Rocktober '60s Song #18: "The Witch" by The Sonics (1964)

It's one week until All Hallows Eve, which means its that time in Rocktober where we focus on songs that have dark, scary, or macabre themes.  Kicking it off this year will be "The Witch" by The Sonics.  If you haven't heard of The Sonics, that's a shame.  One of the first rock bands to come out of the Pacific Northwest (Tacoma, to be exact), they were one of the preeminent garage rock bands of the '60s, and they influenced countless rocker since then, especially in the punk, garage, and grunge genres.  They were basically the first punk band.

Lead singer Gerry Roslie's howling vocals and the band's quick tempos and aggressive playing gave the group a sound that was unusual for the time.  "The Witch" was the band's first single, released in November 1964, and it became the biggest-selling local single in Pacific Northwest history.  Their first two albums -- 1965's Here are the Sonics and 1966's Boom -- are considered classics in the garage rock genre.  Unfortunately, in the late '60s, the band's label folded, the group disbanded.  They (kind of) reformed in 1980 to record another album, which was just updated versions of the band's previous songs, and then in 2015, they put out a new album called This Is The Sonics, which I have and recommend.

Anyway, "The Witch" is an iconic garage rock/proto-punk tune, possibly about a witch.  Enjoy.