Proto-punk (or protopunk) is rock music played mostly by garage bands from the 1960s to mid-1970s that foreshadowed the punk rock movement. The phrase is 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.
Definition
According to the AllMusic guide:
Most musicians classified as proto-punk are rock performers of the late 1960s and early 1970s, with bands the Sonics, the Velvet Underground, New York Dolls, MC5 and the Stooges considered to be archetypal proto-punk artists.
Origins and etymology
One of the earliest written uses of the term "punk rock" was by critic Dave Marsh who used it in 1970 to describe US group Question Mark & The Mysterians, who had scored a major hit with their song "96 Tears" in 1966. Many US bands were active in the mid-to-late 1960s playing garage rock: a ragged, highly energetic, often amateurish style of rock. While garage bands varied in style, the label of garage punk has been attributed by critic Michael Hann to the "toughest, angriest garage rockers" such as the 13th Floor Elevators and the Sonics. AllMusic states that bands like the Sonics and the Monks "anticipated" punk; the latter have likewise been cited as examples of proto-punk and the Sonics' 1965 debut album Here Are The Sonics as "an early template for punk rock". Music journalist Jason Draper cites the Rolling Stones' 1966 live album Got Live If You Want It! as another example. The raw sound and outsider attitude of psychedelic garage bands like the Seeds also presaged the style of bands that would become known as the archetypal figures of proto-punk, other examples are the Electric Prunes (who writer Gath Cartwright states were "embraced by the punks" due to covers by the Damned, Wayne County & the Electric Chairs), Red Crayola and Chocolate Watchband. The Count Five single "Psychotic Reaction" from 1966 is sometimes considered to be a cornerstone of garage rock and helped create the foundation from which proto-punk began to emerge. Not only did the unconventional sound of proto-punk bands go against what was popular in the mainstream, but the visual style of many bands were purposely contrasted with more popular, polished aesthetics found in more well known bands.
Debut albums by two key US proto-punk bands were released in 1969, both from Metro Detroit in Michigan; Detroit's MC5 released Kick Out the Jams in January, and The Stooges, from Ann Arbor, premiered with their self-titled album in August. The latter album was produced by John Cale, a former member of New York's The Velvet Underground which inspired, directly or indirectly, many of those involved in the creation of punk rock. The Stooges released a second album, Fun House in 1970. Michigan, USA was also the birthplace of bands The Dogs, The Punks and Death, the latter a pioneering but commercially unsuccessful African-American proto-punk group. However, proto-punk did eventually pave the way for African-American presentation in punk music, most notably in the band Bad Brains, formed in 1977 in Washington D.C.