The members of Five Americans first met in Durant, Oklahoma at South-eastern Oklahoma State University in 1962. Under the leadership of lead guitarist, Mike Rabon, they formed a group called the Mutineers. The band played local beer joints and frat dances until the summer of 1964, when Mike suggested that they go to Dallas to try and make enough money to pay for tuition for the following fall semester. With the onslaught of the "British Invasion" by bands with strange sounding names, the group also took on a new handle.