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Louie Louie

May 08, 2024

This article is about the song. For the American singer, see Louie Louie (musician). For other uses, see Louie Louie (disambiguation).

"Louie Louie" is a rhythm and blues song written and composed by American musician Richard Berry in 1955, recorded in 1956, and released in 1957. It is best known for the 1963 hit version by the Kingsmen and has become a standard in pop and rock. The song is based on the tune "El Loco Cha Cha" popularized by bandleader René Touzet and is an example of Afro-Cuban influence on American popular music.

"Louie Louie"
Single by Richard Berry
A-sideYou Are My Sunshine[1]
Written1955
ReleasedApril 1957 (1957-04)
RecordedApril 1956
StudioHollywood Recorders
GenreRhythm and blues
Length2:09
LabelFlip 321
Songwriter(s)Richard Berry
Richard Berry singles chronology
"Take The Key"
(1956) 		"Louie Louie"
(1957) 		"Sweet Sugar You"
(1957)

"Louie Louie" tells, in simple verse–chorus form, the first-person story of a "lovesick sailor's lament to a bartender about wanting to get back home to his girl".[2]

Historical significance edit

The "extraordinary roller-coaster tale of obscurity, scandal, success and immortality"[3] and "remarkable historical impact"[4] of "Louie Louie" have been recognized by organizations and publications worldwide for its influence on the history of rock and roll. A partial list (see Recognition and rankings table below) includes the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Grammy Hall of Fame, National Public Radio, VH1, Rolling Stone Magazine, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Recording Industry Association of America. Other major examples of the song's legacy include the celebration of International Louie Louie Day every year on April 11; the annual Louie Louie Parade in Philadelphia from 1985 to 1989; the LouieFest in Tacoma from 2003 to 2012; the ongoing annual Louie Louie Street Party in Peoria; and the unsuccessful attempt in 1985 to make it the state song of Washington.[5]

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",[6] and also called it "cosmically crude".[7] Rock critic Greil Marcus called it "a law of nature"[8] and New York Times music critic Jon Pareles, writing in a 1997 obituary for Richard Berry, termed it "a cornerstone of rock".[9] Music historian Peter Blecha noted, "Far from shuffling off to a quiet retirement, evidence indicates that 'Louie Louie' may actually prove to be immortal."[10] Other writers described it as "musically simple, lyrically simple, and joyously infectious",[11] "deliciously moronic",[12] "a completely unforgettable earworm",[13] "the essence of rock's primal energy",[14] and "the immortal international hit ... that defines rock 'n' roll."[15]

Others noted that it "served as a bridge to the R&B of the past and the rap scene of the future",[16] that "it came to symbolize the garage rock genre, where the typical performance was often aggressive and usually amateurish",[17] and that "all you need to make a great rock 'n' roll record are the chords to 'Louie Louie' and a bad attitude."[18]

Music historian and filmmaker Eric Predoehl of The Louie Report described the song as,[19]

Purity. It's just a very pure, honest rock 'n' roll song. It's a song of romantic ideals hidden amongst a three-chord melody. It's an idealistic song. It's a misunderstood song. It's a confusing and disorienting song. It's like a heartbeat.

Humorist Dave Barry (perhaps with some exaggeration) called it "one of the greatest songs in the history of the world".[20] American Songwriter summarized, "It might be the best-known rock song of all time. It might be the most important rock song of all time."[21]

The Kingsmen's recording was the subject of an FBI investigation about the supposed, but nonexistent, obscenity of the lyrics that ended without prosecution.[22] The nearly unintelligible (and innocuous) lyrics were widely misinterpreted, and the song was banned by radio stations. Marsh wrote that the lyrics controversy "reflected the country's infantile sexuality" and "ensured the song's eternal perpetuation",[23] while another writer termed it "the ultimate expression of youthful rebellion".[24] Jacob McMurray in Taking Punk To The Masses noted, "All of this only fueled the popularity of the song ... imprinting this grunge ur-message onto successive generations of youth, ... all of whom amplified and rebroadcast its powerful sonic meme ...."[25]

Original version by Richard Berry and the Pharaohs edit

Richard Berry was inspired to write the song in 1955 after listening to an R&B interpretation of "El Loco Cha Cha" performed by the Latin group Ricky Rillera and the Rhythm Rockers.[26] The tune was written originally as "Amarren Al Loco" ("Tie Up The Madman" or "Tie Up That Lunatic") by Cuban bandleader Rosendo Ruiz Jr. (also known as Rosendo Ruiz Quevedo),[27] but became best known in the "El Loco Cha Cha" arrangement by René Touzet which included "three great chords, solid and true"[28] and a ten-note "1-2-3 1–2 1-2-3 1–2" tumbao or rhythmic pattern.[29][30]

 
"Louie Louie" 10-note riff

In Berry's mind, the words to "Louie Louie" "just kind of fell out of the sky",[26] superimposing themselves over the repeating bassline as he scribbled backstage on a strip of toilet paper.[31][32] 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).[33] Richard Berry cited Chuck Berry's "Havana Moon" and his exposure to Latin American music for the song's speech pattern and references to Jamaica.[34]

Los Angeles-based Flip Records recorded Richard Berry's composition with his vocal group the Pharaohs in April 1956.[21] The Pharaohs were Godoy Colbert (first tenor), Stanley Henderson (second tenor, subbing for Robert Harris), and Noel Collins (baritone). Gloria Jones of the Dreamers provided additional backup vocals. Session musicians included Plas Johnson on tenor sax, Jewel Grant on baritone sax, Ernie Freeman on piano, Irving Ashby on guitar, Red Callender on bass, Ray Martinez on drums, and John Anderson on trumpet.[35]

 
78 RPM release

Flip released the record in April 1957 with "Louie Louie" as the B-side of "You Are My Sunshine", but prior to the song's release, Berry sold his portion of the publishing and songwriting rights for "Louie Louie" and four other songs for $750 to Max Feirtag, the head of Flip Records, to raise cash for his upcoming wedding.[26] Both 7-inch 45 RPM and 10-inch 78 RPM versions were pressed. (An early 45 RPM label misprint exists, reported by Steve Propes, with the title rendered as "Louie Lovie".)[36][37]

A Cash Box review rated the A-side as a B+, but the B-side only rated a B with the comment, "Richard Berry chants a middle beat with a steady, syncopated rhythm that captures an excitement."[38] Local A-side airplay was modest, but then KGFJ deejay Hunter Hancock flipped the record and put the B-side in heavy rotation, resulting in a regional hit, particularly in San Francisco.[39] When Berry toured the Pacific Northwest, local R&B bands began to play the song, increasing its popularity. The song was re-released by Flip in 1961 as an A-side single and again in 1964 on a four-song EP, but never appeared on any of the national charts. Sales estimates ranged from 40,000[40] to 130,000 copies.[32]

Other versions appeared on Casino Club Presents Richard Berry (1966), Great Rhythm and Blues Oldies Volume 12 (1977),[41] and The Best of Louie, Louie (1983). Although similar to the original, the version on Rhino's 1983 The Best of Louie, Louie compilation[42] is actually a note-for-note re-recording (with backup vocals by doo wop revival group Big Daddy)[43] created because licensing could not be obtained for Berry's 1957 version.[8] The original version was included on a 1986 Swedish compilation,[35] but not until the Ace Records Love That Louie release in 2002 did it see wide distribution.[44][45]

In the mid-1980s, Berry was living on welfare. Drinks company California Cooler wanted to use "Louie Louie" in a commercial, but discovered it needed Berry's consent because despite having sold the publishing rights, he still owned the radio and television performance rights.[15] The company asked the Artists Rights Society to locate him which led to Berry's taking legal action to regain his rights to the song. The settlement made Berry a millionaire.[46][47]

While the title of the song is often rendered with a comma ("Louie, Louie"), in 1988, Berry told Esquire magazine that the correct title of the song was "Louie Louie" with no comma.[26][31]

Cover versions edit

"Louie Louie" is the world's most recorded rock song,[48][49] with published estimates ranging from over 1,600[10] to more than 2,000[50] "with ever more still being released and performed".[51] It has been released or performed by a wide range of artists from reggae to hard rock, from jazz to psychedelic, from hip hop to easy listening. Peter Doggett labeled it "almost impossible to play badly"[52] and Greil Marcus asked, "Has there ever been a bad version of 'Louie Louie'?"[53] Paul Revere summarized, "Three chords and the most mundane beat possible. Any idiot could learn it, and they all did."[54]

The Kingsmen version in particular has been cited as the "rosetta stone" of garage rock,[44] the defining "ur-text" of punk rock,[55][56] and "the original grunge classic".[57] "The influential rock critics Dave Marsh and Greil Marcus believe that virtually all punk rock can be traced back to a single proto-punk song, 'Louie Louie'."[58]

Pronunciation has varied widely from Berry's original "Lou-ee Lou-ee" to "Lou-eye Lou-eye" (Kingsmen, 1963), "Lou-ee Lou-eye-ay" (Angels, 1964), "Lou-eye Lou-way" (Sonics, 1966; Iggy Pop, 1972), "Lou-ee-a Lou-way" (Kinks, 1964; Motörhead, 1978), "Lou-way Lou-way" (Clarke/Duke Project, 1981), and others.

1950s edit

Richard Berry was on the underbill for a concert in the Seattle-Tacoma area in September 1957[59] and his record appeared on local radio station charts in November 1957 [60] after "African American DJs Bob Summerrise and Eager Beaver started playing it on their radio shows”.[19] Local R&B musicians Ron Holden and Dave Lewis popularized "Louie Louie", rearranging Berry's version and performing it at live shows and "battle of the bands" events.[61][62]

Holden recorded an unreleased version, backed by the Thunderbirds, for the Nite Owl label in 1959.[63] As a leader of the "dirty but cool" Seattle R&B sound,[64] he would often substitute mumbled, "somewhat pornographic" [65] lyrics in "a live tour de force [that] often lasted ten minutes or longer, devastating local audiences."[44] Lewis, "the singularly most significant figure on the Pacific Northwest's nascent rhythm & blues scene in the 1950s and 1960s",[66] released a three chord clone, "David's Mood - Part 2", that was a regional hit in 1963.

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.[67]

1960s edit

Rockin' Robin Roberts and the Wailers (1961) edit

"Louie Louie"
 
Single by Rockin' Robin Roberts
B-side"Maryanne"
Released1961 (1961)
Recorded1960
Genre
Length2:40 single, 2:32 album
LabelEtiquette ET-1
Songwriter(s)Richard Berry

Robin Roberts developed an interest in rock 'n' roll and rhythm and blues records as a high school student in Tacoma, Washington. 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"[8] after hearing Berry's obscure original single, and Bobby Day's "Rockin' Robin", which gave him his stage name.[68]

In 1959, Roberts left the Bluenotes and began singing with another local band, the Wailers, famed for their "hard-nosed R&B/rock fusion".[69] Known for his dynamic onstage performances, Roberts added "Louie Louie" to the band's set and, in 1960 recorded the track with the Wailers as his backing band.[70] The arrangement, devised by Roberts with the band, was "the first-ever garage version of 'Louie Louie'"[70] and included "one of the true great moments of rock", his ad-libbed "Let's give it to 'em, RIGHT NOW!!" before the guitar solo.[44]

Released as a single on the band's own label, Etiquette, in early 1961, it became a huge hit locally, charting at No. 1 on Seattle's KJR and establishing "Louie Louie" as "the signature riff of Northwest rock 'n' roll".[71] It also picked up play across the border in Vancouver, British Columbia, appearing in the top 40 of the CFUN chart. The popularity of the Roberts release effectively buried another "reasonably close to the Richard Berry/Ron Holden arrangement"[44] version put out at about the same time by Little Bill Englehardt (Topaz T-1305).[70]

The record was then reissued and promoted by Liberty Records in Los Angeles, but it failed to chart nationally.[72] The track was included on the 1963 album The Wailers & Co, the 1964 compilation album Tall Cool One, the 1998 reissue of the 1962 album The Fabulous Wailers Live at the Castle, and multiple later compilations.[73]

Roberts was killed in an automobile accident in 1967, but his "legacy would reverberate down through the ages".[71] Dave Marsh dedicated his 1993 book, "For Richard Berry, who gave birth to this unruly child, and Rockin' Robin Roberts, who first raised it to glory."[74]

The Kingsmen (1963) edit

"Louie Louie"
 
Original release
Single by the Kingsmen
from the album The Kingsmen in Person
B-side"Haunted Castle"
ReleasedJune 1963 (1963-06) (Jerden)
October 1963 (1963-10) (Wand)
RecordedApril 6, 1963
StudioNorthwestern Inc.
Genre
Length2:42 (Jerden), 2:24 (Wand)[78]
LabelJerden 712, Wand 143
Songwriter(s)Richard Berry
Producer(s)
  • Ken Chase
  • Jerry Dennon
The Kingsmen singles chronology
"Louie Louie"
(1963) 		"Money"
(1964)
Wand Re-issue
 
Second Wand release with "Lead vocal by Jack Ely" text

On 6 April 1963,[79] the Kingsmen, a rock and roll group from Portland, Oregon, chose "Louie Louie" for their second recording, their first having been "Peter Gunn Rock". The Kingsmen recorded the song at Northwestern Inc. Motion Pictures & Recording Studios at 411 SW 13th Avenue in Portland, Oregon.[80] The one hour session, originally intended to produce an audition tape for a summer cruise ship gig, cost either $36,[81] $50,[82] or somewhere in between, and the band split the cost.[83]

The session was produced by Ken Chase, a local disc jockey on the AM rock station KISN who also owned The Chase, the teen nightclub where the Kingsmen were the house band. The engineer for the session was the studio owner, Robert Lindahl. The Kingsmen's lead vocalist, Jack Ely, based his version on the recording by Rockin' Robin Roberts with the Fabulous Wailers, but unintentionally reintroduced Berry's original stop-time rhythm as he showed the other members how to play it with a 1–2–3, 1–2, 1–2–3 beat instead of the 1–2–3–4, 1–2, 1–2–3–4 beat on the Wailers record.[84] The night before their recording session, the band played a 90-minute version of the song during a gig at a local teen club. The Kingsmen's studio version was recorded in one partial and one full take.[85] They also recorded "Jamaica Farewell" and what became the B-side of the release, an original "surf instrumental"[86] by Ely and keyboardist Don Gallucci called "Haunted Castle".[83]

The Kingsmen's version with its "ragged",[87] "sloppy",[88] "chaotic",[89] "shambolic, lumbering style",[90] complete with "manic lead guitar solo, insane cymbal crashes, generally slurred and unintelligible lyrics",[91] transformed the earlier Rockin' Robin Roberts version on which it was based into a "bumbling, bear-in-a-china-shop",[92] "gloriously incoherent",[93] "raw and raucous"[94] "stomping garage-rocker"[95] "so wrong it's right".[96] Ely had to stand on tiptoe to sing into a boom mike, and his braces further impeded his "sinew-stretching",[97] "giraffe-neck gabble"[98] singing. The result was a "raw and unsanitized, unmanaged and unscrubbed"[28] effort that the group hated but manager Ken Chase loved. Jerry Dennon's local Jerden label was contracted to press 1,000 vinyl 45s.[99]

The guitar break is triggered by a shout, "Okay, let's give it to 'em right now!", both lifted from the Roberts version.[100] Critic Dave Marsh suggests it is this moment that gives the recording greatness:[101]

[Ely] went for it so avidly you'd have thought he'd spotted the jugular of a lifelong enemy, so crudely that, at that instant, Ely sounds like Donald Duck on helium. And it's that faintly ridiculous air that makes the Kingsmen's record the classic that it is ....

Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth, whose "passion for music was ignited by the Kingsmen's 'Louie Louie",[102] recalled that "the lead singer's [Ely] voice had the air of a boy smoking a cigarette with one hand while banging a tambourine in the other, an insolent distance to his delivery, a vision of being at once boss and bored."[103]

Marsh ranked the song as No. 11 out of the 1001 greatest singles ever made, describing it as "the most profound and sublime expression of rock and roll's ability to create something from nothing".[104] The Independent in Britain noted that it reinforced "a growing suspicion that enthusiasm was more important to rock 'n' roll than technical competence or literal meaning."[32]

Music producer and historian Alec Palao wrote,[44]

This is truly the quintessential garage band moment, an audio-vérité snapshot that communicates directly what red-blooded grass roots American rock 'n' roll is all about ... the Kingsmen's 'Louie Louie' spills forth with a rush of teenage hormones: raw, untutored, yet seemingly ready to take on the world.

A significant error on the Kingsmen version occurs just after the lead guitar break. As the group was going by the Wailers version, which has a brief restatement of the riff twice over before the lead vocalist comes back in, it would be expected that Ely would do the same. Ely, however, missed his mark, coming in two bars too soon, before the restatement of the riff. He realized his mistake and stopped the verse short, but the band did not realize that he had done so. As a quick fix, drummer Lynn Easton covered the pause with a drum fill. The error "imbued the Kingsmen recording with a touching humility and humanity"[44] and is now so well known that multiple versions by other groups duplicate it.[94][105]

First released in May 1963, the single was initially issued by the small Jerden label, before being picked up by the larger Wand Records in October 1963. Herb Alpert and A&M Records passed on the distribution opportunity,[106] deeming it "too long" and "out of tune".[107]

Sales of the Kingsmen record were initially so low (reportedly 600) that the group considered disbanding. Things changed when Boston's biggest DJ, Arnie Ginsburg, was given the record by a pitchman. Amused by its slapdash sound, he played it on his program as "The Worst Record of the Week". Despite the slam, listener response was swift and positive.[108]

By the end of October, it was listed in Billboard as a regional breakout and a "bubbling under" entry for the national chart. 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. For a few weeks, the two singles appeared destined to battle each other, but demand for the Kingsmen single, backed by national promotion from Wand, acquired momentum and by the end of 1963, Columbia Records had stopped promoting the Raiders version.

It entered the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for December 7, and peaked at No. 2 the following week, a spot which it held for six non-consecutive weeks; it would remain in the top 10 throughout December 1963 and January 1964 before dropping off in early February.[109] In total, the Kingsmen's version spent 16 weeks on the Hot 100, selling a million copies by April 1964.[110] "Dominique" and "There! I've Said It Again" by the Singing Nun and Bobby Vinton, respectively, prevented the single from reaching No. 1 (although Marsh asserts that it "far outsold" the other records, but was denied Billboard's top spot due to lack of "proper decorum".)[111] "Louie Louie" did reach No. 1 on the Cash Box and Music Vendor/Record World pop charts, as well as No. 1 on the Cash Box R&B chart.[112][113] It was the last No. 1 on Cash Box before Beatlemania hit the United States with "I Want to Hold Your Hand".[114] The Kingsmen version quickly became a standard at teen parties in the U.S. during the 1960s and, reaching No. 26 on the UK Singles Chart,[115] was the preferred tune for a popular British dance called "The Shake".[116] The first album, The Kingsmen In Person, peaked at No. 20 in 1964 and remained on the charts for over two years (131 weeks total) until 1966.[117]

Due to the lyrics controversy and supported by the band's heavy touring schedule, the single continued to sell throughout 1965 and, after being reissued in 1966 as "Louie Louie 64-65-66", briefly reappeared on the charts, reaching No. 65 in Cash Box, No. 76 in Record World, No. 97 in Billboard[118][119] and cracking the Top 40 in the Washington market.[120] Total sales estimates for the single range from 10 million[34] to over 12 million with cover versions accounting for another 300 million.[121] In July 2023, the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) certified the song silver for sales and streaming figures exceeding 200,000 units.[122]

Another factor in the success of the record may have been the rumor that the lyrics were intentionally slurred by the Kingsmen to cover up lyrics that were allegedly laced with profanity, graphically depicting sex between the sailor and his lady. Crumpled pieces of paper professing to be "the real lyrics" to "Louie Louie" circulated among teens. The song was banned on many radio stations and in many places in the United States, including Indiana, where a ban was requested by Governor Matthew Welsh.[123][124][125][126] These actions were taken despite the fact that practically no one could distinguish the actual lyrics. Denials of chicanery by Kingsmen and Ely did not stop the controversy. The FBI started a 31-month investigation into the matter and concluded they were "unable to interpret any of the wording in the record."[22] However, drummer Lynn Easton later admitted that he yelled "Fuck" after fumbling a drum fill at 0:54 on the record.[127][128][129][130]

By the time the Kingsmen version had achieved national popularity, the band had split. Two rival editions—one featuring lead singer Jack Ely, the other with Lynn Easton who held the rights to the band's name—were competing for live audiences across the country. A settlement was reached later in 1964 giving Easton the right to the Kingsmen name but requiring all future pressings of the original version of "Louie Louie" to display "Lead vocal by Jack Ely" on the label.[131] Ely released "Love That Louie" (as Jack E. Lee and the Squires) in 1964 and "Louie Louie '66" and "Louie Go Home" (as Jack Ely and the Courtmen) in 1966 without chart success. He re-recorded "Louie Louie" in 1976 and again in 1980, and these versions appear on multiple 60s hit compilations credited to "Jack Ely (formerly of the Kingsmen)" or "re-recordings by the original artists".

Subsequent Kingsmen "Louie Louie" versions with either Lynn Easton or Dick Peterson as lead vocalist appeared on Live & Unreleased (recorded 1963, released 1992), Live at the Castle (recorded 1964, released 2011), Shindig! Presents Frat Party (VHS, recorded 1965, released 1991), 60s Dance Party (1982), California Cooler Presents Cooler Hits (recorded 1986, released 1987),[132] The Louie Louie Collection (as the Mystery Band, 1994), Red, White & Rock (2002), Garage Sale (recorded 2002, released 2003), and My Music: '60s Pop, Rock & Soul (DVD, 2011).[133] A solo version by Peterson was also included on the 1999 Circle of Friends, Volume 1 CD.[134]

On 9 November 1998, after a protracted lawsuit that lasted five years and cost $1.3 million, the Kingsmen were awarded ownership of all their recordings released on Wand Records from Gusto Records, including "Louie Louie". They had not been paid royalties on the songs since the 1960s.[135][136]

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.'"[137] When it came time to do that, however, Ely discovered the sound engineer had raised the studio's only microphone several feet above his head. Then he placed Ely in the middle of his fellow musicians, all in an effort to create a better "live feel" for the recording. The result, Ely would say over the years, was that he had to stand on his toes, lean his head back and shout as loudly as he could just to be heard over the drums and guitars.[138]

When Mike Mitchell died on April 16, 2021, he was the only remaining member of the Kingsmen's original lineup who still performed with the band.[139] His "Louie Louie" guitar break has been called "iconic",[140] "blistering",[141] and "one of the most famous guitar solos of all time".[142] Guitar Player magazine noted, "Raw, lightning-fast, and loud, the solo's unbridled energy helped make the song a No. 2 pop hit, but also helped set the template for garage-rock – and later hard-rock – guitar."[143]

Citing it as “the only piece of pop music I can remember from my youth”, British writer Peter Ackroyd selected the Kingsmen's "Louie Louie", along with works by Beethoven, Bach, and Prokofiev as music selections on the BBC Radio 4 show, Desert Island Discs.[144] Britain's Independent in 2015 declared it the "party anthem of the universe".[97]

Paul Revere & the Raiders (1963) edit

"Louie Louie"
 
Original release
Single by Paul Revere & the Raiders
from the album Here They Come!
B-side"Night Train"
ReleasedMay 1963 (1963-05) (Sandē)
June 1963 (1963-06) (Columbia)
RecordedApril 1963
StudioNorthwestern Inc.
Length2:38
LabelSandē 101, Columbia 4-42814
Songwriter(s)Richard Berry
Producer(s)Roger Hart
Paul Revere & the Raiders singles chronology
"So Fine"
(1963) 		"Louie Louie"
(1963) 		"Louie Go Home"
(1963)
National release
 

Paul Revere & the Raiders also recorded a "cleaner, more accomplished"[44] version of "Louie Louie", probably on April 11 or 13, 1963, in the same Portland studio as the Kingsmen.[145][146][147] Personnel included Mark Lindsay (sax, vocals), Steve West (guitar), Paul Revere (bass), and Mike Smith (drums).[148] The recording was paid for and produced by KISN radio personality Roger Hart, who soon became personal manager for the band.[149] Released on Hart's Sandē label and plugged on his radio show,[145] their version was more successful locally. Columbia Records issued the single nationally in June 1963 and it went to No. 1 in the West and Hawaii, but only reached No. 103 on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart. The quick success of "Louie Louie" faltered, however, due to lack of support from Columbia and its A&R man Mitch Miller,[150] a former bandleader (Sing Along With Mitch) with "retrogressive taste"[151] who disliked the "musical illiteracy" of rock and roll.[152]

The Raiders version opened with a distinctive "Grab yo woman, it's-a 'Louie Louie' time!" followed by a saxophone intro similar to the Rockin' Robin Roberts version (guitar in later releases).[153] Another signature phrase was "Stomp and shout and work it on out". Lyrically, only the first verse was used with Mark Lindsay improvising the remaining vocals. The original version also contains a scarcely audible "dirty lyric" when Lindsay says, "Do she fuck? That psyches me up!" behind the guitar solo.[154]

Robert Lindahl, president and chief engineer of NWI and sound engineer on both the Kingsmen and Raiders recordings, stated that the Raiders version was not known for "garbled lyrics" or an amateurish recording technique, but, as one author noted, their "more competent but uptight take on the song" was less exciting than the Kingsmen's version.[155]

Live versions were included on Here They Come! (1965), Paul Revere Rides Again! (1983), and The Last Madman of Rock and Roll (1986, DVD). 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).

The Raiders also recorded Richard Berry's "Have Love, Will Travel", a "'Louie Louie' rewrite",[156] and "Louie, Go Home", an answer song penned by Lindsay and Revere after Berry declined their request to write a "Louie Louie" follow-up,[157] as well as "Just Like Me", a "first cousin to 'Louie Louie'".[158]

The Beach Boys (1964) edit

Surf music icons the Beach Boys released their version on the 1964 album Shut Down Volume 2 with lead vocals shared by Carl Wilson and Mike Love. Their effort was unusual in that it was rendered "in a version so faithful to Berry's Angeleno-revered original"[159] instead of the more common garage rock style as they "[paid] tribute to the two most important earlier recordings of 'Louie Louie' — the 1957 original by Richard Berry and the Pharaohs, and the infamously unintelligible 1963 cover by the Kingsmen".[160] Other surf music versions included the Chan-Dells in 1963, the Pyramids and the Surfaris in 1964, the Trashmen, the Invictas, and Jan and Dean in 1965, the Challengers in 1966, the Ripp Tides in 1981, and the Shockwaves in 1988.[161]

Otis Redding (1964) edit

Otis Redding's "spunky ... free-associating"[44] version was released on his 1964 album Pain in My Heart. Dave Marsh called it "the best of the era" and noted that he "rearranged it to suit his style" by adding a full horn section and "garble[d] the lyrics so completely that it seems likely he made up the verses on the spot" as he "sang a story that made sense in his life" (including making Louie a female).[162]

Other versions by R&B artists included Bobby Jay and the Hawks in 1964, Ike & Tina Turner, the Tams, and Nat & John in 1968, Wilbert Harrison in 1969, the Topics in 1970, and Barry White in 1981.[161]

The Angels (1964) edit

With a version on their 1964 album A Halo to You, the Angels were the first girl group to cover "Louie Louie".[159] Their "unlikely stab at [the] frat rock staple"[163] was also one of the first to deliberately duplicate the Jack Ely early vocal re-entry mistake after the bridge. The Best of Louie Louie, Volume 2 included their rendition.[164]

A Minnesota girl group, the Shaggs, released a version as a 1965 single (Concert 1-78-65), and Honey Ltd. covered the song on a 1968 album and as a single (LHI 1216); however, the distinction of first girl group participation on a version of "Louie Louie" would go to the Shalimars, an Olympia girl group who provided overdubbed backing vocals in 1960 for a recording by Little Bill (Englehardt) released as a single in 1961 (Topaz 1305).[70]

Female solo artist versions in the 1960s included Italian singer Maddalena in 1967 as a single titled "Lui Lui", Ike and Tina Turner in 1968 (released in 1988 on Ike & Tina Turner's Greatest Hits, Volume 2), and Julie London on her 1969 album Yummy, Yummy, Yummy.[161]

The Kinks (1964) edit

"Louie Louie"
Song by the Kinks
from the EP Kinksize Session
ReleasedNovember 27, 1964 (1964-11-27)
RecordedOctober 18, 1964 (1964-10-18)
StudioPye, London
GenreRhythm and blues
Length2:57
LabelPye NEP 24200
Songwriter(s)Richard Berry
Producer(s)Shel Talmy

The Kinks recorded "Louie Louie" on October 18, 1964. It was released in November 1964 in the UK on the Kinksize Session EP, reaching No. 1 on the Record Retailer EP chart.[165] It was also released in 1965 on two US-only albums, Kinks-Size and Kinkdom, and on a French album, A Well Respected Man. Live 1960s versions were released on bootlegs The Kinks in Germany (1965), Kinky Paris (1965), Live in San Francisco (1969), Kriminal Kinks (1972), and The Kinks at the BBC (2012).[166] The Kast Off Kinks continue to perform it live, occasionally joined by original Kinks members.[167]

Sources vary on the impact of "Louie Louie" on the writing of "You Really Got Me" and "All Day and All of the Night". One writer called the two songs "sparse representations of a 'Louie Louie' mentality",[168] while another succinctly called the former "a rewrite of the Kingsmen's 'Louie Louie'".[169] A 1965 letter to London's Record Mirror opined, "Besides completely copying the Kingsmen's vocal and instrumental style, The Kinks rose to fame with two watery twists of this classic...."[170] An opposing opinion was voiced by a different author who noted that the "You Really Got Me" riff is "unquestionably a guitar-based piece, [that] fundamentally differs from "Louie Louie" and other earlier riff pieces with which it sometimes is compared".[171]

Dave Marsh asserted that the Kinks "blatantly based their best early hits" on the "Louie Louie" riff.[172] Other sources stated that Davies wrote "You Really Got Me" while trying to work out the chords of "Louie Louie" at the suggestion of the group's manager, Larry Page.[173] According to biographer Thomas M. Kitts, Davies confirmed that Page suggested that "he write a song like 'Louie Louie'", but denied any direct influence.[174]

Biographer Johnny Rogan noted no "Louie Louie" influence, writing that Davies adapted an earlier piano riff to the jazz blues style of Mose Allison, and that he was further influenced by seeing Chuck Berry and Gerry Mulligan in Jazz on a Summer's Day, a 1958 film about the Newport Jazz Festival. Rogan also cited brother Dave Davies' distorted power chords as "the sonic contribution that transformed the composition" into a hit song.[175]

Whether directly or indirectly, the Kingsmen version influenced the musical style of the early Kinks. They were huge fans of the Kingsmen's "Louie Louie" and Dave Davies remembered the song inspiring Ray's singing, saying in an interview:[176][177]

We played that record over and over. And Ray copied a lot of his vocal style from that guy [Jack Ely]. I was always trying to get Ray to sing, because I thought he had a great voice, but he was very shy. Then we heard The Kingsmen and he had that lazy, throwaway, laid-back drawl in his voice, and it was magic.

