The Monks

The Five Torquays were just another garage band of American G.I.s in Germany in 1964. Then they shaved their heads and dressed in black; started calling themselves the Monks; and wrote a bunch of single-minded, bilious one-and-a-half-chord rockers like "I Hate You" and "Shut Up," built around electric banjo and organ. (They claim to have invented feedback by accident, though that's, er, open to debate.) Their sole album, Black Monk Time, became a cult favorite, and was finally reissued in the mid-'90s. Five Upstart Americans collects even cruder demos and an early single. (DOUGLAS WOLK)

From 2004's The New Rolling Stone Album Guide