The 13th Floor Elevators was an American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band from

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

, United States, formed by guitarist and

vocalist Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...

Roky Erickson Roger Kynard "Roky" Erickson (July 15, 1947 – May 31, 2019) was an American musician and singer-songwriter. Called an "outsider genius," he was a founding member and the leader of the 13th Floor Elevators and a pioneer of the psychedelic r ...

, electric

jug A jug is a type of container commonly used to hold and serve liquids, but not normally to drink from directly. It has an opening, sometimes narrow, from which to pour or drink, and has a handle, and usually a pouring lip. Jugs throughout histor ...

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 Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

for the

International Artists International Artists (IA) was an American independent record label based in Houston, Texas, United States, that originally existed from 1965 to 1970. It is not to be confused with International Artists Records, a classical music record label foun ...

record label. Considered pioneers of

psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...

, 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 William Frederick Gibbons (born December 16, 1949) is an American rock musician, best known as the guitarist, primary vocalist, and only constant member of ZZ Top. He began his career in Moving Sidewalks, who recorded '' Flash'' (1969) and op ...

ZZ Top ZZ Top is an American rock band formed in Houston, Texas, in 1969. For almost 56 years, it consisted of vocalist-guitarist Billy Gibbons, drummer Frank Beard (musician), Frank Beard, and bassist-vocalist Dusty Hill prior to his death in 2021. ZZ ...

, Peter Albin of

Big Brother and the Holding Company Big Brother and the Holding Company are an American rock band that was formed in San Francisco in 1965 as part of the same psychedelic music scene that produced the Grateful Dead, Quicksilver Messenger Service, and Jefferson Airplane. After ...

, and Chris Gerniottis of

Zakary Thaks The Zakary Thaks were an American garage rock band from Corpus Christi, Texas, United States, which formed in the mid-1960s. History The band developed out of The Riptides, a teen surf group which included Chris Gerniottis (vocals), Pete Stins ...

. The 13th Floor Elevators debut single " You're Gonna Miss Me", a national ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' No. 55 hit in 1966, was featured on the 1972 compilation '' Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, 1965-1968''. Seminal

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

band

Television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

played the Elevator's song "Fire Engine" live in the mid-1970s. In the 1980s and 1990s, the 13th Floor Elevators influenced bands such as

Primal Scream Primal Scream are a Scottish rock music, rock band originally formed in 1982 in Glasgow by Bobby Gillespie (vocals) and Jim Beattie (musician), Jim Beattie (guitar). The band's current lineup consists of Gillespie, Andrew Innes (guitar), Simon ...

the Shamen The Shamen ( ) were a Scottish psychedelic band, formed in 1985 in Aberdeen, who became a chart-topping electronic dance music act on the UK Singles Chart by the early 1990s. The founding members were Colin Angus, Derek McKenzie and Keith Mc ...

Lime Spiders Lime Spiders were an Australian punk rock band which formed in 1979 with Mick Blood on lead vocals. He was later joined by Richard Lawson on drums, and David Sparks on guitar. Their debut studio album, '' The Cave Comes Alive!'' was released i ...

the Jesus and Mary Chain The Jesus and Mary Chain are a Scottish alternative rock band formed in East Kilbride in 1983. The band revolves around the songwriting partnership of brothers Jim and William Reid, who are the two founders and only consistent members of the ...

and

Spacemen 3 Spacemen 3 were an English rock band, formed in 1982 in Rugby, Warwickshire, by Peter Kember and Jason Pierce, known respectively under their pseudonyms Sonic Boom and J Spaceman. Their music is known for its brand of "trance-like neo-psyched ...

, all of whom covered their songs, and 14 Iced Bears who use an electric jug on their single "Beautiful Child", as well as The Black Angels in "Sunday Afternoon". In 2009,

released a ten CD box set entitled ''Sign of the 3-Eyed Men'', which included the mono and new, alternative, stereo mixes of the original albums, together with two albums of previously unreleased material and a number of rare live recordings.

History

Formation

The 13th Floor Elevators emerged on the local Austin music scene in December 1965, where they were contemporary to bands such as the Wig and the Babycakes and later followed by Shiva's Headband and the Conqueroo. The band formed when Roky Erickson left his group the Spades, and joined up with Stacy Sutherland, Benny Thurman, and John Ike Walton who had been playing Texas coastal towns as the Lingsmen. Tommy Hall was instrumental in bringing the band members together, and joined the group as lyricist and electric jug player. The band's name developed from a suggestion by drummer John Ike Walton to use the name "Elevators". Clementine Hall added "13th Floor". In addition to an awareness that a number of tall buildings in the US lack a designated

13th floor Triskaidekaphobia ( , ; ) is fear or avoidance of the number . It is also a reason for the fear of Friday the 13th, called ''paraskevidekatriaphobia'' () or ''friggatriskaidekaphobia'' ( and ). The term was used as early as in 1910 by Isador ...

, it was noted that the letter "M" (for

marijuana Cannabis (), commonly known as marijuana (), weed, pot, and ganja, List of slang names for cannabis, among other names, is a non-chemically uniform psychoactive drug from the ''Cannabis'' plant. Native to Central or South Asia, cannabis has ...

) is the thirteenth letter of the alphabet.

