The Chesterfield Kings

Upstate New York's Chesterfield Kings landed upon the growing punk/new wave scene in the late '70s with an unbelievably raw '60s rhythm & blues sound that borrowed heavily from pre-1966 Rolling Stones. The group, so unlike any other underground sensations of the period, arguably kickstarted the entire '80s garage rock revival, which flourished in small circles until the end of the decade.

After releasing two scene-defining LPs, Here Are the Chesterfield Kings and Stop!, the combo changed its lineup and sound. With only singer Greg Prevost and bassist Andy Babiuk remaining from the Kings' 1979 incarnation, the band rescinded its promise never to sound like anything from rock's post-1966 history, and began to generate a '70s Rolling Stones/Flamin' Groovies hard rock image and sheen, which culminated in its 1994 LP, Let's Go Get Stoned, a sendup/tribute of post-Aftermath Rolling Stones. Still, the Kings have never drifted too far from their garage band roots, and the group's subsequent albums, which include Don't Open Til Doomsday (1997), Where the Action Is (1999), The Mindbending Sounds of the Chesterfield Kings (2003), and Psychedelic Sunrise (2007), have all been cut from the same fabric.