Alec Palao in the Love That Louie CD liner 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".[44]

The Sandpipers (1966) edit

"Louie Louie"
Song by The Sandpipers
from the album Guantanamera
ReleasedOctober 1966
Recorded1966
StudioA&M, Hollywood
GenreEasy listening
Length2:45 (single), 2:47 (album)
LabelA&M Records 819
Songwriter(s)Richard Berry
Producer(s)Tommy LiPuma

After their No. 1 hit "Guantanamera", the Sandpipers, with producer Tommy LiPuma and arranger Nick DeCaro, "cleverly revived"[178] the same soft rock, smooth ballad, Spanish language approach with a "quiet, yet majestic",[44] "sweet interpretation"[179] of "Louie Louie", reaching No. 30 and No. 35 on the Billboard and Cashbox charts, respectively (the highest charting U.S. version after the Kingsmen). The success of their "smoky version"[180] heralded the entry of the ever adaptable "Louie Louie" into the MOR and easy listening categories and many followed: David McCallum and J.J. Jones (1967), Honey Ltd. (1968), Julie London (1969), Sounds Orchestral (1970), Line Renaud (1973), Dave Stewart and Barbara Gaskin (1991), and others released singles and albums featuring slower and mellower versions of what had previously been an up tempo pop and rock standard.[181]

Travis Wammack (1966) edit

With the only instrumental version to make the charts, Travis Wammack reached No. 128 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 in April 1966.[182] An early guitar innovator and "precursor to guitar-hero shredding", his distinctive sound on "Louie Louie" was "liberally laced with fuzztone"[44] created by playing through an overdriven drive-in movie speaker.[183]

Released as a single (Atlantic 2322), the track was not included on Wammack's first album in 1972 or any thereafter. It appeared on a 1967 French release (Formidable Rhythm And Blues (Vol. 3)), but not again until two Wammack compilations, That Scratchy Guitar From Memphis (1987) and Scr-Scr-Scratchy! (1989). It was also included on two later various artists compilations, Love That Louie: The Louie Louie Files (2002) and Boom Boom A Go-Go! (2014).

Other notable 1960s instrumental versions included the Ventures, Ian Whitcomb, and Sandy Nelson in 1965, Ace Cannon and Pete Fountain in 1966, Floyd Cramer 1967, and Willie Mitchell in 1969.[161]

The Sonics (1966) edit

The Sonics released their "blistering makeover ... definitive punk arrangement"[44] as a 1965 single (Etiquette ET-23) and on the 1966 album Boom. Later versions appeared on Sinderella (1980) and Live at Easy Street (2016).

Described as a major influence on punk and garage music worldwide,[184] the group's characteristic hard-edged, fuzz-drenched sound and "abrasive, all-out approach"[185] "took the Northwest garage sound to its most primitive extreme"[186] and made their "Louie Louie" version ahead of its time. They also made it more "fierce and threatening"[187] by altering the traditional 1-4-5-4 chord pattern to the "darker, more sinister" 1-3b-4-3b.[44]

Mongo Santamaria (1966) edit

Cuban percussionist and bandleader Mongo Santamaria's version, a "cousin of 'Watermelon Man'",[188] returned "Louie Louie" to its Afro-Cuban roots, echoing Rene Touzet's "El Loco Cha Cha" with his conga- and trumpet-driven Latin jazz version. Originally released on the 1966 album Hey! Let's Party, it was also included on the 1983 compilation The Best of Louie Louie, Volume 2.[164] Other early Latin-flavored versions were released by Pedrito Ramirez con los Yogis (Angelo 518, 1965), Pete Terrace (El Nuevo Pete Terrace, 1966), Eddie Cano (Brought Back Live from P.J.'s, 1967), Mario Allison (De Fiesta, 1967), and Rey Davila (On His Own, 1971).

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" [189] and "... this is a song like 'Louie Louie' or 'Guantanamera'. This is a song that when you play it, people are going to get up and dance, and that's it."[190]

Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention (1967) edit

"Louie Louie" occurred repeatedly as an "idée fixe" in the musical lexicon of Frank Zappa in the 1960s with the Soul Giants[191] and the Mothers of Invention. He categorized the riff as one of several "Archetypal American Musical Icons ... [whose] presence in an arrangement puts a spin on any lyric in their vicinity"[192] and used it initially "to make fun of the old-fashioned rock 'n' roll they had transcended".[8] Although he characterized the Kingsmen version as a "mutilation"[193] and an "Animal House joke",[194] he had a higher opinion of Richard Berry, calling him "one of the most important figures in the West Coast rhythm-and-blues scene of the Fifties"[193] and saying, "No one may not underestimate [sic] the impact of 'Louie Louie', the original Richard Berry version."[195]

His original compositions "Plastic People" and "Ruthie-Ruthie" (from You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 1) were set to the melody of "Louie Louie" and included "Music by Richard Berry" credits.[196] 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.[197]

At a 1967 concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London, Mothers of Invention keyboardist Don Preston climbed up to the venue's famous pipe organ, usually used for classical works, and played the signature riff (included on the 1969 album Uncle Meat). Quick interpolations of "Louie Louie" also frequently turn up in other Zappa works.[198]

Other 1960s versions edit

1970s edit

Iggy Pop (1972) edit

Iggy Pop (then known as Jim Osterberg) began performing "Louie Louie", "a song nearly as old and unkillable as Iggy himself",[234] "with his own version of the dirty lyrics"[235] in 1965 as a member of the Iguanas. Later with the Stooges and as a solo performer, he recorded multiple versions of the song. As the "godfather of punk", he inspired a host of punk rock successors, including many with their own versions as the song became a "live staple for many punk-rock bands of the 1970s".[236][237]

A 1964 instrumental demo cut with Osterberg/Pop on drums was released on Jumpin' with the Iguanas (1995)[238] and a London rehearsal version from 1972 was released on Heavy Liquid (2005) and again on Born in a Trailer (2016). A 1973 live version was released on The Detroit Tapes (2009). 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".[239] ("55 Minute Louie-Louie", released in 2017 by Shave on their High Alert digital album, commemorated the occasion.) Consequence called this version "a rock standard blown up from the inside out" and said, "The band's cover of 'Louie Louie' somehow both honors their rock ‘n’ roll forebears and spits on their legacy. In other words, it's punk at its best."[240]

Pop later wrote a new version with political and satirical verses instead of obscenities that was released on American Caesar in 1993. One lyric in particular captured Pop's long term relationship with the song: "I think about the meaning of my life again, and I have to sing "Louie Louie" again."[241] Far Out Magazine called it "the best version of the song out there".[242] 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. The Just Dance video game also featured this version performed by a dancing Iggy Pop avatar.

Multiple live versions were released on Nuggets (recorded 1980, released 1999), Where The Faces Shine - Volume 2 (recorded 1982, released 2008), The Legendary Breaking Point Tour (recorded 1983, released 1993), Kiss My Blood (1991, VHS), Beside You (1993), and Roadkill Rising (1994).[243]

Toots and the Maytals (1972) edit

"Louie Louie" journeyed to its lyrical Jamaican destination with a "slow skanking"[244] reggae version "as soulful as it gets"[44] by Toots and the Maytals. A shorter version was released as a 1972 single in Jamaica (Jaguar J.49) and the U.K. (Trojan TR-7865) with a longer version included on the 1973 Funky Kingston album, described by rock critic Lester Bangs writing in Stereo Review as "Perfection, the most exciting and diversified set of reggae tunes by a single artist yet released".[245]

A BBC reviewer said, "The goofy garage anthem becomes both fiery sermon and dance-til-you-drop marathon. And, thanks to Toots’ soulman's disregard for verbal meaning, the words are, if anything, even harder to discern than in the Kingsmen's version."[246] Rolling Stone wrote, "And it passes the toughest test of any 'Louie Louie' remake — it rocks hard"[247] while Hi-Fi News & Record Review cited its "incomprehensible majesty" and "crazy vigour" that made it "the best version ever".[248] Another author, writing about the song's use in a scene in This Is England noted, "A black Jamaican band's cover of a black American song, made famous by a white American band, seems an appropriate signifier of the racial harmony that [director Shane] Meadows seeks to evoke ...."[249]

The group performed the song frequently in concert and a live version appeared on the 1998 various artists album Reggae Live Sessions Volume 2. Toots Hibbert also performed it solo and with other acts until his death in 2020, most notably the Red Hot Chili Peppers[250] and the Dave Matthews Band.[251]

"Brother Louie" (1973) edit

Although musically not a true cover version, "Brother Louie", Errol Brown and Tony Wilson's song about an interracial romance, was "strongly inspired by the Kingsmen's classic"[252] and described 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.[253] The original release by Hot Chocolate reached No. 7 on the UK singles chart. A cover version by Stories was a No. 1 hit in the U.S. later the same year.[253] In 1993, the Quireboys' version reached No. 31 in the UK.[254]

Patti Smith (1975) edit

Multiple live versions by Patti Smith, the "punk poet laureate",[255] 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".[161][256] A 1975 live version at The Bottom Line was described as "uptight" with her "raw voice barking out the chorus".[257] Her version has also been described as tapping "directly into the primal, urchin-like spirit of rock's renaissance".[258]

Jon the Postman (1977) edit

Described as "a committed and omnipresent figure on the punk and post-punk scene in Manchester",[259] Jon the Postman became known for waiting until headline bands like the Buzzcocks, the Fall, and Warsaw (later Joy Division)[260] had finished their sets (sometimes before they had finished) before mounting the stage in a drunken state, grabbing the microphone, and performing his own versions of "Louie Louie".[261][262] The first occurrence was at a Buzzcocks concert at the Band on the Wall venue on May 2, 1977,[263] which he described:

I think the Buzzcocks left the stage and the microphone was there and a little voice must have been calling, 'This is your moment, Jon.' I've no idea to this day why I sang 'Louie Louie,' the ultimate garage anthem from the 60s. And why I did it a cappella and changed all the lyrics apart from the actual chorus, I have no idea. I suppose it was my bid for immortality, one of those great bolts of inspiration.[264]

For some reason it appeared to go down rather well. I suppose it was taking the punk ethos to the extreme – anyone can have a go. Before punk it was like you had to have a double degree in music. It was a liberation for someone like me who was totally unmusical but wanted to have a go.[265]

A version of the song by The Fall with Jon on vocals appeared on the Live 1977 album which was described by Stewart Home as taking "the amateurism of the Kingsmen to its logical conclusion with grossly incompetent musicianship and a drummer who seems to be experiencing extreme difficulty simply keeping time".[262] A version with his group Puerile was included on the 1978 album John the Postman's Puerile.

Motörhead (1978) edit

"Louie Louie"
 
Single by Motörhead
from the album Overkill (re-issue)
B-side"Tear Ya Down"
Released25 August 1978
Recorded1978
StudioWessex, London
Genre
Length2:47
LabelBronze/EMI
Songwriter(s)Richard Berry
Producer(s)
  • Neil Richmond
  • Motörhead
Motörhead singles chronology
"Motorhead"
(1977) 		"Louie Louie"
(1978) 		"Overkill"
(1979)

Motörhead's "charming, laid-back rendition of an old rock chestnut"[266] originated as a "cheap one-take demo" produced by Alvin Lee.[267] With support from manager Doug Smith, the track was rerecorded and shopped to Bronze Records. Founder Gerry Bron disliked the "incendiary, almost sullen rendition",[266] labeling it "about the worst record I'd ever heard".[267] Nevertheless, it was released as the group's second single, "purely as a favour" to promoter Neil Warnock, to coincide with an upcoming tour.[267]

A "rough-edged cover of the garage rock warhorse"[268] with Clarke's guitar emulating the opening electric piano riff, it was paired with "Tear Ya Down" on a 7" vinyl single. Supported by a "back-breaking" touring schedule, the "high-octane" version reached No. 68 on the UK Singles Chart.[269] The track also appeared on the CD re-issues of Overkill (1996) and The Best of Motörhead (2000).[270]

Lead singer Lemmy Kilmister said,[271]

I think we did a really good version of it – people tell me that it's one of the few times it's been recorded where the lyrics can be understood! Actually, I only got the first two verses and then the last verse was largely improvised.

