Flaming Groovies

The Flaming Groovies got rolling in San Francisco in 1965, a band co-led by Roy Loney and Cyril Jordan. They cut Supersnazz for Epic and then Flamingo and Teenage Head for Kama Sutra, raw, greasy rock and roll with the amps up, before Loney walked in 1971. Chris Wilson took his place as co-leader, and the band swung hard toward the jangle and bite of British Invasion power pop.

United Artists signed them in 1972 and let out just three singles in four years, but the move to Sire in 1976 finally paid off. Dave Edmunds produced Shake Some Action and Flamin' Groovies Now at Rockfield Studios in Wales, and the title track of the first is a chiming, yearning rush that became a power pop anthem; Greil Marcus made room for it in his book The History of Rock and Roll in Ten Songs. Jumpin' in the Night followed.

Some count them among punk's early forerunners, which makes sense once you hear how tough and tuneful they managed to be at the same time. Wilson left in 1981 and the band carried on in various forms until 1991. Jordan, Wilson and George Alexander reunited in 2013, cut Fantastic Plastic in 2017, and Loney died in 2019.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.