Hailing from Austin, Texas, the members of 13th Floor Elevators were one of… Read Full Bio ↴Hailing from Austin, Texas, the members of 13th Floor Elevators were one of 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 electric 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 1968 LP, Bull of the Woods.
Roky Erickson was released from hospital in 1973 and embarked upon a successful solo career that resulted in a CBS album produced by Stu Cook from Creedence Clearwater Revival. During the 1980s he struggled with mental illness and withdrew from public life for many years. However, in the 2000s he has re-emerged with one of his late 70s/early 80s backing bands, The Explosives, playing regular gigs including the Austin City Limits festival in September 2005, as well as Coachella in California, the Hultsfred Festival in Sweden and Montreal World Film festival in Canada.
On May 31, 2019, Roky Erickson passed away.
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 electric 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 1968 LP, Bull of the Woods.
Roky Erickson was released from hospital in 1973 and embarked upon a successful solo career that resulted in a CBS album produced by Stu Cook from Creedence Clearwater Revival. During the 1980s he struggled with mental illness and withdrew from public life for many years. However, in the 2000s he has re-emerged with one of his late 70s/early 80s backing bands, The Explosives, playing regular gigs including the Austin City Limits festival in September 2005, as well as Coachella in California, the Hultsfred Festival in Sweden and Montreal World Film festival in Canada.
On May 31, 2019, Roky Erickson passed away.
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All Singles! & Rare Stuff
13th Floor Elevators Lyrics
Baby Blue You must leave now, take what you need You think will…
Before You Accuse Me Before you accuse me, take a look at yourself Before you…
Fire Engine Let me take you to the empty place in my…
I'm Gonna Love You Too You're gonna say you miss me You're gonna say you'll kiss…
I've Got Levitation Heading for the ceiling, I'm up off the floor I've broken…
Livin' On See me rocking, To set the times awry, I'm bringing in my…
May the Circle Remain Unbroken May the circle remain unbroken. May the circle remain unbro…
Reverberation Well, you finally find your helpless mind, Is trapped insid…
Scarlet and Gold He's a king, he's a poor boy, A tower in a…
She Lives She lives, no fear Doubtless in everything she knows. Thro…
Slip Inside This House Bedoin tribes ascending From the egg into the flower, Alpha …
Splash 1 I've seen your face before, I've known you all my…
Tried to Hide You think you're strong when you're only straining You thin…
You're Gonna Miss Me Oh yeah Ah You're gonna wake up one morning as the sun…