On 25 October 1978 a pre-recording of the band playing the song was broadcast on the BBC show Top of the Pops,[272] and was subsequently released on the 2005 album BBC Live & In-Session. Another live 1978 version was released on Lock Up Your Daughters (1990) and a 1978 alternate studio track appeared on Over the Top: The Rarities (2000). The 2005 "deluxe edition" of Overkill included the original version, the BBC version, and two alternate versions.[270]

National Lampoon's Animal House (1978) edit

Bluto Blutarsky (John Belushi) performing "Louie Louie" in National Lampoon's Animal House forever cemented the song's status as a "frat rock" classic and a staple of toga parties. Belushi may have insisted on singing "Louie Louie" because he associated it with losing his virginity,[273] but, according to director John Landis, it was included in the screenplay by soundtrack producer Kenny Vance long before Belushi was involved with the project because "... it would be the song the Deltas would sing".[274]

In the film, the Deltas were clearly aping the Kingsmen version complete with slurred dirty lyrics, but the setting was 1962, a year before the Kingsmen recording. Although Richard Berry released his original version of the song in 1957, and the song had been popular with local bands in the Northwest following Rockin' Robin Roberts' 1961 single, the mythical Faber College was based on Dartmouth College in the Northeast U.S., so the use of "Louie Louie" was an anachronism.[274]

The Kingsmen version was heard during the film along with a brief live rendition by Belushi with Tim Matheson, Peter Riegert, Tom Hulce, Stephen Furst, Bruce McGill, and James Widdoes. A separate version by Belushi played during the credits and was included on the soundtrack album. The Belushi version was also released as a single (MCA 3046) and reached No. 89, No. 91, and No. 91 on the Billboard, Cashbox, and Record World charts, respectively.[118]

Another actor from the film, DeWayne Jessie as Otis Day of Otis Day and the Knights, included a version on the VHS release Otis My Man in 1987.[161] The film's soundtrack producer Kenny Vance (formerly of Jay and the Americans) also released a version with his group The Planotones on the 2007 album Dancin' And Romancin'.[275]

Bruce Springsteen (1978) edit

Bruce Springsteen has had a long association with "Louie Louie", playing it at multiple concerts and guest appearances, and commenting often on its significance.

From the 1979 No Nukes concert:[276]

Rock is primarily about longing. All the great rock songs are about longing. "Like A Rolling Stone" is about longing; 'How does it feel to be without a home?' — "Louie, Louie"! You're yearning for –'Where's that big party that I know is out there, but I can't find it'.

From the 2018 soundtrack album for Springsteen on Broadway (spoken intro to "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out"):[277]

There is no love without one plus one equaling three. It's the essential equation of art. It's the essential equation of rock 'n' roll. It's the reason the universe will never be fully comprehensible. It's the reason "Louie Louie" will never be fully comprehensible. And it's the reason true rock 'n' roll, and true rock 'n' roll bands, will never die.

He has said that "Born in the U.S.A." was "the most misunderstood song since 'Louie Louie'",[278] and one critic characterized The River as "Less Kierkegaard, lots more Kingsmen".[279]

The first known recorded performance was on September 9, 1978, at the University of Notre Dame on the Darkness Tour, followed by other tour performances in 1978, 1981, 2009, and 2014. He also played the song in guest appearances with other groups in 1982 (at the Stone Pony with Cats on a Hot Surface) and 1983 (at The Headliner in Neptune, NJ with Midnight Thunder). Song "snippets" are frequently played within other songs: "High School Confidential", "Twist and Shout", "Glory Days", and "Pay Me My Money Down".

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), Who´s Been Covered by the Boss (2014), Saginaw 1978 (2015), and High Hopes Tour 2014 (2018).

E Street Band drummer Max Weinberg played "Louie Louie" on his 2017 live Jukebox show,[280] and guitarist Nils Lofgren credited some of his success to "I just happened to play 'Louie Louie' a little different than the other guys."[281] Steven Van Zandt remembered it as the record that changed his life, saying, "That's where it all started."[282]

More recently, Springsteen included the Kingsmen's version in a curated "frat rock" playlist on the 25th episode of his From My Home to Yours Sirius XM radio show in July 2021[283] and again as an intro on the 30th episode in October 2023.[284]

Other 1970s versions edit

1980s edit

Black Flag (1981) edit

"Louie Louie"
 
The cover features Black Flag's singer Dez Cadena and some of his improvised lyrics to "Louie Louie".
Single by Black Flag
B-side"Damaged I"
Released1981 (1981)
GenreHardcore punk
Length5:22
LabelPosh Boy
Songwriter(s)Richard Berry
Producer(s)

The Hermosa Beach, California, hardcore punk band Black Flag released a "raw",[302] "rubbished",[303] "brilliant, demented"[304] version of "Louie Louie" as a single in 1981 on Posh Boy Records. It was the band's first release with Dez Cadena as singer, replacing Ron Reyes. Cadena would go on to sing on the Six Pack EP before switching to rhythm guitar and being replaced on vocals by Henry Rollins.[305][306]

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. 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."[307]

You know the pain that's in my heart
It just shows I'm not very smart
Who needs love when you've got a gun?
Who needs love to have any fun?

The single also included an early version of "Damaged I", which would be re-recorded with Rollins for the band's debut album, Damaged, later that year.[307] Demo versions of both tracks, recorded with Cadena, were included on the 1982 compilation album Everything Went Black.[308]

The front cover art shows the main verse of the lyrics to "Louie Louie" over a photograph by Edward Colver featuring Black Flag's third singer Dez Cadena. Both tracks from the single were included on the 1983 compilation album The First Four Years, and "Louie Louie" was also included on 1987's Wasted...Again.[309][310] A live version of "Louie Louie", recorded by the band's 1985 lineup, was released on Who's Got the 10½?, with Rollins improvising his own lyrics.[311]

Continued touring, line-up changes, and occasional reunions resulted in multiple recorded live versions with various lead singers Keith Morris, Ron Reyes, Dez Cadena, Henry Rollins, and Mike Vallely.[312]

Stanley Clarke and George Duke (1981) edit

A duo of "jazz rock fusioneers",[313] bassist Stanley Clarke and keyboardist George Duke, included a "killer version"[314] "funk cover"[315] on The Clarke/Duke Project, a 1981 album of eight original compositions and one cover. The song's combination of narration and singing within a storytelling structure elicited a variety of reactions ranging from "appealing"[316] and "imaginative adaptation"[313] to "probably the funkiest version of 'Louie Louie' ever recorded".[317] One Allmusic reviewer called it "a truly bizarre rendition"[318] while another lamented that the Clarke/Duke version "criminally, never made it onto any of the various artists collections that showcased the legendary Richard Berry tune"[315] (but it was included on The Best of Louie Louie, Volume 2).[164]

A single was also released in Europe (cut to 3:38 from the album's 5:05 length).[319] The album was nominated for a 1982 Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.[320]

Barry White (1981) edit

Disco king Barry White created Richard Berry's "all-time favorite" version[321] as he "reworked and revamped"[322] the original to create a "Latin-tinged"[323] rendition that "took the song from pure rock 'n' roll to pure moan 'n' groan".[321] Not all reaction was positive, however, as CD Review dismissed it as "blasphemy" and "disco-fied".[324]

White commented,

I'm gonna sing just like Richard Berry. I'm gonna do this song that this black guy wrote. Everybody thinks that these white guys recorded it, but a black guy did this.[325]

Dave Marsh summarized Berry's reaction,

In White's arrangement, "Louie Louie" emerges as an up-tempo Latin groove, driven by timbales and congas and punctuated by brilliant trumpet riffs, while White supplements the chorus with the plaintive interpolation "Comin' home, Jamaaaica!" Richard Berry loved it because White's version finally brought to life his original vision of "all the timbales and congas going, and me singing 'Louie Louie'." "Barry White did it exactly the way I wanted to do it," Berry enthused, "I loved it."[321]

In the Beware! liner notes, White wrote,

I would like to take this opportunity to emphasize and give an acknowledgement of credit. The song "Louie Louie" was originally written and created by a man who, I feel, was one of the true pioneers of my time. All my respect, highest admiration and love goes to Mr. Richard Berry.[326]

The track was released on White's 1981 Beware! album, and also as 12" and a 7" single (shortened from 7:14 to 3:35).[327] White also performed it on Soul Train on September 19, 1981, and on American Bandstand on August 8, 1981.[328]

The Fat Boys (1988) edit

The Fat Boys with producers Latin Rascals brought "Louie Louie" up to date in 1988 with a hip hop version which reached No. 89 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and No. 46 on the UK Top 100. Their rap, with rewritten lyrics, "chronicled a pursuit of the song's real words".[329] Dave Marsh in 1993 called their version "the last great 'Louie Louie' to date".[329]

The Fat Boys version was released on the Coming Back Hard Again album on the Tin Pan Apple label, and also on a 12" single (5:42 and 3:50 edits) and a 7" single (3:50 edit). The 2009 compilation album Fat Boys On Rewind included it as well.[330] Notable live performances in 1988 included Club MTV and the MTV Video Music Awards. The music video, directed by Scott Kalvert, was a parody of Animal House with food fights, dancing girls, and togas.[329]

Other 1980s versions edit

1990s edit

Coupe de Ville (1990) edit

Written by Mike Binder and directed by Joe Roth, Coupe de Ville featured an extended scene discussing possible interpretations of the "Louie Louie" lyrics and a closing credit montage of multiple "Louie Louie" versions.

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.[353][354] As the Los Angeles Times noted, "Joe Roth obviously knows the importance of the "Louie Louie" lyric controversy".[355]

Multiple versions played during the closing credits: Richard Berry, the Rice University Marching Owl Band, the Sandpipers, Les Dantz and his Orchestra, the Kingsmen, and Young MC’s "Louie Louie House Mix" (a remix of the Kingsmen version with samples from Richard Berry and the Rice University MOB). The movie trailer also used the Richard Berry and Kingsmen versions.

The soundtrack album, released by Cypress Records on vinyl, CD and cassette, included the Kingsmen and Young MC versions.[356] A 12" EP (Cypress Records V-74500) was released with four tracks: "Louie Rap", "Louie Vocal Attack", "Louie Louie House Mix", and "Louie DePalma Mix" (all "featuring Maestro Fresh Wes" and "produced by Young MC").[357]

A music video of "Louie Louie House Mix", credited to "Various Artists (featuring Young MC)", was concurrently released and included appearances by Robert Townsend ("It’s a hump song!"), Kareem Abdul Jabbar ("It’s a dance song!"), Martin Short, Young MC, and others.[358]

The inclusion of the Kingsmen's "Louie Louie" is a bit of an anachronism in that the film takes place on a trip from Detroit to Florida during the summer of 1963. The initial release of the Kingsmen version on the regional Jerden label was in May 1963, but no significant national radio airplay and chart activity (or lyrics controversy) occurred until October and its national chart debut was not until early November.[359]

The Three Amigos (1999) edit

The first release by the Three Amigos (Dylan Amlot, Milroy Nadarajah, and Marc Williams) was their cover of "Louie Louie". The 12" EP, titled Louie Louie, included "Original Mix", "Da Digglar Mix", "Wiseguys Remix", and "Touché's Bonus Beats".[360] Released in July 1999, the "Original Mix" version reached No. 15 on the UK Singles Chart, higher than the Kingsmen's No. 26 in 1964, and to date remains the last "Louie Louie" version to appear on the US or UK charts.[361]

Other 1990s versions edit

2000s edit

2010s edit

2020s edit

Summary of charting versions edit

Singles edit

Year[a] Artist Peak chart positions Label Album
Billboard Hot 100 [118] Cashbox Top 100 [118] Record World[118] Canada [b] U.K.[254]
1963 The Kingsmen 2 [c] 1 [d] 1 [e] 1 26 [f][g] Wand 143 [h] The Kingsmen In Person[i]
Paul Revere and the Raiders 103 [j] — — — — Columbia 42814 [k] — [l][m]
1966 Travis Wammack 128 [n] — — — — Atlantic 2322 — [l]
The Kingsmen [o] 97 [p] 65 76 — — Wand 143 [o] The Kingsmen In Person[i]
The Sandpipers 30 [q] 35 30 29 [r] — A&M 819 Guantanamera
1975 Goddo — — — 75 [s] — A&M 398 — [l]
1978 Motörhead — — — — 68 [t] Bronze BRO 60 — [l]
John Belushi 89 [u] 91 91 99 [v] — MCA 40950 Animal House
1988 The Fat Boys 89 [w] — — — 46 [x] Tin Pan Apple 871010 Coming Back Hard Again
1999 The Three Amigos — — — — 15 [y] Inferno CDFERN 17 — [z]
Table notes
  1. ^ Ordered by chart entry date.
  2. ^ CHUM chart 1963-1964. RPM chart 1965 and later.
  3. ^ Entered chart November 9, 1963, and remained for 16 weeks; peaked in February 1964. Dave Marsh asserts that "Louie Louie" "far outsold" the No. 1 record "Dominique", but that "proper decorum" was a factor in keeping it from Billboard's top spot.[111]
  4. ^ Also reached #1 on the Cash Box R&B chart. The Billboard R&B chart was not published at this time.
  5. ^ Also reached #1 on the Record World R&B chart.
  6. ^ Entered chart January 30, 1964, for seven weeks.
  7. ^ UK chart position was a composite ranking published by the Official UK Charts Company. Reached #17 in the NME rankings and #27 in Record Mirror per Marsh (p. 142). Also made UK charts in Melody Maker (#27), Disc (#22), Record Mirror (#26), and Pop Weekly (#21).
  8. ^ Released on regional Jerden label in April 1963. Released nationally on Wand label in October 1963. Peak chart position reached in February 1964.
  9. ^ a b Crowd noise overdubs added to simulate live version.
  10. ^ Entered "Bubbling Under" chart November 9, 1963, for three weeks.
  11. ^ Released on regional Sandē label in April 1963. Released nationally on Columbia label in October 1963.
  12. ^ a b c d Included on later reissue/compilation.
  13. ^ Live version included on Here They Come! (1965).
  14. ^ Entered ""Bubbling Under" chart April 9, 1966, for one week.
  15. ^ a b Same version re-issued as "Louie Louie 64-65-66".
  16. ^ Entered chart May 14, 1966, for two weeks.
  17. ^ Entered chart October 22, 1966, for seven weeks.
  18. ^ Entered chart October 17, 1966, for nine weeks.
  19. ^ Entered chart August 2, 1975, for six weeks.
  20. ^ Entered chart September 16, 1999, for two weeks.
  21. ^ Entered chart September 30, 1978, for four weeks.
  22. ^ Entered chart October 21, 1978, for three weeks.
  23. ^ Entered chart October 15, 1988, for three weeks.
  24. ^ Entered chart November 5, 1988, for four weeks.
  25. ^ Entered chart July 3, 1999, for six weeks.
  26. ^ Released as a CD single and on Louie Louie, a 12", four-song EP

EPs edit

Year Artist EP Label Peak chart positions
U.S. U.K.[165]
1964 The Kinks Kinksize Session Pye NEP 24200 —[a] 1[b]
Table notes
  1. ^ U.K. release only.
  2. ^ Also reached #7 on the Record Mirror EP chart.

