{{short description|Music which predated the punk movement and subculture}} {{Use mdy dates|date=May 2021}} {{Infobox music genre | name = Proto-punk | other_names = Protopunk | stylistic_origins = * Garage rock<ref>{{cite book |title=American Youth Cultures |publisher=Psychology |last=Campbell, Neil |year=2004 |quote=Furthermore, the indigenous popular music which functioned this way-and which represented in the same instance a form of localized resistance to the mainstreaming, standardizing drive noted earlier — was the proto-punk more commonly identified as garage rock. |page=213 |isbn=0415971977}}</ref> * pub rock<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.laweekly.com/music/deathmatch-which-is-better-pub-rock-or-garage-rock-2399930 |title=Deathmatch: Which Is Better, Pub Rock or Garage Rock? |newspaper=LA Weekly |date=January 26, 2012 |access-date=August 1, 2016 |last=Pell, Nicholas |archive-date=August 9, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160809202304/http://www.laweekly.com/music/deathmatch-which-is-better-pub-rock-or-garage-rock-2399930 |url-status=live }}</ref> * glam rock | cultural_origins = | derivatives = * Punk rock * garage punk * hardcore punk<ref>{{cite book | last=LeBlanc | first=Lauraine | title=Pretty in Punk: Girls' Gender Resistance in a Boys' Subculture | publisher=Rutgers University Press | year=1999 | page=49 | isbn=9780813526515}}</ref> | subgenres = | fusiongenres = Glam punk | regional_scenes = | local_scenes = | other_topics = * History of the punk subculture * acid rock * hard rock * punk blues * rock and roll * post-punk }}
'''Proto-punk''' (or '''protopunk''') is music that foreshadowed the punk rock genre, particularly rock music artists during the 1960s and early-to mid 1970s.<ref name="Bangs (RS-2nd ed./Garage)">{{cite book |last=Bangs |first=Lester |editor1=Anthony De Curtis |editor2=James Henke |edition=Second |title=The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock & Roll |publisher=Picador Books |date=1981 |pages=357–361 |chapter=Protopunk: The Garage Bands |isbn=0-679-73728-6}}</ref><ref name="Allmusic"/> A retrospective label, the musicians involved were generally not originally associated with each other and came from a variety of backgrounds and styles; together, they anticipated many of punk's musical and thematic attributes.<ref name="Allmusic"/>
The tendency towards aggressive, raw, simplistic rock songs is a trend rooted in the earliest forms of rock and roll. The American garage rock movement of the mid-1960s is a key influence in the development of punk rock. By the late 1960s, Detroit bands the Stooges and MC5 had taken the influence of garage groups to form a distinct prototypical punk sound. In the following years, this sound spread both domestically and internationally, alongside glam rock and pub rock, into several regional early underground punk scenes in New York, Ohio, Australia and England.
==Etymology== The term proto-punk has been defined differently by several writers and publications. In his essay ''Protopunk: the Garage Bands'', music critic Lester Bangs applied the term to 1960s garage rock acts as well as Ritchie Valens' 1958 cover of "La Bamba".<ref name=":0" />
However, in 2010, writers Lars J. Kristiansen, Joseph R. Blaney, Philip J. Chidester, Brent K. Simonds in their book ''Screaming for Change: Articulating a Unifying Philosophy of Punk Rock'', defined "proto-punk" as emerging after the wave of mid-60s garage rock, and specifically referring to groups who were inspired by Detroit acts such as the Stooges and MC5, with the sound then spreading to the United Kingdom, New York, Australia and Cleveland, Ohio:<ref name="Kristiansen et al, 2010">{{cite book |last1=Kristiansen |first1=Lars J. |last2=Blaney |first2=Joseph R. |last3=Simonds |first3=Brent K. |last4=Chidester |first4=Philip J. |title=Screaming for Change: Articulating a Unifying Philosophy of Punk Rock |date=2010 |publisher=Lexington Books |page=11 |quote=Although Velvet Underground served as an important influence, proto-punk is largely a term used to describe bands that followed in the wake of the first wave of garage rock. More specifically, it is a label normally reserved for bands such as MC5 and the Stooges that sprung out of Detroit, Michigan, and its surrounding areas. These bands, and most certainly the Stooges, broke down the widely shared illusion that musicians had to be talented. The Stooges' amateurish compositions and inability to correctly play their instruments rendered it fairly irrelevant whether it was the band or the audience who figured up on stage...<br>Although largely an American phenomenon, proto-punk can also be found in Britain. In Britain, however, it went under different names, and it is commonly referred to as either glam rock or pub rock. Notable pub rock bands would include Eddie and the Hot Rods, the Stranglers, Dr. Feelgood, the 101er's (Joe Strummer's first band), as well as Kilburn and the High Roads... In addition to the Michigan bands MC5, the Prime Movers, and the Stooges, other pre/proto-punk bands from the American Midwest have also earned their place in the chronicles of history. The vibrant pre-punk scene in Cleveland, Ohio, produced such bands as Pere Ubu and the Electric Eels, which have been highly influential to other bands of the era. On the east coast, and more specifically in New York, bands like Television, the New York Dolls, and the Ramones wreaked musical havoc in their respective neighborhoods.}}</ref>
