6	Tried To Hide full track	383
7	Monkey Island full track	376
8	Reverberation (Doubt)	371
9	Splash 1 full track	318
10	Slip Inside This House	308
11	Thru the Rhythm full track	273
12	You Don't Know full track	272
13	She Lives (In a Time of Her Own) full track	225
14	Dust full track	175
15	I Had to Tell You	159

Shoutbox

Leave a comment. Log in to Last.fm or sign up (it’s free).

Ludwer wrote:
Tuesday afternoon

nice

View Profile | Leave Ludwer a shout
stfuslifer wrote:
8 days ago

Coolest psych ev0r.

View Profile | Leave stfuslifer a shout
allancoote wrote:
12 days ago

wow you guys love these, they're good but not that good. Also 'lol' at livingshit

View Profile | Leave allancoote a shout
Broken_Grass wrote:
13 days ago

Roller Coaster rocks

View Profile | Leave Broken_Grass a shout
taxametern wrote:
16 days ago

This band really goes beyond your mind.

View Profile | Leave taxametern a shout
LivingShit wrote:
20 days ago

13th letter of the alphabet is 'm' for marijuana.. tough

View Profile | Leave LivingShit a shout
Spacebel wrote:
21 days ago

@ username345 ==> Spaceman 3 have covered this ... one of the best songs ever

View Profile | Leave Spacebel a shout
KateCakeShaw wrote:
last month

opening of High Fidelity. awesome.

View Profile | Leave KateCakeShaw a shout
username345 wrote:
last month

After you trip life opens up, You start doing what you want to do And you find out that the world that you once feared, Gets what it has from you No one can ever hurt you But you know more than you thought you knew And you're looking at the world With brand new eyes, And no one can ever spoil the view

View Profile | Leave username345 a shout
amanijua wrote:
last month

Slip Inside This House is epic.

View Profile | Leave amanijua a shout
MazeBot wrote:
last month

Really good band.

View Profile | Leave MazeBot a shout
mikeghan wrote:
last month

that picture makes me so happy

View Profile | Leave mikeghan a shout
Galinor wrote:
September 2009

Hm, yeah, music might make the best or worse of it, or just something in between.

View Profile | Leave Galinor a shout
SpaceJamMike wrote:
September 2009

"What came first: The music or the misery?" I think the misery. Like marijuana, music acts sometimes as a stimulant to overcome the misery or a depressant to make it worse.

View Profile | Leave SpaceJamMike a shout
Larissa_Bell wrote:
September 2009

oh yeah

View Profile | Leave Larissa_Bell a shout
henkdo wrote:
September 2009

New box. Sign of the 3 Eyed Men. Wow!

View Profile | Leave henkdo a shout
vakeragalaktica wrote:
September 2009

I'm gonna love you too <3

View Profile | Leave vakeragalaktica a shout
javier0889 wrote:
September 2009

This band really had it. It's hard to explain... it's beyond any word. Just listen to it.

View Profile | Leave javier0889 a shout
kreetik wrote:
September 2009

Hey, if you like the 13th Floor Elevators you should check out this interview I did with the drummer, Danny Thomas. http://www.kreetik.com/1/post/2009/09/interview-with-danny-thomas-of-the-13th-floor-elevators.html

View Profile | Leave kreetik a shout
edsylvester wrote:
September 2009

I'm dating myself, but I used to see them at Love Street in Houston in 1968-69. Johnny Winter, too, among others. Texas music of the time is usually downplayed, but it was a pretty creative scene.

View Profile | Leave edsylvester a shout