The Chesterfield Kings
| The Chesterfield Kings | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Rochester, New York, United States |
| Genres | Garage rock |
| Years active | 1979–2009 |
| Labels | Sundazed, Mirror, Wicked Cool |
| Website | www.gregstackhouseprevost.com |
| Members | Greg Prevost Andy Babiuk Paul Morabito Mike Boise Jeff Okolowicz |
| Past members | Orest Guran Richard Cona Doug Meech Mike Pappert Walt O'Brien Paul Rocco Brett Reynolds Kris Hadlock Ted Okolowicz |
The Chesterfield Kings were a rock band from Rochester, New York, who began as a retro-1960s garage band, and who have heavily mined 1960s music, including some borrowing from the 1960s recordings of The Rolling Stones. Core members were former Distorted Level singer, underground music journalist and avid record collector Greg Prevost (founder of the band), and Andy Babiuk (16 years old at the time of joining the band); others have come and gone. The band, named after a defunct brand of unfiltered cigarette, was instrumental in sparking the 1980s garage band revival that launched such groups as the Unclaimed, Marshmallow Overcoat, The Fuzztones, The Malarians, Mystic Eyes, The Cynics, The Optic Nerve, the Secret Service, and the Stomachmouths.
The early Kings were a late-1970s recreation of a mid-1960s garage band sound. Their self-released first single (Living Eye Records, LSD-1) was a cover of The Brogues' 1965 "I Ain't No Miracle Worker" b/w The Heard's 1967 "Exit 9". In a deliberate effort to create their own rare garage-band collectible singles, only 1000 copies were pressed.
Their first broader public exposure came when a track on Greg Shaw's 1981 Bomp! Records compilation Battle of the Garage netted them a series of dates at the Peppermint Lounge in New York City. They continued with this 1960s garage sound through the mid-1980s, releasing two albums—Here are the Chesterfield Kings (1982) which contained entirely cover songs, and Stop! (1985) which introduced their first originals. They then turned to a harder-edged rock sound for Don't Open Till Doomsday (1987) and Berlin Wall of Sound (1989) featuring the blues guitar work of new band member Paul Rocco. The group's next album was an acoustic blues record Drunk On Muddy Water (1990).
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