Albums edit

Year[a] Artist Album[b] Label Peak chart positions
U.S.[117] U.K.[254]
1964 The Kingsmen The Kingsmen In Person[c][d] Wand 657 20 —
The Surfaris Hit City 64 Decca 74487 120 —
The Pyramids The Original Penetration! Best 16501 119 —
The Beach Boys Shut Down Volume 2 Capitol 2027 13 —
Otis Redding Pain in My Heart Atco 161[e] 103 28
The Wailers Tall Cool One Imperial 12262 127 —
1965 Jan & Dean Command Performance[f] Liberty 7403 33 —
The Kinks Kinks-Size Reprise 6158 13 —[g]
Paul Revere & The Raiders Here They Come![f] Columbia 9107 71 —
The Ventures The Ventures a Go-Go Dolton 8037 16 —
The Kinks Kinks Kinkdom Reprise 6184 47 —[g]
1966 Sandy Nelson Boss Beat Imperial 12298 126 —
Mongo Santamaria Hey! Let's Party Columbia 9273 135 —
The Beach Boys Best of the Beach Boys Capitol 2545 8 —[h]
The Swingin' Medallions Double Shot (Of My Baby's Love) Smash 67083 88 —
The Troggs From Nowhere Fontana TL 5355 —[i] 6
The Sandpipers Guantanamera A&M 4117 13 —
1967 The Kinks Sunny Afternoon Marble Arch 716 —[j] 9
Floyd Cramer Here's What's Happening! RCA 3746 166 —
Paul Revere & The Raiders Greatest Hits Columbia 9462 9 —
1969 The Mothers of Invention Uncle Meat[k] Bizarre 2024 43 —
1971 The Kinks Golden Hour of The Kinks Pye Golden Hour GH 501 —[j] 21
1972 Paul Revere & The Raiders All-Time Greatest Hits Columbia 30768 143 —
1975 Toots and the Maytals Funky Kingston Island 9330 164 —[g]
1978 John Belushi Animal House MCA 3046 71 —
1979 The Kingsmen Quadrophenia[l] Polydor 6235[m] 46 23
1981 Stanley Clarke and George Duke The Clarke/Duke Project Epic 36918 33 —
1988 The Fat Boys Coming Back Hard Again Tin Pan Alley 835809[n] 33 98
1990 Young and Restless Something To Get You Hyped Pandisc 8809 104 —
Guru Josh Infinity[o] Deconstruction PL 74701 —[j] 41
1994 Robert Plant Wayne's World 2 Reprise 45485[p] 78 17
1997 The Kinks The Very Best of The Kinks Polygram TV 5375542 —[j] 42
2000 Motörhead The Best of Motörhead[q] Metal-is MISDD002 —[j] 52

Not listed:

Table notes
  1. ^ Ordered by chart entry date.
  2. ^ US/UK charting albums with a "Louie Louie" version.
  3. ^ Released December 1963; entered Billboard chart January 1964.
  4. ^ Crowd noise overdubs added to album version to simulate a live performance.
  5. ^ Released in U.K. on Atlantic 587042.
  6. ^ a b Live version.
  7. ^ a b c U.S. release only.
  8. ^ Not included on #2 U.K. release.
  9. ^ Not included on #52 U.S. Wild Thing release.
  10. ^ a b c d e U.K. release only.
  11. ^ "Louie Louie" clone "Plastic People" included on Absolutely Free (1967, #41) and Mothermania (1969, #151).
  12. ^ Movie soundtrack album only. Omitted from the 1993 CD reissue, but included on the 2000 CD reissue.
  13. ^ Released in U.K. on Polydor 2625 037.
  14. ^ Released in U.K. on Urban URBLP 13.
  15. ^ Included on CD release only.
  16. ^ Released in U.K. on Warner Brothers WB 45485.
  17. ^ Alternate version.

"Louie Louie" compilations edit

Foreign language versions edit

Shortly after the Kingsmen's version charted in late 1963, the first international covers appeared. Since the original lyrics were notoriously difficult to discern, the translations were often inaccurate or adapted to a different storyline. Early foreign language versions included:[392]

  • Los Apson (Mexico), as "Ya No Lo Hagas", on a 1963 single (Peerless 1263) and a 1964 album Atrás De La Raya[161]
  • Joske Harry's and the King Creoles (Belgium), on a 1963 single (Arsa 107)[161]
  • Les Players (France), as "Si C'Etait Elle", on a 1964 single (Polydor 1879) and a 1964 EP (Polydor 27 129)[161]
  • Los Supersónicos (El Salvador), on a 1965 single (DCA 1082) and eponymous album[161]
  • Pedrito Ramirez con Los Yogis (US), on a 1965 single (Angelo 518)
  • I Trappers (Italy), as "Lui Lui Non Ha", on a 1965 single (CGD 9606)
  • Los Corbs (Spain), as "Loui Loui", on a 1966 EP (Marfer M.622)
  • Les Zèniths (Canada), on a 1966 single (Première 825)
  • Maddalena (Italy), as "Lui Lui" on a 1967 single (RCA Italiana 3413)[161]
  • Los Yetis (Colombia), on a 1968 album Olvidate

In 1966 the Sandpipers, a US group, released a slower tempo Spanish language version that reached No. 30 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was covered that same year in German by Die Rosy-Singers.[393]

The 1983 compilation The Best of Louie, Louie featured a "goofy"[188] Russian version by Red Square,[42] and in 1997 an entire album of Spanish covers, The First Louie Louie Spanish Compilation, was released with versions by the Flaming Sideburns, the Navahodads, Los DelTonos, and eight others. Other Spanish versions were released by Los Hermanos Carrion (Mexico), as "Alu, Aluai" on a 1971 album Lagrimas de Cristal Que Manera de Perder, Los Elegantes (Spain), as "Luisa Se Va" on a 1985 album Paso A Paso,[394] and Desperados (Spain), on a 1997 album Por Un Puñado De Temas.

In 1988, Michael Doucet released a "great vocal treatment"[395] of "Louie Louie" in Cajun French on the Michael Doucet and Cajun Brew album. CD Review characterized his version as "oddly appropriate".[396]

More recent non-English efforts included:

  • Elektricni Orgazam (Serbia), as "Lui Lui", on a 1986 album Distorzija
  • Irha (Italy), as "Lui Luisa", on a 1989 EP Beati I Primi (Attack Punk Records - APR 12)[397]
  • Eläkeläiset (Finland), as "Tilulilulei", on a 1994 album Joulumanteli
  • The Dizzy Brains (Madagascar), as "Hiala Aho Zao", on a 2014 album Môla Kely
  • Dynasis (Greece), as "Loui Loui" on a 2019 digital single[398]

Answer songs, sequels, and tributes edit

"Louie Louie" has spawned a number of answer songs, sequels, and tributes from the 1960s to the present:

  • "Louie Go Home", 1964, Paul Revere & the Raiders (Columbia 4-43008); also recorded in 1964 by Davie Jones & The King Bees (David Bowie) as "Louie Louie Go Home" and by The Who in 1965 as "Lubie (Come Back Home)".[44]
  • "Love That Louie", 1964, Jack E. Lee & The Squires (RCA 54-8452); a "brazen attempt to approximate the idiosyncrasies of its predecessor."[44]
  • "Louie Come Home", 1965, The Epics (Zen 202)[391]
  • "Louie Come Back", 1965, The Legends (Shout! Northwest Killers Volume 2, Norton NW 907)[399]
  • "Louise Louise", 1966, H.B. & The Checkmates (Lavender R1936); "a raucous re-write."[44]
  • "Louie Go Home", 1966, The Campus Kingsmen (Impalla V 1481); different song from the Raiders version[400]
  • "Louie Louie's Comin' Back", 1967, The Pantels (Rich RR-120)[401]
  • "Louie Louie Louie", 1989, Henry Lee Summer (I've Got Everything, CBS ZK 45124)[402]
  • "Louie Louie Got Married", 1994, The Tentacles (K Records IPU XCIV)[403]
  • "Louie", 1994, by Phil Milstein on the RRRecords America The Beautiful experimental album; a "smog cloud" tribute collage of dozens of earlier versions.[125]
  • "Louie Louie (Where Did She Roam)", 1996, Thee Headcoats (SFTRI 335)[404]
  • "The Louie Louie Variations", 1996, an "intriguingly titled", "alternative classical" composition by Phillip Kent Bimstein, performed by the Modern Mandolin Quartet, on his Garland Hirschi's Cows album.[405] Bimstein described the work as "a lively fantasy based on the archetypical I-IV-V chord progression ... [that] sends a small fragment on a deconstructive mission through a contemporary classical landscape."[406]
  • "The Ballad of the Kingsmen", 2004, Todd Snider (East Nashville Skyline, Oh Boy Records OBR-031); commentary on the tendency of the "religious right and the government ... to blame rock music for the moral decline of our youth."[407]
  • "Louie Louie Music", 2012, Armitage Shanks (Louie Louie Music EP, Little Teddy LiTe765)[408]
  • "I Love Louie Louie", 2014, The Rubinoos (45, Pynotic Productions 0045)[409]
  • "55 Minute Louie-Louie", 2017, Shave (High Alert, Rockstars Anonymous Music)[410]
  • "I Wanna Louie Louie (All Night Long)", 2018, Charles Albright (Everything Went Charles Albright, Sacramento Records 028)[411]

Parodies and rewrites edit

Due to the song's distinctive rhythm and simple structure, it has been used often as a basis for parodies and rewrites. Examples include:

  • "Lilly Lilly" by Slim Jim. Satirized the mumbled vocals of the Kingsmen version. Released on a 1965 single (Laurie 3226) produced and co-written by Ernie Maresca.[412][413]
  • "Lewis Lewis" by the Rain Kings. Self-released on a 1966 EP with lyrics rewritten by group members Doug Dossett and Steve Lowry.[414]
  • "Plastic People" by Frank Zappa (with Richard Berry co-writer credit). Included on Absolutely Free in 1967 and on You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 1 in 1988.[415]
  • The Lumpen, a Black Panther Party musical group, rewrote "Louie Louie" as a protest song in 1967.[416]
  • "Pharaoh Pharaoh". Written in 1971 by Tony Sbrana. Released on multiple religious music albums (often with added verses).[417]
  • "Wal-ly Wal-ly" by Wally George. Political satire version released in 1984 on a 12" mini-LP (Rhino RNEP 612).[418][419]
  • "Ruthie-Ruthie" by Frank Zappa (with Richard Berry co-writer credit). Recorded in 1974 and released on You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 1 in 1988.[415]
  • "Bernie Bernie" by The Bleacher Bums (with Richard Berry writer credit). Ode to Bernie Kosar released by Leaky Records on cassette and vinyl single in 1987.[420]
  • "Christmas Christmas" by Mojo Nixon. Released on the Punk Rock Christmas compilation in 1995.[421]
  • "Santa Santa" by The '60s Invasion. Released on the 2012 album Incense & Chia Pets: A 60's Christmas Celebration.[422]
  • "Buddy Buddy". Ode to Oklahoma basketball star Buddy Hield written and recorded by Eric Kiper in 2015.[423]
  • "Jedi Jedi". Star Wars parody released online by Royish Good Looks in 2018.[424]

Lyrics controversy and investigations edit

As "Louie Louie" began to climb the national charts in late 1963, Jack Ely's "slurry snarl"[425] and "mush-mouthed",[426] "gloriously garbled",[427] "infamously incomprehensible",[428] "legendarily manic",[429] "punk squawk"[44] vocals gave rise to rumors about "dirty lyrics". The Kingsmen initially ignored the rumors, but soon "news networks were filing reports from New Orleans, Florida, Michigan, and elsewhere about an American public nearly hysterical over the possible dangers of this record".[91] The song quickly became "something of a Rorschach test for dirty minds"[430] who "thought they could detect obscene suggestions in the lyric".[431]

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.[432][433] He referred the matter to the FCC and also requested that the Indiana Broadcasters Association advise their member stations to pull the record from their playlists. An initial FCC investigation found the song "unintelligible at any speed".[434] The National Association of Broadcasters also investigated and deemed it "unintelligible to the average listener", but that "[t]he phonetic qualities of this recording are such that a listener possessing the 'phony' lyrics could imagine them to be genuine."[435] Neither the FCC nor the NAB took any further action.

In response, Max Feirtag of publisher Limax Music offered $1,000 to "anyone finding anything suggestive in the lyrics",[436] and Broadcasting magazine published the actual lyrics as provided by Limax.[437] Scepter/Wand Records commented, "Not in anyone's wildest imagination are the lyrics as presented on the Wand recording suggestive, let alone obscene."[438] Producer Jerry Dennon thanked the governor, saying, "We really owe Governor Welsh a lot. The record already was going great, but since he's stepped in to give us a publicity boost, it's hard to keep up with orders."[439] Billboard noted, "It also seems likely that some shrewd press agentry may also be playing an important role in this teapot tempest."[432]

The following month an outraged parent wrote to Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy alleging that the lyrics of "Louie Louie" were obscene, saying, "The lyrics are so filthy that I can-not [sic] enclose them in this letter."[440][441] The Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the complaint,[442] and looked into the various rumors of "real lyrics" that were circulating among teenagers.[443] 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[444] and therefore the Bureau could not find that the recording was obscene.[22]

Over the course of the investigation, a "folk legend of modern times that has yet to be bettered for sheer inanity",[44] the FBI interviewed Richard Berry, members of the Kingsmen, members of Paul Revere and the Raiders, and record company executives. The one person they never interviewed was the man who actually sang the words in question, Jack Ely, whose name apparently never came up because he was no longer with the Kingsmen.[443][445][446]

By contrast, in 1964 the Ohio State University student newspaper The Lantern initiated an investigation in response to a growing campus controversy. Working with local radio station WCOL, a letter was sent to Wand Records requesting a copy of the lyrics. The paper printed the lyrics in full, resolving the issue, and resulting in booking the Kingsmen for the fall homecoming entertainment.[447]

In a 1964 interview, Lynn Easton of the Kingsmen said, "We took the words from the original version and recorded them faithfully",[433] and group member Barry Curtis later added, "Richard Berry never wrote dirty lyrics ... you listen and you hear what you want to hear."[19] Richard Berry told Esquire in 1988 that the Kingsmen had sung the song exactly as written[26] and often deflected questions about the lyrics by saying, "If I told you the words, you wouldn't believe me anyway."[448][449]

In a 1991 Dave Marsh interview, Governor Welsh "emphatically denied being a censor", claiming he never banned the record and only suggested that it not be played. Marsh disagreed, saying, "If a record isn't played at the suggestion of the state's chief executive, it has been banned."[450]

A history of the song and its notoriety was published in 1993 by Dave Marsh, including an extensive recounting of the multiple lyrics investigations,[451] but he was unable to obtain permission to publish the song's actual lyrics[452] because the then current owner, Windswept Pacific, wanted people to "continue to fantasize what the words are".[453] Marsh noted that the lyrics controversy "reflected the country's infantile sexuality" and "ensured the song's eternal perpetuation"; he also included multiple versions of the supposed "dirty lyrics".[23] Other authors noted that the song "reap[ed] the benefits that accrue from being pursued by the guardians of public morals"[454] and "[s]uch stupidity helped ensure 'Louie Louie' a long and prosperous life."[455]

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.[2]

Cultural impact edit

Book edit

Music critic Dave Marsh wrote a 245-page book about the song, 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 F.B.I, and a Cast of Millions.[456]

The Who edit

The Who were impacted in their early recording career by the riff/rhythm of "Louie Louie", owing to the song's influence on the Kinks, who were also produced by Shel Talmy. Talmy wanted the successful sounds of the Kinks' 1964 hits "You Really Got Me", "All Day and All of the Night", and "Till the End of the Day" to be copied by the Who.[159] As a result, Pete Townshend penned "I Can't Explain", "a desperate copy of The Kinks",[457] released in March 1965. The Who also covered the 1964 Lindsay-Revere sequel "Louie Go Home" in 1965 as "Lubie (Come Back Home)".