{{Blockquote|text=Although Velvet Underground served as an important influence, proto-punk is largely a term used to describe bands that followed in the wake of the first wave of garage rock. More specifically, it is a label normally reserved for bands such as MC5 and the Stooges that sprung out of Detroit, Michigan, and its surrounding areas.}}
The book further states that "Although largely an American phenomenon, proto-punk can also be found in Britain. In Britain, however, it went under different names, and it is commonly referred to as either glam rock or pub rock".<ref name="Kristiansen et al, 2010" />
''AllMusic'' defined proto-punk as "never a cohesive movement" but as "a certain provocative sensibility that didn't fit the prevailing counterculture of the time", most of the time combined with a sound which was "primitive and stripped-down, even when it wasn't aggressive, and its production was usually just as unpolished".<ref name="Allmusic">{{cite web|title=Proto-Punk|url=https://www.allmusic.com/subgenre/proto-punk-ma0000005021|publisher=AllMusic|access-date=December 11, 2025|archive-date=March 30, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190330004342/https://www.allmusic.com/subgenre/proto-punk-ma0000005021|url-status=live}}</ref>
== History == ===1930s–1950s=== {{See also|Skiffle}} One of the earliest forerunners to the punk subculture is folk musician Woody Guthrie. Guthrie, whose career began in the 1930s and blossomed in the 1940s, has been called one of the first punks.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.westword.com/music/dropkick-murphys-on-proto-punk-woody-guthrie-who-wrote-shipping-up-to-boston-15353643|title=Dropkick Murphys on 'Proto-Punk' Woody Guthrie, Who Wrote 'Shipping Up to Boston'|website=Westword|date=November 1, 2022|first=John|last=Bear|quote=When Woody Guthrie emblazoned 'This Machine Kills Fascists' across the top of his guitar in the '40s and belted out tunes such as 'All You Fascists Bound to Lose,' he became the first punk rocker.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2012/05/09/tom-morello-keeps-punk-rock-spirit-of-woody-guthrie-alive|title=Tom Morello keeps punk-rock spirit of Woody Guthrie alive|website=Chicago Tribune|date=May 9, 2012|first=Greg|last=Kot|access-date=March 21, 2024|archive-date=March 21, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240321235621/https://www.chicagotribune.com/2012/05/09/tom-morello-keeps-punk-rock-spirit-of-woody-guthrie-alive/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mtv.com/news/q3itoi/billy-bragg-discusses-woody-guthries-punk-side|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240321235406/https://www.mtv.com/news/q3itoi/billy-bragg-discusses-woody-guthries-punk-side|url-status=dead|archive-date=21 March 2024|title=Billy Bragg Discusses Woody Guthrie's Punk Side|date=July 10, 1998|publisher=MTV|access-date=March 21, 2024}}</ref>
According to PopMatters writer Ian Ellis, the emergence of skiffle in the 1950s in the United Kingdom similarly to punk "stripped music to its core", with its simplistic instrumental setup that "sent out a clear anyone-can-do-it signal, and as the skiffle explosion proved, anyone could and did".<ref name="Ellis">{{cite web |last1=Ellis |first1=Ian |title=Lonnie Donegan and the Birth of British Rock |url=https://www.popmatters.com/lonnie-donegan-british-rock |website=PopMatters |access-date=9 July 2024 |date=10 May 2006}}</ref> According to Aidan Smith in ''The Scotsman'', popular skiffle musician Lonnie Donegan embodied a "dangerous and daring and do-it-yourself" aesthetic that was later adopted by punk; Smith also commented that one of Donegan's combos "attracted a wild following: men so epicly drunk they'd wet themselves and – very proto-punk, this – their duffel-coats were accessorised with alarm clocks hung round necks."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Smith |first1=Aidan |title=Aidan Smith: Punk was daring but Donegan got there first |url=https://www.scotsman.com/news/opinion/columnists/aidan-smith-punk-was-daring-but-donegan-got-there-first-1448613 |website=The Scotsman |access-date=9 July 2024 |date=30 April 2017}}</ref> According to Tom Ewing of ''Freaky Trigger'', Donegan's 1957 British chart-topper "Cumberland Gap" was "the first punk No. 1".<ref name="Ewing">{{cite web |last1=Ewing |first1=Tom |title=Lonnie Donegan – 'Cumberland Gap' |url=https://popular-number1s.com/2003/11/19/lonnie-donegan-cumberland-gap/ |website=Freaky Trigger |access-date=9 July 2024 |date=19 November 2003}}</ref> Ewing added, "Lurching speed-freak skiffle played on Christ knows what which sounds nothing remotely like any previous chart-topper: if punk is anything, it might as well be that."<ref name="Ewing" /> Ellis writes: "Forerunners of punk by 20 years, Donegan and the thousands of other skiffle acts that sprang up after 'Rock Island Line' wrested control from the establishment, democratizing the industry in the process."<ref name="Ellis" />
In his essay ''Protopunk: the Garage Bands'', music critic Lester Bangs traced the origins of punk to Ritchie Valens' 1958 version of the Mexican folk song "La Bamba", due to the song's simplistic three chord song structure and the aggressive vocals relative to the time.<ref name=":0" />
===Early-to mid 1960s: Garage rock=== {{Main|Garage rock}}
