It's hard to believe, but three simple chords, a sloppy drum beat, and unintelligibly slurred vocals changed history. Although the song was originally written and performed by Richard Berry, Oregon's Kingsmen were responsible for the definitive version of "Louie, Louie," arguably the quintessential rock-&-roll song for all time. The band began performing in the early 1960s, playing a rambunctious mix of R&B and early rock that would later be viewed as one of the first and finest examples of the garage sound. They recorded several albums following the 1963 release of "Louie, Louie," and toured with some of the biggest names in rock before breaking up in 1967. And though they never bested the sublime crudeness of that legendary song, they certainly didn't need to.

Listen to The Kingsmen at Finetune.

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• forrtone on 2008-01-16 09:45:19.433:
  TIMELESS