The Boogie Kings

American group originally founded 1956 in Eunice, Louisiana. The band originally included only three members (Doug Ardoin, Harris Miller, and Bert Miller), and they were playing swamp pop, but it eventually grew into a 12-piece Blue-eyed soul group. The group was disbanded in 1969, but made several reunion gigs before actually successfully reforming in 1991, and at the same returning to perform swamp pop. From the beginning, the group was lead by Ardoin. After he left the band, Harris stepped in, but left the band in 1964. Clint West followed, but he was replaced as a leader by Ned Theall in 1965, a position Theall held until 1967, and eventually from 1991 until his death in 2010. From 1967 to 1969 the group was lead by Jack Hall. The current leader of the group is drummer Ronnie Crowley. After West left the band in 1965, he tried continuing the use of the name "Clint West and the Boogie Kings" without a permission and without an actual link to the Boogie Kings. The original Boogie Kings sued West, and forced him to rename his band to "Clint West and the Kings". More than four decades after the formation of the Fabulous Boogie Kings in Eunice, LA, the Museum of the Gulf Coast in Port Arthur, TX, inducted the band into the Gulf Coast Music Hall of Fame. In addition, the Louisiana Hall of Fame inducted the group in 1994. Two years later, the South Louisiana Music Association bestowed an award for lifetime achievement on the band. The band's original lineup included guitarist Harris Miller, drummer Bert Miller, guitarist Doug Ardoin (aka Doug Charles), and Maurice Guillory, whose stage names included Skip Morris and Skip Stewart. As expressed above, other members have included Duane Yates, Jon Smith, saxophonist Dale Gothia, G.G. Shinn, Gary Walker, Gary Dorsey, Tommy McLain, Jerry LaCroix (aka Jerry Jackson), and Clint Guillory (aka Clint West). Ned Theall, a trumpet player from Abbeville, LA, came aboard during the 1960s. With the trumpeter at the helm, the band diverted from its original swamp pop sound to one that was more in line with blue-eyed soul. Another change was the group's membership, which swelled to about a dozen musicians. The changes brought the Fabulous Boogie Kings gigs in Las Vegas as well as three nationwide tours in the late '60s. The group also worked as backup to other acts both in the studio and during live performances, working with such artists as Ray Charles, B.B. King, the Righteous Brothers, and Otis Redding. By the late '60s, however, the amount of work available to the Fabulous Boogie Kings had dwindled considerably and the following years saw them perform publicly only for reunion shows. During the 1990s, their return to the music scene saw them revert successfully to their swamp pop origins. In 1993, "I Love That Swamp Pop Music" became a regional hit for the band. Swamp Boogie Blues, a full-length album, came next. Most recently, in Feb 2016, Master-Trak Studios went into their studio archive and have issued previously unreleased material recorded in 2009 just prior to the death of Ned Theall. This release features the last known recording sessions including Theall, "The Boogie Kings, Legacy" MT 5099-2 Members: Ronnie Crowley - drums Mark Klein - vocals Steve Morrow - bass guitar Shayne Whitmore - guitar Jeff Fournet - tenor and alto saxophone Mike Pollard - tenor saxophone Mike Ritter - trumpet Edward "Frog" Richardson - vocals Ralph "Bubba" Mire - keyboards, vocals Bubba Boudreaux - keyboards Doug Ardoin (aka Doug Charles) - guitar, vocals Harris Miller - guitar Bert Miller - drums, vocals Mark Jenkins - bass Bryan Leger - Hammond B3, bass Duane Yates - vocals Murphy Buford - horns Norris Badeaux - saxophone Ned Theall - trumpet, arranger Bubba Marks - drums Dan Silas - baritone saxophone Jack Hall - bass, guitar Gary Walker - vocals GG Shinn - horns, vocals Johnny Giordano - Hammond B3, bass, vocals Clint West - drums, vocals Jerry Lacroix - vocals Jon Smith - saxophone Dale Gothia - saxophone Gary Dorsey - bass Ken Yetman - drums James Anderson Little Alfred Linda Clark ("Rosemary" McKeithen) Bubba Robin Glen Guilbeau Ted Broussard - guitar, vocals David Hyde - bass Harry Ravain - drums Robert Wilson - bass "Flash" Gordon Wiltz - Hammond B3 Donnie Martin - horns Jimmy George - horns Jamie Dea - vocals Rick Allen - keyboards Tommy Richard Willie Tee (2) Nick Farkas - keyboards Gerald Romero - bass Allen Wayne Gregg Martinez - vocals Tim Courville - drums Alex Melton - horns Sid Janise - horns