When recorded the band members were Jack Ely (vocalist/rhythm guitar; d. April 28, 2015), Lynn Easton (drummer), Mike Mitchell (lead guitar), Don Gallucci (electric piano) and Bob Nordby (bass guitar). Ken Chase (Kingsmen manager and Portland radio station KISN music director) produced the recording session. Robert Lindahl (Northwestern Inc. recording studio owner) was the audio engineer.
"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 Cashbox chart and #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Additionally in the UK it reached #26 on the Record Retailer chart. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. The B-side of the single was an instrumental, "Haunted Castle".
The band attracted nationwide attention when "Louie Louie" was banned by the governor of Indiana, Matthew E. Welsh, also attracting the attention of the FBI because of alleged indecent lyrics in their version of the song. The lyrics were, in fact, innocent, 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. In April 1966 "Louie Louie" was reissued and once again hit the music charts, reaching #65 on the Cashbox chart and #97 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
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 group Jack Eely And The Courtmen (with the reason for the extra "e" in his surname not clear). 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. ("Louie Louie" was frequently performed at Stooges concerts; the song appears on their live album as well as an Iggy Pop solo record.) 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.
The Kingsmen's 1964 follow up to "Louie Louie" was a party version of "Money (That's What I Want)" which hit the Billboard Hot 100 at #16 and on Cashbox at #17. Then came "Little Latin Lupe Lu" peaking on Billboard at #46 and Cashbox at #49. After that it was "Death of An Angel" #33 on Cashbox and #42 on Billboard.
1965 saw the Kingsmen return to the Top 10 nationally with "The Jolly Green Giant" reaching #4 on Billboard and #8 on Cashbox. The follow-up song was "The Climb" #45 on Cashbox and #65 on Billboard. "Annie Fanny" was released next reaching #43 on Cashbox & #47 on Billboard. Next came "(You Got) The Gamma Goochee" #98 on Cashbox & #122 on Billboard.
In 1966 the Kingsmen continued to hit the charts, with "Killer Joe" reaching #77 on Billboard & #81 on Cashbox. In 1967 they made the chart for the last time with "Bo Diddley Bach" reaching #128 on Billboard.
On November 9, 1998, The Kingsmen were awarded ownership of all their early recordings released on Wand Records from Gusto Records, including "Louie Louie." They had not been paid royalties on the songs since the 1960s.
Original vocalist Jack Ely passed away in 2015, and original guitarist Mike Mitchell in 2021. A reformed Kingsmen performed at the "24 Hour Louie Louie Marathon" in Portland in October 2023, a testament to the enduring fascination with this song.
--Other Groups--
Prior to this group's formation, another group called The Kingsmen operated in 1958 and was made up of members of Bill Haley & His Comets who were moonlighting from their regular work with Haley. This group scored a hit record (#35) on Billboard with the instrumental entitled "Week End", written by Rudy Pompilli, Franny Beecher, and Billy Williamson, backed with "Better Believe It" as the B side. They released a follow-up single on East West Records featuring "The Catwalk" backed with "Conga Rock". 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 name "The Kingsmen", including a gospel vocal group formed in 1956 (also referred to as The Kingsmen Quartet) and bands that were later re-named as Flamin' Groovies, The Gants and 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; also circa 1962-63, Bruza / Magnoli / Nofz / Tomczyk adopted that name in SE MI until dis-banding during the late-1970s.
That's Cool That's Trash
The Kingsmen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
(La-la la-la-la-la la-la, that's cool)
I'm chargin' two bucks to get into my house
(La-la la-la-la-la la-la, that's trash)
You know the food and the drinks are all for free
If you want to pay the cook you gotta find-a me
Now there ain't gonna be any kissin' on the dance floor
And there ain't gonna be any dancin' on the kissin' floor
(La-la la-la-la-la la-la, that's cool)
I got a lot of records for you to hear
But my phonograph hasn't worked for over a year
(La-la la-la-la-la la-la, that's cool)
(La-la la-la-la-la la-la, that's trash)
(La-la la-la-la-la la-la, that's cool)
(La-la la-la-la-la la-la, that's trash)
That's trash
There'll be a lot of cool chicks who love to rock now
(La-la la-la-la-la la-la, that's cool)
They gotta leave by nine o'clock now
(La-la la-la-la-la la-la, that's trash)
But later on we can go for a ride
I got a new motor scooter with Powerglide
The Kingsmen's song "That's Cool That's Trash" talks about a big party that the singer is having at his house. He is charging two dollars as an entry fee, but everything in terms of drinks and food is free. However, if someone wants to pay the cook, then they have to find the singer. The lyrics suggest that there will be no kissing on the dance floor and no dancing on the kissing floor. The singer has a lot of music records, but his phonograph hasn't worked in over a year. There will be some cool chicks at the party who love to rock, and they have to leave by nine o'clock, but they can go for a ride later as the singer has a new motor scooter with Powerglide.
This song talks about a fun party with a unique take on the traditional party elements. The singer's priorities lie in the cool chicks and his new motor scooter, rather than his music player or the traditional dancing and kissing elements at a party. He is charging an entry fee, but this fee is not for the food or drinks, making it an occasion primarily to enjoy the company of his friends and the cool girls.
Line by Line Meaning
There's gonna be a big party at my house
I have a plan to throw a party and invite lots of people.
(La-la la-la-la-la la-la, that's cool)
I'm excited about my party.
I'm chargin' two bucks to get into my house
I'm going to charge admission for people to attend.
(La-la la-la-la-la la-la, that's trash)
I feel bad about charging admission.
You know the food and the drinks are all for free
I'm providing free food and drinks at the party.
If you want to pay the cook you gotta find-a me
I'll be the one handling any payments for food.
Now there ain't gonna be any kissin' on the dance floor
I don't want any couples kissing while dancing.
(La-la la-la-la-la la-la, that's trash)
I'm strict about the no kissing rule.
And there ain't gonna be any dancin' on the kissin' floor
I don't want any couples dancing while kissing.
(La-la la-la-la-la la-la, that's cool)
I'm relaxed about the dancing rule.
I got a lot of records for you to hear
I have a large collection of music to play at the party.
But my phonograph hasn't worked for over a year
Unfortunately, my record player is broken.
(La-la la-la-la-la la-la, that's cool)
But I'm not too worried about it.
(La-la la-la-la-la la-la, that's trash)
But it's still unfortunate that it's broken.
(La-la la-la-la-la la-la, that's cool)
I'm excited about the party overall.
(La-la la-la-la-la la-la, that's trash)
But I also feel bad about some of the restrictions.
There'll be a lot of cool chicks who love to rock now
There will be many attractive girls at the party who enjoy music.
(La-la la-la-la-la la-la, that's cool)
I'm excited about this fact.
They gotta leave by nine o'clock now
Unfortunately, the girls need to leave early.
(La-la la-la-la-la la-la, that's trash)
I'm disappointed they can't stay longer.
But later on we can go for a ride
We can still hang out after the party.
I got a new motor scooter with Powerglide
I have a new scooter that we can ride on.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: P. F. SLOAN, STEVE BARRI
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind