In 1965, Sahm formed the band, Sir Douglas Quintet, with a childhood friend, Augie Meyers. A record producer picked the band's name so they would seem British. At the time, music from Britain was so popular in the United States, it had a name: "British invasion". The British name only helped a little. Sahm had a Texas accent and two band members were Hispanic. Some early photographs of the band tried to hide this from music fans.