The Kingsmen
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The Kingsmen were a 1960s garage rock band from Portland, Oregon. They are best known for their 1963 recording of Richard Berry's "Louie, Louie", which held the #2 spot on the Billboard charts for six weeks. The single has become an enduring classic.
The group members at the time of the recording were vocalist/rhythm guitarist Jack Ely, drummer Lynn Easton, guitarist Mike Mitchell, piano player Don Gallucci and bassist Bob Nordby. Ken Chase, the music director at radio station KISN in Portland, as well as manager for the Kingsmen, was the producer of the recording session.
"Louie Louie" was kept from the top spot on the charts in late 1963 and early 1964 by The Singing Nun and Bobby Vinton, who monopolized the #1 slot for four weeks apiece. The Kingsmen single reached #1 on the secondary Cashbox charts. The b-side of the single features a saxophone-led instrumental called "Haunted Castle".
After the success of "Louie, Louie", the members of the Kingsmen took varied paths. Easton, whose mother had registered the name of the group and therefore owned it, declared that from this point on he intended to be the singer, forcing Ely to play the drums. This led Jack Ely and Bob Nordby to quit the group.
Ely would later form his own "Jack Ely & the Kingsmen". Don Gallucci was forced out because he wasn't old enough to tour and later formed Don and the Goodtimes, which morphed into the short-lived Touch. Later, Gallucci would become a record producer with Elektra Records, with his most famous production being The Stooges' seminal second album "Fun House". The two remaining original Kingsmen, Lynn Easton and Mike Mitchell, toured as the official band.
Following legal action on both sides, Easton established his right to the "Kingsmen" name. Thus Ely was forced to stop using it, and Easton was forced to stop lip syncing to Ely's vocals. This initially hurt the Easton Kingsmen's popularity, after audiences realized that this was no longer the band they had come to see. Eventually, though, the official band (with Easton on vocals) charted several more singles in the 1960s. Foremost among those was "The Jolly Green Giant", which reached #4 in early 1965. The Kingsmen also had some success with party versions of "Money (That's What I Want)" (#16), "Little Latin Lupe Lu" (#46), "Death of an Angel" (#42) and "Annie Fanny" (#47).
The band attracted nationwide attention when "Louie, Louie" was banned by the governor of Indiana, Matthew E. Welsh, and attracted the attention of the FBI because of alleged indecent lyrics in the Kingsmen's version of the song. The lyrics were, in fact, innocuous, but Ely's baffling enunciation permitted teenage fans and concerned parents alike to imagine the most scandalous obscenities. All of this attention only made the song more popular.
On November 9, 1998, The Kingsmen were awarded ownership of all their early recordings, including "Louie Louie." They had not been paid royalties on the songs since the 1960s. [1]
[edit] Other uses of the name
Prior to this group's formation, another group called The Kingsmen operated in 1958 and was made up of members of Bill Haley & the Comets who were moonlighting from their regular work with Haley. This group scored a hit record (#35) with the instrumental entitled "Weekend". Although the Comets did the actual recordings, when The Kingsmen went on tour a different set of musicians performed instead of Haley's people. The band made at least one appearance on "American Bandstand" in 1958.
Various other groups have used the title "The Kingsmen", including a gospel vocal group and bands that were later re-named as Flamin' Groovies, The Gants and the well-known and highly successful country music group, The Statler Brothers. An a cappella group at Columbia University is traditionally known as The Kingsmen; one incarnation of that group became Sha Na Na.
[edit] External links
[edit] Sources
- Marsh, Dave; Louie Louie (The History and mythology of the world's most famous rock'n'roll song, including the full details of its torture and persecution at the hands of The Kingsmen, J. Edgar Hoover's FBI, and a cast of millions; and introducing, for the first time anywhere, the actual dirty lyrics). Hyperion 1993. ISBN 1-56282-865-7.
- Ace Records, UK; 'Love that Louie' CD sleevenotes.
- Rhino Records; 'The Best of Louie Louie' CD sleevenotes.
- Renaissance Records; 'Touch' CD sleevenotes.
- Eric Predoehl's 'Louie Louie' website
