Yank Barry, alternative “Kingsmen” member- LOUIE of the Week
NOTE: The original posting has been updated with corrections, retractions, and yet contains some of my sloppy accusations that inspired the varous comments. To fully appreciate this post, please read this article in its entirety, as well as the various new comments. I’m preserving some of my mistatements, simply because it’s more entertaining, and you can see the context of the comments.
This week, we highlight a LOUIE LOUIE with an interesting history.
Yank Barry is a man with a controversial background. Yank, whose real name is Gerard Falovitch, was convicted in 2001 for participating in a US$33.7-million deal in 1996 to sell his soy-based VitaPro meat substitutes to the Texas prison system. After six years of courtroom battles, the conviction was thrown out, and Yank was a free man.
Global Village Market was created by Yank as a philanthropic organization to feed a lot of hungry people in the world, and he’s been able to associate himself with such supporters as Muhammad Ali and Celine Dion.
You’re probably saying to yourself…. “that’s all fine, but really.. what’s this all gotta do with LOUIE LOUIE?”
Over the years, Yank has been making various claims of being the singer of the Kingsmen, The big problem is that he was never a member of “the” actual Kingsmen musical group, and he definitely wasn’t the original singer.
This is a video of Yank Barry singing LOUIE LOUIE with Gary U.S. Bonds, shared via the official Yank Barry YouTube channel.
It’s the LOUIE of the Week! Enjoy!
You can read more on Yank Barry at:
http://www.yankbarry.com
http://www.gvmarket.com
… which includes information about his “Kingsmen career”
http://www.yankbarry.com/biography.php
http://www.gvmarket.com/press/million_jan.php
http://www.gvmarket.com/press/african_times.php
http://www.gvmarket.com/press/financial_05.php
CTV News- Yank Barry: Saint or Sinner?
UPDATE: This particular posting has received quite a few comments from the subject himself, Mr. Yank Barry, and a few of his pals. When you read the postings, you will see that Yank is actually threatening to sue over this particular posting, so let me be perfectly clear about what I know of the situation.
I’m certainly not disputing that Yank Barry is doing some good work with his charity. That’s not the issue at stake. He’s done some significant achievements to help others, and that’s something to be proud of.
To Yank’s credit, he’s acknowledged the controversy of his conviction, and he’s shared documents addressing those very issues. There’s a level of transparency on his website that is refreshing, as he’s dealt with the legal system, emerged the victor after some exhausting battles, and now he’s back to the business of running Global Village.
My point is that according to every official representative of the Kingsmen group best known for recording LOUIE LOUIE that I’ve talked to, Yank Barry was never part of this particular group.
That’s not to say that Yank wasn’t in a band callled the Kingsmen. There were a LOT of musical groups called “the Kingsmen.” Bing Crosby recorded with a band called the Kingsmen. Maceo Parker recorded with a band called the Kingsmen. There’s a gospel group called the Kingsmen. The list of “Kingsmen” is actually pretty long.
I won’t argue that Yank was in a band called the Kingsmen, but my point is that it wasn’t the band that was known for recording LOUIE LOUIE. I’m thinking it was an imposter band created to fill an interest in the Kingsmen’s music when the original band wasn’t available.
I just changed the title of this posting. What was once called “Yank Barry, fake Kingsmen member- LOUIE of the Week” is now called “Yank Barry, alternative “Kingsmen” member- LOUIE of the Week.”
Who knows… maybe there’s more to the story that I’m missing? By all means, if you have any additional information on this subject, please share…
At the end of the day yor band LIVE always sucked.
Yank Barry is a star.
He beat Bush.
His book will be a number 1 best seller in January.
He toured with the Kingsmen.
I personally saw him on tour with Gary U.S.Bonds & Ben E. King in the 60S
Get a life.
You really dont have one.
Barry Frank
Hi
This is Gary U.S.Bonds.
I’m getting sick & tired of your crap.
I toured with Yank Barry while he was with The Kingsmen, in the mid sixties.
They were real gigs with the Kingsmen.
These were booked by Premier Talent, a very credible booking agency.
I’ve witnessed 5 Platters, , 3 Temptations, 3 Coasters etc.
