The Sonics are an American garage rock band from Tacoma, Washington, originating from the early and mid-1960s. Among The Sonics' contemporaries were The Kingsmen, The Wailers, The Dynamics, The Regents, and Paul Revere & the Raiders. This movement is credited with founding Seattle's music scene which survives to the present.^{[citation needed]}

They played a mixture of garage rock standards ("Louie, Louie", "Have Love, Will Travel"), early rock and roll ("Jenny, Jenny", "Skinny Minnie") and original compositions such as "Strychnine", "Psycho", and "The Witch", all based upon simple chord sequences, played hard and fast.

The lyrics of The Sonics' original material dealt with early 1960s teenage culture: cars, guitars, surfing, and girls (in songs like "The Hustler", "Boss Hoss" and "Maintaining My Cool") alongside darker subject matter such as drinking strychnine for kicks, witches, psychopaths, and Satan (in the songs "Strychnine", "The Witch", "Psycho", and "He's Waitin'", respectively).

Band members[link]

The classic Sonics lineup, as recorded on Here Are The Sonics and Boom:

• Gerry Roslie — organ, piano, lead vocals
• Andy Parypa — bass guitar
• Larry Parypa — lead guitar, vocals
• Rob Lind — saxophone, vocals, harmonica
• Bob Bennett — drums

Current lineup:

• Gerry Roslie — organ, piano, lead vocals
• Freddie Dennis — bass guitar, vocals
• Larry Parypa — lead guitar, vocals
• Rob Lind — saxophone, harp, vocals
• Ricky Lynn Johnson — drums

Bennett and A. Parypa, unable to travel, were replaced by Johnson and Dennis.^[1]

Career[link]

The history of The Sonics began in 1960 in Tacoma, Washington. Larry Parypa played the guitar at that time with a drummer, Mitch Jaber, another guitarist named Stuart Turner, plus a saxophonist and an acoustic bassist. In 1961, Parypa's older brother Andy replaced the bass player and Tony Mabin took over as their new saxophone player.

Turner left for the army and Rich Koch (who had previously played with The Wailers) joined as new lead guitarist and Marilyn Lodge joined as the band's first singer—they had been an instrumental combo until this point. A new drummer, Bill Dean, then replaced Jaber.

Koch and Lodge left the band in 1963. Local star Ray Michelsen became the band's singer after having sung with a handful of other popular bands on the local scene. Larry began looking for a drummer to replace Dean, whom he felt was uncommitted to the band, and found Bob Bennett playing in a band called The Searchers with Gerry Roslie and Rob Lind. Ray Michelsen was looking to leave the band, so the Parypas hired Bennett, Roslie, and Lind and let their previous saxophonist Mabin go.

The well-known lineup was in place, but the Sonics' career as loved by their continuing cult following did not begin until 1964, when Gerry Roslie started singing lead vocals.

With Roslie as lead singer the band started playing gigs at local halls, at such venues as the Red Carpet, Olympia's Skateland, the Evergreen Ballroom, Perl's (Bremerton), the Spanish Castle Ballroom and St. Mary's Parish Hall.

They were soon scouted by Buck Ormsby, bassist for The Wailers, and signed to The Wailers' own label Etiquette Records. The first single they cut was "The Witch" (with Little Richard's "Keep A-Knockin'" as the B-side), in November 1964. This was immensely popular with local kids, and went on to become the biggest selling local single in the history of the northwest, despite its radio airplay being restricted because of its bizarre subject matter.

Early in 1965, The Sonics began recording an LP, Here Are The Sonics was recorded at Audio Recording in Seattle, WA by famed Pacific Northwest recording engineer Kearney Barton. It was recorded on a two-track tape recorder, with only one microphone to pick up the whole drum kit. It was here that they began to pioneer some of their infamously reckless recording techniques. The next album, Boom followed in February 1966. During the recording, The Sonics ripped the soundproofing off the walls at the country and western-oriented Wiley/Griffith studio in Tacoma, WA, to "get a live-er sound."

