A rock musician best known for an iconic sports anthem is dead at age 82.
The Standells announced over the weekend that Larry Tamblyn, the garage rock band’s keyboardist, singer and co-founder, died Friday. A cause of death was not given.
“My uncle Larry Tamblyn passed away today. I have very fond memories of him and his family over the years,” his nephew Dennis wrote in a since-deleted post. “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.’”
Billboard reports Tamblyn formed The Standells with guitarist Tony Valentino, bassist Jody Rich and drummer Benny King in Los Angeles during the 1960s. Their debut single, “You’ll Be Mine Someday Girl / Girl in My Heart,” was released in 1963 under the name Larry Tamblyn and the Standels before dropping Tamblyn’s name and undergoing lineup changes.
The Standells were best known for the 1966 hit “Dirty Water,” which reached No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100. Though Tamblyn was the band’s original singer, former Mouseketeer Dick Dodd later took over as lead vocalist and sang the enduring tune.
“Dirty Water” became a Boston sports favorite, played after Red Sox, Bruins and Celtics game due to references to a polluted Charles River, the Boston Strangler and the Massachusetts city’s “lovers, muggers and thieves.” The Standells performed the song, written by producer Ed Cobb, at Fenway Park during one of the Red Sox’s 2004 World Series games.
According to Billboard, Tamblyn remained with the group after Dodd left for a solo career in 1968. Tamblyn chronicled his life and career in the 2022 autobiography, “From Squeaky Clean to Dirty Water: My Life with Sixties Garage Rock Trailblazers the Standells.”
Tamblyn and The Standells appeared on “The Munsters” and in the 1967 film “Riot on Sunset Strip,” but that’s not his only Hollywood connection. His brother Russ Tamblyn starred in 1961’s “West Side Story” and his niece, Amber Tamblyn, acted in TV shows and movies like “General Hospital,” “Two and a Half Men,” “The Ring,” “House,” and “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.”
“Thank you everyone for your condolences to our family during this difficult time,” Amber Tamblyn wrote on Instagram Sunday. “He was a brilliant song writer and I loved him very much.”
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