The Sonics

On Tour
Play Radio
Listen to The Sonics Radio, featuring artists like The Seeds, The Standells, The Gories, MC5 and more…

2,986,461 plays (223,673 listeners)

Send The Sonics Ringtones to Cell
Buy
Add to my Library

Tacoma, Washington, United States (1960 – 1968, 2008 – present)

The Sonics are a garage rock band formed 1960 in Tacoma, Washington, United States, the band’s original members were Gerry Roslie (vocals, piano, organ), Larry Parypa (guitar), Andy Parypa (bass), Rob Lind (saxophone) and Bob Bennett (drums). The band’s loud, powerful sound is often considered to be extremely influential on the later psychedelic and punk genres.

Forming in the wake of the early-’60s success of local favorites The Kingsmen and The Wailers (whose Etiquette label they recorded for), the Sonics combined classic Northwest-area teen band raunch with early English band grit (particularly influenced by The Kinks), relentless rhythmic drive, and unabashed ’50s-style blues shouting for a combination that still makes their brand of rock & roll perhaps the raunchiest ever captured on wax.

Lead singer Gerry Roslie was no less than a white Little Richard, whose harrowing soul-screams were startling even to the Northwest teen audience, who liked their music powerful and driving with little regard to commercial subtleties. With hit after hit on the local charts (and influencing every local band that ever took the stage), the band inexplicably was never able to break out nationally, leaving its sound largely undiluted for mass consumption. Breaking up between 1966 and 1968 (after one ill-fated album attempt to water down their style for national attention), the Sonics continue today to be revered by ’60s collectors the world over for their unique brand of rock & roll raunch.
Read more… Edit bio

Popular tags: , , , ,  See more

Share this artist:

Top Albums

  • Here Are The Sonics
    The Sonics Play
    Buy
  • Psycho-Sonic
    The Sonics Play
    Buy
  • Boom
    The Sonics Play
    Buy
  • Introducing The Sonics
    The Sonics Play
    Buy
See more

Top Tracks

1
1,119
2
435
3
376
4
352
5
265
6
190
7
169
8
156
9
152
10
147
11
146
12
140
13
133
14
126
15
108
Buy all tracks at Amazon MP3
See more

Shoutbox

Leave a comment. Log in to Last.fm or sign up (it’s free).
See all 328 shouts

Videos

See more

Events

See more Add event

Listening Now

Top Listeners

See more

More Information

Links
Band Members
Labels