13th Floor Elevators Will Be Featured in New Visual Book

The story of psych-rock pioneers 13th Floor Elevators is chronicled in a new visual book, out April 21st via Anthology Editions. Titled 13th Floor Elevators: Visual History, it  was written by Paul Drummond, who wrote the band’s 2007 biography, Eye Mind.

The book provides an extensive visual history of the Austin outfit, starting with lyricist Tommy Hall and late guitarist and vocalist Roky Erikson forming the band in 1965, and ending with their demise just four years later. The book boasts never-before-seen color photographs, family scrapbook photos, and fliers, handbills, and newspaper clippings. Stills from television appearances, handwritten drug-deal letters, and mugshots by the Austin Police Department are also included. A preview of the book is available in the clip above.

The 13th Floor Elevators released just three albums in their brief period as a band, but they would go on to become a beloved cult group that shaped the acid-rock sound of the late Sixties and early Seventies. Their debut single, “You’re Gonna Miss Me,” became their best-known song, famously featured in the 2000 film adaptation of Nick Hornby’s novel High Fidelity. 

13th Floor Elevators: Visual History is currently available for preorder. Copies ordered online will be shipped immediately, arriving before April 21st.