1966–1967: ''Psychedelic Sounds'' and ''Easter Everywhere''

In early January 1966, producer Gordon Bynum brought the band to Houston to record two songs to release as a single on his newly formed Contact record label. The songs were Erickson's " You're Gonna Miss Me", and Hall-Sutherland's "Tried to Hide". Some months later, the

label picked it up and re-released it. Throughout the spring of 1966, the group toured extensively in Texas, playing clubs in Austin, Dallas, and Houston. They also played on live teen dance shows on TV, such as ''Sumpin Else'', in Dallas, and ''The Larry Kane Show'' in Houston. During the Summer, the IA re-release of "You're Gonna Miss Me" became popular outside Texas, especially in Miami, Detroit, and the San Francisco Bay Area. In October 1966, it peaked on the national ''Billboard'' chart at the No. 55 position. Prompted by the success of the single, the Elevators toured the West Coast, made two nationally televised appearances for

Dick Clark Richard Wagstaff Clark (November 30, 1929April 18, 2012) was an American television and radio personality and television producer who hosted ''American Bandstand'' from 1956 to 1989. He also hosted five incarnations of the Pyramid (game show), ...

, and played several dates at the San Francisco ballrooms

The Fillmore The Fillmore is a historic music venue in San Francisco, California. Built in 1912 and originally named the Majestic Hall, it became the Fillmore Auditorium in 1954. It is in Western Addition, on the edge of the Fillmore District and Upper Fil ...

and The Avalon. The International Artists record label in Houston, also home to contemporary Texas underground groups such as

Red Krayola Red Krayola (originally Red Crayola) is an American avant rock band from Houston, Texas formed in 1966 by the trio of singer/guitarist Mayo Thompson, drummer Frederick Barthelme, and bassist Steve Cunningham. The group were part of the 1960s ...

and

Bubble Puppy Bubble Puppy is an American psychedelic rock band originally active from 1967 to 1972. They are best remembered for their Top 20 hit, "Hot Smoke & Sasafrass". History Origins Bubble Puppy was formed in 1966 in San Antonio, Texas, by Rod Prince ...

, signed the Elevators to a record contract and released the album ''

The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators ''The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators'' is the debut album, studio album by the 13th Floor Elevators. The album's sound, featuring elements of psychedelic music, psychedelia, hard rock, garage rock, folk music, folk, and blues, is ...

'' in November 1966, which became popular among the burgeoning

counterculture A counterculture is a culture whose values and norms of behavior differ substantially from those of mainstream society, sometimes diametrically opposed to mainstream cultural mores.Eric Donald Hirsch. ''The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy''. Ho ...

. Tommy Hall's sleeve-notes for the album, which advocated chemical agents (such as

LSD Lysergic acid diethylamide, commonly known as LSD (from German ; often referred to as acid or lucy), is a semisynthetic, hallucinogenic compound derived from ergot, known for its powerful psychological effects and serotonergic activity. I ...

) as a gateway to a higher, 'non-Aristotelian' state of consciousness, has also contributed to the album's cult status. During their California tour, the band shared bills with

Quicksilver Messenger Service Quicksilver Messenger Service is an American psychedelic rock band formed in 1965 in San Francisco. The band achieved wide popularity in the San Francisco Bay Area and, through their recordings, with psychedelic rock enthusiasts around the globe, ...

, the Great Society (featuring

Grace Slick Grace Slick (born Grace Barnett Wing; October 30, 1939) is an American painter and retired musician whose musical career spanned four decades. She was a prominent figure in San Francisco's psychedelic music scene during the mid-1960s to the earl ...

), and

Moby Grape Moby Grape is an American rock band founded in 1966. Part of San Francisco's psychedelic music scene, the band merged elements of rock and roll, folk music, pop, blues, and country. They were one of the few groups of which all members were lea ...

. On returning to Texas in early 1967, they released a second single, "Levitation", and continued to play live in Austin, Houston and other Texas cities. In November 1967, the band released a second album, '' Easter Everywhere''. The album featured a cover of

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

's "

It's All Over Now, Baby Blue "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" is a song written and performed by Bob Dylan and featured on his '' Bringing It All Back Home'' album, released on March 22, 1965, by Columbia Records. The song was recorded on January 15, 1965, with Dylan's acous ...

". However, shortly before work began on ''Easter Everywhere'', Walton and Leatherman left the band and were replaced by Danny Thomas on drums and Dan Galindo on bass, because of disputes over mismanagement of the band's career by International Artists and a fundamental disagreement between Walton and Hall over the latter's advocacy of the use of LSD in the pursuit of achieving a higher state of human consciousness. As a result, they were not credited in the ''Easter Everywhere'' sleevenotes, despite having appeared on "(I've Got) Levitation" and "She Lives (In a Time of Her Own)". Despite the lengthy studio work and resources utilized, ''Easter Everywhere'' was not the success the band and International Artists had hoped for. Lacking a hit single and released too late in the year, it sold out its original run, but was never reprinted, suggesting somewhat disappointing sales. Record label paperwork indicate that the band's debut album sold upwards of 40,000 copies during its original run, while ''Easter Everywhere'' may have sold around 10,000 copies.In 1967, Erickson would guest on a few songs on labelmate, the Red Krayola's debut album ''

The Parable of Arable Land ''The Parable of Arable Land'' is the first studio album by the Red Crayola (later known as Red Krayola). The album was considered psychedelic music when it was introduced, but later assessments describe it as a forerunner to avant/noise rock. ...

