One-Hit Wonders In Memoriam – Jan Savage of The Seeds

Garage rock staple “Pushin’ Too Hard” by The Seeds featured Jan Savage on electric guitar. The Seeds’ original keyboardist Daryl Hooper and current bassist Alec Palao share their remembrances.

Author:
Warren Kurtz
Publish date:
Aug 14, 2020

In 2017, we celebrated the 50th anniversary of The Seeds’ “Pushin’ Too Hard” debut in the Top 40 by interviewing their keyboardist Daryl Hooper, the lone original member in the current Daryl Hooper & The Seeds lineup. Daryl told Goldmine, “In 1967, we were on a tour back east with The Buffalo Springfield when we got word that “Pushin’ Too Hard” made the Top 40 nationally. Our single and their single, ‘For What It’s Worth,’ debuted the same month.” Jan Savage’s melodic guitar solo was a key part of the catchy aspect of the single which reached No. 36.

The documentary The Seeds: Pushin’ Too Hard was produced by Alec Palao, who is also currently the group’s bassist. In the film, regarding Jan’s guitar playing, Iggy Pop said, “Jan made great choices. He never filled up everything to exclude others, as so many of them do.”

Jan, who had been with The Seeds since their inception in 1965, left the group in 1968. In 1989, there was a reunion by the original California quartet. Alec attended a show on the tour and recalled, “I freely admit to becoming fixated on Jan for almost the entire performance. There he stood beaming, rocking back and forth, all the while delivering note perfect renditions of those iconic riffs from The Seeds’ heyday. Working on the documentary and various Seeds reissues for the Ace label, I got to know Jan and came to really enjoy the company of this extremely modest and humble individual. He seemed in odd denial of the influence that his guitar style has wielded over the years. Jan will always be a hero.”

Daryl, Alec and the other current members of The Seeds have just released the song “Butterfly Child,” written in 3/4 time, with a timeless slow dance style. This gently hypnotic song is featured among the links below and will serve as the flip side of an upcoming 45 dedicated to Jan, who passed away on August 5 at the age of 77.