But, he admitted, the . [114][115], When Jack Ely died on April 28, 2015, his son reported that "my father would say, 'We were initially just going to record the song as an instrumental, and at the last minute I decided I'd sing it. [382], Although the effort failed in the end, a cover of Berry's rewritten version was released in 1986 by Jr. Cadillac and included on the 1994 compilation The Louie Louie Collection. 20 in 1964 and remained on the charts for over two years (131 weeks total) until 1966. The album was reissued in 1997 with additional remixes including one by Ken Abyss titled "Psych Rock (Metal Time Machine Mix)" that, along with the original, heavily influenced Christopher Tyng's Futurama theme song. "[63], On 6 April 1963,[65] the Kingsmen, a rock and roll group from Portland, Oregon, chose "Louie Louie" for their second recording, their first having been "Peter Gunn Rock". Am Dm Louie, Louie, Louie, Loo-eye. ", James Marshall, writing in the February 1993 issue of, Taken from the "Sandinista Sessions" tracks not used for the, The FBI file states, " the record was played at various speeds but none of the speeds assisted in determining the words of the song on the record." Entered ""Bubbling Under" chart April 9, 1966, for one week. behind the guitar solo. "[354], The lyrics controversy resurfaced briefly in 2005 when the superintendent of the school system in Benton Harbor, Michigan, refused to let a marching band play the song in a local parade; she later relented.[355][356]. [138], The Kinks recorded "Louie Louie" on October 18, 1964. [157] An early guitar innovator and "precursor to guitar-hero shredding", his distinctive sound on "Louie Louie" was "liberally laced with fuzztone"[36] created by playing through an overdriven drive-in movie speaker.[158]. Where can you hear the instrumental. It was a liberation for someone like me who was totally unmusical but wanted to have a go.[222]. [71] They also recorded "Jamaica Farewell" and what became the B-side of the release, an original "surf instrumental"[72] by Ely and keyboardist Don Gallucci called "Haunted Castle". Live versions were included on Here They Come! The Sonics released their "blistering makeover definitive punk arrangement"[36] as a 1965 single (Etiquette ET-23) and on the 1966 album Boom. The National Association of Broadcasters also investigated and deemed it "unintelligible to the average listener", but that "The phonetic qualities of this recording are such that a listener possessing the 'phony' lyrics could imagine them to be genuine. Marsh also notes (pp. [203] It was used during the opening credits of Michael Moore's Capitalism: A Love Story and as an ending song in Jim Jarmusch's Coffee and Cigarettes in which Pop took part as himself. [83] Ely had to stand on tiptoe to sing into a boom mike, and his braces further impeded his singing. 10 Great Versions Of Louie Louie Following the death of Kingsmen vocalist Jack Ely, whose vocal turned Richard Berry's song into a rock'n'roll phenomenon, MOJO presents our favourite versions. 35 on the Billboard and Cashbox charts, respectively (the highest charting U.S. version after the Kingsmen). Kids Menu. Hearing the Kingsmen version on a car radio sparks an extended debate among the three Libner brothers (Patrick Dempsey, Arye Gross, Daniel Stern) about the lyrics and whether it is a "hump song", a "dance song", or a "sea chanty" with the eldest and most worldly brother arguing for the last interpretation. In 1967 French composers Michel Colombier and Pierre Henry, collaborating as Les Yper-Sound, produced a synthesizer and musique concrte work based on the "Louie Louie" riff titled "Psych Rock". Dave Marsh in 1993 called their version "the last great "Louie Louie" to date".[275]. 1 hit in the U.S. later the same year, but with the parental roles reversed. [343] In June 1965, the FBI laboratory obtained a copy of the Kingsmen recording and, after 31 months of investigation, concluded that it could not be interpreted, that it was unintelligible at any speed,[344] and therefore the Bureau could not find that the recording was obscene. The crossword clue possible answer is available in 3 letters. [95] The Kingsmen version quickly became a standard at teen parties in the U.S. during the 1960s and, reaching No. There were many covers of the song over the years since it was written. Louie's phone number is 555-0123. [380], Picking up on this initially prankish effort, Whatcom County Councilman Craig Cole introduced Resolution No. "[335] Richard Berry told Esquire Magazine in 1988 that the Kingsmen had sung the song exactly as written[22] and often deflected questions about the lyrics by saying, "If I told you the words, you wouldn't believe me anyway. Louie Louie Louie Louie. The paper printed the lyrics in full, resolving the issue, and resulting in booking the Kingsmen for the fall homecoming entertainment. Copy. [254][255], Bryan Carroll of AllMusic gave