'', writer Paul Drummond detailed that after an aborted Elevators session, Erickson insisted on playing

electric organ An electric organ, also known as electronic organ, is an electronic keyboard instrument which was derived from the harmonium, pipe organ and theatre organ. Originally designed to imitate their sound, or orchestral sounds, it has since develop ...

on "Hurricane Fighter Plane" and

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica incl ...

on "Transparent Radiation". Allegedly, Erickson was already "out there" and Tommy Hall had to act as a translator, instructing

Mayo Thompson Mayo Thompson (born February 26, 1944) is an American musician and visual artist best known as the leader of the experimental rock band Red Krayola. Background Mayo Thompson’s formal education includes Garden of Arts Kindergarten until Holy ...

to show Erickson the chord changes. At one point around 1967, Erickson was a roommate of future cult musician

Townes Van Zandt John Townes Van Zandt (March 7, 1944 – January 1, 1997) was an American singer-songwriter.

. Erickson insisted that he join the Elevators on bass, even though he was a guitarist who had never played bass before. He auditioned for Hall, but Hall rejected him.

1968–1969: ''Bull of the Woods'' and breakup

While the band were unable to repeat their national success, they were still a powerful presence on the Texas rock music scene. Chris Gerniottis, ex-lead singer of

has spoken repeatedly of how the Elevators stood apart from all the other bands on the regional scene, and they continued to influence these bands during the late 1960s. Following the local popularity of the track "Slip Inside This House", an edited version was released as a single in early 1968 and was played frequently on Houston radio. Meanwhile, the Elevators had lost their bass player Dan Galindo, who went on to another International Artists band, the Rubiayat. Duke Davis briefly replaced Galindo, before the band's earlier bassist Ronnie Leatherman returned in the Summer of 1968. As documented in a lengthy interview and article in the Texas underground music magazine ''Mother'' No. 3, the band worked all Spring of 1968 on their new album, which at one point was to be called ''Beauty and the Beast''. However, because of an unstable member line-up and the increasingly erratic behavior of the psychedelicized Tommy Hall and mentally fragile Roky Erickson, little of value came out of these sessions. The live shows had lost their original energy, and often the band would perform without their lead singer Erickson, due to his recurring hospital treatments at the time. The last concert featuring the "real" Elevators occurred in April 1968. International Artists put out a ''Live'' LP in August 1968, which was composed of old demo tapes and outtakes dating back to 1966 for the most part, with fake applause and audience noise added. Around this time, the original 13th Floor Elevators disbanded, as the nucleus of Erickson-Hall-Sutherland had been reduced to guitarist Stacy Sutherland only. Sutherland brought some of his own songs for a final set of studio sessions, which led to the dark, intense posthumous album ''Bull of the Woods''. Initially disliked by many Elevators fans, it has found a substantial fan-base today, with some even rating it the band's best LP. These final sessions consisted of Sutherland on guitar, Ronnie Leatherman on bass, and Danny Thomas on drums. ''Bull of the Woods'' was largely the work of Stacy Sutherland. Erickson, due to health and legal problems, and Tommy Hall were only involved with a few tracks, including "Livin' On", "Never Another", "Dear Doctor Doom", and "May the Circle Remain Unbroken". A few live gigs were played around Texas during the second half of 1968, until an article in ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' magazine in December 1968 declared the band gone. International Artists pulled together the various studio recordings from 1968 and, with the assistance of drummer Danny Thomas, added some horn arrangements, which became the ''Bull of the Woods'' album, released in March 1969. The final 13th Floor Elevators record released by International Artists was a reissue of the "You're Gonna Miss Me" single in mid-1969. Singer

Janis Joplin Janis Lyn Joplin (January 19, 1943 – October 4, 1970) was an American singer and songwriter. One of the most iconic and successful Rock music, rock performers of her era, she was noted for her powerful mezzo-soprano vocals and her "electric" ...

was a close associate of Clementine Hall and the band. She opened for the band at a benefit concert in Austin, and considered joining the group prior to heading to San Francisco and joining

. Drug overuse and related legal problems left the band in a state of constant turmoil, which took its toll, both physically and mentally, on the members. In 1969, facing a felony marijuana possession charge, Roky Erickson chose to be admitted to a

psychiatric hospital A psychiatric hospital, also known as a mental health hospital, a behavioral health hospital, or an asylum is a specialized medical facility that focuses on the treatment of severe Mental disorder, mental disorders. These institutions cater t ...

rather than serve a prison term, thus signaling the end of the band's career.

Style and legacy

The band's sound has been described as "offbeat

spiritualism Spiritualism may refer to: * Spiritual church movement, a group of Spiritualist churches and denominations historically based in the African-American community * Spiritualism (beliefs), a metaphysical belief that the world is made up of at leas ...

with crude R&B." During the initial months of their existence as a band, the electric guitars used both by Roky Erickson and Stacy Sutherland were

Gibson ES-330 The Gibson ES-330 is a thinline hollow-body electric guitar model produced by the Gibson Guitar Corporation. It was first introduced in 1959 and the guitar had the same dimensions as the ES-335. History Sales of Gibson’s Electric Spanish (ES) ...

s. Sutherland's pioneering use of

reverb In acoustics, reverberation (commonly shortened to reverb) is a persistence of sound after it is produced. It is often created when a sound is reflected on surfaces, causing multiple reflections that build up and then decay as the sound is a ...

and echo, and

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

acid An acid is a molecule or ion capable of either donating a proton (i.e. Hydron, hydrogen cation, H+), known as a Brønsted–Lowry acid–base theory, Brønsted–Lowry acid, or forming a covalent bond with an electron pair, known as a Lewis ...

