Lindsay was born in Eugene, Oregon, and was the second of eight children of George and Esther Ellis Lindsay. The family moved to Idaho when he was young, where he attended Wilder High School for a short time. By his own account, Lindsay is one-eighth Cherokee.[citation needed]\n', '

Lindsay began performing at age 15 with local bands that played local venues. He was tapped to sing in a band called Freddy Chapman and the Idaho Playboys after he won a local talent contest. After Chapman left the area, Lindsay saw the other band members and a new member, Paul Revere, playing at a local I.O.O.F. Hall. He persuaded the band to allow him to sing a few songs with them. The next day he was working at his regular job at McClure Bakery in Caldwell, Idaho, when Paul Revere came in to buy supplies for a hamburger restaurant that he owned. This chance meeting began their professional relationship.\n', '

Lindsay became lead singer and saxophone player in a band with Revere and several others. He suggested they call themselves "The Downbeats" after a magazine with the same title. They made some demo tapes in 1960 in Boise, Idaho, and signed with a record company called Gardena Records. The group scored their first national hit with the piano/sax instrumental "Like, Long Hair" which peaked at #38 in the Billboard charts on April 17, 1961.\n', '

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