the single four out of five stars, saying, "Of the more than 1,500 commitments of Richard Berry's 'Louie Louie' to wax Black Flag's volatile take on the song is incomparable. [391], April 2, 1986 "Louie Louie Day" proclaimed by the state of Oregon. [18] The nearly unintelligible (and innocuous) lyrics were widely misinterpreted, and the song was banned by radio stations. The 2009 compilation album Fat Boys On Rewind included it as well. [142], Sources vary on the impact of "Louie Louie" on the writing of "You Really Got Me" and "All Day and All of the Night". There is no love without one plus one equaling three. Consequence called this version "a rock standard blown up from the inside out" and said, "The bands cover of 'Louie Louie' somehow both honors their rock n roll forebears and spits on their legacy. [387], April 6, 1963 The Kingsmen recorded the version that made "Louie Louie" famous. In 1988, Michael Doucet released a "great vocal treatment"[322] of "Louie Louie" in Cajun French on the Michael Doucet and Cajun Brew album. E Street Band drummer Max Weinberg played "Louie Louie" on his 2017 live Jukebox show,[233] and guitarist Nils Lofgren credited some of his success to "I just happened to play 'Louie Louie' a little different than the other guys. I'm gonna do this song that this black guy wrote. Edith Green - Wendell Wyatt Federal Building, National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, "Garage Rock Anthem "Louie Louie" Turns 50", "Richard Berry, Songwriter of 'Louie Louie,' Dies at 61", "Who Wrote The Seminal Classic Rock Song "Louie Louie"? Danny DeVito. No strangers to controversy themselves, the band pummel the song with their trademark pre-Henry Rollins era guitar sludge, while singer Dez Cadena spits out his nihilistic rewording of the most misunderstood lyrics in rock history."[256]. Released nationally on Columbia label in October 1963. A hotel room in the McMenamins Crystal Hotel in Portland, Oregon has a "Louie Louie" theme including a painting representing the song by artist Jonathan Case and lyrics on the walls. And it's the reason true rock 'n' roll, and true rock 'n' roll bands, will never die. 3)), but not again until two Wammack compilations, That Scratchy Guitar From Memphis (1987) and Scr-Scr-Scratchy! Louie Anderson, longtime comic, game show host and actor who won an Emmy for his role as Christine Baskets in the FX series "Baskets," has died at age 68. Not on the 1979 LP or 1993 CD reissue. Lyrically, the first person perspective of the song was influenced by "One for My Baby (And One More for the Road)", which is sung from the perspective of a customer talking to a bartender ("Louie" was the name of Berry's bartender). Everybody thinks that these white guys recorded it, but a black guy did this. The grand finale each year was the "Celebration of 1000 Guitars" mass performance of "Louie Louie" on the main stage. 26 on the UK Singles Chart,[96] was the preferred tune for a popular British dance called "The Shake". Louie often calls his oldest brother Huey "nerd". A D Em D A D Em D I said, Lou..ie Lou. She was black as the nightLouie was whiter than whiteDanger, danger when you taste brown suga'Louie fell in love overnightNothing bad, it was goodLouie had t. Released on regional Jerden label in April 1963. On 25 October 1978 a pre-recording of the band playing the song was broadcast on the BBC show Top of the Pops,[226] and was subsequently released on the 2005 album BBC Live & In-Session. thecourtsmen 33 subscribers Subscribe 86 Share Save 58K views 14 years ago Jack Ely ofcourse. There is good in the night, Knowing what's wrong from what's right. Later releases featured different lead vocalists on Special Edition (1982, Michael Bradley), Generic Rock & Roll (1993, Carlo Driggs), Flower Power (2011, Darren Dowler), and The Revolutionary Hits of Paul Revere & the Raiders (2019, David Huizenga). (2014). Crumpled pieces of paper professing to be "the real lyrics" to "Louie Louie" circulated among teens. A 1973 live version was released on The Detroit Tapes (2009). Flip 321 was re-released in 1961 with "Louie Louie" as the A-side and "Rock, Rock, Rock" as the B-side. (, Following the death of Kingsmen singer Jack Ely, Mark Lindsay tweeted on April 28, 2015, "To settle it once and for all: Jack Ely/The Kingsmen recorded Louie Louie 3 days BEFORE the Raiders. It was the band's first release with Dez Cadena as singer, replacing Ron Reyes who had left the group the previous year. followed by a sax intro similar to the Rockin' Robin Roberts version (guitar in later releases). Later with the Stooges and as a solo performer, he recorded multiple versions of the song. [116], April 24, 2020 Death of Kingsmen front man Lynn Easton. "Louie Louie" was written by a minor songwriter and performer from Los Angeles named Richard Berry (no relation to Chuck Berry) and was recorded several times in the 1950s, including by Berry,. Meanwhile, the Raiders