The Green Fuz were an American

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

band in the late 1960s, best known for their sole single, "Green Fuz", which became a classic of the genre and was covered by

the Cramps The Cramps were an American rock band formed in 1976 and active until 2006. Their lineup rotated frequently during their existence, with the husband-and-wife duo of singer Lux Interior and guitarist Poison Ivy the only ever-present members. T ...

History

The group was formed in

Bridgeport, Texas Bridgeport is a city in Wise County, Texas, United States. The population was 5,923 in 2020. In 2009, Bridgeport was named by the Texas Legislature as the Stagecoach Capital of Texas. History Bridgeport's history began in February 1860 when Willi ...

. The members were Randy Alvey (vocals), Mike Pearce (drums), Jimmy Mercer (rhythm guitar), Les Dale (lead guitar), and R.E. "Buck" Houchins (bass). Alvey and Pearce formed their first group, the Psychedelic Reactions, in 1967; after some personnel changes, they became the Green Fuz, named for Dale's green

fuzz box Distortion and overdrive are forms of audio signal processing used to alter the sound of amplified electric musical instruments, usually by increasing their gain, producing a "fuzzy", "growling", or "gritty" tone. Distortion is most commonly ...

. Alvey, Pearce and Houchins were later involved in another group, Natchez. The Green Fuz played at dances and clubs, gaining enough local popularity to persuade the co-owner of Wash-Tex Records, Shorty Hendrix, to record their self-written theme song. The recording took place at The Cross Roads Cafe, a deserted roadside cafe chosen for its acoustics, which was owned by Dale's mother. The single was issued locally in 1969 on the Big Tex Records label. It was not a success, largely because the primitive recording techniques led to a muffled sound, which subsequently contributed to its cult appeal. On the single, the band was identified as Randy Alvey and the Green Fuz; while the

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

, "There Is a Land", was attributed to R. E. Houchins and the Green Fuz. Dale and Alvey both stated that these were errors by the record company and that both should have been simply listed as the Green Fuz. The record resurfaced in the late 1970s on a prominent garage rock

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

, ''

Pebbles, Volume 2 ''Pebbles, Volume 2'' is a compilation album featuring American underground psychedelic and garage rock musical artists from the 1960s. It is the second installment of the ''Pebbles'' series and was released on BFD Records in 1979 (''see'' 1 ...

'', and subsequently appeared on many similar compilation albums. One of those albums, ''Acid Dreams Epitaph'', was subtitled ''75 Minutes of Green Fuz''. The band gained additional fans when "Green Fuz" was covered by the Cramps on their 1981 album ''

Psychedelic Jungle ''Psychedelic Jungle'' is the second album by the American rock band the Cramps. It was released in May 1981 on I.R.S. Records. It was engineered by Paul McKenna and recorded in January 1981 at A&M Studios. It was self-produced by the Cramps. Th ...

''. The 2008 edition of New Orleans roots music festival

Ponderosa Stomp The Ponderosa Stomp is an annual American roots music festival dedicated to "recognizing the architects of rock-n-roll, blues, jazz, country, swamp pop and soul music." It was founded in New Orleans in 2002 and produced by the non-profit Mystic K ...

featured a reunion by the Green Fuz, after the festival's founder, Dr. Ira Padnos, located Green Fuz lead guitarist Dale in

Virginia Beach Virginia Beach is an independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous city ...

, Virginia, where he had retired after two decades in the U. S. Navy. In 2009, the song "Green Fuz" was included by

Evan Dando Evan Griffith Dando (born March 4, 1967) is an American musician and frontman of the Lemonheads. He has also embarked on a solo career and collaborated on songs with various artists. In December 2015 Dando was inducted into the Boston Music Awards ...

the Lemonheads The Lemonheads are an American alternative rock band formed in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1986 by Evan Dando, Ben Deily, and Jesse Peretz. Dando has remained the band's only constant member. After their initial punk-influenced releases and tour ...

on their well-received covers album, ''

Varshons ''Varshons'' is the ninth studio album and is an album of covers by alternative rock band the Lemonheads. On 27 March 2009, it was announced that ''Varshons'' would be released in the US on 23 June on The End Records. It was promoted with a US t ...

''. This version has a much slower tempo than either the original version or the Cramps version. Alvey died on March 16, 2014.

Discography

Singles

*"Green Fuz" (1969, Big Tex Records)

Compilation appearances

*"Green Fuz" on ''

'' (1979, BFD Records)

References

External links

Interview with Randy Alvey
{{DEFAULTSORT:Green Fuz, The Garage rock groups from Texas Musical groups established in 1967 People from Bridgeport, Texas