Green Fuz
The Green Fuz were an American garage rock band in the late 1960s, best known for their sole single, "Green Fuz", which has become a classic of the genre and was covered by The Cramps. On the single, the band was identified as Randy Alvey & Green Fuz.
The group was formed in Bridgeport, Texas. The members were Randy Alvey (vocals), Mike Pearce (drums), Jimmy Mercer (rhythm guitar), Les Dale (lead guitar), and R.E. "Buck" Houchins (bass). Alvey and Pearce formed their first group, The Psychedelic Reactions, in 1967; after some personnel changes, they became The Green Fuz, named for Dale's green fuzz box. Alvey, Pearce and Houchins were later involved in another group, Natchez.
The Green Fuz played at dances and clubs, gaining enough local popularity to persuade the co-owner of Wash-Tex Records, Shorty Hendrix, to record their self-written theme song. The recording took place in a deserted roadside cafe, chosen for its acoustics, and was issued locally in 1969. It was not a success, largely because the primitive recording techniques led to a muffled sound, which has subsequently contributed to its cult appeal.
The record resurfaced on a prominent garage rock compilation album, Pebbles, Volume 2 in the late 1970s and has since appeared on many similar compilation albums. One of those albums, Acid Dreams Epitaph is subtitled 75 Minutes of Green Fuz. The band gained additional fans when "Green Fuz" was covered by The Cramps on their 1981 album Psychedelic Jungle.
The New Orleans roots music festival Ponderosa Stomp featured The Green Fuz in 2008, after the festival's founder, Dr. Ira Padnos, located Green Fuz lead guitarist Les Dale in Virginia Beach, VA, where he had retired after two decades in the U. S. Navy.
In 2009 the song "Green Fuz" was included by Evan Dando's The Lemonheads on their well-received covers album, Varshons. This version has a much slower tempo than either the original version or the Cramps version.