{{See also|Frat rock|Garage-psych}}[[File:The Kinks - September 2, 1965 (2).jpg|thumb|The Kinks' 1964 song "You Really Got Me" was credited by Lester Bangs as one of the most influential songs on the development of punk]] Lester Bangs cites a lineage of influential tracks, which over time developed punk: the Kingsmen's "Louie Louie" (1963); the Kinks "You Really Got Me" (1964) and the Stooges' "No Fun" (1969).<ref name=":0">{{cite book |last=Bangs |first=Lester |editor1=Anthony De Curtis |editor2=James Henke |edition=Second |title=The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock & Roll |publisher=Picador Books |date=1981 |pages=357–361 |chapter=Protopunk: The Garage Bands |isbn=0-679-73728-6 |quote=Punk rock all goes back to Ritchie Valens's 'La Bamba.' Just consider Valens's three-chord mariachi squawk up in the light of 'Louie Louie' by the Kingsmen, then consider 'Louie Louie' in the light of 'You Really Got Me' by the Kinks, then 'You Really Got Me' in the light of 'No Fun' by the Stooges, then 'No Fun' in the light of 'Blitzkrieg Bop' by the Ramones, and finally note that 'Blitzkrieg Bop' sounds a lot like 'La Bamba.'}}</ref> By the 1960s, garage rock, a style of raw, loud and energetic rock music, had developed scenes in both the United States and United Kingdom. The Kingsmen and the Kinks came from the US' and UK's garage rock scene respectively; the former's cover of "Louie Louie" was described by academic Aneta Panek as "punk rock's ur-text".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Panek |first1=Aneta |title=Alchemy of Punk: Transmutation, Subversion, and Poetry in Punk Avant-Gardes |publisher=Logos Verlag Berlin |pages=54–55 |quote=In the early 1960s, numerous garage bands sprung up in the United States and United Kingdom. They mostly played garage rock and beat music-raw, loud, technically awkward, energetic rock. From England came The Kingsmen with their 1963 version of Richard Berry's 'Louie Louie,' which has been dubbed punk rock's 'ur-text.' The Kinks followed in 1964 with hit singles 'You Really Got Me' and 'All Day and All of the Night,' both inspired by 'Louie, Louie.' In 1965, The Who released 'My Generation,' which, according to John Reed, foreshadowed the kind of 'cerebral mix of musical ferocity and rebellious posture' that would be representative of the later punk rock of the 1970s.}}</ref> In the following years, this raw sound was being adopted by other British Invasion acts including the Who on their single "My Generation" (1965)<ref>{{cite web |first= Anton |last= Spice |title= Proto-punk: 10 records that paved the way for '76 |website= The Vinyl Factory |date= August 31, 2016 |access-date= 26 March 2022 |url= https://thevinylfactory.com/features/proto-punk-10-records-that-paved-the-way-for-76/ |archive-date= January 23, 2025 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20250123204409/https://thevinylfactory.com/features/proto-punk-10-records-that-paved-the-way-for-76/ |url-status= live }}</ref> and the Rolling Stones on their 1966 live album ''Got Live If You Want It!''.<ref name="Draper">{{cite web|last=Draper|first=Jason|date=December 17, 2015|url=https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/live-wires-the-stones-captured-in-66/|title=Live Wires: The Stones Captured In '66|website=uDiscover|access-date=March 24, 2021|archive-date=June 8, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190608023850/https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/live-wires-the-stones-captured-in-66/|url-status=live}}</ref> In South America, the garage rock band Los Saicos formed in Lima, Peru, in 1964, later being called "the world's first punk band" in Zona de Obras' book ''Spanish Dictionary of Punk and Hardcore''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/sep/14/where-punk-begin-cinema-peru|title=Where did punk begin? A cinema in Peru|first1=Jonathan|last1=Watts|first2=Dan|last2=Collyns|date=September 14, 2012|website=Theguardian.com|access-date=July 17, 2019|archive-date=May 24, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240524130713/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/sep/14/where-punk-begin-cinema-peru|url-status=live}}</ref>
''AllMusic'' states that bands like the Sonics and the Monks "anticipated" punk;<ref>{{cite web |last=Mark Deming |url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-sonics-mn0000428717/biography |title=The Sonics | Biography & History |website=AllMusic |access-date=April 12, 2017 |archive-date=May 11, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150511175529/http://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-sonics-mn0000428717/biography |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Richie Unterberger |url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-monks-mn0000404345/biography |title=The Monks | Biography & History |website=AllMusic |access-date=April 12, 2017 |archive-date=March 23, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160323133900/http://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-monks-mn0000404345/biography |url-status=live }}</ref> they have been cited as examples of proto-punk<ref>{{cite web |url=https://theinterrobang.com/the-5-proto-punk-bands-of-the-60s-and-70s/ |title=The 5: Proto-Punk Bands of the 60's and 70's |website=The Interrobang |date=July 24, 2013 |access-date=August 24, 2025 |archive-date=August 27, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250827102230/https://theinterrobang.com/the-5-proto-punk-bands-of-the-60s-and-70s/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and the Sonics' 1965 debut album ''Here Are The Sonics'' as "an early template for punk rock".