This heyday began to wane when the band transferred to Jerden Records in late 1966, and headed to Hollywood to record the poorly selling album Introducing The Sonics with Larry Levine in the Gold Star studios. Although it has been rumoured that Jerden executives pushed The Sonics into a more polished sound, the band had decided to follow new influences in modern music, resulting in songs that were quite different from their raucous early recordings. However, the band wasn't satisfied with the material on Introducing The Sonics, calling the cleaner, slicker recordings "the worst garbage."

The original band fell apart between 1966 and 1968, with members leaving to go to university or to join other bands; Saxophonist Rob Lind became a fighter pilot in the Vietnam War. Eventually, all of the original members left, with new members continuing on with the name Sonics, even though it was a completely different band. During this time the band's sound changed, incorporating string and horn sections.

The original Sonics reunited briefly in 1972 for a Seattle Paramount live show, with the recording of this show released as Live Fanz Only by Etiquette. In 1980, a new Sonics band fronted by Gerry Roslie recorded an album called Sinderella, which featured versions of the original band's material.

In 2007, The Sonics reunited again, this time for the Cavestomp garage rock festival in Brooklyn (November 2–4, 2007). The line up featured original members Gerry Roslie on vocals/keyboards, Larry Parypa on guitar and Rob Lind on tenor sax; with Ricky Lynn Johnson (of The Wailers) on drums and Don Wilhelm (of The Daily Flash) on bass and vocals.

In 2008, The Sonics recorded a live session for Mark Lamarr's BBC Radio 2 show God's Jukebox on March 22. They played their first ever shows in London on Friday March 21 and Sunday March 23.

Since then, they have played the Primavera Festival in Barcelona, followed by Bilbao, then the Sjock Festival in Belgium, Norway, and the Azkena Rock Festival in Vitoria in the Basque Country.

Their first show in their home region since their last Seattle reunion in 1972 was on Halloween 31 October 2008 at the Paramount Theatre in Seattle, where they were introduced and joined onstage for a couple numbers by Steven Van Zandt. Kent Morrill (front man of the Wailers) made a surprise appearance to help sing his signature song "Dirty Robber". Bob Bennett was also present to sit in on drums albeit only for a few songs and only while Ricky Lynn Johnson played in unison.

Influence[link]

The Sonics are often-cited contenders for the title of "the first punk/grunge band", due to their wild and unconventional style. The band also have a clearly marked influence on American punk bands such as The Dead Boys in their brash, masculine style and posturing, and on 1980s grunge bands (who originated in the same area), especially Mudhoney, who adopted some of the darker themes from Sonics music, and a lot of their techniques on over-driving and distorting electric guitars. Their reach stretched beyond the U.S.; influential Manchester post-punk group The Fall covered "Strychnine" during a session for the late John Peel's programme in 1993 and they repeatedly performed the song live around this time. As well as all these, there have been whole generations of garage rock revival bands (such as The Thingz) who make no bones of plagiarizing The Sonics and their ilk. The early 21st century saw the arrival of another garage rock band that lists the Sonics as a major influence, Eagles of Death Metal. New Zealand power-punk band Cut Off Your Hands have covered "The Witch" several times in concert.

Japandroids have repeatedly cited The Sonics, one of the few acts that both members could agree on, as a basis for their way of recording and performing.

The White Stripes named The Sonics as one of the bands that influenced them the most, calling them "the epitome of '60s punk" and claiming they were "harder than the Kinks, and punk long before punk".^[2]

Nicholaus Arson of The Hives cites The Sonics' version of "Have Love, Will Travel" as a favorite;^[3] his band's song "Main Offender" is essentially a rewrite. In addition, members of The Hives played with the reunited Sonics on one occasion.^[4]

The Cramps covered "Strychnine" on their debut album Songs The Lord Taught Us (& played it live since their first sets late '76/ early '77).

The Flaming Lips also covered "Strychnine" on their album The Day They Shot a Hole in the Jesus Egg.

The Fuzztones made a tribute to them The Fuzztones Boom in 2006.

