The 13th Floor Elevators was an American rock band from Austin, Texas, United States, formed by guitarist and

vocalist Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

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. The Elevators were the first band to refer to their music as

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

, with the first-known use of the term appearing on their business card in January 1966. The 2005 documentary ''

You're Gonna Miss Me "You're Gonna Miss Me" is a song by the American psychedelic rock band the 13th Floor Elevators, written by Roky Erickson, and released as the group's debut single on Contact Records, on January 17, 1966. It was reissued nationally on Internatio ...

'' 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 musician who is the guitarist and lead singer of the rock band ZZ Top. He began his career in the band the Moving Sidewalks, which recorded a full-length album entitled, ''Flash ...

ZZ Top ZZ Top is an American rock band formed in 1969 in Houston, Texas. For 51 years, they comprised vocalist-guitarist Billy Gibbons, drummer Frank Beard and vocalist-bassist Dusty Hill, until Hill's death in 2021. ZZ Top developed a signature sound ...

, Peter Albin of

Big Brother and the Holding Company Big Brother and the Holding Company is an American rock band that 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 some in ...

, 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 Stin ...

. The 13th Floor Elevators debut single "

", 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 advertise ...

'' No. 55 hit in 1966, was featured on the 1972 compilation '' Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, 1965-1968''. Seminal punk rock band Television 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 band originally formed in 1982 in Glasgow by Bobby Gillespie (vocals) and Jim Beattie. The band's current lineup consists of Gillespie, Andrew Innes (guitar), Simone Butler (bass), and Darrin Mooney (drums ...

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

, Lime Spiders and Spacemen 3, all of whom covered their songs, and

14 Iced Bears 14 Iced Bears are a British indie pop band associated with the C86 music scene. Formed in Brighton in 1985, by Robert Sekula and Nick Emery the band featured a shifting line-up of musicians across their seven-year existence, centred on songwrite ...

who use an electric jug on their single "Beautiful Child". In 2009, International Artists 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 Shiva's Headband (or Shiva's Head Band), was an American psychedelic rock band, formed in Austin, Texas, United States, in 1967. Original members included fiddler Spencer Perskin and his wife Susan, keyboardist Shawn Siegel, guitarists Kenny Park ...

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 ''13th Floor'' is the debut album from Canadian hip hop artist Haviah Mighty. The album was released on May 10, 2019, and was the winner of the 2019 Polaris Music Prize. Background and release On March 23, 2019, Mighty announced her debut st ...

, it was noted that the letter "M" (for marijuana) 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 International Artists 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, 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 The 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 19 ...

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'' 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) 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, the Great Society (featuring Grace Slick), and

Moby Grape Moby Grape is an American rock band founded in 1966, known for having all five members contribute to singing and songwriting, and who collectively merged elements of folk music, blues, country, and jazz with rock and psychedelic music. They were ...

. 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 ''Easter Everywhere'' is the second studio album by the American psychedelic rock band the 13th Floor Elevators. It was released on 25 October 1967, through record label International Artists. It is regarded by many critics to be one of the fi ...

''. 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. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

's " It's All Over Now, Baby Blue". 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. 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.

1968-69: ''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'' 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 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 rather than serve a prison term, thus signaling the end of the band's career.

Music

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 (1959-1972) 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 ...

s. Sutherland's pioneering use of reverb and echo, and bluesy,

acid In computer science, ACID ( atomicity, consistency, isolation, durability) is a set of properties of database transactions intended to guarantee data validity despite errors, power failures, and other mishaps. In the context of databases, a sequ ...

-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 bee ...

, and the Black Angels. According to

of ZZ Top, in the documentary ''

'', the guitars were run through Fender Blackface Twin Reverbs,

Fender Reverb Unit The Fender Reverb Unit (6G15) was a vacuum tube, spring reverb-equipped effects unit made by Fender. The Reverb Unit was originally introduced in 1961. It was discontinued in 1966 and was replaced by a solid-state model, the FR1000. The unit featur ...

s (referred to as a "tube reverb" or "reverb tank"), and

Gibson Gibson may refer to: People * Gibson (surname) Businesses * Gibson Brands, Inc., an American manufacturer of guitars, other musical instruments, and audio equipment * Gibson Technology, and English automotive and motorsport company based * Gi ...