version, with far stronger promotion, was becoming a hit in California and was also listed as "bubbling under" one week after the Kingsmen debuted on the chart. The Wailers, Little Bill and the Bluenotes, the Frantics, Tiny Tony and the Statics, Merrilee and the Turnabouts, and other local groups soon added the song to their set lists. A significant error on the Kingsmen version occurs just after the lead guitar break. Released on regional Sand label in April 1963. A "rough-edged cover of the garage rock warhorse"[224] with Clarke's guitar emulating the Hohner Pianet electric piano riff, it was released with "Tear Ya Down" as a 7" vinyl single. "[6] Rock critic Greil Marcus called it "a law of nature"[7] and New York Times music critic Jon Pareles, writing in a 1997 obituary for Richard Berry, termed it "a cornerstone of rock". Where can you hear the instrumental. We gotta go Ay ay ay ay ay Louie-o Lou-ay Oh, baby We gotta . hey! "[201], Pop later wrote a new version with political and satirical verses instead of obscenities that was released on American Caesar in 1993. But the song was under investigation by the FBI for two whole years. Alec Palao in the Love That Louie CD sleeve notes highlighted Davies' "supremely lecherous, almost drunken vocal" and suggested that "Davies drew from 'Louie' the urchin persona that populated so much of the Kinks' early work". "Louie Louie" journeyed to its lyrical Jamaican destination with a reggae version "as soulful as it gets"[36] by Toots and the Maytals. It is best known for the 1963 hit version by the Kingsmen and has become a standard in pop and rock. 1947), drummer/percussionist Mel Pritchard (1948-2004), and keyboardist/vocalist Stuart 'Woolly' Wolstenholme (1947-2010). [205], A BBC reviewer said, "The goofy garage anthem becomes both fiery sermon and dance-til-you-drop marathon. [62], Roberts was killed in an automobile accident in 1967, but his "legacy would reverberate down through the ages". [5] Music historian Peter Blecha noted, "Far from shuffling off to a quiet retirement, evidence indicates that 'Louie Louie' may actually prove to be immortal. 97 in Billboard[99][100] and cracking the Top 40 in the Washington market. The Kast Off Kinks continue to perform it live, occasionally joined by Ray Davies at the annual Kinks Konvention. 1948), guitarist/vocalist John Lees (b. [333], In January 1964, Indiana governor Matthew E. Welsh, acting on multiple complaint letters, determined the lyrics to be pornographic because his "ears tingled" when he listened to the record. A fine little girl, she wait for me. Although musically not a true cover version, "Brother Louie", Errol Brown and Tony Wilson's song about an interracial romance, was termed by Dave Marsh as "one of the truest heirs Richard Berry's 'Louie Louie' ever had" based on its theme of separated lovers and its minor key reprise of the chorus. Two days later, a Seattle event commemorated the occasion with the premiere performance of a new, Washington-centric version of the song written by composer Berry. Last October, original members from The Kingsmen came together to. Multiple live versions by Patti Smith, the "punk poet laureate",[212] were released in the mid-1970s on bootleg albums Let's Deodorize The Night, Teenage Perversity & Ships In The Night, In Heat, and Bicentenary Blues, usually as a medley in which Lou Reed's "Pale Blue Eyes" would "sacrilegiously segue" into "Louie Louie". [390], April 14, 1985 "Louie Louie Day" proclaimed by the mayor of Seattle. "[44], The Kingsmen version in particular has been cited as the "rosetta stone" of garage rock,[36] the defining "ur-text" of punk rock,[45][46] and "the original grunge classic". [18] Over the course of the investigation, a "folk legend of modern times that has yet to be bettered for sheer inanity",[36] the FBI interviewed Richard Berry, members of the Kingsmen, members of Paul Revere and the Raiders, and record company executives. Entered chart January 30, 1964, for seven weeks. )[93] "Louie Louie" did reach No. [150], Whether directly or indirectly, the Kingsmen version influenced the musical style of the early Kinks. He took her home to meet his mama and papa, Man, he had a terrible fight. TikTok's current Commercial Music Library of 150,000+ pre-licensed songs includes "Louie Louie" versions by the Kingsmen, the Kinks, Otis Redding, Motrhead, Young and Restless, and the Most.