The electronic media artist Blair Spotswood Dowd featured "The Witch" in her video piece with the same title from 2008.^[5]

The Fleshtones, in their "American Beat '84," paid tribute to "The Raiders and the Wailers and the Kingsmen and the Sonics."

The Sword covered "He's Waitin'" as a bonus track in the Japanese edition of their second album, Gods of the Earth.

LCD Soundsystem's seminal release "Losing My Edge" (2002) features a long list of hip 20th century musical acts. The litany ends with singer James Murphy repeating 'The Sonics' four times.

L7 covered the song "Strychnine" live and has appeared on various bootlegs.

Kurt Cobain of Nirvana said in an interview with Nardwuar the Human Serviette on CITR-FM, discussing drum sounds,"I, I have to admit... The Sonics recorded very, very cheaply on a two track you know, and they just used one microphone over the drums, and they got the most amazing drum sound I've ever heard. Still to this day, it's still my favorite drum sound. It sounds like he's hitting harder than anyone I've ever known."^[6]

A 1993 tribute album entitled Here Ain't The Sonics was released on PopLlama Records, featuring contributions from Mono Men, Screaming Trees, Thee Headcoats, The Cynics, Mojo Nixon and The Original Sins.

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

• Here Are the Sonics (Etiquette Records, 1965)
• Boom (Etiquette, 1966)
• Introducing The Sonics (Jerden, 1967)
• Explosives (Buckshot, 1973)
• The Sonics (SRT, 1978)
• Live Fanz Only (Etiquette, 1986)
• Busy Body!!! Live in Tacoma 1964 (Live, Norton, 2007)

Singles[link]

• "The Witch"/"Keep A-Knockin'" (Etiquette, 1964)
• "The Witch"/"Psycho" (Etiquette, 1965)
• "Psycho"/"Keep A-Knockin'" (Etiquette, 1965)
• "Boss Hoss"/"The Hustler" (Etiquette, 1965)
• "Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark"/"Shot Down" (Etiquette, 1965)
• The Sonics' "Don't Believe In Christmas"/The Wailers' "Christmas Spirit" (Etiquette, 1965)
• "Cinderella"/"Louie Louie" (Etiquette, 1965)
• "You Got Your Head On Backwards"/"Love Light" (Jerden, 1966)
• "Like No Other Man"/"Love Light" (Jerden, 1966)
• "The Witch"/"Like No Other Man" (Jerden, 1966)
• "Psycho"/"Maintaining My Cool" (Jerden, 1966)
• "Love-itis"/"You're In Love" (Jerden, 1967)
• "Lost Love"/"Any Way The Wind Blows" (Piccadilly, 1967)
• "Any Way The Wind Blows"/"Lost Love" (UNI, 1967)
• "Dirty Old Man"/"Bama Lama Bama Loo" (Burdette, 1975)
• "The Witch"/"Bama Lama Bama Loo" (Great Northwest, 1979)
• "The Witch"/"Keep A-Knockin'" (Norton, 1998)
• "Psycho"/"Have Love Will Travel" (Norton, 1998)
• "Cinderella"/"He's Waitin'" (Norton, 1998)
• "Boss Hoss"/"The Hustler" (Norton, 1998)
• "Strychnine"/"Shot Down" (Norton, 1998)
• The Sonics' "Louie Louie"/The Wailers' "Louie Louie" (Norton, 1998)
• "Don't Believe In Christmas"/"Santa Claus" (Norton, 1998)

EPs[link]

• 8 (The Sonics Record Co., 2010)

Compilations[link]

• Merry Christmas (Various Artists album, Etiquette, 1966)
• Sinderella (Bomp, 1980)
• Fire and Ice (First American, 1983; re-released as Fire & Ice: Lost Tapes Vols. 1 & 2 in 1996)
• Full Force! (Line, 1984; re-released as Full Force! The Best of The Sonics in 1987)
• The Ultimate Sonics (Etiquette, 1991)
• Maintaining My Cool (Jerden, Munster Records, 1991)
• Psycho-Sonic (Big Beat, 1993)
• This Is... The Savage Young Sonics (Norton, 2001)
• The Jerden Years 1966-69 (Munster, 2004)

