Count Five

Best known for their Top 10 single and widely heralded garage rock classic “Psychotic Reaction,” the Count Five were a prototypical 1960s garage rock band with psychedelic overtones. Formed in California in 1964 as the Squires, the band endured line-up changes and experimented with their sound before becoming the Count Five. A staple of the group’s live show, “Psychotic Reaction” was released as a single in 1966, and its punky, swirling feel struck a chord with listeners nationwide. The band’s full-length debut was released that same year. The band was never able to replicate the success of its lone single, and broke up in 1969. The song “Psychotic Reaction” has appeared on numerous ‘60s compilations, and was immortalized in Lester Bangs’s essay “Psychotic Reactions and Carburetor Dung.” The Count Five re=formed to play one reunion gig in 1987, and some of the members formed a band called the Count in the 1990s.