The Standells Founding Member Larry Tamblyn Dead at 82 — Rock Legend's Family Shares Emotional Tribute Honoring His 'Incredible Life'
Larry Tamblyn dead at 82.
March 23 2025, Published 4:43 p.m. ET
Larry Tamblyn, a founding member of the iconic garage rock band The Standells and brother of West Side Story actor Russ Tamblyn, has died at 82, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The late singer's band inspired several of the biggest punk bands in the '60s and early '70s, such as The Sex Pistols and The Ramones.
The Standalls are a '60s rock band.
The singer's death was announced by his nephew, Dennis Tamblyn, on Facebook Friday, March 21.
Dennis wrote: "My uncle Larry Tamblyn passed away today. I have very fond memories of him and his family over the years.
"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.
"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."
Larry Tamblyn was one of the founding members of The Standalls.
Larry, who was born in Los Angeles, comes from a family of superstars, including his brother Russ and his niece Amber Tamblyn, who starred in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and Joan of Arc.
He worked as a solo musician in the 1950s before forming the rock band Larry Tamblyn and The Standalls in 1962, with Tony Valentino, Jody Rich and Benny King.
The Sandalls were inspired by The Beatles to grow out their hair.
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In an old interview with Classic Bands, Larry said The Standells were inspired by The Beatles to grow their hair long.
He recalled: "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.
"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: "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."