<ref name="treble">{{cite web |url=http://www.treblezine.com/26298-10-essential-proto-punk-tracks/ |title=10 Essential Proto-punk tracks |publisher=Treblezine.com |date=November 5, 2015 |access-date=September 24, 2016 |archive-date=June 26, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190626013619/http://www.treblezine.com/26298-10-essential-proto-punk-tracks/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Garage-psych bands like the Seeds also presaged punk;{{sfn|Sabin|2002|p=159}} other examples are the Electric Prunes,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://louderthanwar.com/the-electric-prunes-then-came-the-dawn-album-review/|title=The Electric Prunes: Then Came The Dawn - album review|first=Ian|last=Canty|date=December 19, 2021|access-date=April 16, 2023|archive-date=April 16, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230416233516/https://louderthanwar.com/the-electric-prunes-then-came-the-dawn-album-review/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Cartwright |first=Garth |date=2021-12-08 |title=60s psych-rockers the Electric Prunes: 'We couldn't sit around stoned!' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/dec/08/60s-psych-rockers-the-electric-prunes-we-couldnt-sit-around-stoned |access-date=2023-04-27 |work=The Guardian |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> Red Crayola,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Young |first=Rob |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DtunaUIgxsEC&dq=%22The+Parable+of+Arable+Land%22+-wikipedia&pg=PA53 |title=Rough Trade |date=2006 |publisher=Black Dog Publishing |isbn=978-1-904772-47-7 |archive-date=September 9, 2023 |access-date=May 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230909204845/https://books.google.com/books?id=DtunaUIgxsEC&dq=%22The%20Parable%20of%20Arable%20Land%22%20-wikipedia&pg=PA53 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.texasmonthly.com/arts-entertainment/mayo-thompson-playing-corkys-debt-to-his-father-houston-music/ | title=Mayo Thompson Pays off Corky's Debt | work=Texas Monthly | date=January 13, 2020 | last1=Beta | first1=Andy | access-date=April 27, 2023 | archive-date=April 27, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230427154150/https://www.texasmonthly.com/arts-entertainment/mayo-thompson-playing-corkys-debt-to-his-father-houston-music/ | url-status=live }}</ref> the Litter,<ref name=":0" /> the Music Machine,<ref name=":0" /> the Shadows of Knight,<ref name=":0" /> the Castaways,<ref name=":0" /> the Standells,<ref name=":0" /> Count Five,<ref name=":0" /><ref name="Waksman2009">{{cite book |last1=Waksman |first1=Steve |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LqDJjAeYxssC&pg=PA61 |title=This Ain't the Summer of Love: Conflict and Crossover in Heavy Metal and Punk |publisher=University of California Press |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-520-94388-9 |archive-date=November 9, 2023 |access-date=November 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231109044003/https://books.google.com/books?id=LqDJjAeYxssC&pg=PA61 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Abbey2015">{{cite book |last1=Abbey |first1=Eric James |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QbFn6T66b14C&pg=PA79 |title=Garage Rock and Its Roots: Musical Rebels and the Drive for Individuality |publisher=McFarland |year=2015 |isbn=978-0-7864-5125-8 |page=79 |archive-date=November 9, 2023 |access-date=November 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231109044003/https://books.google.com/books?id=QbFn6T66b14C&pg=PA79 |url-status=live }}</ref> the Barbarians,<ref name=":0" /> and Chocolate Watchband.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Chocolate Watch Band - Ace Records |url=https://acerecords.co.uk/the-chocolate-watch-band |access-date=2023-04-27 |website=acerecords.co.uk |archive-date=April 16, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230416232005/https://acerecords.co.uk/the-chocolate-watch-band |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-11-28 |title=The Chocolate Watchband 'This Is My Voice' - |url=https://www.shindig-magazine.com/?p=2394 |access-date=2023-04-27 |archive-date=April 16, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230416232005/https://www.shindig-magazine.com/?p=2394 |url-status=live }}</ref> Not only did the unconventional sound of garage rock bands go against what was popular in the mainstream, but the visual styles of many bands were purposely contrasted with more popular, polished aesthetics found in mainstream artists.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Detroit Punk Archive |url=http://detroitpunkarchive.com/ |access-date=2023-06-30 |website=Detroit Punk Archive |archive-date=May 23, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230523032618/http://detroitpunkarchive.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
===1970s=== New York's the Velvet Underground were musically distinct from most other punk predecessors. They influenced punk through their avant-garde take on rock, which incorporated dissonance and taboo lyrical topics such as urban decay, drug addiction and sadomasochism.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hustle |first1=Jac |title=Punk: Loud Guitars, Louder Statements |date=2023 |quote=In the heart of New York City's burgeoning artistic scene, The Velvet Underground, led by Lou Reed and John Cale, were crafting a unique sound that defied categorization. While not as explicitly aggressive as some of their proto-punk counterparts, their experimental approach to music and lyrics made them trailblazers of punk's avant-garde edge. Their 1967 debut album, 'The Velvet Underground & Nico,' remains a landmark in rock history.