Twas 50 years ago today….

Would you believe that today, April 6th, is the 50th anniversary of the day The Kingsmen stepped into a studio to record to create what they initially thought was a “terrible version” of song that was a regional hit for Rockin’ Robin Robert & The Fabulous Wailers?

Funny how things turn out [...]

RIP: John W. Thoennes, NW musician + promoter

I’m saddened to report that my friend John Thoennes has passed away. John was a musician from Seaside, Oregon that played with a variety of different bands – Patriot, Washington Merry-Go-Round, the All-American Band, Pretty Face, the Disko Band, and his latest band – Yellow Bird.

I first made contact with John [...]

Soul Benders with special guests Jack Ely & Norm Sundholm of Kingsmen – LOUIE of Week

Here’s something you don’t see every day – a special performance by two former members of the Kingsmen that never toured together.

The Soul Benders were performing live in Bend, Oregon, and they had two special guests for their show – Jack Ely and Norm Sundholm of the Kingsmen.

Jack Ely was a [...]

Happy Birthday Jack Ely (original Kingsmen singer) – LOUIE of the Week

Today – September 11 marks a birthday for Jack Ely, original lead singer for the Kingsmen, who created the iconic version of the song heard around the world.

Jack has certainly recorded more than just LOUIE LOUIE. In fact, Jack recently recorded an original composition for his upcoming album.

I’ll let Jack [...]

Jack Ely in Nashville 2011- LOUIE of Week

Jack Ely, the original singer for the Kingsmen‘s LOUIE LOUIE, may be semi-retired from the music biz, but that doesn’t stop him from doing an occasional cameo every now and then.

On July 8th, Jack paid a visit to Nashville, and sat in on a writer’s round with Dawn-joy Thornton, Jeff Cohen, Matt McElravy, [...]

Synth pop Louie- LOUIE of the Week

Time for a blast from the past….

My friend Michael “Mickey Dreadlocks” Dresbach recently shared a special LOUIE LOUIE he recorded for the KFJC Maximum LOUIE LOUIE marathon of 1983. This is one of the handful of LOUIEs that he recorded for this event.

Michael not only recorded some different LOUIEs for the event, [...]

Origins of the LOUIE Project

A few years ago, I shared a comic strip-based blog post that explained how I got involved with the LOUIE LOUIE documentary project. With my new efforts to raise money via Kickstarter.com, I thought it’d be worthwhile to share this comic strip again, with a few minor changes.

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Seaside Memories with James Henry & the Olympics

As I continue to assemble the various pieces of this rather challenging documentary, James Manolides recently contacted me to compare notes on the project.

James is a very important player in the LOUIE universe. Playing with the Frantics in the late 50s-early 60s, he was a member of one of the very [...]

Meet Bob Wayne, of Rhino’s Best of LOUIE LOUIE and Big Daddy

This week, I’d like to introduce the world to someone that was closely involved with the 1983 Rhino record known as THE BEST OF LOUIE LOUIE, a release that was one of the catalysts, along with the KFJC radio marathon, that directly inspired behind this LOUIE LOUIE documentary project. It was the synergy [...]

Jack Ely & the Courtmen – live at Ontario Oregon Armory 2009- LOUIE of the Week

This week’s LOUIE is by Jack Ely & the Courtmen – live at the Ontario Oregon Armory in 2009.

LOUIE die-hards will recognize Jack as the original vocalist for the Kingsmen when they recorded their big hit. Jack left the band after they recorded the song, and never had a chance to tour [...]