- Years Active: 1965
- Band Members: Gary Abbott, Lynn Easton, Dickie Peterson, Jack Ely, Dick Peterson, Don Gallucci, Norman Sundholm, Bob Nordby, Mike Mitchell, Barry Curtis
- Genre: Rock & Alternative
- Influenced by: James Brown, Hank Ballard & the Midnighters, The Ventures, Richard Berry, The Coasters, Jerry Lee Lewis, Link Wray, Carl Perkins, Wilson Pickett, Barrett Strong, Elvis Presley
- Followed By: Satan's Pilgrims, Johnny Thunders, Flipper, The Vogues, The Rockin' Ramrods, Ty Segall, Barry & the Remains, Motörhead, The Stooges, The Trashmen, The Horrors, The Dictators, MC5, Michael Yonkers, The Night Marchers, The Sonics, Paul Revere & the Raiders, The Troggs, The Greenhornes
- Similar Artists: Barry & the Remains, Freddy Cannon, The Chocolate Watchband, Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Kinks, Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs, The Sonics, The Standells, The Trashmen, The Troggs, Cannibal & the Headhunters, The Chantays, The McCoys, The Pretty Things, The Premiers, Thee Midniters, The Castaways, Music Explosion, Paul Revere & the Raiders, Liverpool Five
A rock & roll band from Portland, Oregon, the Kingsmen's one big hit "Louie, Louie" defined the garage-band style and became one of the all-time classics. The original lineup included Jack Ely (lead singer and guitar), Lynn Easton (drums), Mike Mitchell (lead guitar), Bob Nordby (bass), and Don Galucci (piano). After Ely had "incorrectly" taught the rest of the band the Wailers version of Richard Berry's "Louie Louie" (thus altering the basic rhythm into the now famous duh-duh-duh, duh-duh, duh-duh-duh, duh-duh riff that has become the only way anyone has played it since), they recorded it for fifty dollars at a primitive local recording studio with only three mikes, Ely hollering the lyrics into an overhead boom mike suspended ten feet in the air. Released on a local label, the record went nowhere after Paul Revere & the Raiders quickly covered it in the Northwest market, although it had quickly become a standard for all teen bands in that area. In 1964, the record started to break nationally, causing the breakup of the original lineup when Easton copyrighted the group's name, informing the other members that he was now sole owner of the Kingsmen and its new lead singer. Ely formed his own Kingsmen, touring at the same time as Easton, who was lip-synching the record whenever possible. Only Easton and Mitchell were left from the original lineup, but they kept scoring big with frat-band versions of "Money" and "Little Latin Lupe Lu," reaching their peak with "The Jolly Green Giant," while Ely languished in relative obscurity and Gallucci formed Don & the Goodtimes. By the early '90s, history had redressed itself somewhat. While replacement members from the Easton version of the band toured as the "original" Kingsmen, Jack Ely finally received some of his due, headlining the 30th Anniversary Louie Louie tour. Though the song itself has been covered repeatedly, the version by Ely and the original lineup remains definitive. ~ Cub Koda, All Music Guide