The Boogie Kings (also known as The Fabulous Boogie Kings) are an American Cajun swamp pop and blue-eyed soul group.
The Fabulous Boogie Kings are celebrating their fiftieth anniversary in show business. The legendary super group has toured the United States several times and has 20 CD’s on the market. The Boogie Kings began as a three piece band in the fifties. After a couple of years, it had grown to six pieces and it kept right on growing until it peaked out at 12 pieces in the sixties. Three recordings were made at that time. Little did the band know at the time that these recordings would become classics and collector’s items. No one knows how many albums were sold, as the band was never paid their royalties. When G.G. Shinn and Jerry “Count Jackson” Lacroix joined the band, it rose to a new level. Ned Theall churned out some magnificent arrangements, tailored especially for the sound of the band. Ned is quoted as saying, “I didn’t create the horn sound, I just tightened it up!” The sixties band wowed Hollywood and Las Vegas audiences. Shortly after that, the Kings took over the East Coast in cities like New York, Miami, Washington D.C. and Boston. The band today is just as great as it ever was, still rocking the house with their unique brand of soul music from the fifties and sixties. The Boogie Kings have decided to do an 18 month tour of farewell concerts. Ned Theall has stated, “As the years roll by, it has become increasingly difficult to perform the shows as usual”. The recent Gulf Coast storms have destroyed many of the familiar venues and clubs where the Kings normally perform. With the emergence of the internet, the Boogie Kings have found a world wide audience for their music. The band has a fabulous website at www.boogiekings.com, and a monthly newsletter that is mailed to more than 50 thousand fans. To date, the group has performed over 13,000 shows, a record that will never be equaled by any other group. Theall has said that the farewell concerts will afford the group the opportunity to say their goodbyes to thousands of fans that have supported the project since they were teen age kids. Ned says that the guys still perform at the top of their game. It is almost a spiritual experience to attend a Boogie Kings event. When asked why he thinks the band has lasted so long, Ned credits the die hard loyalty of their many fans. “We never had a hit record, you know.” We had to build our house one brick at a time, but we built a very strong house”. When asked what the band will do after the farewell concerts conclude, Ned claims, “Oh, we’ll probably make another comeback!” The Boogie Kings have toured with The Righteous Brothers, Otis Redding, Fats Domino, Jerry Lee Lewis, Wilson Pickett and many others. The band mainly performs at festivals, corporate parties, casinos, and other special events. No other organized big band in Louisiana history has been on top of their game after a half century. When you see this great band in person, you will realize why they have survived the test of time.