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: The Sonics

• The Sonics at Allmusic
• Sonics licensing

Mitch Richmond

Richmond at his Jersey Retirement Ceremony
No. 23, 2, 9
Shooting guard
Personal information
Born	(1965-06-30) June 30, 1965 (age 46) Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Listed height	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Listed weight	215 lb (98 kg)
Career information
College	Kansas State (1986–1988)
NBA Draft	1988 / Round: 1 / Pick: 5th overall
Selected by the Golden State Warriors
Pro career	1988–2002
Career history
1988–1991	Golden State Warriors
1991–1998	Sacramento Kings
1998–2001	Washington Wizards
2001–2002	Los Angeles Lakers
Career highlights and awards
NBA Champion (2002) NBA Rookie of the Year (1989) 6× NBA All-Star (1993–1998) 3× All-NBA Second Team (1994–1995, 1997) 2× All-NBA Third Team (1996, 1998) NBA All-Rookie First Team (1989) NBA All-Star Game MVP (1995) #2 Retired by the Sacramento Kings Consensus NCAA All-American Second Team (1988)
Career statistics
Points	20,497 (21.0 ppg)
Steals	1,211 (1.2 spg)
3–pointers	1,326
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals Men's Basketball Competitor for  United States Summer Olympics Bronze 1988 Seoul National team Gold 1996 Atlanta National team Summer Universiade Silver 1987 Zagreb National team

Mitchell James "Mitch" Richmond (born June 30, 1965 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida) is a retired American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played collegiately at Kansas State University. He was a 6-time NBA All-Star, a 5-time All-NBA Team member and a former NBA Rookie of the Year. In 976 NBA games, Richmond averaged 21.0 points per game and 3.5 assists per game. His nicknames include "The Rock." #2 has been retired in his honor by the Sacramento Kings, for whom he played seven seasons. He was on the cover of video game NBA Live 97. Richmond is now a scout for the Golden State Warriors, for whom he played from 1988 to 1991.

NBA career[link]

Golden State Warriors (1988–91)[link]

Richmond was drafted 5th overall in the 1988 NBA Draft by the Golden State Warriors, following two years at Kansas State, where he averaged 20 points per game, and two years at Moberly Junior College in Missouri.

Richmond captured the NBA Rookie of the Year Award in the 1988–89 season, after averaging 22 points per game for the Warriors. He was a key part of Don Nelson's fast-paced offense, which was dubbed "Run TMC" after the first names of its three main components, Tim Hardaway, Mitch Richmond and Chris Mullin, respectively. The trio were named after the influential rap group Run DMC. In addition to the shooting he provided, he complemented Hardaway's passing and fast break skills and Mullin's shooting skills by slashing to the hoop as part of the Warriors' attack.

Sacramento Kings (1991–98)[link]

After three years of scoring 22+ points a game in Golden State, Richmond, on November 1, 1991,^[1] was traded (along with Les Jepsen) to the Sacramento Kings during the 1991–92 season in exchange for the rights to Billy Owens,^[2] and became arguably the team's first star since the franchise moved to Sacramento in 1985. Staying with the Kings until 1998, Richmond was the team's leading scorer in each of his 7 seasons there, averaging no fewer than 21.9 a game each season. Between 1993 and 1998, Richmond was a fixture on the Western Conference's All-Star team, and he won MVP honors at the All-Star Game in Phoenix, in 1995. In the middle of his prime, Richmond was selected to the United States' Olympic team (Dream Team III), earning a gold medal in Atlanta. During his prime, Richmond was recognized as one of basketball's all time best pure shooters.^[3]

Washington Wizards (1998–01)[link]

Richmond was traded by the Kings, along with Otis Thorpe, to the Washington Wizards for Chris Webber in May 1998, a move that keyed the Kings' transformation from perennial doormat to an elite title contender. However, things did not work out as well for Richmond. In three years with the Wizards, he lost a lot of the shooting touch he displayed as a King, and his days as a regular were numbered after missing half of the 2000–01 season.

