Though they weren’t technically a one-hit wonder, Portland, Oregon’s The
Kingsmen will be forever known as the group responsible for one of rock and
roll’s foundational records, “Louie Louie”. Formed by drummer Lynn Easton,
guitarist Jack Ely, guitarist Mike Mitchell, and bassist Bob Norby in 1959, they
did not begin as a rock band. They eventually worked up a version of “Louie
Louie” in order to get their audience to dance, and in 1963 they recorded it, in
a single take. The single went to Number 2, where it stayed for multiple weeks
while selling millions of copies thanks in pa...