The Bad Seeds 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 formed in

Corpus Christi, Texas Corpus Christi (; Ecclesiastical Latin: "'' Body of Christ"'') is a coastal city in the South Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat and largest city of Nueces County, it also extends into Aransas, Kleberg, and San Patrici ...

, in 1964. Musically influenced by traditional

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

and the raw recordings by

the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

, the group's sound was marked by primal

proto-punk Proto-punk (or protopunk) is rock music played mostly by garage bands from the 1960s to mid-1970s that foreshadowed the punk rock movement. The phrase is a retrospective label; the musicians involved were generally not originally associated wit ...

instrumental arrangements and vocals. The band released three singles, mostly originals penned by guitarist Mike Taylor, that have since become classics of garage rock, and have the Bad Seeds considered forerunners in popularizing the subgenre in Texas.

History

The Bad Seeds formed when Mike Taylor (lead guitar, vocals) and Henry Edgington (bass guitar), both formerly members of the teen rock group the Four Winds, teamed up with Rod Prince (rhythm guitar, vocals) and Bobby Donaho (drums), who, beforehand, were playing in the rival act, the Titans, until its disbandment. The group, spearheaded by original material penned by Taylor and Prince, quickly established a loyal following regionally, becoming a frequent top competitor in battle of the bands contests, and appearing on the popular television program ''Teen Time''. As music historian Bruce Eder asserts on the

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

website, the Bad Seeds were the "first rock group of note to come out of Corpus Christi, Texas, itself a hotbed of garage-rock activity during the middle/late 1960s". In 1965, record producer Carl Becker discovered the group performing at a venue called the Surf Club, and signed them to a recording contract for J-Beck Records. With Becker producing, the Bad Seeds recorded their debut single, the Taylor-penned

classic, "A Taste of the Same", which was marked by Taylor's sardonic vocals and Prince's innovative guitar arrangements. The group followed-up their regional hit with the novelty

surf rock Surf music (or surf rock, surf pop, or surf guitar) is a Music genre, genre of rock music associated with surf culture, particularly as found in Southern California. It was especially popular from 1958 to 1964 in two major forms. The first is in ...

tune "Zilch" (part one and two) in early 1966. Although the single was not received as well as "A Taste of the Same", the band still was able to perform it on

Dick Clark Richard Wagstaff Clark (November 30, 1929April 18, 2012) was an American radio and television personality, television producer and film actor, as well as a cultural icon who remains best known for hosting ''American Bandstand'' from 1956 to 198 ...

's ''

American Bandstand ''American Bandstand'', abbreviated ''AB'', is an American music-performance and dance television program that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989, and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as the pro ...

'' in early 1966. For their final single, the Bad Seeds entered Houston's Gold Star Studios to record "All Night Long". Also present was Louisiana-born musician Tony Joe White, who the group provided instrumentals for on four songs. To celebrate their success, the group jump-started a tour highlighted by a battle of the bands at Corpus Christi's Carousel Lounge. However, to the crowd's surprise, the Bad Seeds only managed to reach second place after being ousted by up and coming band

the 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 ...

. Though the Bad Seeds continued to perform, the defeat was seen as a symbolic passing of the torch for top musical act in the region. After the group disbanded in late 1966, Taylor produced and managed for the Zakary Thaks, and recorded under the

moniker A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

the Fabulous Michael. Prince went on to help form the

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 ...

band

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 ...

. The Bads Seeds' material has become well-circulated on

compilation albums 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 ...

, most prominently ''A Battle of the Bands'' and ''Revolution! Teen Time in Corpus Christi'' which both contain all of their released material. The Bad Seeds should not be mistaken for another Texan group of the same name formed in Kilgore College, in 1966.

Band members

*Mike Taylor – Passed Away – Friday, March 10, 2023, at 7 pm in Bohol, Philippines – vocals, guitar *Henry Edgington – bass guitar *Rod Prince – vocals, guitar *Bobby Donaho – drums

Discography

Singles

* "A Taste of the Same" b/w "I'm a King Bee" (J-Beck/J-1002) 1965 * "Zilch (Pt. 1)" b/w "Zilch (Pt. 2)" (J-Beck/J-1003) 1965 * "All Night Long" b/w "Sick and Tired" (J-Beck/J-1005 ) 1966

EPs

* "I’m a King Bee"/"A Taste of the Same"/Sick and Tired"/"All Night Long" (Sundazed/SEP 199) 2009

Compilation albums

* ''The J-Beck Story Part 1: Bad Seeds'' (Eva/EVA 12034) 1983 * ''A Texas Battle of the Bands'' (Collectables/COL-0652) 1995 * ''Bad Seeds/Liberty Bell'' (Eva/642440) 1997

References

External links

* The Bad Seedsat

Hand book of Texas Music
by Laurie E. Jasinski, published by Texas State Historical Association {{DEFAULTSORT:Bad Seeds, The Musical groups established in 1964 Musical groups disestablished in 1966 Garage rock groups from Texas Protopunk groups