Los Angeles Lakers (2001–02)[link]

Richmond ended his career traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. Playing strictly off the bench, he averaged 4 points a game. He earned an NBA championship ring with the Lakers in 2002 but played sparingly in the postseason, logging 4 minutes overall. In game 4 of the finals, Richmond dribbled out the clock to win the title with the Lakers.

USA career[link]

Before coming to the NBA, he played for the U.S. men's national basketball team at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, winning the bronze medal. He became a member of the basketball team again at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, U.S. and won the gold medal with 11 other NBA players (including David Robinson, who was also on the USA men's national basketball team in 1988).

Personal[link]

Mitch Richmond is the cousin of NFL defensive back Lardarius Webb.^[4]

See also[link]

• List of National Basketball Association career scoring leaders
• List of National Basketball Association career turnovers leaders
• List of National Basketball Association career 3-point scoring leaders
• List of National Basketball Association career free throw scoring leaders

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Mitch Richmond

• Mitch Richmond at NBA.com
• Mitch Richmond at Basketball-Reference.com

v t e 1988 Olympic Bronze Medalists Men's Basketball – United States 4 Richmond 5 C. Smith IV 6 Coles 7 Hawkins 8 Grayer 9 C.D. Smith 10 Anderson 11 Augmon 12 Majerle 13 Manning 14 Reid 15 Robinson Coach: Thompson

v t e 1996 Olympic Champions Men's Basketball team – United States 4 Barkley 5 Hill 6 Hardaway 7 Robinson 8 Pippen 9 Richmond 10 Miller 11 Malone 12 Stockton 13 O'Neal 14 Payton 15 Olajuwon Coach: Wilkens

Michael Jordan

Michael Jordan with the Chicago Bulls in 1997
No. 23, 45, 9, 12
Shooting guard / Small forward
Personal information
Born	(1963-02-17) February 17, 1963 (age 49) Brooklyn, New York
High school	Emsley A. Laney
Listed height	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Listed weight	216 lb (98 kg)
Career information
College	North Carolina (1981–1984)
NBA Draft	1984 / Round: 1 / Pick: 3rd overall
Selected by the Chicago Bulls
Pro career	1984–2003
Career history
1984–1993, 1995–1998	Chicago Bulls
2001–2003	Washington Wizards
Career highlights and awards
6× NBA Champion (1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998) 5× NBA Most Valuable Player (1988, 1991–1992, 1996, 1998) 14× NBA All-Star (1985–1993, 1996–1998, 2002–2003) 6× NBA Finals MVP (1991–1993, 1996–1998) 10× NBA scoring champion (1987–1993, 1996–1998) 3× NBA steals champion (1988, 1990, 1993) NBA Defensive Player of the Year (1988) 10× All-NBA First Team (1987–1993, 1996–1998) All-NBA Second Team (1985) 9× NBA All-Defensive First Team (1988–1993, 1996–1998) NBA Rookie of the Year (1985) NBA All-Rookie First Team (1985) 3× NBA All-Star Game MVP (1988, 1996, 1998) 2× NBA Slam Dunk Contest champion (1987–1988) NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team #23 Retired by Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat NCAA Champion (1982) 2× Consensus NCAA All-American First Team (1983–1984) ACC Player of the Year (1984) Oscar Robertson Trophy (1984) Naismith College Player of the Year (1984) John R. Wooden Award (1984) Adolph Rupp Trophy (1984)
Career statistics
Points	32,292 (30.1 ppg)
Rebounds	6,672 (6.2 rpg)
Assists	5,633 (5.3 apg)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Basketball Hall of Fame as player

Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963) is a retired American professional basketball player, active entrepreneur, and majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats. His biography on the National Basketball Association (NBA) website states, "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time."^[1] Jordan was one of the most effectively marketed athletes of his generation and was considered instrumental in popularizing the NBA around the world in the 1980s and 1990s.^[2]

