"Action Woman" is a song by the American

garage rock Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock and roll that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The sty ...

band

the Litter The Litter was an American psychedelic and garage rock band, formed in 1966 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. They are best remembered for their 1967 debut single, " Action Woman". The group recorded three albums in the late 1960s bef ...

, written by their

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure. Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

Warren Kendrick, and first released as the group's debut

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

on Scotty Records in January 1967 (''see''

1967 in music The year 1967 was an important one for psychedelic rock, and was famous for its "Summer of Love" in San Francisco. It saw major releases from The Beatles (''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' and '' Magical Mystery Tour''), Small Fac ...

). The song also appeared on the band's first

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

''Distortions''. Although "Action Woman" never broke out on the national charts, it is now revered as a classic piece of the musical genre of garage rock. Accordingly, the composition has appeared on several

compilation albums A compilation album comprises tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several performers. If by one artist, then generally the tracks were not originally intended for re ...

, and has been the subject of

cover versions In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song relea ...

Background

The Litter formed in 1966 from the remains of two locally popular

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with list of lakes in Minneapolis, thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. ...

groups, the Victors and the Tabs. Early into the group's existence, the Litter enjoyed tremendous popularity, particularly in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

where the band became regulars at the

Electric Theatre The Electric Theatre is a theatre located in Guildford, Surrey, England, which has gained a widespread reputation for promotion of the musical arts at all levels from community workshops to concerts by internationally well-known artists. The t ...

as they performed alongside

the Byrds The Byrds () were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) remaining the sole con ...

and Jethro Tull, among others. During this time,

bass guitarist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboard bass or a low br ...

and

keyboardist A keyboardist or keyboard player is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical ins ...

Jim Kane got the Litter in contact with

Warren Kendrick, who was a capable instrumentalist in his own right before an arm injury prevented him from performing. Seeing the group's potential, Kendrick signed the Litter to a

recording contract A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist (or group), where the artist makes a record (or series of records) for the label to sell and promote. Artists ...

to his self-owned

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the prod ...

, Scotty Records, to produce their debut single and subsequent album. "Action Woman", a Kendrick-penned composition about a man in search of a "woman who'll satisfy his soul", was chosen for the group's first release. Musically exhibiting heavy influence from the

British Invasion The British Invasion was a cultural phenomenon of the mid-1960s, when rock and pop music acts from the United Kingdom and other aspects of British culture became popular in the United States and significant to the rising "counterculture" on ...

bands

the Yardbirds The Yardbirds are an English rock band, formed in London in 1963. The band's core lineup featured vocalist and harmonica player Keith Relf, drummer Jim McCarty, rhythm guitarist and later bassist Chris Dreja and bassist/producer Paul Samw ...

and

the Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are conside ...

, "Action Woman" was marked by distorted

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

riffs and feedback provided by

lead guitarist Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featured ...

Bill Strandlof. The fuzz-toned instrumentals evident in the song were regularly utilized in the Litter's later recordings, even prompting Kendrick to name their first album ''Distortions''. In addition to Strandlof's motif, the composition was also highlighted by Denny Waite's authoritative and snarling

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of th ...

, coupled with a raw musical stance emulating from the band's relatively live-recording style. In January 1967, "Action Woman", with a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song relea ...

Pete Townshend Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend (; born 19 May 1945) is an English musician. He is co-founder, leader, guitarist, second lead vocalist and principal songwriter of the Who, one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s and 1970s. Towns ...

's "

A Legal Matter "A Legal Matter" is a song written by Pete Townshend and recorded by the British rock band the Who for their debut album ''My Generation''. It was recorded on 12 October 1965 at IBC Studios, and released both as the B-side to " The Kids Are Alr ...

" as its

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

, was released and became a regional hit in Minneapolis. The song received a broader audience when it was featured as the opening track to the highly regarded compilation album, '' Pebbles, Volume 1'' in 1979. Music historian

Richie Unterberger Richie Unterberger (born January 19, 1962) is an American author and journalist whose focus is popular music and travel writing. Life and writing Unterberger attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he wrote for the university newspaper '' ...

praised "Action Woman", saying it is "an archetype of the tough '60s garage rock favored by fans of the ''Pebbles'' reissue series". Along with its inclusion on ''Pebbles'' the composition also appears on the 1998 reissue of '' Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, 1965–1968'' and ''

Trash Box ''Trash Box'' is a 5-CD box set of mid-1960s garage rock and psychedelic rock recordings, primarily by American bands. This box set is similar to the earlier ''Pebbles Box'' (a 5-LP box set) and includes almost all of the same recordings in that b ...

''. The song has been covered by multiple groups, the first of which came just a month after the Litter's version by fellow-Minnesota band the Electras. The Electras' rendition, along with sharing Kendrick as their producer, has caused many record collectors to wrongly believe the two groups contained some of the same members. Other versions were recorded by Naz Nomad and the Nightmares during the garage rock revival of the 1980s, Kek '66, Echo & the Bunnymen, and Danzig.

References

{{authority control American garage rock songs 1967 songs 1967 singles