Maestro FZ-1 Fuzz-Tone Gibson's Maestro FZ-1 Fuzz-Tone was the first widely marketed fuzz distortion guitar and bass effect. Introduced in 1962, it achieved widespread popularity in 1965 after the Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards prominent use of the FZ-1 on the ...

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 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 LSD, 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 (; rus, Гео́ргий Ива́нович Гурджи́ев, r=Geórgy Ivánovich Gurdzhíev, p=ɡʲɪˈorɡʲɪj ɪˈvanəvʲɪd͡ʑ ɡʊrd͡ʐˈʐɨ(j)ɪf; hy, Գեորգի Իվանովիչ Գյուրջիև; c. 1 ...

, the General Semantics 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. He was "a her ...

, and Tantric meditation.

Members

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

Danny Thomas Danny Thomas (born Amos Muzyad Yaqoob Kairouz; January 6, 1912 – February 6, 1991) was an American actor, singer, nightclub comedian, producer, and philanthropist. He created and starred in one of the most successful and long-running sit ...

– 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 Ea ...

, 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:300 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:gray(0.5) 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:1 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:01/01/1968 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 bar:Stacy from:01/01/1968 till:end color:lguitar 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:01/10/1966 color:lines1 layer:back at:01/11/1967 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 AllMusic 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 ''Where the Pyramid Meets the Eye'' is a 1990 tribute album to singer-songwriter Roky Erickson, founder of the 13th Floor Elevators and solo artist, whose career was subject to significant periods of challenge from schizophrenia. The album w ...

''—featuring players from

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. After signing to independent label Creation Records, they rel ...

, and

R.E.M. R.E.M. was an American rock band from Athens, Georgia, formed 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 first alternat ...

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

Trance Syndicate Trance Syndicate was an independent record label founded in 1990 by King Coffey, drummer of Austin, Texas band the Butthole Surfers.Larkin, Colin (1999) "Trance Syndicate Records" in ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Heavy Rock'', Virgin Books, , p. 4 ...

label, owned by the

King Coffey King Coffey (born Jeffrey Coffey; 1964) is an American drummer, known for being the drummer of the psychedelic/noise rock band Butthole Surfers. He began drumming in a Fort Worth hardcore punk band called The Hugh Beaumont Experience in high s ...

, 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 ban ...

'', 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 be ...

. Erickson died in Austin on May 31, 2019.

Stacy Sutherland

Stacy Sutherland formed his own band,

Ice Ice is water frozen into a solid state, typically forming at or below temperatures of 0 degrees Celsius or Depending on the presence of impurities such as particles of soil or bubbles of air, it can appear transparent or a more or less opaq ...

, 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.

Danny Galindo

Danny Galindo played bass with

Jimmie Vaughan Jimmie Vaughan (born March 20, 1951) is an American blues rock guitarist and singer based in Austin, Texas. He is the older brother of the late Texas blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan. Several notable blues guitarists have had a significant ...

's (

Stevie Ray 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 1993 to 20 ...

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

Danny Thomas

Danny Thomas left the 13th Floor Elevators in 1968 and was hired to perform with blues guitarist Lightnin' Hopkins. 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, songwriter, and producer of records, as well as a radio and TV host. Smith produced radio and TV shows; ''The Arthur Smith Show'' was the first nationally syndicated coun ...

, 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 (CMC) is an 874-bed non-profit, tertiary, research and academic medical center located in Charlotte, North Carolina, servicing the southern North Carolina, northern South Carolina, and the Metrolina region. Carolinas Me ...

(formerly Charlotte Memorial Hospital). He lives in

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

with his wife, Juanette, and they have two daughters, Christina Juanette Thomas Davis, and Tiffany Joan Thomas Johnson, and son

Jason V. Brock Jason Vincent Brock (born March 1, 1970) is an American author, artist, editor and filmmaker. He is the CEO and co-founder (with his wife, Sunni) of JaSunni Productions, LLC, whose documentary films include ''Charles Beaumont: The Short Life of ...

, 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.

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 alias of Houston, Texas based lo-fi folk singer Sterling Smith. Since 1978, Jandek has independently released over 45 albums without granting interviews or providing any biographical information, releasing on a self-made lab ...

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

Scientology Scientology is a set of beliefs and practices invented by American author L. Ron Hubbard, and an associated movement. It has been variously defined as a cult, a Scientology as a business, business, or a new religious movement. The most recent ...

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, 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 ...