After a three-season career at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was a member of the Tar Heels' national championship team in 1982, Jordan joined the NBA's Chicago Bulls in 1984. He quickly emerged as a league star, entertaining crowds with his prolific scoring. His leaping ability, illustrated by performing slam dunks from the free throw line in slam dunk contests, earned him the nicknames "Air Jordan" and "His Airness". He also gained a reputation for being one of the best defensive players in basketball.^[3] In 1991, he won his first NBA championship with the Bulls, and followed that achievement with titles in 1992 and 1993, securing a "three-peat". Although Jordan abruptly retired from basketball at the beginning of the 1993–94 NBA season to pursue a career in baseball, he rejoined the Bulls in 1995 and led them to three additional championships (1996, 1997, and 1998) as well as an NBA-record 72 regular-season wins in the 1995–96 NBA season. Jordan retired for a second time in 1999, but returned for two more NBA seasons from 2001 to 2003 as a member of the Washington Wizards.

Jordan's individual accolades and accomplishments include five MVP awards, ten All-NBA First Team designations, nine All-Defensive First Team honors, fourteen NBA All-Star Game appearances, three All-Star Game MVP awards, ten scoring titles, three steals titles, six NBA Finals MVP awards, and the 1988 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award. He holds the NBA records for highest career regular season scoring average (30.12 points per game) and highest career playoff scoring average (33.45 points per game). In 1999, he was named the greatest North American athlete of the 20th century by ESPN, and was second to Babe Ruth on the Associated Press's list of athletes of the century. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009.

Jordan is also noted for his product endorsements. He fueled the success of Nike's Air Jordan sneakers, which were introduced in 1985 and remain popular today.^[4] Jordan also starred in the 1996 feature film Space Jam as himself. He is the majority owner and head of basketball operations for the NBA's Charlotte Bobcats, having won a bidding war to buy controlling interest in the team from founding owner Robert L. Johnson.

Jordan is sometimes referred to simply by his initials MJ.^[5]

Early years[link]

Michael Jordan's jersey in the rafters of The Dean Smith Center

Jordan was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Deloris (née Peoples), who worked in banking, and James R. Jordan, Sr., an equipment supervisor. His family moved to Wilmington, North Carolina, when he was a toddler.^[6] Jordan attended Emsley A. Laney High School in Wilmington, where he anchored his athletic career by playing baseball, football, and basketball. He tried out for the varsity basketball team during his sophomore year, but at 5'11" (1.80 m), he was deemed too short to play at that level. His taller friend, Harvest Leroy Smith, was the only sophomore to make the team.^[7]

Motivated to prove his worth, Jordan became the star of Laney's junior varsity squad, and tallied several 40 point games.^[7] The following summer, he grew four inches (10 cm)^[1] and trained rigorously. Upon earning a spot on the varsity roster, Jordan averaged about 20 points per game over his final two seasons of high school play.^[8][9] As a senior, he was selected to the McDonald's All-American Team^[10] after averaging a triple-double: 29.2 points, 11.6 rebounds, and 10.1 assists.^[11]

In 1981, Jordan earned a basketball scholarship to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he majored in cultural geography. As a freshman in coach Dean Smith's team-oriented system, he was named ACC Freshman of the Year after he averaged 13.4 points per game (ppg) on 53.4% shooting (field goal percentage).^[12] He made the game-winning jump shot in the 1982 NCAA Championship game against Georgetown, which was led by future NBA rival Patrick Ewing.^[1] Jordan later described this shot as the major turning point in his basketball career.^[13] During his three seasons at North Carolina, he averaged 17.7 ppg on 54.0% shooting, and added 5.0 rebounds per game (rpg).^[8] He was selected by consensus to the NCAA All-American First Team in both his sophomore (1983) and junior (1984) seasons. After winning the Naismith and the Wooden College Player of the Year awards in 1984, Jordan left North Carolina one year before his scheduled graduation to enter the 1984 NBA Draft. The Chicago Bulls selected Jordan with the third overall pick, after Hakeem Olajuwon (Houston Rockets) and Sam Bowie (Portland Trail Blazers). Jordan returned to North Carolina to complete his degree in 1986.^[14]