<br>The Velvet Underground's music was marked by its dissonance, experimentation, and unfiltered portrayal of taboo subjects such as drug addiction, sadomasochism, and urban decay. Songs like 'Heroin' and 'Venus in Furs' explored the darker corners of human existence, challenging societal norms and pushing artistic boundaries. Their connection to the counterculture and the burgeoning punk scene of New York City positioned them as artistic provocateurs whose influence would be felt far beyond their contemporaries.}}</ref> In 2014, the BBC stated, "The roots of underground and experimental music, indie and alternative, punk, post-punk and art-punk all snake back to the four Velvet Underground studio albums".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kot |first1=Greg |date=October 21, 2014 |title=The Velvet Underground: As influential as The Beatles? |url=https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20131125-do-the-velvets-beat-the-beatles |access-date=10 January 2024 |website=BBC |archive-date=February 9, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200209150444/http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20131125-do-the-velvets-beat-the-beatles |url-status=live }}</ref>
In Japan, the anti-establishment {{nihongo|Zunō Keisatsu|頭脳警察|{{lit|Brain Police}}}}, formed in 1969 and disbanded in 1975, mixed garage, psychedelic rock and folk; the band's first two albums were withdrawn from public sale after their lyrics were described in Mark Anderson's book ''The Encyclopedia of Contemporary Japanese Culture'' to violate industry regulations, with their "spirit... [being] taken up again by the punk movement."<ref name=Anderson>Anderson, Mark (2009). "Zuno keisatsu" in Buckley, Sandra (ed.) ''The Encyclopedia of Contemporary Japanese Culture''. Taylor & Francis. p. 588.</ref>
In the early 1970s, the UK underground counter-cultural scene centred on Ladbroke Grove in West London spawned a number of bands that have been considered proto-punk, including the Deviants, Pink Fairies, Hawkwind, Edgar Broughton Band, Stack Waddy, and Third World War;<ref>{{cite web |last=Ironside |first=Gus |date=May 21, 2014 |title=Louder than War Interview: Luke Haines Says (New York in the 70s) |url=http://louderthanwar.com/louder-than-war-interview-luke-haines/ |access-date=July 2, 2016 |website=Louder Than War}}</ref> contemporaries Crushed Butler have been called "Britain's first proto-punk band."<ref name="Bovey">{{cite book |last=Bovey |first=Seth |title=Five Years Ahead of My Time: Garage Rock from the 1950s to the Present |publisher=Reaktion Books |year=2019 |isbn=978-1-789-14065-1 |location=London}}</ref> According to ''Allmusic'', glam rock also "inspired many future punks with its simple, crunchy guitar riffs, its outrageous sense of style, and its artists' willingness to sing with British accents (not to mention the idiosyncratic images of David Bowie and Roxy Music)".<ref name="Allmusic" /> With his Ziggy Stardust persona, David Bowie made artifice and exaggeration central elements, ones that were later picked up by punk acts.{{sfn|Laing|1985|pp=24–26}} The Doctors of Madness built on Bowie's presentation concepts, while moving conceptually in the direction that would ''The Guardian'' writer Simon Reynolds identified as "prophes[ying] punk".<ref>{{cite web |last=Reynolds |first=Simon |date=May 19, 2017 |title=Doctors of Madness: The punk band before punk, that predicted Trump before Trump |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/may/19/doctors-of-madness-punk |access-date=March 28, 2018 |website=The Guardian}}</ref>
Bands anticipating the forthcoming movement were appearing as far afield as Düsseldorf, West Germany, where "punk before punk" band NEU! formed in 1971, building on the krautrock tradition of groups such as Can.<ref name="trouser2">{{cite web |last = Neate |first = Wilson |title = NEU! |website = Trouser Press |url = http://www.trouserpress.com/entry.php?a=neu |access-date = January 11, 2007 |archive-date = November 12, 2006 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20061112175958/http://www.trouserpress.com/entry.php?a=neu |url-status = dead }}</ref> Simply Saucer formed in Hamilton, Canada in 1973<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.simplysaucer.com/00-timeline.html |title=All about Simply Saucer: 00: Timeline |access-date=December 1, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119211010/http://www.simplysaucer.com/00-timeline.html |archive-date=January 19, 2012 }}</ref> and have been called "Canada's first proto-punk band",<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sonicunyon.com/records/artists/simply |title=Sonic Unyon Records :: Simply |access-date=December 1, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120415040720/http://www.sonicunyon.com/records/artists/simply |archive-date=April 15, 2012 }}</ref> blending garage rock, krautrock, psychedelia and other influences to produce a sound that was later described as having a "frequent punk snarl."<ref>{{cite web |last =Sendra |first = Tim |title = Cyborgs Revisited Review |website=AllMusic |url = http://www.allmusic.com/album/cyborgs-revisited-r171308 |access-date = November 30, 2011}}</ref>
