Top 10 Standells Songs

Feature Photo: Tower Records, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The Standells were formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1962, and their story is closely tied to the city’s club scene, television studios, and film lots. The original lineup featured Larry Tamblyn on keyboards and vocals, Tony Valentino on guitar, Jody Rich on bass, and Dick Dodd on drums and lead vocals. Tamblyn came from an entertainment background, as the nephew of actor Russ Tamblyn, and the band initially worked as a lounge style group before gradually moving toward a harder edged rock sound. Their early years were spent performing on television and in films, which helped them gain visibility before they achieved major recording success.

The band signed with Liberty Records and began recording material that leaned heavily into raw guitar tones, aggressive rhythms, and confrontational lyrics. Their debut album, Dirty Water, released in 1966, captured the band at the moment they fully embraced garage rock. The title track, “Dirty Water,” became their defining song, reaching number eleven on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1966. The song’s sharp lyrical references to Boston and its unpolished sound helped it stand out on radio at a time when many bands were moving toward more polished production styles.

Later in 1966, The Standells released their second album, Why Pick on Me. This record continued their tough, rebellious approach and included the single “Sometimes Good Guys Don’t Wear White,” which became another significant hit and later gained renewed attention during the punk rock era. The song reinforced the band’s reputation for challenging authority and rejecting clean cut images that dominated much of mainstream pop music at the time. Their third studio album, Try It, followed in 1967 and marked a shift toward a more experimental and R&B sound.

Across their career, The Standells released three studio albums and placed multiple singles on the charts, with “Dirty Water” remaining their most enduring success. The song’s legacy has continued through its frequent use at sporting events and in film and television, particularly in association with Boston sports culture. While the band did not receive major industry awards, their influence has been widely acknowledged by later musicians who viewed them as a foundational garage rock act.

Outside of recording and touring, The Standells were deeply involved in film and television, which set them apart from many of their peers. Members of the band appeared in movies such as Get Yourself a College Girl and Riot on Sunset Strip, often performing as themselves. They also made appearances on television programs including The Munsters, The Bing Crosby Show, and Ben Casey. These roles helped broaden their exposure and connected their music to the youth culture portrayed in mid sixties Hollywood productions.

# 10 – Can’t Help But Love You

We open up our Standells songs list with a track that would stand as the band’s last charting song of their career. This is not the way the band sounded early in their career when they were fueled by their rebellious garage rock sound. On this one, they sound more Motown than they do garage.

# 9 – The Boy Next Door

The Standells released the song “The Boy Next Door” as a non-album track single in 1964. It would become the band’s first charting song as it just hovered outside of the Billboard top 100, peaking at number 103. It was released on Vee-Jay Records. You can see the label in the video below.

# 8 – Help Yourself

“Help Yourself” was released on the Standells’ first live album, entitled The Standells in Person at P.J.s. The album was released in 1964.

# 7 – The Shake

This is a chapter in early 1960s rock and roll that too many people have ignored and few write about, which happened right there in the video below in 1964. If you watch, you will catch a very young Sonny and Cher in the audience.

# 6 – Get Away From Here

This sensational song was released on the Riot on Sunset Strip soundtrack album. We go into more detail about the film’s history later in this list, when we talk about the title track also written and performed by the Standells.

# 5 – Why Pick On Me

This grooving political song, released on the band’s second album, also titled Why Pick on Me,” was just released in 1966. The melody reminds me of the Sonny Bono song “Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down).”

# 4 – Sometimes Good Guys Don’t Wear White

“Sometimes Good Guys Don’t Wear White” was written by Ed Cobb. It appears on the band’s 1966 album Dirty Water. It was released as the second single from the album and hit number 43 on the US charts.

# 3 – Ooh Poo Pah Doo

“Ooh Poo Pah Doo” began as a Jessie Hill song, released as a single in February 1960 on Minit, credited to Hill as songwriter and to Allen Toussaint as arranger and producer, and it reached number three on the Billboard R&B chart and number twenty eight on the Hot one hundred, with Billboard’s chart listing the B side instrumental “Ooh Poo Pah Doo, Part II” as the hit. The song’s origin story on record traces back to a New Orleans pianist known only as “Big Four,” with Hill reportedly writing down the melody and lyrics after hearing it performed live, then adding an intro he said was taken from Dave Bartholomew.
The tune proved durable enough to keep cycling through new interpretations, including Ike and Tina Turner’s live recording issued in 1964 as “Ooh Poop A Doo,” followed by a studio version cut for their 1970 album Workin’ Together and released as a single in May 1971, which reached number thirty one on the Billboard R&B chart and number sixty on the Hot one hundred.
The Standells entered that lineage early, issuing their own version on the live album The Standells in Person at P.J.s., released in September 1964 on Liberty Records, and their discography also lists “Ooh Poo Pah Doo” backed with “Help Yourself” as a 1966 single on Sunset Records.

# 2 – Riot On Sunset Strip

The Standells played a direct role in capturing a volatile moment in Los Angeles youth culture by writing and performing the title song for the 1967 film Riot on Sunset Strip. Released on March 1, 1967, by American International Pictures and directed by Arthur Dreifuss, the film was rushed into production following the real-life Sunset Strip curfew riots of late 1966, when clashes erupted between young concertgoers and police outside popular clubs. The movie centers on generational conflict, police authority, and teenage rebellion, following several intertwined characters whose lives collide amid the unrest, including a young woman caught between her parents and the rapidly changing youth scene.
Filmed and released within a few months of the actual events, the picture aimed to capitalize on topical controversy rather than historical distance, with The Standells appearing in the film and anchoring its identity through the aggressive theme song “Riot on Sunset Strip,” written by band members Tony Valentino and John Fleck. The film also featured musical appearances by The Chocolate Watch Band, further tying it to the mid-sixties Los Angeles garage rock scene that The Standells helped define.

# 1 – Dirty Water

“Dirty Water” was recorded on March 5, 1965, at Universal Recording Studios in Hollywood, California, produced and written by Ed Cobb, and released in November 1965 on Tower Records. The recording features Dick Dodd on lead vocals and drums, Tony Valentino on electric guitar and harmonica, Larry Tamblyn on organ and backing vocals, and Gary Lane on bass and backing vocals. Built around a sharp guitar riff and a pounding rhythmic pulse, the song delivers a deliberately confrontational portrayal of Boston, referencing the Charles River, Boston Harbor, city curfews, and the Boston Strangler, all of which gave the track a raw edge that separated it from much of mid sixties pop radio.

The song gained momentum through regional airplay before breaking nationally, reaching number eleven on the Billboard Hot 100 in June 1966 and number eight on the Cash Box chart, becoming The Standells’ signature hit. “Dirty Water” was later included on the album Dirty Water, the band’s only LP to chart nationally.