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The Shadows of Knight
The Shadows of Knight
band
1
Leo and the Prophets
Leo and the Prophets
musical artist
2
The Grains of Sand
The Grains of Sand
musical artist
3
Danny and the Counts
Danny and the Counts
4
The Outcasts
The Outcasts
5
The Dirtbombs
The Dirtbombs
6
The Sparkles
The Sparkles
7
The Vagrants
The Vagrants
American, Long Island-based rock and blue-eyed soul band
8
The Choir
The Choir
9
The Squires
The Squires
American garage band from Bristol, Connecticut, operating in the 1960s
10
Mouse and the Traps
Mouse and the Traps
US band
11
The Litter
The Litter
1960s psychedelic rock band
12
Green Fuz
Green Fuz
13
Euphoria's Id
Euphoria's Id
musical artist
14
The Boggs
The Boggs
American indie rock band
15
The Amboy Dukes
The Amboy Dukes
American rock band
16
The Chocolate Watchband
The Chocolate Watchband
band
17
The Ugly Ducklings
The Ugly Ducklings
musical artist
18
The Black Diamonds
The Black Diamonds
19
The Outsiders
The Outsiders
US band
20
The Oxford Circle
The Oxford Circle
American rock band
21
GONN
GONN
22
The Liberty Bell
The Liberty Bell
23
Ken Hensley
Ken Hensley
British musician
24
Jim Dickinson
Jim Dickinson
American musician
25
The Beta Band
The Beta Band
Scottish band
26
Danny's Reasons
Danny's Reasons
American garage rock band
27
Teddy and His Patches
Teddy and His Patches
San Jose, CA garage rock group active in the mid-1960s
28
Twentieth Century Zoo
Twentieth Century Zoo
American rock band
29
The Fuzztones
The Fuzztones
American band
30
The Pagans
The Pagans
1970s American punk band
31
The Spinto Band
The Spinto Band
band
32
Curve
Curve
English band
33
The Yardbirds
The Yardbirds
English band
34
The Violets
The Violets
35
The Bad Roads
The Bad Roads
musical artist
36
Gob
Gob
band
37
The Others
The Others
American band
38
The Gentlemen
The Gentlemen
39
The Human Expression
The Human Expression
40
The Grodes
The Grodes
41
The Hellacopters
The Hellacopters
Swedish rock band
42
The Kreeg
The Kreeg
43
The Charlatans
The Charlatans
English rock band
44
Blue Cheer
Blue Cheer
American rock band
45
The Duke Spirit
The Duke Spirit
English rock band
Intro
Music
The Banshees

The Banshees were an American garage rock band formed in Chicago, Illinois, in 1966. The group is best remembered for its sole single, featuring the dissonant proto-punk anthem, "Project Blue". The song has become a classic of the musical genre of garage rock and is featured prominently on several compilation albums.

The group's origins trace back to the Fugitives, which were configured in 1962. By 1965, after some personnel changes, the band was known as the Prophets, and had begun recording promos for Columbia Records, along with demos of "Project Blue" and its eventual B-side "Free". The line-up consisted of Frank Bucaro (lead vocals, harmonica), Ron Rouse (lead guitar), Rick Notolini (bass guitar), Tom Leetzow (drums), and John Smead (rhythm guitar), with Bucaro and Rouse being the leaders of the Prophets.

Record producer Bill Traut just happened to be listening to the group recording their demo of "Project Blue" and immediately signed the band to a recording contract. Traut renamed the Prophets to the Banshees, and replaced the inexperienced Notolini with local Chicago musician, Peter Sheldon. The resulting officially-released version of "Project Blue" is a surprisingly raw and cathartic exercise in primal blues-based proto-punk, featuring a distorted three-note guitar riff its center, that is repeated relentlessly throughout the song and set to a pounding beat, punctuated by agonizing yelps and screams supplied by vocalist Bucaro. The lesser-known flip-side "Free" was a soothing ballad, which stands in marked contrast to the relative "shock therapy" of its A-side predecessor.

"Project Blue" was released in June 1966 on Dunwich Records. Although both Rouse and Bucaro co-wrote its two sides, only Rouse's name is featured on the single because he was the only one who was 21 years-old. The song became a popular fixture in the Banshees' live repertoire as they regularly performed in Illinois venues the New Place, the Alamo, and the Cellar, among others. It was the only surviving recording by the group as they disbanded in early 1967. Since its initial release, "Project Blue" has been recognized as a garage rock classic. Among the compilation albums it has been featured on, include Oh Yeah! The Best of Dunwich Records, Pebbles, Volume 9, and Mindrocker, Volume 2. However, "Free" has yet to be reissued on any album. According to the liner notes of Oh Yeah!, Bucaro, who supplied the "lead scream" to "Project Blue", later became a Catholic priest.