-drenched guitar predates such bands as

Butthole Surfers Butthole Surfers are an American rock band formed in San Antonio, Texas, by singer Gibby Haynes and guitarist Paul Leary in 1981. The band has had numerous personnel changes, but its core lineup of Haynes, Leary, and drummer King Coffey has ...

, and the Black Angels. According to

of ZZ Top, in the documentary '' You're Gonna Miss Me'', the guitars were run through Fender Blackface Twin Reverbs, Fender Reverb Units (referred to as a "tube reverb" or "reverb tank"), and Gibson

Maestro FZ-1 Fuzz-Tone The Maestro FZ-1 Fuzz-Tone was the first widely marketed fuzzbox#1960s: fuzz, distortion, and introduction of commercial devices, fuzz distortion guitar and bass effect. Introduced in 1962, it achieved widespread popularity in 1965 after the Rolli ...

s. A special aspect of the Elevators' sound came from Tommy Hall's innovative electric jug. The jug, a crock-jug with a microphone held up to it while it was being blown, sounded somewhat like a cross between a

minimoog The Minimoog is an analog synthesizer first manufactured by Moog Music between 1970 and 1981. Designed as a more affordable, portable version of the modular Moog synthesizer, it was the first synthesizer sold in retail stores. It was first popul ...

and cuica drum. In contrast to traditional musical jug technique, Hall did not blow into the jug to produce a tuba-like sound. Instead, he vocalized musical runs into the mouth of the jug, using the jug to create echo and distortion of his voice. When playing live, he held the microphone up to the mouth of the jug, but when recording the ''Easter Everywhere'' album, the recording engineer placed a microphone inside the jug to enhance the sound. At Tommy Hall's urging, the band often played their live shows and recorded their albums while under the influence of

, and built their lifestyle and music around the psychedelic experience. Intellectual and esoteric influences helped shape their work, which shows traces of

Gurdjieff George Ivanovich Gurdjieff ( – 29 October 1949) was a philosopher, mystic, spiritual teacher, composer, and movements teacher. Born in the Russian Empire, he briefly became a citizen of the First Republic of Armenia after its formation in 19 ...

, the

General Semantics General semantics is a school of thought that incorporates philosophy, philosophic and science, scientific aspects. Although it does not stand on its own as a separate list of schools of philosophy, school of philosophy, a separate science, or ...

of Alfred Korzybski, the psychedelic philosophy of

Timothy Leary Timothy Francis Leary (October 22, 1920 – May 31, 1996) was an American psychologist and author known for his strong advocacy of psychedelic drugs. Evaluations of Leary are polarized, ranging from "bold oracle" to "publicity hound". Accordin ...

, and Tantric meditation. The 13th Floor Elevators are considered to be pioneers of

. Mark Deming of ''

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

'' assessed, "if they weren't he first true psychedelic rock band they certainly predated most of the San Francisco bands that gave the sound a global audience." Bill Pearis of ''

BrooklynVegan ''BrooklynVegan'' is an American online music magazine founded in 2004 by David Levine. The company is headquartered in Brooklyn, New York, and originally focused on vegan food and the music community in and around New York City, before broadeni ...

'' said: "As far as psychedelic music goes, there are Johnny Come Latelies, bandwagoners, and scene-stealers, and then there’s The 13th Floor Elevators."

Members

The original 13th Floor Elevators line-up was built around singer/guitarist Roky Erickson, electric

player Tommy Hall, and guitarist Stacy Sutherland. The rhythm section went through several changes, with drummer John Ike Walton and bass player Ronnie Leatherman being replaced in July 1967. Walton and Leatherman left the band; in their stead were new recruits Danny Thomas (drums, piano) and Dan Galindo (bass) which completed the classic Elevators line-up. Hall remained the band's primary lyricist and philosopher, with Sutherland and Erickson both contributing lyrics as well as writing music, and, later, working with Danny Thomas to arrange the group's more challenging music. In addition to Erickson's powerful vocals, Hall's "electric jug" became the band's signature sound. Later, Ronnie Leatherman returned for the third and final studio album, ''Bull of the Woods'' along with Thomas, and Sutherland. * Roky Erickson – guitar, lead vocals, songwriter (1965–1968, 1984, 2015) (died 2019) * Tommy Hall – electric

, vocals, songwriter (1965–1968, 2015) * Stacy Sutherland – lead guitar, vocals, songwriter (1965–1969) (died 1978) * John Ike Walton – drums (1965–1967, 1984, 2015) * Benny Thurman – bass, vocals (1965–1966) * Ronnie Leatherman – bass, vocals (1965–1966, 1967, 1968, 1984, 2015) * Danny Galindo – bass (1966–1968) (died 2001) *

Danny Thomas Amos Muzyad Yaqoob Kairouz, (born January 6, 1912 – February 6, 1991) known professionally as Danny Thomas, was an American comedian, actor, singer, producer, and philanthropist. He created and starred in ''The Danny Thomas Show''. In additio ...

– drums, vocals, arrangements (1967–1969) * Duke Davis – bass (1968) * Fred Mitchim - guitar, vocals (2015) * Eli Southard - guitar (2015) Other collaborators and contributors * Powell St. John – member of

Mother Earth Mother Earth may refer to: *The Earth goddess in any of the world's mythologies *Mother goddess *Mother Nature, a common personification of the Earth and its biosphere as the giver and sustainer of life Written media and literature * "Mother Ear ...