==== Detroit proto-punk sound ==== {{See also|Punk rock#Detroit}}{{multiple image | align = | direction = vertical | image1 = MC50 - Fabrik Hamburg 2018 02.jpg | width1 = | alt1 = | caption1 = | image2 = The Stooges & Iggy Pop, Poland, Katowice Off Festval 2012-08-04.JPG | width2 = | alt2 = | caption2 = | footer = Detroit bands MC5 (top) and the Stooges (bottom) influenced the majority of early punk bands }} The MC5 (also known as the "Motor City Five") formed in Lincoln Park, Michigan in 1963, the group began as an R&B and garage rock band, later releasing the single "Borderline" backed with "Looking at You" in 1968 on A-Square records, without the knowledge of that label's owner Jeep Holland, the single sold out thousands of copies. Guitarist Wayne Kramer's style was retrospectively described by ''The Guardian'' as showcasing "an edge of atonality and barely controlled chaos." Similarly, the Up, formed in Michigan in 1967 were another Detroit band closely associated with the MC5 and early Detroit punk scene, they've been described as an "important step in the evolution of punk rock".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pulp {{!}} Arts Around Ann Arbor |url=https://pulp.aadl.org/node/610618 |access-date=2025-07-24 |website=pulp.aadl.org |archive-date=May 15, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250515032252/https://pulp.aadl.org/node/610618 |url-status=live }}</ref> In February 1969, the MC5 released their influential debut album, ''Kick Out the Jams'', which was later considered an influential and important forerunner to punk rock music.<ref>{{cite book |last1=McNeil |first1=Legs |author-link1=Legs McNeil |title=Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk |last2=McCain |first2=Gillian |publisher=Penguin Books |year=1996 |isbn=978-0802115881 |page=62}}</ref>
In August 1969, the Stooges, from Ann Arbor, premiered with a self-titled album, produced by John Cale, formerly of the Velvet Underground.<ref>Taylor (2003), p. 49.</ref> The album was later followed by the release of further influential records; ''Fun House'' and ''Raw Power'', both of which helped establish a "blueprint for punk rock".<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-02-07 |title=Iggy and the Stooges' Raw Power Created the Blueprint for Punk Rock |url=https://consequence.net/2023/02/the-stooges-raw-power-op-ed/ |access-date=2025-07-23 |website=Consequence}}</ref> Stooges' vocalist Iggy Pop would go on to be described as "the Godfather of Punk" due to his on-stage antics and confrontational attitude.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Abrams |first=Simon |date=2019-03-15 |title=Iggy Pop Is Fine With Being the Godfather of Punk |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/15/arts/television/iggy-pop-punk-epix.html |access-date=2025-07-24 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=October 3, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251003073236/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/15/arts/television/iggy-pop-punk-epix.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The influence of the Stooges also inspired other early Michigan punk bands such as the Dogs and the Punks. In 1973, Destroy All Monsters formed, featuring Stooges guitarist Ron Asheton and MC5 bassist Michael Davis. Followed by, early punk supergroup, the Sonic's Rendezvous Band which was formed by guitarist Fred "Sonic" Smith, formerly of the MC5, Gary Rasmussen, formerly of the Up on bass and Scott Asheton, formerly of the Stooges on drums.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sonic's Rendezvous Band | Biography & History |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sonics-rendezvous-band-mn0000043452/biography |access-date=16 August 2020 |website=AllMusic |archive-date=February 23, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180223232319/https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sonics-rendezvous-band-mn0000043452/biography |url-status=live }}</ref> Additionally, Detroit band Death formed in 1974, by three African American brothers, recorded "scorching blasts of feral ur-punk". However, due to their name could not secure a record deal, they released the single "Politicians in My Eyes" backed with "Keep On Knockin" in 1976 and promptly disbanded, only to be rediscovered decades later.<ref name="Rubin">{{cite news |last=Rubin |first=Mike |date=March 12, 2009 |title=This Band Was Punk Before Punk Was Punk |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/15/arts/music/15rubi.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170701073322/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/15/arts/music/15rubi.html |archive-date=July 1, 2017 |access-date=2009-03-15 |work=The New York Times}}</ref>
===== Development of punk rock ===== {{see also|Cleveland punk}} Formed in New York in 1971, the New York Dolls merged Detroit's specific proto-punk sound with elements of glam rock, pioneering the glam punk genre.<ref name="Sfetcu 2">{{cite book |last1=Sfetcu |first1=Nicolae |title=The Music Sound |date=May 7, 2014 |quote=The first and most potent example of glam punk, is the New York Dolls, they are often considered one of the creators of punk rock music in general. Though after the punk explosion in London during the 1970s happened the Dolls were considered 'glam' in comparison. Which would lead to them been described as 'Glam-Punk'...<br>Other more obscure groups from around this time such as Hollywood Brats, the Jook, Milk 'N' Cookies, Jet, and others can be heard on the compilation 'Glitterbest: 20 Pre Punk 'n' Glam Terrace Stompers'.}}</ref> According to ''Alternative Press'' magazine, they "were the most important of all protopunk bands after the Stooges [sic]".