I played with your group a few years back.
2 of your guys weren’t t even old enough to have been with the REAL band.
Don’t you think your managers might have put another Kingsmen on tour?
Wake up?
Gary
Be very careful before I sue you.
I have a life, your a washed up band.
I beat George Bush.
I was exonerated not once, but twice.
I auditioned at the Cheetah Club in New York for the lead singer position of the Kingsmen.
My achievements in life like 17 awards for my charitable work around the world, is unchallenged,
My producing & pioneering the first Quadraphonic album is unchallenged.
My achievements in business are unchallenged.
My relationship with Muhammad Ali & all of my Global Village Champions is unchallenged.
What do you have to show?
Govern yourselves accordingly.
Yank Barry
FYI
I will have every artist we toured with write your blog.
Lets see what you post????
I met Yank Barry with the Kingsmen at the Action House on Long Island.
Are you saying I am a liar too.
Go back to bed.
Fadi
Grow up whoever you are.
I played over 10 sessions with Yank.
Like it or not, he was a member of the Kingsmen.
Not his claim to fame
Watch the internet how the Yank Barry fans start beating your excuse for a band.
He was with the Kingsmen.
As a matter of fact I’m one of over 5,000 members of Yank Louie Louie Barry.
You will hear from all of us.
Peace
Terry
My name is Criss Allan
I was sound engineer for the Kingsmen, hired by Premier Talent Agency.
I was sound man for The Rich Kids, The Vagrants & The Kingsmen, on a 8 gig tour in 1967.
Yank Barry at that time was the Lead singer of the group.
NO doubt about it.
I was also sound man for The Left Bank,Tommy James, The Mamas & the Papas, The Rascals, Chuck Jackson & many more.
Lets see what they have to say?
P.S. I watched the video your showcasing.
Why does Gary U.S.Bonds say when I met Yank in the 60s here is a song that he sang.
Are you accusing Gary of being a liar?
I would be real careful???????
Kingsmen.
If you don’t know who I am, Google me.
I “m Roy Cicala.
I have known Yank Barry since mid 1960.
I met him at my studio, which i owned, the Record Plant in New York City.
He laid down 3 tracks with a group called The Kingsmen.
If you don’t recognize my name since your supposed to be in the music business, here are some of the artists I produced.Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon. Aerosmith, Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Presley,Elton John, George Harrison, Hugh Ball with Yank Barry, David Bowie.
Would you say my productions and engineering speak for themselves?
Yank Barry is a hero.
He beat the former President G W Bush in his back yard, but you point out the bogus conviction.
You are not telling the truth about his case, why should anyone believe you about The Kingsmen?
We are starting a movement that will now take on a life of its own.
Enough is enough.
You have never given him the benefit of the doubt.
Where was YOUR group performing in 1967?
we know.
No where?
It was Yank.
We are going to challenge you in the trades.
Yank is known, again check Google, as a great man.
The jig is up my fellow musicians.
Roy Cicala
P.S lets see how transparent and honest your blog is.
I would bet a dime, that nothing shows up.
Are you afraid of the truth?????????????????????????????????????????????????
Dear Kingsmen,
I am pleased that you posted some responses.I would like to make several things clear.
First of all, the arguments about me being with the Kingsmen, started when the U.S government & the Government of Texas successfully made me a pariah on the internet.
That was one of their ways of trying to beat me mentally, physically & financially.
We have not only succeeded in beating Bush twice (I was not let go) I was acquitted once by Judge Lynn Hughes and at a second trial. They are all under investigation by the current government, for obstruction of justice, collusion and malicious prosecution. Every original document is backed up in my book.
For these reasons you became aggressive, about me being a member of The Kingsmen and I don’t blame you at all. I have never said I sang on the record, I have never said that I wrote the song (Fact when Richard Berry passed away there were news bulletins that it was me) I called CNN to clarify that I was alive and did not write Louie Louie, that it was Richard BERRY.