, songwriter ("Slide Machine", "You Don't Know", "Monkey Island", "Take That Girl", "Kingdom of Heaven", "Right Track Now") * Clementine Hall – wife of Tommy Hall, vocals and songwriting collaborations with Erickson ("Splash 1" and "I Had to Tell You")

Timeline

ImageSize = width:750 height:auto barincrement:18 PlotArea = left:100 bottom:80 top:10 right:10 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1965 till:01/03/1969 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Colors = id:vocals value:red legend:Vocals id:bvocals value:pink legend:Backing_vocals id:jug value:tan2 legend:Jug id:lguitar value:teal legend:Lead_guitar id:rguitar value:brightgreen legend:Rhythm_guitar id:bass value:blue legend:Bass id:drums value:orange legend:Drums id:lines1 value:black legend:Studio_album id:bars value:gray(0.95) BackgroundColors = bars:bars Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:4 ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:1 start:1965 BarData = bar:Roky text:Roky Erickson bar:Tommy text:Tommy Hall bar:Stacy text:Stacy Sutherland bar:Benny text:Benny Thurman bar:Ronnie text:Ronnie Leatherman bar:DannyG text:Danny Galindo bar:Duke text:Duke Davis bar:John text:John Ike Walton bar:Danny text:Danny Thomas PlotData = width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4) bar:Roky from:01/01/1965 till:end color:Vocals bar:Roky from:01/01/1965 till:end color:rguitar width:3 bar:Stacy from:01/01/1965 till:end color:lguitar bar:Stacy from:01/01/1965 till:01/01/1968 color:bvocals width:3 bar:Stacy from:01/01/1968 till:end color:vocals width:3 bar:Tommy from:01/01/1965 till:end color:jug bar:Tommy from:01/01/1965 till:end color:bvocals width:3 bar:John from:01/01/1965 till:01/09/1967 color:drums bar:Danny from:01/09/1967 till:end color:drums bar:Danny from:01/09/1967 till:end color:bvocals width:3 bar:Benny from:01/01/1965 till:01/06/1966 color:bass bar:Benny from:01/01/1965 till:01/06/1966 color:bvocals width:3 bar:Ronnie from:01/06/1966 till:01/09/1967 color:bass bar:Ronnie from:01/06/1966 till:01/09/1967 color:bvocals width:3 bar:DannyG from:01/09/1967 till:01/01/1968 color:bass bar:Duke from:01/01/1968 till:01/06/1968 color:bass bar:Ronnie from:01/06/1968 till:end color:bass bar:Ronnie from:01/06/1968 till:end color:bvocals width:3 LineData= at:17/10/1966 color:lines1 layer:back at:25/11/1967 color:lines1 layer:back at:01/03/1969 color:lines1 layer:back

Post-Elevators careers

Roky Erickson

After pleading insanity in response to drug charges—he was arrested for possession of a single marijuana joint—Roky Erickson was committed to a mental hospital in 1969. Jason Ankeny of

has written that the treatments Erickson received during his three-and-a-half-year confinement may have contributed to his subsequent mental troubles. At that point the Elevators had already dissolved, although local promoters, along with their record label, International Artists, made some attempts to keep the band's name alive. Erickson attempted a sporadic solo career, burdened by management who exploited his instability and involved him in contracts that left him no control or profit from his music. After staying mostly out of sight in the 1980s, Erickson gradually returned to music in the 1990s, especially when the tribute album '' Where the Pyramid Meets the Eye''—featuring players from

, and

R.E.M. R.E.M. was an American alternative rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the fir ...

, all of whom claimed Erickson's or the Elevators' influence—was released. He recorded '' All That May Do My Rhyme'' for the Trance Syndicate label, owned by the

King Coffey King Coffey (born Jeffrey Coffey; 1964) is an American drummer, known for being the drummer of the Psychedelic rock, psychedelic/noise rock band Butthole Surfers. He began drumming in a Fort Worth, Texas, Fort Worth Hardcore punk, hardcore pun ...

, who claimed Erickson told him it was the first time he'd ever been given a royalty check for his music. By 2001, Erickson's brother Sumner had been awarded custody of the troubled musician and helped him receive better psychological treatment, restore his physical health, and connect with a legal team that helped him untangle his complicated past contracts and begin receiving more royalties for his music. ''I Have Always Been Here Before'', a 43-track compilation of his post-Elevators music, was released in 2005, and Erickson receives full royalties for the set. In 2010, he released ''

True Love Cast Out All Evil ''True Love Cast Out All Evil'' is a 2010 album by Roky Erickson, his first album of new material in 14 years. Produced by Okkervil River's Will Sheff, the album also features the members of Okkervil River on most songs as Erickson's backing band ...

'', a full-length collaboration with indie rock band

Okkervil River Okkervil River is an American rock band led by singer-songwriter Will Sheff. Formed in Austin, Texas, in 1998, the band takes its name from a short story by Russian author Tatyana Tolstaya set on the river Okkervil in Saint Petersburg. They bega ...

. Erickson died in Austin on May 31, 2019.

Stacy Sutherland

Stacy Sutherland formed his own band, Ice, which performed only in Houston and never released any material. In 1969, after a battle with heroin addiction, he was imprisoned in Texas on drug charges, the culmination of several years of drug-related trouble with the law. After his release Sutherland began to drink heavily. He continued to sporadically play music throughout the 1970s, occasionally with former members of the Elevators. Sutherland was shot and killed by his wife Bunni on August 24, 1978, during a domestic dispute, and is buried in

Center Point, Kerr County, Texas Center Point is an unincorporated community in Kerr County, Texas, United States. History In the mid-1850s, as Kerr County was establishing a new county seat, a small community to the south was being established as a major trade area between ...