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Stegall |first1=Tim |title=11 bands influenced by New York Dolls, from Social Distortion to Guns N' Roses |url=https://www.altpress.com/new-york-dolls-influences-social-distortion-guns-n-roses/ |access-date=5 January 2024 |website=Alternative Press |archive-date=July 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230709125105/https://www.altpress.com/new-york-dolls-influences-social-distortion-guns-n-roses/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Their style was adopted by a number of New York bands, including the Stilettos, the Brats<ref>{{cite book |last1=Antonia |first1=Nina |title=The New York Dolls Too Much Too Soon |date=2003 |publisher=Omnibus Press |isbn=0711996032 |page=70 |quote=The rise of The New York Dolls spawned dozens of local bands. Elda Gentile got The Stilettos together with former Max's waitress, Debbie Harry, and Rick Rivets started gigging with The Brats, while a rash of Dolls copyists like Teenage Lust and The Harlots of 42nd Street threw themselves on the bandwagon and fell belly-up. Aside from Aerosmith, the most significant group of that time to be influenced by The New York Dolls was Kiss. Sure, Kiss wore make-up but by painting their faces like comic book characters or goofy animals, they defused any sexual threat.}}</ref> and Ruby and the Rednecks,<ref>{{Cite web |date=3 September 2018 |title=Ruby and the Rednecks at the Mercer Arts Center |url=https://dsps.lib.uiowa.edu/downtownpopunderground/story/ruby-and-the-rednecks-at-the-mercer-arts-center/ |access-date=January 10, 2024 |archive-date=January 19, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210119165226/https://dsps.lib.uiowa.edu/downtownpopunderground/story/ruby-and-the-rednecks-at-the-mercer-arts-center/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and subsequently was the catalyst for the city's early punk rock scene, which included Television, Talking Heads, Patti Smith, the Ramones, Blondie and Richard Hell and the Voidoids.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Moss |first1=Charles |title=50 Years Ago, New York City’s Punk Scene Was Born |url=https://www.spin.com/2024/07/50-years-ago-new-york-citys-punk-scene-was-born/ |website=Spin |access-date=23 January 2026 |date=8 July 2024 |archive-date=December 26, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251226012133/https://www.spin.com/2024/07/50-years-ago-new-york-citys-punk-scene-was-born/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
The Detroit proto-punk sound spread to Cleveland, Ohio by the middle of the decade, where influential proto-punk bands including Mirrors, Electric Eels, the Styrenes, Rocket from the Tombs, and later Pere Ubu formed.<ref name="Kristiansen et al, 2010" /><ref name=":12">{{Cite news |last=Savage |first=Jon |date=2013-11-14 |title=Cleveland's early punk pioneers: from cultural vacuum to creative explosion |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/nov/14/clevelands-early-punk-pioneers-ohio |access-date=2025-07-04 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077 |archive-date=December 25, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191225215452/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/nov/14/clevelands-early-punk-pioneers-ohio |url-status=live }}</ref>
During the mid–1970s the British pub rock scene, which was mostly based around London.<ref name="Bealmear, 2020">{{cite web |last1=Bealmear |first1=Bart |title=Pub Rock Helped Pave the Way for British Punk, but What the Hell is 'Pub Rock' |work=DangerousMinds |date=July 15, 2020 |url=https://dangerousminds.net/comments/pub_rock_helped_pave_the_way_for_british_punk_but_what_the_hell_is_pub_rock |access-date=9 January 2024 |archive-date=January 9, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240109135444/https://dangerousminds.net/comments/pub_rock_helped_pave_the_way_for_british_punk_but_what_the_hell_is_pub_rock |url-status=live }}</ref> Influenced by Detroit proto-punk,<ref name="Kristiansen et al, 2010" /> this style made use of stripped down, back to its basics, rock music similar to punk, and was fronted by groups including Dr. Feelgood, Tyla Gang, Eddie and the Hot Rods and Count Bishops.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/jan/21/pub-rock-dr-feelgood|title=Give pub rock another chance|first=Mike|last=Atkinson|date=January 21, 2010|website=The Guardian|access-date=March 28, 2018}}</ref> Many of the early British punk scene's musician began their careers in pub rock acts, including the 101ers (Joe Strummer, Richard Dudanski, Tymon Dogg), Kilburn and the High Roads (Ian Dury, Nick Cash) and Flip City (Elvis Costello).<ref name="Bealmear, 2020" />{{sfn|Robb|2012|p=51}} By 1976, pub rock had ultimately declined in popularity.<ref name="Bealmear, 2020" /> At the same time as pub rock, the influence of the New York Dolls had spread to London, where a wave of glam punk bands, including Hollywood Brats and Jet, coalesced by the middle of the decade.<ref name="Sfetcu 2" />
