By the early 1960’s, “girl groups” were becoming more prominent in rock and roll.  The Jaynetts achieved an ethereal sound with their 1963 hit “Sally Go ’Round the Roses”.  Another one-hit wonder, the Murmaids took “Popsicles and Icicles” to the Top 3 in January 1964; the song was written by David Gates, later of the band Bread, while Kim Fowley worked behind the scenes. 

(October 2013)

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Still, the March 1966 release date for “Eight Miles High” by the Byrds seemed to me to be a little late; surely there are older psychedelic rock songs than this?  I hunted around and found plenty of earlier garage rock songs, but not many psychedelic rock songs.  There are older songs that have a spooky feel or unusual textures, such as one of my all-time favorites, “Funnel of Love” by Wanda Jackson (1961) that I have written about previously, “Sally Go ’Round the Roses” by the Jaynetts (1963), and the surf rock instrumental “Pipeline” by the Chantays (1963). 

(July 2015)