[372]. Released in July 1999, the "Original Mix" version reached No. Louie Louie, oh baby, we gotta go Aye-aye-aye-aye-aye-aye Louie Louie, oh baby, we gotta go Y'know, my little girl, she's waiting for me Sail a ship across the sea On the ship you know I'm all alone I wonder if I'll ever make it home Louie Louie, oh no, we gotta go Aye-aye-aye-aye . Louie Louie Louie Louis Louie Louie Louie Loueye Louie Louie Louie Louis Louie Louie you're gonna cry. Used as a cell phone ringtone by Roy Miller (. Entered chart May 14, 1966, for two weeks. And there are actually practical reasons why the lyrics are so difficult to understand. Brothers, you know what I mean. The music video, directed by Scott Kalvert, was a parody of Animal House with food fights, dancing girls, and togas. The movie trailer also used the Richard Berry and Kingsmen versions. For the American singer, see, Second Wand release with "Lead vocal by Jack Ely" text, Original version by Richard Berry and the Pharaohs, Rockin' Robin Roberts and the Wailers (1961), Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention (1967), Entered chart November 9, 1963, and remained for 16 weeks; peaked in February 1964. [338] Scepter/Wand Records commented, "Not in anyone's wildest imagination are the lyrics as presented on the Wand recording suggestive, let alone obscene. The FBI's FOIA Library contains many files of public interest and historical value. Louie's mom was originally going to name him Rebel. Let's Party, it was also included on the 1983 compilation The Best of Louie Louie, Volume 2. 'Louie Louie, oh no, me gotta go', "The Greatest Debut 45 Records In History", "10 Times Studio Mistakes Created Music Magic", "Herb Alpert Talks Passing on the Kingsmen, Loving the Beatles, and Recording His New LP", "How the Kingsmen Stirred Up Controversy With 'Louie Louie', "After 23 years, 'Louie Louie' cooler than ever", "Indiana Gov. Multiple concert bootleg albums included a live "Louie Louie" version: Reggae 'N' Soul (1988), Notre Dame Game (1981), Rockin' Days (1983), Rock Through The Jungle (1983), Rock & Roll is Here to Stay (1990), Clubs' Stories (1994), Songs for an Electric Mule (1994), Lost & Live (1995), The Boss Hits the Sixties (2009), Satisfaction (2014), Charlotte, NC 04/19/14 (2014), Whos Been Covered By The Boss (2014), Saginaw 1978 (2015), and High Hopes Tour 2014 (2018). Louie Louie, me gotta go. [169] Zappa said that he fired guitarist Alice Stuart from the Mothers of Invention because she couldn't play "Louie Louie", although this comment was obviously intended as a joke. Recording Industry Association of America, One for My Baby (And One More for the Road), You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. They were huge fans of the Kingsmens "Louie Louie" and Dave Davies remembered the song inspiring Rays singing, saying in an interview:[151][152]. Metallic KO (1976) featured a provocative version with impromptu obscene lyrics from the last performance of Iggy and the Stooges in 1974 at the Michigan Palace in Detroit where, according to Lester Bangs, "you can actually hear hurled beer bottles breaking on guitar strings". Another live 1978 version was released on Lock Up Your Daughters (1990) and a 1978 alternate studio track appeared Over the Top: The Rarities (2000). [89], Sales of the Kingsmen record were initially so low (reportedly 600) that the group considered disbanding. Louie Louie: The History and Mythology of the World's Most Famous Rock 'n Roll Song; Including the Full Details of Its Torture and Persecution at the Hands of the Kingsmen, J. Edgar Hoover's FBI . I sailed the ship all alone. Latin American jazz/rock innovator Carlos Santana compared Tito Puente's 1962 "Oye Como Va" to "Louie Louie" saying, " how close the feel was to 'Louie Louie' and some Latin jazz tunes" [163] and " this is a song like 'Louie Louie' or 'Guantanamera'. Among the songs he began performing as an occasional guest singer with a local band, the Bluenotes, in 1958 were "Louie Louie", which he had "rescued from oblivion"[7] after hearing Berry's obscure original single, and Bobby Day's "Rockin' Robin", which gave him his stage name. "[15] Humorist Dave Barry (perhaps with some exaggeration) called it "one of the greatest songs in the history of the world". Louie hates hot dogs, golf, fishing, and surprises. The 2005 "deluxe edition" of Overkill included the original version, the BBC version, and two alternate versions. Dave Marsh in his book Louie Louie: The History and Mythology of the World's Most Famous Rock 'n' Roll Song wrote, "It is the best of songs, it is the worst of songs",[4] and also called it "cosmically crude". Nothing bad, it was good Louie had the best girl he could Last updated: May 13 2021. 2 pop hit, but also helped set the template for garage-rock and later hard-rock guitar. on the Seattle TV station KING, spearheaded an effort to have "Louie Louie" replace "Washington, My Home" by Helen Davis as Washington's official state song. They were founded in Oldham, in September 1966 by bassist/vocalist Les Holroyd (b. [361][362] During a change in format from adult-contemporary to all-oldies in 1997, WXMP in Peoria became "all Louie, all the time," playing nothing but covers of "Louie Louie" for six straight days. Released on Hart's Sand label and plugged on his radio show,[123] their version was more successful locally. [136] As a result, Pete Townshend penned "I Can't Explain", "a desperate copy of The Kinks",[357] released in March 1965.