Thursday Throwback is a weekly colour scheme inspired by an iconic album cover of yesteryear. This week’s throwback is the 1966 album “The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators” by 13th Floor Elevators. The colours are as follows:
| Colours | HEX | RGB | HSB | CMYK | LAB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colour 1 | #BF1736 | 191, 23, 54 | 349, 88, 75 | 0, 88, 72, 25 | 41, 63, 29 |
| Colour 2 | #468BA6 | 70, 139, 166 | 197, 58, 65 | 58, 16, 0, 35 | 55, -14, -21 |
| Colour 3 | #7AA638 | 122, 166, 56 | 84, 66, 65 | 27, 0, 66, 35 | 63, -32, 50 |
| Colour 4 | #F2BB13 | 242, 187, 19 | 45, 92, 95 | 0, 23, 92, 5 | 79, 7, 79 |
| Colour 5 | #D9C5C1 | 217, 197, 193 | 10, 11, 85 | 0, 9, 11, 15 | 81, 6, 5 |
“The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators” is the first official album released by the band 13th Floor Elevators. It came out on October 17, 1966, under the International Artists record label. The 13th Floor Elevators were a renowned American rock band from Austin, Texas. This talented group was established in 1965 by Roky Erickson (guitarist and vocalist), Tommy Hall (electric jug player), and Stacy Sutherland (guitarist). They stayed together until 1969, during which they produced four albums and seven singles under the International Artists label.
The album is often recognized as the debut of psychedelic rock music. The band has been credited as coining the term “psychedelic rock” when they printed it on the band’s business card in January 1966. Additionally, two other albums released in November 1966, namely “Psychedelic Lollipop” by The Blues Magoos and “Psychedelic Moods” by The Deep, also incorporated the word in their titles.
The album showcases a unique blend of musical genres, including hard rock, garage rock, folk, and blues. One distinguishing element is the use of the electric jug, which adds a distinctive sound to their sound. The band’s most successful single “You’re Gonna Miss Me” reached number 55 on the Billboard Charts and featured “Tried to Hide” on the B-side. Another single from the album, “Reverberation (Doubt)”, reached number 129 on Billboard’s “Bubbling Under” Chart.
The original mono version of the album was made available to the public in 2009 through the “Sign of the 3-Eyed Men” box set. This special edition also included an alternate stereo version that preserved the band’s original track listing, along with false starts on certain tracks. Interestingly, it was discovered that the International Artists label had changed the track listing without consulting the band during its initial release. Additionally, both versions included exclusive bonus tracks, some of which had never been released before.
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