Psychotic Reaction
Encyclopedia
"Psychotic Reaction" is an early garage rock
song released by the American rock band
Count Five
in 1966
, and also the title of their only album. The song Psychotic Reaction was written by the five members of the Count Five, Craig "Butch" Atkinson, John Byrne, Roy Chaney, Kenn Ellner and John "Mouse" Michalski. The song started off as an instrumental jam between Ellner, Chaney and Michalski and was composed in the living room of Craig Atkinson's at the beginning of a rehearsal. Kenn Ellner was breaking in a new harmonica for the first time and Chaney and Michalski were jamming and composing. The harmonica was a C harmonica, so the jam was in G. Atkinson and Byrne joined the rehearsal and added to the jam and composition. Many weeks prior to this monumental rehearsal Byrne had a psychology class at San Jose City College. The lecturer was discussing psychotic reactions and a friend and classmate Ron Lamb thought it would be a good name for a band. John Byrne had mentioned to the band about that event and it evolved from the name of the band to a good name for a song. At the rehearsal Ellner and Byrne looked at each other and said this is "Psychotic Reaction". The song was played by the band for a long time at their live performances as an instrumental and was well received by the Count Five fans in attendance. Fans were wildly ecstatic about the instrumental version. However, after much prodding from the band's manager Sol Ellner at a rehearsal at Ellner's house, Byrne was told by Sol to "Go across the street and don’t return without lyrics to the song" (Byrne lived across the street from Ellner with Byrne's uncle Leo). Byrne complied. The song went through months of modifications by the band modifying beats, rhythm and the like. As the band auditioned for various labels and producers all had constructive criticism about the song and its structure. Taking into account some of the criticisms and discarding others the band members worked many hours and many months modifying and rearranging the composition with assistance from multiple sources., a DJ from KLIV Radio Brian Lord, various producers of audition sessions, management, agents, friends and fans. In the studio at Nashville West on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles, Double Shot Record’s producer even modified the lyrical content by suggesting and adding the famous tag line "And it feels like this". Psychotic Reaction was truly a collaborative composition. This is the true story of how the song was composed. Psychotic Reaction was not written by any one individual any such report is entirely false.[1]
The song was modeled after the Yardbirds
's song "I'm a Man
", with a repetitious rhythm that eventually changes to a faster beat, an electric guitar playing a hypnotic melody going up the scales, and a similar style of percussion to that of the Yardbirds hit.
This song was popular in the Vietnam War
era, and appears in the game Battlefield Vietnam
. Probably the best known of the many obscure covers that were made in the 1960s is the one by Positively 13 O'Clock that was included on the original Pebbles
compilation album
. The song was covered by The Cramps
on their 1983 live mini-album, Smell of Female
, and by Nash the Slash
on his album American Bandages. Television
included this in their early sets, emphasizing the "rave-up" section. It was also recorded in more heavily psychedelic manner by the 60's studio only band The Leathercoated Minds in 1966 on their album A Trip Down the Sunset Strip.
The song is one of the many songs quoted and parodied on the album The Third Reich 'n Roll by the avantgarde group The Residents
.
The Night Beats
from Seattle, WA have claimed to have "psychically inherited" the song and have made it their own playing it most nights of their 2011 U.S. and European dates.
This song is also played live by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
on the Playback
box set and seen in the currently out of print concert video, "Take the Highway".
John Byrne died on December 15, 2008
at 61, from cirrhosis
of the liver
.
Garage rock
Garage rock is a raw form of rock and roll that was first popular in the United States and Canada from about 1963 to 1967. During the 1960s, it was not recognized as a separate music genre and had no specific name...
song released by the American rock band
Rock Band
Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...
Count Five
Count Five
The Count Five was a 1960s garage rock band from San Jose, California, best known for their Top 10 single "Psychotic Reaction".The band was founded in 1964 by John "Mouse" Michalski and Roy Chaney took over bass duties, two high school friends who had previously played in several short-lived...
in 1966
1966 in music
-Events:*January 3 – Hullabaloo shows promotional videos of The Beatles songs "Day Tripper" and "We Can Work it Out".*January 8 – Shindig! airs for the last time on ABC, with musical guests the Kinks and the Who...
, and also the title of their only album. The song Psychotic Reaction was written by the five members of the Count Five, Craig "Butch" Atkinson, John Byrne, Roy Chaney, Kenn Ellner and John "Mouse" Michalski. The song started off as an instrumental jam between Ellner, Chaney and Michalski and was composed in the living room of Craig Atkinson's at the beginning of a rehearsal. Kenn Ellner was breaking in a new harmonica for the first time and Chaney and Michalski were jamming and composing. The harmonica was a C harmonica, so the jam was in G. Atkinson and Byrne joined the rehearsal and added to the jam and composition. Many weeks prior to this monumental rehearsal Byrne had a psychology class at San Jose City College. The lecturer was discussing psychotic reactions and a friend and classmate Ron Lamb thought it would be a good name for a band. John Byrne had mentioned to the band about that event and it evolved from the name of the band to a good name for a song. At the rehearsal Ellner and Byrne looked at each other and said this is "Psychotic Reaction". The song was played by the band for a long time at their live performances as an instrumental and was well received by the Count Five fans in attendance. Fans were wildly ecstatic about the instrumental version. However, after much prodding from the band's manager Sol Ellner at a rehearsal at Ellner's house, Byrne was told by Sol to "Go across the street and don’t return without lyrics to the song" (Byrne lived across the street from Ellner with Byrne's uncle Leo). Byrne complied. The song went through months of modifications by the band modifying beats, rhythm and the like. As the band auditioned for various labels and producers all had constructive criticism about the song and its structure. Taking into account some of the criticisms and discarding others the band members worked many hours and many months modifying and rearranging the composition with assistance from multiple sources., a DJ from KLIV Radio Brian Lord, various producers of audition sessions, management, agents, friends and fans. In the studio at Nashville West on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles, Double Shot Record’s producer even modified the lyrical content by suggesting and adding the famous tag line "And it feels like this". Psychotic Reaction was truly a collaborative composition. This is the true story of how the song was composed. Psychotic Reaction was not written by any one individual any such report is entirely false.[1]
The song was modeled after the Yardbirds
The Yardbirds
- Current :* Chris Dreja - rhythm guitar, backing vocals * Jim McCarty - drums, backing vocals * Ben King - lead guitar * David Smale - bass, backing vocals...
