From being investigated by the FBI for obscenity to being seriously considered as a state anthem: the change in fortunes experienced by “Louie Louie” is unique.
Richard Berry, an R&B singer with a sharp wit and a winning way with three chords, began his recording career in 1953, enjoying a hit here, suffering a flop there. In 1957 he released “Louie Louie”, based on the music of “El Loco Cha Cha” by René Touzet, with lyrics strongly influenced by Chuck Berry’s “Havana Moon”. Like the latter, “Louie Louie” had romantic if scatty lyrics about a seaman missing his lover, this time sung in cod-Jamaican patois. It was hardly earth-shattering and not remotely suggestive. Richard Berry’s “Louie Louie” sold 40,000 copies, a modest success.
Soon afterwards, he wanted to buy his girlfriend an engagement ring. Strapped for cash, he sold his publishing rights to the song for $750. A foolish move, perhaps, but who could have predicted his creation’s rise to glory?
In 1961, Rockin’ Robin Roberts of Tacoma, Washington, recorded Berry’s tune. It was not a hit, but a shambolic garage band from the Pacific Northwest, The Kingsmen, tried to copy it. Their version changed rock’n’roll. It cost $50 to record, but sounded like they’d spent 10 bucks. The guitar player missed a cue at the end of his solo. The drummer dropped his sticks and exclaimed “F**k!”, which is just about audible. The actual lyrics aren’t any more distinct.
Released in May 1963, The Kingsmen’s single was declared the worst single of the week by a Boston DJ. America’s record-buyers begged to differ, finding its chaos raw and exciting. As catchy as nits, it crept up the charts to No 2 in the autumn of 1963, by which time the band had disintegrated.
One interested party was the FBI, which, in 1964, had been alerted to the record’s “obscene lyrics”; rumour had it that The Kingsmen were so nervous about the words, they made them indecipherable. The FBI took the record to its laboratory and frittered away months trying to comprehend the lyrics before it gave up trying.
After The Kingsmen’s hit, few rockers could resist the primitive call of “Louie Louie”. Numerous garage bands released records offering reedy organ and technically poor, viscerally exciting guitar solos — a breeding ground for psychedelia. The Kinks recorded “Louie Louie”, acknowledging they’d built a career on two hits that aped its attitude and form. Otis Redding, The Beach Boys, The Troggs and The Mothers of Invention covered it. The Sandpipers (of “Guantanamera” fame) had a hit with a folk-lite “Louie Louie” in 1966, despite singing it in Spanish. It was the first song Jim Morrison of The Doors performed on stage. Reggae stars Toots & The Maytals took the song to its dream island, Jamaica, in 1972. Motörhead offered a straightforward interpretation in 1978, by which time the song had been declared a foundation stone of punk.
It went hardcore under Black Flag in 1981, hip-hopped with The Fat Boys in 1988, and in 1983 Rhino records issued an album of versions of the song, a format unknown to rock before then. Several further “Louie Louie” collections arrived.
The song’s rise to respectability peaked in 1985. Washington State narrowly rejected a resolution for the song to become its anthem, but its legislature did declare April 12 1985 Louie Louie Day. In return, Richard Berry wrote new lyrics pertaining to Washington. An annual International Louie Louie Day followed, on Berry’s birthday, April 11. The singer had reason to celebrate: in 1986, he was awarded $2m in backdated royalties for his three-chord masterpiece.
Do you have any personal memories of ‘Louie Louie’? And whose is the best version? Let us know in the comments below.
‘The Life of a Song Volume 2: The stories behind 50 more of the world’s best-loved songs’, edited by David Cheal and Jan Dalley, is published by Brewer’s
Music credits: Kingsmen Int'l Licensing, Inc; Grosso Recordings; Best Value Music; Sanctuary Records Group Ltd, a BMG Company; A&M Records Ltd
Picture credit: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images