Third point and most important is there were ads in the Village Voice for auditions to replace members of the Kingsmen, because the group had broken up.I went and auditioned. The booking agency was Premier Talent represented by Marc Allen and a manager named Mel Shayne. This seemed very much on the up & up.I was only 21, but not stupid. When I passed the audition as lead singer, we were promised to tour with Gary U.S Bonds, The Drifters, Peter & Gordon and many other acts… we did.
We were even recording a new album at the Record Plant in New York with Roy Cicala.
The sessions and touring stopped, when our co-manager Robert Slater of New Beat Management of New York heard that the ORIGINAL Kingsmen were back together…I would NEVER try and deceive anyone. I was with The Kingsmen, I know now that your group did not know about us, but we did exist.
I am sorry for all of the confusion over the past years, but from my point of view you were just another pawn of the Federal Government, to discredit me.
I hope we can clean things up and I would love to have The Kingsmen be a Global Village Champion.
I am proud to have been a Kinsmen, even though it wasn’t the original band and would be proud for your group to be a part of the Greatest organization for feeding the needy in the world. We would also like for your group to perform with Gary, Ben E. King, Darlene Love & Chuck Jackson at our international convention next year in Chicago.
Lets finally create a soft landing and PEACE. I would like nothing more.
Your other Kingsmen friend,
Yank Barry.
P.S,
I have sent out an email blast to our over 1,000,000 members not to bother your site.
You can reach me at re-invite me on Facebook.
To your credit, I still have faith in my fellow musicians
Bravo.
I owe you a dime
Roy
Kingsmen.
Your header change was a good start.
Yank has done hundreds of charity events.
He’s done around 30 with me performing.
He even got married at a Cerebral Palsy event to raise an extra $5,000. by getting married on stage, with myself as his best man & Joe Frazier, Chuck Jackson & Darlene Love.
Then sang your song and raised $1.000. more.
This is what he does with Louie Louie
I personally have only heard him say that he was a touring member of the Kingsmen.
He has gotten very upset when miss quoted by certain reporters who said either he was the original singer or even wrote the song.
Were all musicians first.
Time to make things right, for all.
Gary
What an odd twist life can sometimes take. Let me see if I can shed some light on some of this. When Louie Louie first hit, I had already parted company with The Kingsmen and started touring with my band, Jack Ely and The Kingsmen. We were booked by Premier Talent out of New York. In Januare 1967 I got drafted into the army. Also, from what I am hearning, Lynn’s group of Kingsmen must have disbanded for a while. So it seems that my former booking agent, Premier Talent, and Lynn’s former manager, Mel Shane, put together a group to take advantage of the gigs that were still out there. It is no discredit to any musicians that these music moguls cashed in on some commissions. It would be interesting to know how they were planning to market a recording product of another “Kingsmen.” If anyone knows any more particulars about this twisting story, it would be fun to know. Thanks for straightening us all out, fellow commenters. It is a good read. All we need now is for Frank Barcelona weigh in on all this, ha, ha.
Blessings to All,
Jack
Hi Jack
Your right on.
The auditions were held when the Kingsmen split up.
I believe Mel Shane owned the name, or pretended to.
Premier & New Beat Management, we’re innocent parties.
Dick Freeberg was just continuing filling the balance of the gigs that we’re booked and then put us on tour with Peter and Gordon (the Lady Godiva Tour)
Ironically Frank lives here in the Bahamas around 5 minutes from me.
I have seen him several times, but he is not well.
He was a guest at my home when Muhammad Ali stayed here.
We talked about the Kingsmen.
He remembered that they represented the group, but had nothing to do with our bookings.
I asked him if there was any way of retrieving the old booking records.
His answer was this was prior to computers and the Premier records we’re long gone.
He recommended I try and find Gladys Markowitz.
You might remember her because she was one of the Kingsmen’s agents.
I would love to talk to you.
Being the REAL voice of Louie Louie, you would be in great company as a Global Village Champion.
Please email me yank@gvmarket.com, so I can give you my numbers.
Peace
Yank Barry
P.S. Gary says hi & that its been ages.
He’s on a 32 gig tour with Bill Wyman in the U.K.
He’s been watching and contributing to the blogs, because we met when I was touring with the group.
I think he and Ben E. King get more upset with the nonsense then I do LOL
Hey Jack.