Danny Galindo

Danny Galindo played bass with

Jimmie Vaughan Jimmie Lawrence Vaughan Jr. (born March 20, 1951) is an American blues rock guitarist and singer based in Austin, Texas. He is the older brother of the Texas blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan. He was a founding member of The Fabulous Thunder ...

's (

Stevie Ray Laslon "Lash" Steven Huffman (born August 22, 1958) is an American semi-retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Stevie Ray. Stevie Ray is best known for his seven-year tenure with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) from 199 ...

's older brother) band Storm in Austin, Texas, during the 1970s. He died in 2001 from complications of

Hepatitis C Hepatitis C is an infectious disease caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV) that primarily affects the liver; it is a type of viral hepatitis. During the initial infection period, people often have mild or no symptoms. Early symptoms can include ...

Danny Thomas

Danny Thomas left the 13th Floor Elevators in 1968 and was hired to perform with blues guitarist

Lightnin' Hopkins Samuel John "Lightnin'" Hopkins (March 15, 1912 – January 30, 1982) was an American country blues singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional pianist from Centerville, Texas. In 2010, ''Rolling Stone'' magazine ranked him No. 71 on its li ...

. After leaving Texas and returning to North Carolina, he played from 1970 to 1997 with: Lou Curry Band, Dogmeat,

Arthur "Guitar Boogie" Smith Arthur Smith (April 1, 1921 – April 3, 2014) was an American musician, composer, and record producer, as well as a radio and TV host. He produced radio and TV shows; ''The Arthur Smith Show'' was the first nationally syndicated country music ...

, and Bessie Mae's Dream. During this time, he owned his own delivery company called Gophers, Inc. Prior to that he worked in accounting at

Carolinas Medical Center Carolinas Medical Center, formally known as Atrium Health Carolinas Medical Center, is an 874-bed non-profit, tertiary, research and academic medical center located in Charlotte, North Carolina, servicing the southern North Carolina, northern So ...

(formerly Charlotte Memorial Hospital). He lives in

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...

with his wife, Juanette, and they have two daughters, Christina Juanette Thomas Davis, and Tiffany Joan Thomas Johnson, and son Jason V. Brock, an author of horror fiction.

Benny Thurman

Benny Thurman joined a string of other bands, most notably

, with Powell St. John, and played with Plum Nelly in the 1970s. Thurman died on June 22, 2008, at the age of 65.

Tommy Hall

Tommy Hall currently lives in downtown San Francisco. In the 1980s, he was rumored to be the true identity of Texas outsider musician

Jandek Jandek is the musical project of Sterling Smith (born October 26, 1945), a Houston, Texas-based American Lo-fi music, lo-fi Folk music, folk singer. Since 1978, Jandek has independently released over 120 albums while granting an interview extreme ...

, but this has since been disproved. He became a devout follower of

Scientology Scientology is a set of beliefs and practices invented by the American author L. Ron Hubbard, and an associated movement. It is variously defined as a scam, a Scientology as a business, business, a cult, or a religion. Hubbard initially develo ...

in the 1970s. He has told interviewers that he is no longer interested in music or thinks of himself as a musician, and that "I lost my jug a long time ago."

Ronnie Leatherman

Bassist Leatherman lives in

Kerrville, Texas Kerrville is a city in Texas, and the county seat of Kerr County, Texas, United States. The population of Kerrville was 24,278 at the 2020 census. Kerrville is named after James Kerr, a major in the Texas Revolution, and friend of settler-fo ...

, where he plays occasionally with local bands and fellow Elevator John Ike Walton.

John Ike Walton

Drummer Walton, like Leatherman, also settled in his hometown of

Reunions and tribute bands

Various Elevators tribute/related bands exist, such as the John Ike Walton Revival, featuring namesake John Ike Walton and Fred Mitchim, the Tommy Hall Schedule featuring Fred Mitchim, and Acid Tomb, featuring members of the Alice Rose. Erickson's youngest brother Sumner Erickson covers many Elevators songs with his band the Texcentrics. Several partial reunions took place after the band's 1969 demise. Sutherland and Leatherman played 13 Floor Elevator songs at the Ol' Dog Saloon in Ingram, Texas on April 28, 1977. Another partial reunion occurred at Liberty Lunch in Austin in 1984, with Roky alongside John Ike Walton on drums and Ronnie Leatherman on bass, with Sutherland's place taken by guitarist Greg Forest. Tommy Hall did not participate. On May 10, 2015, members of the band (Erickson, Hall, Leatherman, and Walton) joined for a 50th Anniversary reunion concert appearance at the

psychedelic music Psychedelic music (sometimes called psychedelia) is a wide range of popular music styles and genres influenced by 1960s psychedelia, a subculture of people who used psychedelic drugs such as Dmt, DMT, Lysergic acid diethylamide, LSD, mescaline, ...

festival

Austin Psych Fest Levitation and Austin Psych Fest are two annual multi-day music festivals developed and produced by The Reverberation Appreciation Society. Starting out under the name Austin Psych Fest as a single-location, three-day festival, the festival was r ...

(

Levitation Levitation, Levitate, or Levitating may refer to: Concepts *Levitation (illusion), an illusion where a magician appears to levitate a person or object *Levitation (paranormal), the claimed paranormal phenomenon of levitation, occurring without an ...