's song "I'm a Man
I'm A Man (Bo Diddley song)
"I'm a Man" is a song written and recorded by Bo Diddley in 1955. A moderately slow blues with a stop-time figure, it was inspired by an earlier blues song and became a #1 R&B chart hit. "I'm a Man" has been acknowledged by Rolling Stone magazine and has been recorded by a variety of artists,...
", with a repetitious rhythm that eventually changes to a faster beat, an electric guitar playing a hypnotic melody going up the scales, and a similar style of percussion to that of the Yardbirds hit.
This song was popular in the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
era, and appears in the game Battlefield Vietnam
Battlefield Vietnam
Battlefield Vietnam is the second video game in Electronic Arts' Battlefield franchise after Battlefield 1942. The game was developed by the Swedish company Digital Illusions CE and published by Electronic Arts on March 15, 2004 in North America and days later in other parts of the world....
. Probably the best known of the many obscure covers that were made in the 1960s is the one by Positively 13 O'Clock that was included on the original Pebbles
Pebbles, Volume 1
Pebbles is a compilation of US underground and garage single record releases from the mid- to late-1960s. It had a limited original release in 1978 and a more general release in 1979 ; this album was followed by several subsequent Pebbles compilations and albums...
compilation album
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
. The song was covered by The Cramps
The Cramps
The Cramps were an American rock band, formed in 1976 and active until 2009. The band split after the death of lead singer Lux Interior. Their line-up rotated much over their existence, with the husband and wife duo of Interior and lead guitarist Poison Ivy the only permanent members...
on their 1983 live mini-album, Smell of Female
Smell of Female
Smell of Female is the first live album by the American garage punk band The Cramps. It was recorded at The Peppermint Lounge on February 25–26, 1983 and released on I.R.S. Records the same year. The album was also released as a 3 7-inch box set...
, and by Nash the Slash
Nash the Slash
Nash the Slash is a Canadian musician. Though a multi-instrumentalist, he is known primarily for playing electric violin and mandolin, as well as harmonica, keyboards, glockenspiel, and other instruments .Nash worked as a solo artist beginning in 1975, then founded the progressive rock band FM in...
on his album American Bandages. Television
Television (band)
Television was an American rock band, formed in New York City in 1973. They are best known for the album Marquee Moon and widely regarded as one of the founders of "punk" and New Wave music. Television was part of the early 1970s New York underground rock scene, along with bands like the Patti...
included this in their early sets, emphasizing the "rave-up" section. It was also recorded in more heavily psychedelic manner by the 60's studio only band The Leathercoated Minds in 1966 on their album A Trip Down the Sunset Strip.
The song is one of the many songs quoted and parodied on the album The Third Reich 'n Roll by the avantgarde group The Residents
The Residents
The Residents is an American art collective best known for avant-garde music and multimedia works. The first official release under the name of The Residents was in 1972, and the group has since released over sixty albums, numerous music videos and short films, three CD-ROM projects and ten DVDs....
.
The Night Beats
Night Beats
The Night Beats are an American Psychedelic, Garage and Soul group based out of Seattle, Washington. The group consists of Lee Blackwell , James Traeger and Tarek Wegner...
from Seattle, WA have claimed to have "psychically inherited" the song and have made it their own playing it most nights of their 2011 U.S. and European dates.
This song is also played live by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers are an American rock band from Gainesville, Florida. They were formed in 1976 by Tom Petty , Mike Campbell , Benmont Tench , , Ron Blair and Stan Lynch...
on the Playback
Playback (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers box set)
Playback is a box set compilation by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, released in 1995. It contains popular album tracks, B-sides, previously unreleased outtakes, and early songs by Petty's previous band Mudcrutch....
box set and seen in the currently out of print concert video, "Take the Highway".
John Byrne died on December 15, 2008
2008 in music
2008 was a huge year in music history with the emergence of pop superstars Lady Gaga and Katy Perry into the mainstream. Also, this is the year that is widely agreed upon by critics as the start of the fall of hip hop from the mainstream and the rise of Synthpop into the mainstream due to acts such...
at 61, from cirrhosis
Cirrhosis
Cirrhosis is a consequence of chronic liver disease characterized by replacement of liver tissue by fibrosis, scar tissue and regenerative nodules , leading to loss of liver function...
of the liver
Liver
The liver is a vital organ present in vertebrates and some other animals. It has a wide range of functions, including detoxification, protein synthesis, and production of biochemicals necessary for digestion...
.