On February 5, 1943, Larry Tamblyn of The Standells was born.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

The Standells


The Standells in 1966. L-R: Larry Tamblyn,
Tony Valentino, Dick Dodd and Gary Lane.

Background information
Origin: Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Genres: Garage rock, psychedelic rock
Years active: 1962–present
Members:
Larry Tamblyn
Martin Blasick
Greg Burnham
Mark Adrian
Past members:
Tony Valentino
Jody Rich
Dick Dodd
Benny King (Benny Hernandez)
Gary Lane
Gary Leeds
Dewey Martin
Dave Burke
Lowell George
Paul Downing
Adam Marsland
John Fleck (John Fleckenstein)
Bruce Michael Miller

The Standells are an American garage rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in the 1960s, who have been referred to as a "punk band of the 1960s", and said to have inspired such groups as the Sex Pistols and Ramones. They recorded the 1966 hit "Dirty Water", written by their producer, Ed Cobb. (Ed Cobb also wrote "Tainted Love", a Gloria Jones song which became world famous when Soft Cell did a version of it.) "Dirty Water" is the anthem of several Boston sports teams and is played following every Boston Red Sox and Boston Bruins home win.

History
The Standells band was formed in 1962 by lead vocalist and keyboard player Larry Tamblyn (born Lawrence Arnold Tamblyn, February 5, 1943), guitarist Tony Valentino (born Emilio Bellissimo, May 24, 1941), bass guitarist Jody Rich, and drummer Benny King (aka Hernandez). Tamblyn had previously been a solo performer, recording several 45 singles in the late 1950s and early 1960s including "Dearest", "Patty Ann", "This Is The Night", "My Bride To Be" and "Destiny" for Faro and Linda Records. He is the brother of actor Russ Tamblyn and the uncle of actor Amber Tamblyn.

The Standells band name was created by Larry Tamblyn, derived from standing around booking agents' offices trying to get work. In early 1962, drummer Benny King joined the group, and as "the Standels", their first major performance was in Honolulu at the Oasis Club. After several months, Rich and King departed. Tamblyn then assumed leadership of the group. He and Valentino re-formed the Standels, adding bass guitarist Gary Lane (September 18, 1938 – November 5, 2014) and drummer Gary Leeds, later known as Gary Walker of The Walker Brothers. Later that year, the band lengthened its name to "Larry Tamblyn & the Standels". In 1963 an extra "L" was added, and as "Larry Tamblyn and the Standells" the group made its first recording "You'll Be Mine Someday/Girl In My Heart" for Linda Records (released in 1964). In the latter part of the year, the band permanently shortened its name to "The Standells". After the Standells signed with Liberty in 1964, Leeds left the group, and was replaced by lead vocalist and drummer Dick Dodd. Dodd was a former Mouseketeer who had been the original drummer for The Bel-Airs, known for the surf rock song "Mr. Moto", and eventually became the singer who sang lead on all of the Standells hit songs.

In 1964, Liberty Records released three Standells singles and an album, The Standells in Person at P.J.s. The album was later re-issued as The Standells Live and Out of Sight. The band also appeared on The Munsters TV show, as themselves in the episode "Far Out Munsters," performing "Come On and Ringo" and a version of The Beatles' "I Want to Hold Your Hand". In late 1964, they signed with Vee Jay and released two singles in 1965. Later in the year they signed with MGM for one single.

The group appeared in several low-budget films of the 1960s, including Get Yourself a College Girl (1964) and cult classic Riot on Sunset Strip (1967). The Standells performed incidental music in the 1963 Connie Francis movie Follow the Boys, which coincidentally co-starred Larry Tamblyn's brother, Russ Tamblyn. The Standells played the part of the fictional rock group the "Love Bugs" on the television sitcom Bing Crosby Show in the January 18, 1965, episode "Bugged by the Love Bugs". In addition to appearing in the aforementioned The Munsters episode as themselves, they also appeared performing an instrumental in the background in the March 29, 1965 Ben Casey series episode, "Three 'Lil Lambs." The band also performed the title song for the 1965 children's movie, Zebra in the Kitchen.

Some reports state that early versions of the band had a relatively clean image and performed only cover songs. However, early 1964 photos counter that notion, showing the Standells with long hair, making them one of the first American rock groups to adopt that style. In order to work in conservative nightclubs like P.J.'s, the group members were forced to cut their shaggy locks. Like the Beatles, early rock groups did mostly cover songs in nightclubs.

In 1965 the group – Dodd, Tamblyn, Valentino and Lane – signed with Capitol Records' label Tower, teaming up with producer Ed Cobb. Cobb wrote the group's most popular song, "Dirty Water", which the band recorded in late 1965. The song's references to the city of Boston are owed to Cobb's experiences with a mugger in Boston. The song also makes reference to the Boston Strangler and the dorm curfews for college women in those days.

"Dirty Water" reached No. 11 on the Billboard charts on July 09, 1966, No. 8 on the Cashbox charts on July 9, 1966, and No. 1 on the Record World charts. "Dirty Water" was on the WLS playlist for 17 total weeks, tied only by "California Dreamin'" for most weeks on that playlist during the 1960s. Though the song is credited solely to Cobb, band members Dodd, Valentino and Tamblyn have claimed substantial material-of-fact song composition copyright contributions to it as well as contributing to its arrangement. Tamblyn has stated that Cobb's version was a "standard blues song", adding: "We took the song with the condition that we could arrange in any way we want; we added the guitar riff into it and all of the wonderful vocal asides like, 'I'm gonna tell you a story, It's all about my town, I'm going to tell you a big fat story'...that was all written by us."

{snip}

Those two songs do bear some similarity, come to think of it.