The Kingsmen
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The Kingsmen were a rock band from Portland, Oregon who rose suddenly to fame with their recording of Richard Berry's "Louie, Louie." After their recording of a much altered version of the song became a national hit in 1964. Jack Ely, the singer of Louie Louie quit the group to go to Foothills Jr. College. So, Lynn Easton and Mike Mitchell, another original member, remained with the official band; Jack Ely, formed his own band with the same name; and Don Gallucci, the piano player, formed Don and the Goodtimes (later, Galucci would become a record producer with Elektra Records, with his most famous production being The Stooges' seminal second album Fun House) Easton eventually established his right to the name, and Ely was forced to stop using it. The official band had more hits in the 1960s with party versions of "Money", "Little Latin Lupe Lu" and "The Jolly Green Giant."
The band attracted nationwide attention when "Louie, Louie" was banned by the Indiana governor 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 teenaged fans and concerned parents alike to imagine the most scandalous obscenities. All this attention only made the song more popular.
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 with the instrumental "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 of "The Kingsmen, including a gospel vocal group, and bands that were later re-named as Sha Na Na, Statler Brothers, Flamin' Groovies, and The Gants.