In 1979, "Louie Louie" (Kingsmen version) was included on the Quadrophenia soundtrack album, and in 1980 the group performed a brief version in concert at the Los Angeles Sports Arena.[458][459] In his 1993 book, Dave Marsh compared Keith Moon's drumming style to Lynn Easton of the Kingsmen.[460]

"Psyché Rock" and Futurama edit

In 1967 French composers Michel Colombier and Pierre Henry, collaborating as Les Yper-Sound, produced a synthesizer and musique concrète work based on the "Louie Louie" riff titled "Psyché Rock".[461] They subsequently worked with choreographer Maurice Béjart on a "Psyché Rock"-based score for the ballet Messe pour le temps présent. The full score with multiple mixes of "Psyché Rock" was released the same year on the album Métamorphose. The album was reissued in 1997 with additional remixes including one by Ken Abyss titled "Psyché Rock (Metal Time Machine Mix)" which, along with the original, "... Christopher Tyng reworked into the theme song for the animated television comedy series Futurama."[462][463][464]

"Louie Louie" marathons edit

In the early 1980s, KPFK DJs Art Damage and Chuck Steak began hosting a weekly "Battle of the Louie Louie" contest featuring multiple renditions and listener voting.[15] In 1981, KFJC DJ Jeff "Stretch" Riedle broadcast a full hour of various versions. Soon after, KALX in Berkeley responded and the two stations engaged in a "Louie Louie" marathon battle with each increasing the number of versions played. KFJC's Maximum Louie Louie Marathon topped the competition in August 1983 with 823 versions played over 63 hours, plus in studio performances by Richard Berry and Jack Ely.[465][466]

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.[467] Other stations used the same idea to introduce format changes including WWSW (Pittsburgh), KROX (Dallas), WNOR (Norfolk), and WRQN (Toledo).[468][469]

In 2011, KFJC celebrated International Louie Louie Day with a reprise of its 1983 event, featuring multiple "Louie Louie" versions, new music by Richard Berry and appearances by musicians, DJs, and celebrities with "Louie Louie" connections.[470] In April 2015, Orme Radio broadcast the First Italian Louie Louie Marathon, playing 279 versions in 24 hours.[471] In 2023, the city of Portland hosted a 24-hour live marathon to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Kingsmen version.[472]

Use in movies edit

Various versions of "Louie Louie" have appeared in the films listed below.[473]

Year Title Version(s) On OST
Album 		Comments
1969 Zavolies (Ζαβολιές) [a] Fotis Lazaridis Orchestra n/a Greece release
1972 Tijuana Blue [b] Kingsmen n/a
1973 American Graffiti Flash Cadillac No [c]
1978 National Lampoon's Animal House Kingsmen, Cast, John Belushi [d] Yes [e] Billboard #71
1979 Quadrophenia Kingsmen Yes [f] Billboard #46; UK #23 [g]
1983 Heart Like A Wheel Jack Ely No
Nightmares Black Flag Yes
1984 Blood Simple Toots and the Maytals No
1986 The Cult: Live In Milan [h] The Cult No Italy release
1987 Survival Game [i] Kingsmen n/a Also in trailer
The Return of Sherlock Holmes Cast (uncredited bar band) n/a TV movie
1988 The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! Marching Owl Band [j] Yes
Love at Stake Kingsmen No
1989 Fright Night Part 2 Black Flag No
1990 Coupe de Ville Kingsmen, Young MC [k] Yes
1991 Reality 86'd Black Flag n/a
1992 Jennifer 8 Kingsmen No
Passed Away Kingsmen Yes
Dave Cast (Kevin Kline) No
1993 Wayne's World 2 Robert Plant Yes [l] Billboard #78; UK #17
1994 A Simple Twist of Fate Cast (party singalong) No
1995 Mr. Holland's Opus Cast (student band instrumental) No
Man of the House Kingsmen n/a
1996 Down Periscope USS Stingray crew (Kelsey Grammer and others) n/a
1997 My Best Friend's Wedding Kingsmen No
1998 ABC - The Alphabetic Tribe [m] Kingsmen, Sandpipers n/a Swiss release
Wild Things Iggy Pop No
2001 Say It Isn't So Kingsmen No
2002 La Bande du drugstore Full Spirits Yes France release
24 Hour Party People John The Postman, Factory All Stars No UK release
2003 Old School Black Flag Yes Kingsmen tribute [n]
Coffee and Cigarettes Richard Berry, Iggy Pop Yes
2004 Friday Night Lights Cast (marching band instrumental) No
2005 Guy X Kingsmen n/a
2006 This Is England Toots and the Maytals Yes UK release
Bobby Cast (Demi Moore) [o] Yes
2009 Capitalism: A Love Story Iggy Pop n/a
2010 Lemmy Motörhead n/a UK release
Knight and Day Kingsmen [p] No
Tournée Nomads, Kingsmen Yes [q] France release
2012 Best Possible Taste: The Kenny Everett Story [r] Kingsmen n/a UK TV movie
2013 Il était une fois les Boys King Melrose Yes Canada release
Her Aim Is True Sonics, Wailers n/a Sonics version also in trailer
2014 Desert Dancer Jack Ely No UK release
2018 A Futile and Stupid Gesture Kingsmen n/a
2019 Assholes: A Theory Kingsmen [s] n/a Canada release
2020 The Way Back Cast (pep band instrumental) No
2021 Penguin Bloom Kingsmen n/a Australia release

The Kingsmen version was used in television commercials for Spaced Invaders (1990), but did not appear in the movie.[t] The Kingsmen version also appeared on More American Graffiti (1975) and Good Morning Vietnam (1987) compilations, but was not used in either movie.

Movie table notes
  1. ^ Zavolies at IMDb  
  2. ^ "Tijuana Blue Soundtrack (1972)". ringostrack.com. Ringostrack.
  3. ^ Not on the 1973 OST album or the 1979 More American Graffiti album.
  4. ^ The Kingsmen version is heard during the film as is an impromptu version by John Belushi, Tim Matheson, Peter Riegert, Tom Hulce, Stephen Furst, Bruce McGill, and James Widdoes. Both versions were used in the trailer. A separately recorded version by John Belushi plays over the closing credits and was released as a single.
  5. ^ Only the John Belushi version is on the soundtrack album.
  6. ^ Not on the original 1973 album. Included on the 1979 soundtrack LP and subsequent CD reissues.
  7. ^ Chart rankings for 1979 soundtrack album. The original 1973 LP (without a "Louie Louie" version) reached #2 in the US and the UK.
  8. ^ The Cult: Live in Milan at IMDb  
  9. ^ Survival Game at IMDb  
  10. ^ In the film the USC Trojan Marching Band is shown but the Rice University MOB version is heard.
  11. ^ The Kingsmen version occurs during the film. The Young MC "Louie Louie House Mix" (feat. Maestro Fresh Wes) plays during the credits and samples versions by Richard Berry, the Kingsmen, and the Rice University Marching Owl Band. Both versions are on the soundtrack album
  12. ^ Also included on the Sixty Six to Timbuktu compilation album.
  13. ^ ABC – The Alphabetic Tribe at IMDb  
  14. ^ A recreation of the 1965 The Kingsmen in Person album cover occurs when the main characters, dressed in cardigan sweaters, walk down the Janss Steps located on the UCLA campus.
  15. ^ Imitation of 1969 Julie London version.
  16. ^ Used as a cell phone ringtone by Roy Miller (Tom Cruise) character.
  17. ^ Nomads version only.
  18. ^ Best Possible Taste: The Kenny Everett Story at IMDb  
  19. ^ Animal House clip
  20. ^ YouTube: Spaced Invaders TV Spot 1990 [474]

Use in video games edit

Early video games with chiptune versions of "Louie Louie" included California Games [475] and Donkey Konga.[476] Since its introduction in 1987, California Games has been ported to more than a dozen gaming platforms, resulting in multiple unique "Louie Louie" versions based on different or improved programmable sound generator (PSG) chips. "Back 2 Back", composed by Hideki Naganuma for Sonic Rush, borrows the "Louie Louie" riff for its main section.

More recent rhythm action games featured individual artist versions including Rocksmith (Joan Jett), Just Dance (Iggy Pop), and Rocksmith 2014 (Motörhead).

Use in ringtones and apps edit

"Louie Louie" has long been a popular downloadable ringtone, starting with early MIDI versions, then audio track excerpts, and then full audio tracks. Tom Cruise in Knight and Day (2010) used the Kingsmen version as a ringtone/movement reminder.[477]

In 2015 Microsoft Messenger introduced the Zya Ditty app which allowed users to create short text-to-autotune music videos using a library of pre-licensed songs including "Louie Louie" and others.[478]

Use in audio sampling edit

The earliest known sampling of "Louie Louie" (Kingsmen version) was "Flying Saucer" by Ed Solomon in 1964 (Diamond 160), one of many "break-in" records popular in the 1960s.

Beginning in 1988, multiple rap and hip hop artists used audio samples of the keyboard intro and chorus of the Kingsmen version.

  • 1988: Ultramagnetic MCs, "Travelling at the Speed of Thought" (12" single, initial release only); described by Melody Maker columnist Simon Reynolds as "a sublimely teasing edit ... [of] the sixties punk tearaway reincarnated in the eighties B-boy motormouth!"[479]
  • 1988: JVC Force, "Doin' Damage" (from album Doin' Damage)
  • 1988: Fat Boys, "Louie Louie" (from album Coming Back Hard Again; also released as a single)
  • 1990: Young and Restless, "Louie Louie" (from album Something To Get You Hyped)
  • 1990: Young MC and Maestro Fresh Wes, "Louie Louie" (from Coupe de Ville soundtrack album; samples Richard Berry, Kingsmen and other versions)
  • 1999: The Three Amigos, "Louie Louie (Original Mix)" and "Wiseguys Remix" (12" EP, UK release)
  • 1999: Mutha Funkin, "Say It Again" (12" single, UK release)
  • 2004: T.O.K. feat. Shaggy, "Déja Vu" (from album Unknown Language)[480]

Marching and concert band arrangements edit

In the 1980s, due to the widespread availability of sheet music arrangements, "Louie Louie" became a staple of concert, marching, and pep bands for middle schools, high schools, and colleges and universities in the U.S. The earliest known high school band albums with a song version were the Evanston Township High School's Hi-Lights 1965 and the Franklin High School Choir, Orchestra, and Stage Band's 1966 Bel Cantos Concert. The first college band album with a version was the USC Trojan Marching Band's Let The Games Begin in 1984.[161] Early orchestra and big band releases included Dick Crest (Would You Believe - The Dick Crest Orchestra) and Neil Chotem (Neil Chotem and his Orchestra), both in 1968.

Although not commercially released, an example of the song's influence was the 2000 performance by the Dover High School Band joined on saxophone by Bill Clinton (who played in a jazz trio named the Kingsmen at Hot Springs High School, and at whose 1964 graduation dance the actual Kingsmen performed).[481][482]

Washington State song edit

In 1985, Ross Shafer, host and a writer-performer of the late-night comedy series Almost Live! 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.[5] A "groundswell of public support" followed including support from the Kingsmen, Paul Revere and the Raiders, and the Wailers, an appearance by Shafer on Dick Clark's TV's Bloopers & Practical Jokes, and a Dubious Achievement Award from Esquire.[483]

Picking up on this initially prankish effort, Whatcom County Councilman Craig Cole introduced Resolution No. 85-12 in the state legislature, citing the need for a "contemporary theme song that can be used to engender a sense of pride and community, and in the enhancement of tourism and economic development". His resolution also called for the creation of a new "Louie Louie County". While the House did not pass it, the Senate's Resolution 1985-37 declared April 12, 1985, "Louie Louie Day". A crowd of 4,000, estimated by press reports, convened at the state capitol that day for speeches, singalongs, and performances by the Wailers, the Kingsmen, and Paul Revere & the Raiders. Two days later, a Seattle event commemorated the occasion with the premiere performance of a new, Washington-centric version of the song co-written by composer Berry.[484] After a spirited debate, the legislature ultimately preserved "Washington, My Home" as the state song while also adopting Woody Guthrie's "Roll On, Columbia, Roll On" as the official folk song. "Louie Louie" remains the "unofficial state rock song".[485]

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.[389] The "state rock song" was played following "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" during the seventh-inning stretch at all Seattle Mariners home games from 1990 up until the 2022 season.[486]

International Louie Louie Day edit

April 11 (Richard Berry's birthday) is celebrated as International Louie Louie Day[487][488] and is listed by Chase's Calendar of Events, the National Special Events Registry, and other sources.

Support for International Louie Louie Day and other "Louie Louie"–related observances is provided by the Louie Louie Advocacy and Music Appreciation Society (LLAMAS)[489] and "Louie Louie" fans worldwide.

LouieFest edit

The City of Tacoma held a summer music and arts festival from 2003 to 2012 in July named LouieFest. The event began in 2003 as the "1000 Guitars Festival" and featured a group performance of "Louie Louie" open to anyone with a guitar. The event was renamed LouieFest in 2004. Members of the Wailers, Kingsmen, Raiders, Sonics and other groups with "Louie Louie" associations regularly made appearances. The grand finale each year was the "Celebration of 1000 Guitars" mass performance of "Louie Louie" on the main stage.[490]

Louie Louie parades edit

The largest "Louie Louie" parade, organized by WWMR deejay John DeBella, was held in Philadelphia from 1985 to 1989 with proceeds going to leukemia victims.[491] DeBella described it as "a parade for no reason ... and the no reason would be 'Louie Louie'."[492] It regularly drew crowds in excess of 50,000, but was ultimately cancelled due to excessive rowdiness.[493]

Peoria, Illinois claims the longest running "Louie Louie" event, holding an annual "Louie Louie" street party, parade, and festival every year since 1988.[494]

Louie Louie sculpture edit

A sculpture titled "Louie Louie, 2013" by Las Vegas-based artist Tim Bavington was displayed on the lobby wall of the Edith Green - Wendell Wyatt Federal Building in Portland, Oregon from 2013 to 2024. The work is constructed of 80 colored glass and acrylic panels representing the waveforms of the song using Bavington's concept of sculpting sound waves. [495][496] In 2024, it was sold for $250,000 to a private party.[497]

The Louie Awards edit

The Seattle Times bestows its Louie Awards upon "those who - through conscious act, rotten luck or slip of the tongue - stretch the limits of imagination or tolerance or taste in the Great Northwest."[498]

Recognition and rankings edit

Summary of "Louie Louie" rankings and recognition in major publications and surveys.