Your a solid citizen.
Great chops on” Louie Louie”
Roy
Hi Jack.
Thank you for being a straight arrow.
Fellow musician
Neil Floyd
Your a great singer & an honest man
Hi Jack.We worked together in 64.
I had 2 hit singles Slam Bam Thank Ya Ma’Am & I’m In Love With A Playboy Bunny.
Hope your doing fine.
Thank you for allowing the public from your view.
Yank is a great man, with many musical accomplishments.
I watch in awe at the difference he is making in this world.
Keep Rockin
Paul
Good man Jack
You have a new fan
God Bless you.
Fadi
Jack et all.
As many of the attorneys in Yank’s 15 year soap opera, I cannot explain how proud we all are of him.
He stood up for his convictions, like his dear friend Muhammad Ali.
They couldn’t break him.
“Louie Louie” even came up at the trial, to try and discredit Yank.
Judge Lynn Hughes jokingly barked back at the prosecution that “he isn’t charged with bad music”
I don’t believe that proving he was once with the group is one of Yank’s primary goals, but its nice to hear a third side of the story
Good luck
Allan
Judge Lynn Huges jokingly
You still sing it great Yank.
You and Jack should record a new version together
WOW
YANK YOU STILL SOUND GREAT.
KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK FEEDING THE HUNGRY.
Hello
I like very much what Jack had to add. I saw Yank on a talk show in Germany where I live.
The person interviewing Yank said he sang the record Loouie loouie but Yank corrected her.
He said he wad with the new band. This was a big interview with Yank and Muhammad Ali
I have been a Yank Barry fan since.
You beat the Bush dictator Yank.You have made a difference in the poor peoples lives around the world.
God is watching.
Thank you Jack Ely.
I have been loyal to Global Village as a Villager volunteer.
I have seen Yank in the trenches, refugee camps, hospitals & on stage singing Louie for charity.
Here is a fact that the Kingsmen should be proud of. Did you know that Yank has raised over $1,000,000 for charities singing Louie ? This is a known fact that been written about in People Magazine & many newspapers. It hurts to hear Jack’s story.I never knew the facts. Maybe Yank can help him. He lobbied for many artists who we’re ripped off by their managers & record companies. I believe he & Jack are destined to be friends
Have a Blessed day.
Kevin Rath
Hi Yank.
First Yankel, Congratulations! Offences are proven with credible fact, not political persecution, trickery and intimidation. I know for a fact that you politically persecuted since I was too ever since opening my mouth about you. As I pointed out to you in our talk in 2002, it’s amazing how egos in law-enforcment go bananas. I was supposed to “dance for G. W. Bush” when this started as was forced down my throat. Along the way, that same Mr. Bush came to power and told all of us of his Bible readings in the WH. And then shortly out of office he stated that “things in the Bible probably didn’t happen – weren’t true”. Talk about losing the “hearts and minds…!” And after his obvious history I sincerely believe he wouldn’t be welcome in my home town chuch where someday a will be laid to rest. THANK GOD FOR JUDGES!
I have been nothing but harrassed by RCMP/CSIS, end of story, since moving here and things are going to start coming out, nationally, about the law enforcment, you, as the informed on, and I, as the informer, met in this world.
Look what you made of yourself! I’m ridiculously PROUD of you since you fought and succeeded, while I put up no defence, and was destroyed. I’m glad you made it financially, that you obtained the prescence you desired, and when I think of it I smile remembering those meagre resources you started with. The dif. between you and the so-called “people” I met after you is that you “did what you had to do” – they “did what they DIDN’T have to do”, out of pure spite. And after 15 years there is no other opinion I have.
I think of Gary’s teeth and Dov’s: would you like to take a look at mine ‘coz you should see them {:>}!
Thanks for the memories – my – our future is going to be FUN!
(I tried to post this a few nights ago – CSIS blew it down – if it doesn’t get posted this time I’ll call ya.)
Lyndon The Bookkeeper.
Hi Jack. You should have a talk with Dick and Millie. They will let you know how to contact me. This is such a farce.
God Bless.
Hello Eric. The same offer goes out to you.
GB