2015). Stacy Sutherland's guitar duties were covered by Fred Mitchim and Eli Southard.

Legacy

Today, the 13th Floor Elevators continue to influence new generations of musicians. In 1990, 21 contemporary bands—including

, Richard Lloyd,

, and

—recorded covers of Elevators and solo Erickson songs on '' Where the Pyramid Meets the Eye: A Tribute to Roky Erickson'', one of the first

tribute albums An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track or cassette), or digital. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century a ...

. In 2005, a panel at the

SXSW South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...

music festival discussed the music of the Elevators and Powell St. John, one of the Elevators' songwriters. "You're Gonna Miss Me" was covered by Australian group

Radio Birdman Radio Birdman is an Australian punk rock band formed by Deniz Tek and Rob Younger in Sydney in 1974. ''Classic Rock'' magazine describes them as "Australia’s first influential punk band". History Origins Deniz Tek and Rob Younger f ...

on the 1978 release of their album ''

Radios Appear ''Radios Appear'' is the first full-length studio album by Australian punk rock band Radio Birdman. The album was recorded at Birdman's Trafalgar Studios, Sydney, during 1976 and 1977. Trafalgar initially distributed the album via mail order an ...

''. The song "Reverberation" was covered by

Echo & the Bunnymen Echo & the Bunnymen are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1978. The original line-up consisted of vocalist Ian McCulloch (singer), Ian McCulloch, guitarist Will Sergeant and bassist Les Pattinson. By 1980, Pete de Freita ...

in 1990, with singer

Noel Burke Noel Andrew Burke (born 29 November 1962 in Belfast) is an Irish singer, who is best known for replacing Ian McCulloch as the lead singer with Echo & the Bunnymen from 1989 to 1993. Burke's first band was St. Vitus Dance, who released the al ...

. 1980s drone/space-rock band

were influenced by the 13th Floor Elevators, covering "Roller Coaster" twice, for their debut album, ''

Sound of Confusion ''Sound of Confusion'' is the first studio album by space rock group Spacemen 3, released in July 1986 on Glass Records. Four of the seven songs are cover versions; "Hey Man" combines the melody of Amen (gospel song) with the lyrics of Fixin' t ...

'', and as a 17-minute version for their debut EP ''Walkin' With Jesus''. Vocalist/guitarist

Pete Kember Peter Kember (born 19 November 1965), also known by his stage name Sonic Boom, is an English singer-songwriter, composer and record producer. He was a founding member, vocalist, guitarist and keyboardist of neo-psychedelic band Spacemen 3, las ...

also covered "Thru the Rhythm" with his post-Spacemen 3 project

Spectrum A spectrum (: spectra or spectrums) is a set of related ideas, objects, or properties whose features overlap such that they blend to form a continuum. The word ''spectrum'' was first used scientifically in optics to describe the rainbow of co ...

. "Slip Inside This House" was covered by Scottish alternative rock band Primal Scream (on their album ''

Screamadelica ''Screamadelica'' is the third studio album by Scottish rock band Primal Scream. It was first released on 23 September 1991 in the United Kingdom by Creation Records and on 8 October 1991 in the United States by Sire Records. The album marked a ...

''), by Norwegian band Madrugada, by New York noise rock band

Oneida Oneida may refer to: Native American/First Nations * Oneida people, a Native American/First Nations people and one of the five founding nations of the Iroquois Confederacy * Oneida language * Oneida Indian Nation, based in New York * Oneida N ...

(on their 2000 album ''Come on Everybody Let's Rock''), and by electronic band

The Shamen The Shamen ( ) were a Scottish psychedelic band, formed in 1985 in Aberdeen, who became a chart-topping electronic dance music act on the UK Singles Chart by the early 1990s. The founding members were Colin Angus, Derek McKenzie and Keith Mc ...

on their 1992 promo, ''Make It Mine''. ''Le Bonne Route'', a 1996 album by

Deniz Tek Deniz Tek (born November 10, 1952) is an American singer, guitarist and songwriter and a founding member of Australian rock group Radio Birdman. He has played in many of the underground rock bands of the 1970s, including Australian bands The V ...

, features a song titled "Lunatics at the Edge of the World", which Tek described as "An ode to

Syd Barrett Roger Keith "Syd" Barrett (6 January 1946 – 7 July 2006) was an English singer, guitarist and songwriter who co-founded the rock band Pink Floyd in 1965. Until his departure in 1968, he was Pink Floyd's frontman and primary songwriter, ...

and Roky Erickson." In the 2000 movie ''

High Fidelity High fidelity (hi-fi or, rarely, HiFi) is the high-quality reproduction of sound. It is popular with audiophiles and home audio enthusiasts. Ideally, high-fidelity equipment has inaudible noise and distortion, and a flat (neutral, uncolored) ...

'', "You're Gonna Miss Me" is heard in the opening scene, and is the first song on the movie soundtrack album. In 2006, Dell Computers used "You're Gonna Miss Me" in a television ad for their XPS laptop. On April 24, 2007, during a radio promotion/interview before a concert,

Jesse Lacey Jesse Thomas Lacey (born July 10, 1978) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who is best known as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for the American alternative rock band Brand New. Lacey was the founding bassis ...

of Brand New credited the inspiration and a few lyrics for the song ''

Degausser Degaussing, or deperming, is the process of decreasing or eliminating a remnant magnetic field. It is named after the gauss, a unit of magnetism, which in turn was named after Carl Friedrich Gauss. Due to magnetic hysteresis, it is generally not ...