, 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 festival

Austin Psych Fest Levitation (formerly Austin Psych Fest) is an annual 3-day music festival developed and produced by The Reverberation Appreciation Society. Since its sixth year in 2013 it has been held at Carson Creek Ranch in Austin, Texas. Inspired by the crea ...

(

Levitation Levitation (from Latin ''levitas'' "lightness") is the process by which an object is held aloft in a stable position, without mechanical support via any physical contact. Levitation is accomplished by providing an upward force that counteract ...

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 issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records col ...

. In 2005, a panel at the

SXSW South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, T ...

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. The group influenced the work of many successful, mainstream bands, and are now considered instrumental in Australia's musical growth. Hist ...

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 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. Burke's first band was St. Vitus Dance, which released the album ''Love Me, ...

. 1980s drone/space-rock band Spacemen 3 were influenced by the 13th Floor Elevators, covering "Roller Coaster" twice, for their debut album, '' Sound of Confusion'', and as a 17-minute version for their debut EP ''Walkin' With Jesus''. Vocalist/guitarist Pete Kember also covered "Thru the Rhythm" with his post-Spacemen 3 project

Spectrum A spectrum (plural ''spectra'' or ''spectrums'') is a condition that is not limited to a specific set of values but can vary, without gaps, across a continuum. The word was first used scientifically in optics to describe the rainbow of colors ...

. "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 ...

(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 British electronic dance music act by the early 1990s. The founding members were Colin Angus, Derek McKenzie and Keith McKenzie. Peter St ...

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

, features a song titled "Lunatics at the Edge of the World", which Tek described as "An ode to Syd Barrett and Roky Erickson." In the 2000 movie '' High Fidelity'', "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 Dell is an American based technology company. It develops, sells, repairs, and supports computers and related products and services. Dell is owned by its parent company, Dell Technologies. Dell sells personal computers (PCs), servers, data s ...

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. He is known for his enigmatic a ...

of Brand New credited the inspiration and a few lyrics for the song '' Degausser'' to Roky Erickson. 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'', culminating in a frantic, ultimately unsuccessful attempt by

Lafayette Reynolds ''True Blood'' is an American television drama series created and produced by Alan Ball. It is based on ''The Southern Vampire Mysteries'' by Charlaine Harris. This article includes main characters (i.e. characters played by a main cast member) ...

and Lettie Mae Thornton to remove

Tara Thornton Tara Mae Thornton is a fictional character in Charlaine Harris's '' The Southern Vampire Mysteries'' and their television adaptation, HBO's ''True Blood''. Profile Tara Mae Thornton is a twenty-something Louisiana native and lifelong friend of ...

from the demonic influence of

maenad In Greek mythology, maenads (; grc, μαινάδες ) were the female followers of Dionysus and the most significant members of the Thiasus, the god's retinue. Their name literally translates as "raving ones". Maenads were known as Bassarids ...

Maryann Forrester. The band has also been an influence on the " stoner rock" scene. Bands such as

Queens of the Stone Age Queens of the Stone Age (commonly abbreviated QOTSA) is an American rock band formed in 1996 in Palm Desert, California. The band was founded by vocalist and guitarist Josh Homme, who has been the only constant member throughout multiple line- ...

Nebula A nebula ('cloud' or 'fog' in Latin; pl. nebulae, nebulæ 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 region ...

, and Names and Faces regard them as an important influence. Noted Hollywood actor Johnny Depp praised the Elevators in a 2004 interview with '' Esquire'' 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." Texas recording artist

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

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 crime drama television series created and written by Nic Pizzolatto. The series, broadcast by the premium cable network HBO in the United States, premiered on January 12, 2014. Each season of the s ...

''.

Discography

Studio albums

Selected compilation albums

Box sets

Singles

Notes

References

Bibliography

*''Eye Mind: The Saga of Roky Erickson and The 13th Floor Elevators'' by Paul Drummond, foreword by Julian Cope (Process Media, December 2007),

External links

A QUEST FOR PURE SANITY – THE PSYCHEDELIC POETRY OF TOMMY HALL
{{DEFAULTSORT:13th Floor Elevators, The 1965 establishments in Texas 1969 disestablishments in Texas Acid rock music groups Garage rock groups from Texas Musical groups established in 1965 Musical groups disestablished in 1969 Musical groups from Austin, Texas Psychedelic rock music groups from Texas Radar Records artists