A new generation of Australian garage rock bands, inspired mainly by the Stooges and MC5, came even closer to the sound that would soon be called "punk": in Brisbane, the Saints (formed in 1973) recalled the raw live sound of the Pretty Things, who had made a notorious tour of Australia and New Zealand in 1965,{{sfn|Unterberger|2000|p=18}} while in Sydney, Radio Birdman, co-founded by Detroit expatriate Deniz Tek in 1974, began playing gigs to a small but fanatical following.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2007/jul/20/popandrock2|title=Keith Cameron explores the history of the Australian punk scene|first=Keith|last=Cameron|date=July 20, 2007|website=The Guardian|access-date=March 28, 2018}}</ref> The Saints are regarded as a punk band and as being "to Australia what the Sex Pistols were to Britain and the Ramones to America,"<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-most-primitive-band-in-the-world-mw0000181213 |title=The Most Primitive Band in the World – The Saints – Review |website=AllMusic |access-date=March 28, 2018 |archive-date=February 28, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180228223334/https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-most-primitive-band-in-the-world-mw0000181213 |url-status=live }}</ref> while Radio Birdman are regarded as co-founders of punk<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-essential-radio-birdman-1974-1978-mw0000588775 |title=The Essential Radio Birdman: 1974–1978 – Radio Birdman – Review |website=AllMusic|access-date=March 28, 2018}}</ref> but have also been designated as proto-punk.<ref name="RB">{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/radio-birdman-mn0000385781/biography |title=Radio Birdman – Biography & History |website=AllMusic |access-date=March 28, 2018 |archive-date=February 28, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180228223951/https://www.allmusic.com/artist/radio-birdman-mn0000385781/biography |url-status=live }}</ref>
==See also== * List of proto-punk bands
==References== {{Reflist}}
==Bibliography== * {{cite book|last=Bovey|first=Seth|title=Five Years Ahead of My Time: Garage Rock from the 1950s to the Present|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4RWbDwAAQBAJ|publisher=Reaktion Books|year=2019|location=London|isbn=978-1-789-14065-1}} * {{cite book|last=Robb|first=John|title=Punk Rock: An Oral History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gXsTBwAAQBAJ|year=2012|publisher=PM Press|isbn=978-1-60486-005-4}} * {{cite book|last=Sabin|first=Roger|title=Punk Rock: So What?: The Cultural Legacy of Punk|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=unqFAgAAQBAJ|year=2002|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-134-69905-6}} * {{cite book |last=Taylor |first=Steven |title=False Prophet: Field Notes from the Punk Underground |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K1Eh5xbEw7EC |year=2003 |publisher=Wesleyan University Press |location=Middletown, Conn. |isbn=0-8195-6668-3 }} * {{cite web |url= https://edwardlola.medium.com/punk-before-punk-e383a9f8ff83|title= Punk Before Punk|last= Lola|first= Edward|date= July 24, 2019|website= edwardlola.medium.com|access-date= May 22, 2023|quote=}} * {{cite web |url= https://www.giantdrag.org/music-history/the-history-of-proto-punk/|title= The History Of Proto-Punk|author=<!--Not stated-->|website= giantdrag.org|access-date= May 22, 2023|quote=}} * {{cite web |url= https://timeline.carnegiehall.org/genres/punk-alt-rock|title= Timeline of African American Music|author=<!--Not stated-->|website= carnegiehall.org|access-date= May 22, 2023|quote=}} * {{cite web |url= http://detroitpunkarchive.com/|title= Detroit Punk History Archive|author=<!--Not stated-->|website= detroitpunkarchive.com|access-date= May 22, 2023|quote=}} * {{cite web |url= https://post-punk.com/goth-so-white-black-representation-in-the-post-punk-scene/|title= Goth So White? Black Representation in the Post-Punk Scene|author=<!--Not stated--> |date= November 30, 2017|website= post-punk.com|access-date= May 22, 2023|quote=}}
==Further reading== * {{cite book |last=Bessman |first=Jim |title=Ramones: An American Band |year=1993 |publisher=St. Martin's |location=New York |isbn=0-312-09369-1 }} * {{cite book |editor-last=Buckley |editor-first=Peter |title=The Rough Guide to Rock |publisher=Rough Guides |year=2003 |location=London |isbn=1-85828-201-2 |url=https://archive.org/details/rockroughguide00buck }} * {{cite book |last=Heylin |first=Clinton |title=From the Velvets to the Voidoids: A Pre-Punk History for a Post-Punk World |year=1993 |publisher=Penguin |location=London |isbn=0-14017-970-4 |url=https://archive.org/details/fromvelvetstovoi00heyl }} * {{cite book |last=Marcus |first=Greil |title=Lipstick Traces: A Secret History of the Twentieth Century |year=1989 |publisher=Harvard University Press |location=Cambridge, Massachusetts |isbn=0-674-53581-2 |url=https://archive.org/details/lipsticktracesse00marc_0 }} * {{cite book |editor-last=Marcus |editor-first=Greil |editor-link=Greil Marcus |title=Stranded: Rock and Roll for a Desert Island |year=1979 |publisher=Knopf |location=New York |isbn=0-394-73827-6 }} * {{cite book |last=Taylor |first=Steve |title=The A to X of Alternative Music |url=https://archive.org/details/atoxofalternativ00tayl |url-access=registration |year=2004 |publisher=Continuum |location=London and New York |isbn=0-8264-8217-1 }} * {{cite book |last=Unterberger |first=Richie |author-link=Richie Unterberger |title=Music USA: The Rough Guide |year=1999 |publisher=Rough Guides |location=London |isbn=1-85828-421-X |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/musicusaroughgui0000unte }} * {{cite book |editor1-last=Bogdanov |editor1-first=Vladimmir |editor2-last=Woodstra |editor2-first=Chris |editor3-last=Erlewine |editor3-first=Stephen Thomas |editor3-link=Stephen Thomas Erlewine |last=Unterberger |first=Richie |title=All Music Guide to Rock: The Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul |year=2002 |publisher=Backbeat |location=San Francisco |edition=3rd |chapter=British Punk |isbn=0-87930-653-X }}
{{punk}} {{alternative rock}}
Category:American styles of music Category:British styles of music Category:Counterculture of the 1960s Category:Counterculture of the 1970s Category:Garage rock Category:Proto-punk Category:Punk rock genres Category:Rock music genres