'' to Roky Erickson. In 2007, the band's biographer Paul Drummond published his first book, ''Eye Mind: The Saga of Roky Erickson and The 13th Floor Elevators'', which was based upon an extensive oral history. In 2009, "You're Gonna Miss Me" was used at length during a scene in episode 21 of Alan Ball's HBO series ''

True Blood ''True Blood'' is an American fantasy Horror fiction, horror Drama (film and television), drama television series produced and created by Alan Ball (screenwriter), Alan Ball. It is based on ''The Southern Vampire Mysteries'', a series of novels ...

'', culminating in a frantic, ultimately unsuccessful attempt by Lafayette Reynolds and Lettie Mae Thornton to remove

Tara Thornton Tara Mae Thornton is a fictional character in Charlaine Harris' ''The Southern Vampire Mysteries'' and its television adaptation, HBO's ''True Blood''. Fictional biography Tara Mae Thornton is a Louisiana native in her twenties and lifelong fri ...

from the demonic influence of

maenad In Greek mythology, maenads (; ) were the female followers of Dionysus and the most significant members of his retinue, the '' thiasus''. Their name, which comes from μαίνομαι (''maínomai'', “to rave, to be mad; to rage, to be angr ...

Maryann Forrester. The band has also been an influence on the "

stoner rock Stoner rock, also known as stoner metal or stoner doom, is a rock music fusion genre that combines elements of doom metal with psychedelic rock and acid rock. The genre emerged during the early 1990s and was pioneered foremost by Kyuss and Sl ...

" scene. Bands such as

Queens of the Stone Age Queens of the Stone Age (commonly abbreviated as QOTSA or QotSA) is an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1996. The band was founded by vocalist and guitarist Josh Homme shortly before he returned to his native Palm Desert, California. ...

Nebula A nebula (; or nebulas) is a distinct luminescent part of interstellar medium, which can consist of ionized, neutral, or molecular hydrogen and also cosmic dust. Nebulae are often star-forming regions, such as in the Pillars of Creation in ...

, and Names and Faces regard them as an important influence. Noted Hollywood actor

Johnny Depp John Christopher Depp II (born June 9, 1963) is an American actor and musician. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Johnny Depp, multiple accolades, including a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for ...

praised the Elevators in a 2004 interview with ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman ...

'' magazine: "Roky Erickson and the 13th Floor Elevators, a band out of Texas. They were basically the first psychedelic-rock band. 1965. And if you listen to old 13th Floor Elevators stuff—Roky Erickson especially, his voice—and then go back and listen to early Led Zeppelin, you know that Robert Plant absolutely copped everything from Roky Erickson. And it's amazing. And Roky Erickson is sitting in Austin, Texas; he's just there. And Robert Plant had a huge hit. It always goes back to those guys, you know? I love those fucking guys."

Parquet Courts Parquet Courts is an American rock music, rock band from New York City. The band consists of Andrew Savage (artist), Andrew Savage (vocals, guitar), Austin Brown (vocals, guitar, keyboard), Sean Yeaton (bass, vocals), and Max Savage (drums). H ...

, a band which includes two native Texans, included a cover of “Slide Machine” on 2014's Content Nausea Texas recording artist

Ray Wylie Hubbard Ray Wylie Hubbard (born November 13, 1946) is an American singer and songwriter. Early life Hubbard was born on November 13, 1946, in Soper, Oklahoma. His family moved to Oak Cliff in southwest Dallas, Texas, in 1954. He attended W. ...

sang "No band was cooler than the 13th Floor Elevators" in his song "Screw You, We're from Texas" from his 2003 album ''Growl''. On January 19, 2014, the song "The Kingdom of Heaven (Is Within You)" was featured at the end of episode 2 of ''

True Detective ''True Detective'' is an American Anthology series, anthology Crime fiction, crime Drama (film and television), drama television series created by Nic Pizzolatto for the premium cable network HBO. The series premiered on January 12, 2014, and ...

''. In 2020, writer Paul Drummond published, through Anthology Editions, his second book on the group with "an unprecedented catalog of primary materials—including scores of previously-unseen band photographs, rare and iconic artwork of the era, items from family scrapbooks and personal diaries, new and archival interviews, dozens of contemporaneous press accounts, and no shortage of Austin Police Department records."

Discography

Studio albums

Selected compilation albums

* ''Live: I've Seen Your Face Before'' (1988) * 13 of the Best (2022)

Box sets

Singles

Notes

References

Bibliography

* Drummond, Paul, foreword by Julian Cope. ''Eye Mind: The Saga of Roky Erickson and The 13th Floor Elevators'' (Process Media, December 2007), * Drummond, Paul. ''13th Floor Elevators: A Visual History.'' ( Anthology Editions, 2020), p. 328. ISBN 978-1-944860-11-0.

External links

*
The Ralph Y. Michaels Elevators Collection
* {{DEFAULTSORT:13th Floor Elevators, The 1965 establishments in Texas 1969 disestablishments in Texas American acid rock music groups Garage rock groups from Texas Musical groups established in 1965 Musical groups disestablished in 1969 Musical groups established in 1973 Musical groups disestablished in 1973 Musical groups established in 1984 Musical groups disestablished in 1984 Musical groups established in 2015 Musical groups disestablished in 2015 Musical groups from Austin, Texas American protopunk groups Psychedelic rock music groups from Texas Radar Records artists