The Premiers had themselves a better name than they may have realized. They were one of the early architects of the American garage rock sound with their 1964 top 20 hit "Farmer John". From San Gabriel CA, the Premiers were also one of the first Chicano rock bands and served as an inspiration to Los Lobos who frequently covered "Farmer John".
On this early TV appearance, the young fellas were so nervous they forgot to keep up the lip synching charade.
In what may be the highest honor a garage band can receive, the Premiers were covered by Neil Young who gave "Farmer John" the full-on Crazy Horse treatment:
"Farmer John" was written and originally recorded by Don and Dewey from Pasadena, though the hit version was the Premiers'. Here's the Don and Dewey original, with an R&B rather than garage rock sound, reflecting the difference of how music sounded in the US before and after the British Invasion of 1963-64:
an excellent song! here's a live recording by the shaggs from 1966
ReplyDeletehttp://chuckperrin.com/songs/farmer-john/