Only Three Lads: Tony Valentino of The Standells (Top 5 Garage Rock Songs)

Pantheon - Home for Music Lovers

We're heading straight to the garage this week! Following the release of Lenny Kaye's seminal Nuggets compilation of '60s garage bands in 1972, legions of young musicians eschewed the increasingly complex, bloated , pretentious rock of the day to return to simpler, rawer, more primal sounds. These embryonic punk rock records not only inspired bands like Ramones, Blondie, The Clash and The Sex Pistols, but launched a full scale garage rock revival scene in the '80s that reverberated into the 21st century with bands like The White Stripes, The Black Keys and The Strokes.

We are honored to have one of the key architects of '60s garage/punk rock joining us as our Third Lad this week, Tony Valentino of The Standells! He was the man who wrote and played one of THE most recognizable and distinctive riffs in all of rock n' roll, "Dirty Water," as well as Standells classics such as "Sometimes Good Guys Don't Wear White," "Why Pick On Me," "Barracuda," "Riot On Sunset Strip," and "Try It."

Rock n' roll brought a young Valentino from his native Italy to the land of milk and honey (and root beer), the USA. Hear about his incredible journey that led to appearances in TV shows and movies such as The Munsters, The Bing Crosby Show, American Bandstand, Ben Casey, Get Yourself A College Girl, and Riot on Sunset Strip, a wild tour with The Rolling Stones, shady managers, Laurel Canyon dalliances with The Beach Boys and the Manson Family, and how Rick Springfield provided the inspiration behind his latest album, Dirty Water Revisited.

Dirty Water Revisited is out now on the marvelous Big Stir Records, and features ten newly recorded tracks from the guitar hero, reimagining many of the classics that made The Standells the ultimate purveyors of gritty riffs and swaggering hits in the '60s, and adds a pair of blistering originals to the mix. Far from a nostalgia trip, Dirty Water Revisited is proof positive that rock n' roll is alive and well in the hands of a true legend.

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