Source Poll/Survey Year Rank
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Hall of Fame Singles 2018 None[499]
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll 1995 None[500]
National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences Grammy Hall of Fame 1999 None[501]
National Public Radio The 300 Most Important American Records of the 20th Century 1999 None[502]
Smash Hits, James E. Perone The 100 Songs That Defined America 2016 None[503]
The Wire Magazine The 100 Most Important Records Ever Made 1992 None[504]
Mojo Magazine Ultimate Jukebox: The 100 Singles You Must Own 2003 #1[505]
The Ultimate Playlist, Robert Webb The 100 Greatest Cover Versions 2012 #1[506]
Paste Magazine The 50 Best Garage Rock Songs of All Time 2014 #3[507]
Rolling Stone Magazine 40 Songs That Changed The World 2007 #5[508]
All Time Top 1000 Albums, Colin Larkin The All-Time Top 100 Singles 2000 #6[509]
Q Magazine The Music That Changed the World 2004 #10[510]
VH1 100 Greatest Songs of Rock and Roll 2000 #11[511]
The Heart of Rock and Soul, Dave Marsh The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made 1989 #11[512]
Rolling Stone Magazine The 100 Best Singles of the Last 25 Years 1989 #18[513]
Los Angeles Magazine LA's Top 100 2001 #19[514]
Rock and Roll, Paul Williams The 100 Best Singles 1993 #22[515]
VH1 100 Greatest Dance Songs 2000 #27[516]
NME Magazine Top 100 Singles of All Time 1976 #43[517]
Mojo Magazine 100 Greatest Singles of All Time 1997 #51[518]
Rolling Stone Magazine The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time 2004 #54[519]
Rolling Stone Magazine The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time 2010 #55[520]
NEA and RIAA Songs of the Century 1999 #57[521]
Mojo Magazine Big Bangs: 100 Records That Changed The World 2007 # 70[522]
Pitchfork Magazine The 200 Best Songs of the 1960s 2006 #154[523]
Rolling Stone Magazine The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time 2021 #156[388]
NME Magazine The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time 2014 #157[524]
WCBS-FM Top 1001 Songs of the Century 2005 #184[525]

