The 13th Floor Elevators
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.
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. The 2005 documentary You're Gonna Miss Me specifically credits Tommy Hall with coining the term "psychedelic rock". Their contemporary influence has been acknowledged by 1960s musicians such as Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top, Peter Albin of Big Brother and the Holding Company, and Chris Gerniottis of Zakary Thaks.
Quotes about the 13th Floor Elevators
[edit]- Roky Erickson and his band of drugstore cowboys rolled out of Austin, Texas in the mid-Sixties, pioneers in the brave new world of psychedelic rock. They blew minds from coast to coast with their massively influential version of “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue,” the centerpiece of their 1967 classic Easter Everywhere. The Elevators took a totally new approach to the Dylan songbook — instead of reverent folksy imitation, focused on the lyrics, they just cranked up their amps and let the ghosts of electricity howl through their guitars. This doomy power-drone performance rewired how people heard and played Dylan’s music. It’s a fearsome sound — one of his most terrifying songs, in its most terrifying incarnation.
- Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone (May 28, 2021) [1]
- The garage rock sound initially took off as a low-budget reaction to surf-rock phenomena like The Beach Boys and British Invasion bands like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. When these major rock bands embraced psychedelia in 1966, so too did the garage rock innovators. No garage rock band captured the essence of early psych-rock than The 13th Floor Elevators in their colourful debut album, The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators.
- Jordan Potter of Far Out Magazine (July 21, 2024) [2]
- This would not be a decent list of psych-rock bands that were just as good as Pink Floyd without bringing up The 13th Floor Elevators. Formed by Roky Erickson, this little outfit had all of the strange elements you’d expect from a next-level psychedelic rock band from the 60s: an electric jug player, acid rock elements, and reverence as proto-punk icons among modern-day punks. The Psychedelic Sounds Of The 13th Floor Elevators from 1966 is essential listening.
- Em Casalena of American Songwriter (January 14, 2025) [3]
- This band was hugely influential on stoner rock, and although they didn’t have a huge discography, the Elevators built a lasting legacy with many other groups covering their songs in tribute. The Psychedelic Sounds Of The 13th Floor Elevators achieved cult status early, partially due to the band’s embrace of psychedelic drugs as a way to reach a higher state of consciousness. This was led by electric jug player Tommy Hall. However, there were disputes over this advocacy for LSD, which led to drummer John Ike Walton leaving the band. The band didn’t quite achieve huge national success, but they were popular in the Texas psych-rock scene. They had an influence on many Texas rock bands, from ZZ Top to Butthole Surfers. Tommy Hall’s unique jug technique set the band apart as well. He didn’t blow air into the instrument to create the iconic tuba sound. Instead, he vocalized into the jug, creating distortion and reverb with his voice.
- Lauren Boisvert of American Songwriter (April 21, 2025) [4]
