The 13th Floor Elevators

The 13th Floor Elevators were an American proto-metal/psychedelic rock band from Austin, Texas, United States, formed by guitarist and vocalist 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, 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", although artists such as the Holy Modal Rounders and the Deep had described their music as "psychedelic" earlier. Their contemporary influence has been acknowledged by 1960s musicians such as Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top, Peter Albin of Big Brother and the Holding Company, and Chris Gerniottis of Zakary Thaks.

The 13th Floor Elevators debut single "You're Gonna Miss Me", a national Billboard No. 55 hit in 1966, was featured on the 1972 compilation Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, 1965-1968. Seminal punk 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, the Shamen, and Spacemen 3, all of whom covered their songs, and 14 Iced Bears 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, alternate stereo mixes of the original albums together with two albums of previously unreleased material and a number of rare live recordings.

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) (died 2019)
 * Tommy Hall – electric jug, vocals, songwriter (1965-1968)
 * Stacy Sutherland – lead guitar, vocals, songwriter (1965-1969) (died 1978)

Other collaborators and contributors
 * John Ike Walton – drums (1965-1967)
 * Benny Thurman – bass, vocals (1965-1966)
 * Ronnie Leatherman – bass, vocals (1965-1966, 1967, 1968)
 * Danny Galindo – bass (1966-1968)
 * Danny Thomas – drums, vocals, arrangements (1967-1969)
 * Duke Davis – bass (1968)
 * Fred Mitchim - guitar, vocals (2015)
 * Eli Southard - guitar (2015)
 * Powell St. John – member of Mother Earth, 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")

Discography
Charting singles Uncharted singles Studio albums CD box sets Vinyl box sets Compilations
 * "You're Gonna Miss Me" / "Tried to Hide" (January 1966) – No. 55 Billboard, No. 50 Cashbox in October 1966
 * "Reverberation (Doubt)" / "Fire Engine" (October 1966) – No. 129 on Billboard 's Bubbling Under in November 1966
 * "I've Got Levitation" / "Before You Accuse Me" (February 1967)
 * "She Lives (In a Time of Her Own)" / "Baby Blue" (Late 1967)
 * "Slip Inside This House" / "Splash 1" (February 1968)
 * "May the Circle Remain Unbroken" / "I'm Gonna Love You Too" (June 1968)
 * "Livin' On" / "Scarlet and Gold" (January 1969)
 * The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators (October 1966)
 * Easter Everywhere (November 1967) – No. 122 on Billboard 200
 * Bull of the Woods (March 1969)
 * The Psychedelic World of the 13th Floor Elevators (2002)
 * The Complete Elevators IA Singles Collection
 * Sign of the Three Eyed Men (2009)
 * Music of the Spheres (2011)
 * Live (August 1968) - marketed as a live album, this release is actually a compilation of studio outtakes with overdubbed cheering and applause.
 * The Best of 13th Floor Elevators (1995)
 * Best of the 13th Floor Elevators: Manicure Your Mind (1997, 1998)
 * The 13th Floor Elevators: His Eye is on the Pyramid (1999)
 * Going Up: The Very Best of the 13th Floor Elevators (2004)
 * Psychedelic Circus (live recordings) (2009)