Frat rock

Frat rock was an early influential American subgenre of rock and roll / roots rock. Frat rock was generally characterized as very energetic and upbeat yet raw "party" rock. The genre is named after the fact that many of these bands played gigs at fraternity houses during the genre's heyday in the late 1950s to 1960s. The movie Animal House played numerous selections of this style of music during the film. ^[1] Frat rock is considered an important influence and precursor to garage rock and punk rock, and many of the bands associated with the genre are also considered proto-punk or early garage rock. The frat rock genre itself also had numerous outside influences, including soul music, blues, surf rock, and Latin rock.

Examples of this style of music include the song "Louie Louie", which was done by Paul Revere and the Raiders and The Kingsmen, "Shout" by The Isley Brothers, "Farmer John" by The Premiers, and "Double Shot of my Baby's Love" by The Swingin' Medallions. Other frat rock standards include "Hang on Sloopy", "Twist and Shout" and "Wild Thing".

List of frat rock bands

Note that these bands are not strictly frat rock. Many bands fit into multiple categories; for example, ? & the Mysterians can also be considered proto-punk, The Isley Brothers can also be considered soul or funk, and Cannibal & the Headhunters can be considered brown-eyed soul. Also note that there is a considerable overlap of garage rock, Latin rock, proto-punk, and surf rock bands with frat rock bands.

• The Beach Blankets
• The Blendells
• The D-Men
• Cannibal & the Headhunters
• The Champs
• The Contours
• The Fifth Estate (band)
• The Fireballs
• The Gentrys
• Fuad & The Feztones
• The Human Beinz
• The Isley Brothers
• The Kingsmen
• The Knickerbockers
• Music Explosion
• The Music Machine
• Paul Revere and the Raiders
• The Premiers
• ? & the Mysterians
• Mitch Ryder
• Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs
• The Shadows
• The Sonics
• The Surfaris
• The Swingin' Medallions
• Thee Midniters
• Chris Montez
• Tommy James & the Shondells
• The Trashmen
• The Troggs
• The Ventures
• The Wailers

References

• Marsh, Dave. The Heart of Rock & Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made [2]
• Gillett, Charlie. The Sound of the City: The Rise of Rock and Roll [3]
• Morales, Ed. The Latin Beat: The Rhythms and Roots of Latin music from Bossa Nova to Salsa and beyond [4]
• Unterberger, Richie. Music U. S. A.: The Rough Guide [5]
• Eddy, Chuck. The Accidental Evolution of Rock 'n' Roll: a misguided tour through popular music [6]