The Golden Dawn

One of the Texas psychedelic '60s groups on the legendary International Artists label, most famous for the 13th Floor Elevators. In fact, the Golden Dawn sounded a lot like the Elevators, although their lead singer had a gentler, more fragile delivery than Roky Erickson. The similarity wasn't terribly surprising given that lead singer George Kinney had grown up with Erickson, and had once played with him in a pre-Elevators group, the Fugitives. Kinney also played in the Chelsea, which for a time included 13th Floor Elevator Powell St. John.

The Golden Dawn became a part of the International Artists roster with the Elevators' help. They released a decent album in the late '60s, Power Plant, that (again, like the Elevators) featured a florid cover, inscrutable liner notes, and inscrutable lyrics. George Kinney's role in the Roky Erickson saga wasn't finished when the Golden Dawn broke up; he financed the publication of Erickson's book, Openers, which helped get Roky out of Rusk State Hospital.