Larry Tamblyn, a founding member of the band The Standells, has died. He was 82.
The musician’s death was announced by his nephew, Dennis Tamblyn, on Facebook Friday.
“My uncle Larry Tamblyn passed away today. I have very fond memories of him and his family over the years,” Dennis wrote.
“He lived an incredible life. He was in a band called The Standells, whose hit song ‘Dirty Water’ is still played to this day whenever the Red Sox or the Bruins win a home game. They also played on an episode of ‘The Munsters,’” the post continued.
Dennis went on, “A few years ago, The Standells played at Hotel Congress here in Tucson and Larry stayed with me. It was so great to hang out with him and catch up. He was still making music well into his later years.”
“You will be missed, Uncle Larry,” Dennis added.
Larry’s cause of death has yet to be shared.
One of Larry’s neighbors shared a tribute to him on X (formerly Twitter). “Sad news I’m afraid. My friend and neighbor, Larry Tamblyn, passed away this morning. He was the founding member of The Standells. It was totally surreal that a member of the 60s garage punk band my 80s garage band used to cover, moved just around the corner from me in rural GA,” the post read.
The late star, born on February 5, 1943, was the brother of actor Russ Tamblyn and uncle of actress Amber Tamblyn.
In 1962, Larry formed a rock band called Larry Tamblyn and The Standells with Tony Valentino, Jody Rich and Benny King. The group later changed their name to The Standells.
The band released their first album, “Dirty Water,” in 1966. The lead song of the same name became a victory anthem for the Boston Red Sox and the Boston Bruins.
After its members pursued solo careers, Larry got The Standells back together in 2009 with bassist John Fleck, guitarist Paul Downing and drummer Greg Burnham.
In 2014, they went on their first national tour since the 1960s. The group’s final album, “Bump,” came out in 2013.
In an old interview with Classic Bands, Larry said The Standells were inspired by The Beatles to grow their hair long.
“We were one of the first groups to have long hair in 1963. We had seen photos of The Beatles in London before they became big here and we grew our hair out,” he recalled. “When they started to break here, we had the long hair and we were doing the same schtick at this club called The Peppermint West. They had a big sign out in front saying Beatlemania. That was us.”
Larry also revealed how he came up with the name for his band, saying, “Believe it or not, I got the name from when we first formed we were just a bunch of young guys and didn’t have any work lined up. We spent a lot of time standing around booking agents offices, trying to get work. You know, stand, standing, Standells. That’s how the name came about.”
Larry was inducted into the California Music Hall of Fame by Russ, 90, in December 2023. He performed on stage at the induction ceremony.
