The Seeds were a 1960s rock and roll band whose raw and abrasive energy and simple, repetitive lyrics came to exemplify the garage rock style. The were based in Los Angeles, California.
Lead singer Sky Saxon was heavily influenced in style and appearance by Mick Jagger, and the group promoted the fact that Blues great Muddy Waters once called them "America's own Rolling Stones." Keyboardist Daryl Hooper was a major factor in the band's sound; guitarist Jon Savage and drummer Rick Andridge completed the original quartet. Vocalist Saxon also played bass.
The Seeds' first single, "Can't Seem To Make You Mine," was a regional hit in southern California in 1965. The band had their only national top-40 hit, "Pushin' Too Hard", in 1966. Two subsequent singles, "Mr. Farmer," (also 1966) and "A Thousand Shadows" (1968) achieved more modest success. Though musically primitive, one album was devoted to the Blues (with liner notes by Muddy Waters), and another (Future, 1967) was full-blown psychedelic rock, with ornate flower-themed graphics to match.
The group disbanded in 1969. Saxon has been sporadically active since, most prominently in the late 1980s when he recorded an album backed up by Redd Kross. He continues to perform under the name "Sky Sunlight Saxon" [1], and as The Seeds, with a group of younger backup musicians.
Selected Discography
Albums
All of the below were originally released in the US on GNP Crescendo records.
- The Seeds 1966
- A Web of Sound 1966
- A Full Spoon of Seedy Blues (as the Sky Saxon Blues Band) 1967
- Future 1967
- Raw & Alive in Concert at Merlin's Music Box 1968