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May 08, 2024
louie, louie, this, article, about, song, american, singer, musician, other, uses, disambiguation, rhythm, blues, song, written, composed, american, musician, richard, berry, 1955, recorded, 1956, released, 1957, best, known, 1963, version, kingsmen, become, s. This article is about the song For the American singer see Louie Louie musician For other uses see Louie Louie disambiguation Louie Louie is a rhythm and blues song written and composed by American musician Richard Berry in 1955 recorded in 1956 and released in 1957 It is best known for the 1963 hit version by the Kingsmen and has become a standard in pop and rock The song is based on the tune El Loco Cha Cha popularized by bandleader Rene Touzet and is an example of Afro Cuban influence on American popular music Louie Louie Single by Richard BerryA sideYou Are My Sunshine 1 Written1955ReleasedApril 1957 1957 04 RecordedApril 1956StudioHollywood RecordersGenreRhythm and bluesLength2 09LabelFlip 321Songwriter s Richard BerryRichard Berry singles chronology Take The Key 1956 Louie Louie 1957 Sweet Sugar You 1957 Louie Louie tells in simple verse chorus form the first person story of a lovesick sailor s lament to a bartender about wanting to get back home to his girl 2 Contents 1 Historical significance 2 Original version by Richard Berry and the Pharaohs 3 Cover versions 3 1 1950s 3 2 1960s 3 2 1 Rockin Robin Roberts and the Wailers 1961 3 2 2 The Kingsmen 1963 3 2 3 Paul Revere amp the Raiders 1963 3 2 4 The Beach Boys 1964 3 2 5 Otis Redding 1964 3 2 6 The Angels 1964 3 2 7 The Kinks 1964 3 2 8 The Sandpipers 1966 3 2 9 Travis Wammack 1966 3 2 10 The Sonics 1966 3 2 11 Mongo Santamaria 1966 3 2 12 Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention 1967 3 2 13 Other 1960s versions 3 3 1970s 3 3 1 Iggy Pop 1972 3 3 2 Toots and the Maytals 1972 3 3 3 Brother Louie 1973 3 3 4 Patti Smith 1975 3 3 5 Jon the Postman 1977 3 3 6 Motorhead 1978 3 3 7 National Lampoon s Animal House 1978 3 3 8 Bruce Springsteen 1978 3 3 9 Other 1970s versions 3 4 1980s 3 4 1 Black Flag 1981 3 4 2 Stanley Clarke and George Duke 1981 3 4 3 Barry White 1981 3 4 4 The Fat Boys 1988 3 4 5 Other 1980s versions 3 5 1990s 3 5 1 Coupe de Ville 1990 3 5 2 The Three Amigos 1999 3 5 3 Other 1990s versions 3 6 2000s 3 7 2010s 3 8 2020s 3 9 Summary of charting versions 3 9 1 Singles 3 9 2 EPs 3 9 3 Albums 3 10 Louie Louie compilations 3 11 Foreign language versions 4 Answer songs sequels and tributes 5 Parodies and rewrites 6 Lyrics controversy and investigations 7 Cultural impact 7 1 Book 7 2 The Who 7 3 Psyche Rock and Futurama 7 4 Louie Louie marathons 7 5 Use in movies 7 6 Use in video games 7 7 Use in ringtones and apps 7 8 Use in audio sampling 7 9 Marching and concert band arrangements 7 10 Washington State song 7 11 International Louie Louie Day 7 12 LouieFest 7 13 Louie Louie parades 7 14 Louie Louie sculpture 7 15 The Louie Awards 7 16 Recognition and rankings 8 References 9 Sources 10 Further readingHistorical significance editThe extraordinary roller coaster tale of obscurity scandal success and immortality 3 and remarkable historical impact 4 of Louie Louie have been recognized by organizations and publications worldwide for its influence on the history of rock and roll A partial list see Recognition and rankings table below includes the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame the Grammy Hall of Fame National Public Radio VH1 Rolling Stone Magazine the National Endowment for the Arts and the Recording Industry Association of America Other major examples of the song s legacy include the celebration of International Louie Louie Day every year on April 11 the annual Louie Louie Parade in Philadelphia from 1985 to 1989 the LouieFest in Tacoma from 2003 to 2012 the ongoing annual Louie Louie Street Party in Peoria and the unsuccessful attempt in 1985 to make it the state song of Washington 5 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 6 and also called it cosmically crude 7 Rock critic Greil Marcus called it a law of nature 8 and New York Times music critic Jon Pareles writing in a 1997 obituary for Richard Berry termed it a cornerstone of rock 9 Music historian Peter Blecha noted Far from shuffling off to a quiet retirement evidence indicates that Louie Louie may actually prove to be immortal 10 Other writers described it as musically simple lyrically simple and joyously infectious 11 deliciously moronic 12 a completely unforgettable earworm 13 the essence of rock s primal energy 14 and the immortal international hit that defines rock n roll 15 Others noted that it served as a bridge to the R amp B of the past and the rap scene of the future 16 that it came to symbolize the garage rock genre where the typical performance was often aggressive and usually amateurish 17 and that all you need to make a great rock n roll record are the chords to Louie Louie and a bad attitude 18 Music historian and filmmaker Eric Predoehl of The Louie Report described the song as 19 Purity It s just a very pure honest rock n roll song It s a song of romantic ideals hidden amongst a three chord melody It s an idealistic song It s a misunderstood song It s a confusing and disorienting song It s like a heartbeat Humorist Dave Barry perhaps with some exaggeration called it one of the greatest songs in the history of the world 20 American Songwriter summarized It might be the best known rock song of all time It might be the most important rock song of all time 21 The Kingsmen s recording was the subject of an FBI investigation about the supposed but nonexistent obscenity of the lyrics that ended without prosecution 22 The nearly unintelligible and innocuous lyrics were widely misinterpreted and the song was banned by radio stations Marsh wrote that the lyrics controversy reflected the country s infantile sexuality and ensured the song s eternal perpetuation 23 while another writer termed it the ultimate expression of youthful rebellion 24 Jacob McMurray in Taking Punk To The Masses noted All of this only fueled the popularity of the song imprinting this grunge ur message onto successive generations of youth all of whom amplified and rebroadcast its powerful sonic meme 25 Original version by Richard Berry and the Pharaohs editRichard Berry was inspired to write the song in 1955 after listening to an R amp B interpretation of El Loco Cha Cha performed by the Latin group Ricky Rillera and the Rhythm Rockers 26 The tune was written originally as Amarren Al Loco Tie Up The Madman or Tie Up That Lunatic by Cuban bandleader Rosendo Ruiz Jr also known as Rosendo Ruiz Quevedo 27 but became best known in the El Loco Cha Cha arrangement by Rene Touzet which included three great chords solid and true 28 and a ten note 1 2 3 1 2 1 2 3 1 2 tumbao or rhythmic pattern 29 30 nbsp Louie Louie 10 note riffIn Berry s mind the words to Louie Louie just kind of fell out of the sky 26 superimposing themselves over the repeating bassline as he scribbled backstage on a strip of toilet paper 31 32 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 33 Richard Berry cited Chuck Berry s Havana Moon and his exposure to Latin American music for the song s speech pattern and references to Jamaica 34 Los Angeles based Flip Records recorded Richard Berry s composition with his vocal group the Pharaohs in April 1956 21 The Pharaohs were Godoy Colbert first tenor Stanley Henderson second tenor subbing for Robert Harris and Noel Collins baritone Gloria Jones of the Dreamers provided additional backup vocals Session musicians included Plas Johnson on tenor sax Jewel Grant on baritone sax Ernie Freeman on piano Irving Ashby on guitar Red Callender on bass Ray Martinez on drums and John Anderson on trumpet 35 nbsp 78 RPM releaseFlip released the record in April 1957 with Louie Louie as the B side of You Are My Sunshine but prior to the song s release Berry sold his portion of the publishing and songwriting rights for Louie Louie and four other songs for 750 to Max Feirtag the head of Flip Records to raise cash for his upcoming wedding 26 Both 7 inch 45 RPM and 10 inch 78 RPM versions were pressed An early 45 RPM label misprint exists reported by Steve Propes with the title rendered as Louie Lovie 36 37 A Cash Box review rated the A side as a B but the B side only rated a B with the comment Richard Berry chants a middle beat with a steady syncopated rhythm that captures an excitement 38 Local A side airplay was modest but then KGFJ deejay Hunter Hancock flipped the record and put the B side in heavy rotation resulting in a regional hit particularly in San Francisco 39 When Berry toured the Pacific Northwest local R amp B bands began to play the song increasing its popularity The song was re released by Flip in 1961 as an A side single and again in 1964 on a four song EP but never appeared on any of the national charts Sales estimates ranged from 40 000 40 to 130 000 copies 32 Other versions appeared on Casino Club Presents Richard Berry 1966 Great Rhythm and Blues Oldies Volume 12 1977 41 and The Best of Louie Louie 1983 Although similar to the original the version on Rhino s 1983 The Best of Louie Louie compilation 42 is actually a note for note re recording with backup vocals by doo wop revival group Big Daddy 43 created because licensing could not be obtained for Berry s 1957 version 8 The original version was included on a 1986 Swedish compilation 35 but not until the Ace Records Love That Louie release in 2002 did it see wide distribution 44 45 In the mid 1980s Berry was living on welfare Drinks company California Cooler wanted to use Louie Louie in a commercial but discovered it needed Berry s consent because despite having sold the publishing rights he still owned the radio and television performance rights 15 The company asked the Artists Rights Society to locate him which led to Berry s taking legal action to regain his rights to the song The settlement made Berry a millionaire 46 47 While the title of the song is often rendered with a comma Louie Louie in 1988 Berry told Esquire magazine that the correct title of the song was Louie Louie with no comma 26 31 Cover versions edit Louie Louie is the world s most recorded rock song 48 49 with published estimates ranging from over 1 600 10 to more than 2 000 50 with ever more still being released and performed 51 It has been released or performed by a wide range of artists from reggae to hard rock from jazz to psychedelic from hip hop to easy listening Peter Doggett labeled it almost impossible to play badly 52 and Greil Marcus asked Has there ever been a bad version of Louie Louie 53 Paul Revere summarized Three chords and the most mundane beat possible Any idiot could learn it and they all did 54 The Kingsmen version in particular has been cited as the rosetta stone of garage rock 44 the defining ur text of punk rock 55 56 and the original grunge classic 57 The influential rock critics Dave Marsh and Greil Marcus believe that virtually all punk rock can be traced back to a single proto punk song Louie Louie 58 Pronunciation has varied widely from Berry s original Lou ee Lou ee to Lou eye Lou eye Kingsmen 1963 Lou ee Lou eye ay Angels 1964 Lou eye Lou way Sonics 1966 Iggy Pop 1972 Lou ee a Lou way Kinks 1964 Motorhead 1978 Lou way Lou way Clarke Duke Project 1981 and others 1950s edit Richard Berry was on the underbill for a concert in the Seattle Tacoma area in September 1957 59 and his record appeared on local radio station charts in November 1957 60 after African American DJs Bob Summerrise and Eager Beaver started playing it on their radio shows 19 Local R amp B musicians Ron Holden and Dave Lewis popularized Louie Louie rearranging Berry s version and performing it at live shows and battle of the bands events 61 62 Holden recorded an unreleased version backed by the Thunderbirds for the Nite Owl label in 1959 63 As a leader of the dirty but cool Seattle R amp B sound 64 he would often substitute mumbled somewhat pornographic 65 lyrics in a live tour de force that often lasted ten minutes or longer devastating local audiences 44 Lewis the singularly most significant figure on the Pacific Northwest s nascent rhythm amp blues scene in the 1950s and 1960s 66 released a three chord clone David s Mood Part 2 that was a regional hit in 1963 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 67 1960s edit Rockin Robin Roberts and the Wailers 1961 edit Louie Louie nbsp Single by Rockin Robin RobertsB side Maryanne Released1961 1961 Recorded1960GenreRhythm and blues rock and rollLength2 40 single 2 32 albumLabelEtiquette ET 1Songwriter s Richard Berry Robin Roberts developed an interest in rock n roll and rhythm and blues records as a high school student in Tacoma Washington 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 8 after hearing Berry s obscure original single and Bobby Day s Rockin Robin which gave him his stage name 68 In 1959 Roberts left the Bluenotes and began singing with another local band the Wailers famed for their hard nosed R amp B rock fusion 69 Known for his dynamic onstage performances Roberts added Louie Louie to the band s set and in 1960 recorded the track with the Wailers as his backing band 70 The arrangement devised by Roberts with the band was the first ever garage version of Louie Louie 70 and included one of the true great moments of rock his ad libbed Let s give it to em RIGHT NOW before the guitar solo 44 Released as a single on the band s own label Etiquette in early 1961 it became a huge hit locally charting at No 1 on Seattle s KJR and establishing Louie Louie as the signature riff of Northwest rock n roll 71 It also picked up play across the border in Vancouver British Columbia appearing in the top 40 of the CFUN chart The popularity of the Roberts release effectively buried another reasonably close to the Richard Berry Ron Holden arrangement 44 version put out at about the same time by Little Bill Englehardt Topaz T 1305 70 The record was then reissued and promoted by Liberty Records in Los Angeles but it failed to chart nationally 72 The track was included on the 1963 album The Wailers amp Co the 1964 compilation album Tall Cool One the 1998 reissue of the 1962 album The Fabulous Wailers Live at the Castle and multiple later compilations 73 Roberts was killed in an automobile accident in 1967 but his legacy would reverberate down through the ages 71 Dave Marsh dedicated his 1993 book For Richard Berry who gave birth to this unruly child and Rockin Robin Roberts who first raised it to glory 74 The Kingsmen 1963 edit Louie Louie nbsp Original releaseSingle by the Kingsmenfrom the album The Kingsmen in PersonB side Haunted Castle ReleasedJune 1963 1963 06 Jerden October 1963 1963 10 Wand RecordedApril 6 1963StudioNorthwestern Inc GenreGarage rock 75 76 proto punk 55 rhythm and blues 77 Length2 42 Jerden 2 24 Wand 78 LabelJerden 712 Wand 143Songwriter s Richard BerryProducer s Ken Chase Jerry DennonThe Kingsmen singles chronology Louie Louie 1963 Money 1964 Wand Re issue nbsp Second Wand release with Lead vocal by Jack Ely text On 6 April 1963 79 the Kingsmen a rock and roll group from Portland Oregon chose Louie Louie for their second recording their first having been Peter Gunn Rock The Kingsmen recorded the song at Northwestern Inc Motion Pictures amp Recording Studios at 411 SW 13th Avenue in Portland Oregon 80 The one hour session originally intended to produce an audition tape for a summer cruise ship gig cost either 36 81 50 82 or somewhere in between and the band split the cost 83 The session was produced by Ken Chase a local disc jockey on the AM rock station KISN who also owned The Chase the teen nightclub where the Kingsmen were the house band The engineer for the session was the studio owner Robert Lindahl The Kingsmen s lead vocalist Jack Ely based his version on the recording by Rockin Robin Roberts with the Fabulous Wailers but unintentionally reintroduced Berry s original stop time rhythm as he showed the other members how to play it with a 1 2 3 1 2 1 2 3 beat instead of the 1 2 3 4 1 2 1 2 3 4 beat on the Wailers record 84 The night before their recording session the band played a 90 minute version of the song during a gig at a local teen club The Kingsmen s studio version was recorded in one partial and one full take 85 They also recorded Jamaica Farewell and what became the B side of the release an original surf instrumental 86 by Ely and keyboardist Don Gallucci called Haunted Castle 83 The Kingsmen s version with its ragged 87 sloppy 88 chaotic 89 shambolic lumbering style 90 complete with manic lead guitar solo insane cymbal crashes generally slurred and unintelligible lyrics 91 transformed the earlier Rockin Robin Roberts version on which it was based into a bumbling bear in a china shop 92 gloriously incoherent 93 raw and raucous 94 stomping garage rocker 95 so wrong it s right 96 Ely had to stand on tiptoe to sing into a boom mike and his braces further impeded his sinew stretching 97 giraffe neck gabble 98 singing The result was a raw and unsanitized unmanaged and unscrubbed 28 effort that the group hated but manager Ken Chase loved Jerry Dennon s local Jerden label was contracted to press 1 000 vinyl 45s 99 The guitar break is triggered by a shout Okay let s give it to em right now both lifted from the Roberts version 100 Critic Dave Marsh suggests it is this moment that gives the recording greatness 101 Ely went for it so avidly you d have thought he d spotted the jugular of a lifelong enemy so crudely that at that instant Ely sounds like Donald Duck on helium And it s that faintly ridiculous air that makes the Kingsmen s record the classic that it is Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth whose passion for music was ignited by the Kingsmen s Louie Louie 102 recalled that the lead singer s Ely voice had the air of a boy smoking a cigarette with one hand while banging a tambourine in the other an insolent distance to his delivery a vision of being at once boss and bored 103 Marsh ranked the song as No 11 out of the 1001 greatest singles ever made describing it as the most profound and sublime expression of rock and roll s ability to create something from nothing 104 The Independent in Britain noted that it reinforced a growing suspicion that enthusiasm was more important to rock n roll than technical competence or literal meaning 32 Music producer and historian Alec Palao wrote 44 This is truly the quintessential garage band moment an audio verite snapshot that communicates directly what red blooded grass roots American rock n roll is all about the Kingsmen s Louie Louie spills forth with a rush of teenage hormones raw untutored yet seemingly ready to take on the world A significant error on the Kingsmen version occurs just after the lead guitar break As the group was going by the Wailers version which has a brief restatement of the riff twice over before the lead vocalist comes back in it would be expected that Ely would do the same Ely however missed his mark coming in two bars too soon before the restatement of the riff He realized his mistake and stopped the verse short but the band did not realize that he had done so As a quick fix drummer Lynn Easton covered the pause with a drum fill The error imbued the Kingsmen recording with a touching humility and humanity 44 and is now so well known that multiple versions by other groups duplicate it 94 105 First released in May 1963 the single was initially issued by the small Jerden label before being picked up by the larger Wand Records in October 1963 Herb Alpert and A amp M Records passed on the distribution opportunity 106 deeming it too long and out of tune 107 Sales of the Kingsmen record were initially so low reportedly 600 that the group considered disbanding Things changed when Boston s biggest DJ Arnie Ginsburg was given the record by a pitchman Amused by its slapdash sound he played it on his program as The Worst Record of the Week Despite the slam listener response was swift and positive 108 By the end of October it was listed in Billboard as a regional breakout and a bubbling under entry for the national chart 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 For a few weeks the two singles appeared destined to battle each other but demand for the Kingsmen single backed by national promotion from Wand acquired momentum and by the end of 1963 Columbia Records had stopped promoting the Raiders version It entered the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for December 7 and peaked at No 2 the following week a spot which it held for six non consecutive weeks it would remain in the top 10 throughout December 1963 and January 1964 before dropping off in early February 109 In total the Kingsmen s version spent 16 weeks on the Hot 100 selling a million copies by April 1964 110 Dominique and There I ve Said It Again by the Singing Nun and Bobby Vinton respectively prevented the single from reaching No 1 although Marsh asserts that it far outsold the other records but was denied Billboard s top spot due to lack of proper decorum 111 Louie Louie did reach No 1 on the Cash Box and Music Vendor Record World pop charts as well as No 1 on the Cash Box R amp B chart 112 113 It was the last No 1 on Cash Box before Beatlemania hit the United States with I Want to Hold Your Hand 114 The Kingsmen version quickly became a standard at teen parties in the U S during the 1960s and reaching No 26 on the UK Singles Chart 115 was the preferred tune for a popular British dance called The Shake 116 The first album The Kingsmen In Person peaked at No 20 in 1964 and remained on the charts for over two years 131 weeks total until 1966 117 Due to the lyrics controversy and supported by the band s heavy touring schedule the single continued to sell throughout 1965 and after being reissued in 1966 as Louie Louie 64 65 66 briefly reappeared on the charts reaching No 65 in Cash Box No 76 in Record World No 97 in Billboard 118 119 and cracking the Top 40 in the Washington market 120 Total sales estimates for the single range from 10 million 34 to over 12 million with cover versions accounting for another 300 million 121 In July 2023 the British Phonographic Industry BPI certified the song silver for sales and streaming figures exceeding 200 000 units 122 Another factor in the success of the record may have been the rumor that the lyrics were intentionally slurred by the Kingsmen to cover up lyrics that were allegedly laced with profanity graphically depicting sex between the sailor and his lady Crumpled pieces of paper professing to be the real lyrics to Louie Louie circulated among teens The song was banned on many radio stations and in many places in the United States including Indiana where a ban was requested by Governor Matthew Welsh 123 124 125 126 These actions were taken despite the fact that practically no one could distinguish the actual lyrics Denials of chicanery by Kingsmen and Ely did not stop the controversy The FBI started a 31 month investigation into the matter and concluded they were unable to interpret any of the wording in the record 22 However drummer Lynn Easton later admitted that he yelled Fuck after fumbling a drum fill at 0 54 on the record 127 128 129 130 By the time the Kingsmen version had achieved national popularity the band had split Two rival editions one featuring lead singer Jack Ely the other with Lynn Easton who held the rights to the band s name were competing for live audiences across the country A settlement was reached later in 1964 giving Easton the right to the Kingsmen name but requiring all future pressings of the original version of Louie Louie to display Lead vocal by Jack Ely on the label 131 Ely released Love That Louie as Jack E Lee and the Squires in 1964 and Louie Louie 66 and Louie Go Home as Jack Ely and the Courtmen in 1966 without chart success He re recorded Louie Louie in 1976 and again in 1980 and these versions appear on multiple 60s hit compilations credited to Jack Ely formerly of the Kingsmen or re recordings by the original artists Subsequent Kingsmen Louie Louie versions with either Lynn Easton or Dick Peterson as lead vocalist appeared on Live amp Unreleased recorded 1963 released 1992 Live at the Castle recorded 1964 released 2011 Shindig Presents Frat Party VHS recorded 1965 released 1991 60s Dance Party 1982 California Cooler Presents Cooler Hits recorded 1986 released 1987 132 The Louie Louie Collection as the Mystery Band 1994 Red White amp Rock 2002 Garage Sale recorded 2002 released 2003 and My Music 60s Pop Rock amp Soul DVD 2011 133 A solo version by Peterson was also included on the 1999 Circle of Friends Volume 1 CD 134 On 9 November 1998 after a protracted lawsuit that lasted five years and cost 1 3 million the Kingsmen were awarded ownership of all their recordings released on Wand Records from Gusto Records including Louie Louie They had not been paid royalties on the songs since the 1960s 135 136 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 137 When it came time to do that however Ely discovered the sound engineer had raised the studio s only microphone several feet above his head Then he placed Ely in the middle of his fellow musicians all in an effort to create a better live feel for the recording The result Ely would say over the years was that he had to stand on his toes lean his head back and shout as loudly as he could just to be heard over the drums and guitars 138 When Mike Mitchell died on April 16 2021 he was the only remaining member of the Kingsmen s original lineup who still performed with the band 139 His Louie Louie guitar break has been called iconic 140 blistering 141 and one of the most famous guitar solos of all time 142 Guitar Player magazine noted Raw lightning fast and loud the solo s unbridled energy helped make the song a No 2 pop hit but also helped set the template for garage rock and later hard rock guitar 143 Citing it as the only piece of pop music I can remember from my youth British writer Peter Ackroyd selected the Kingsmen s Louie Louie along with works by Beethoven Bach and Prokofiev as music selections on the BBC Radio 4 show Desert Island Discs 144 Britain s Independent in 2015 declared it the party anthem of the universe 97 Paul Revere amp the Raiders 1963 edit Louie Louie nbsp Original releaseSingle by Paul Revere amp the Raidersfrom the album Here They Come B side Night Train ReleasedMay 1963 1963 05 Sande June 1963 1963 06 Columbia RecordedApril 1963StudioNorthwestern Inc Length2 38LabelSande 101 Columbia 4 42814Songwriter s Richard BerryProducer s Roger HartPaul Revere amp the Raiders singles chronology So Fine 1963 Louie Louie 1963 Louie Go Home 1963 National release nbsp Paul Revere amp the Raiders also recorded a cleaner more accomplished 44 version of Louie Louie probably on April 11 or 13 1963 in the same Portland studio as the Kingsmen 145 146 147 Personnel included Mark Lindsay sax vocals Steve West guitar Paul Revere bass and Mike Smith drums 148 The recording was paid for and produced by KISN radio personality Roger Hart who soon became personal manager for the band 149 Released on Hart s Sande label and plugged on his radio show 145 their version was more successful locally Columbia Records issued the single nationally in June 1963 and it went to No 1 in the West and Hawaii but only reached No 103 on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart The quick success of Louie Louie faltered however due to lack of support from Columbia and its A amp R man Mitch Miller 150 a former bandleader Sing Along With Mitch with retrogressive taste 151 who disliked the musical illiteracy of rock and roll 152 The Raiders version opened with a distinctive Grab yo woman it s a Louie Louie time followed by a saxophone intro similar to the Rockin Robin Roberts version guitar in later releases 153 Another signature phrase was Stomp and shout and work it on out Lyrically only the first verse was used with Mark Lindsay improvising the remaining vocals The original version also contains a scarcely audible dirty lyric when Lindsay says Do she fuck That psyches me up behind the guitar solo 154 Robert Lindahl president and chief engineer of NWI and sound engineer on both the Kingsmen and Raiders recordings stated that the Raiders version was not known for garbled lyrics or an amateurish recording technique but as one author noted their more competent but uptight take on the song was less exciting than the Kingsmen s version 155 Live versions were included on Here They Come 1965 Paul Revere Rides Again 1983 and The Last Madman of Rock and Roll 1986 DVD Later releases featured different lead vocalists on Special Edition 1982 Michael Bradley Generic Rock amp Roll 1993 Carlo Driggs Flower Power 2011 Darren Dowler and The Revolutionary Hits of Paul Revere amp the Raiders 2019 David Huizenga The Raiders also recorded Richard Berry s Have Love Will Travel a Louie Louie rewrite 156 and Louie Go Home an answer song penned by Lindsay and Revere after Berry declined their request to write a Louie Louie follow up 157 as well as Just Like Me a first cousin to Louie Louie 158 The Beach Boys 1964 edit Surf music icons the Beach Boys released their version on the 1964 album Shut Down Volume 2 with lead vocals shared by Carl Wilson and Mike Love Their effort was unusual in that it was rendered in a version so faithful to Berry s Angeleno revered original 159 instead of the more common garage rock style as they paid tribute to the two most important earlier recordings of Louie Louie the 1957 original by Richard Berry and the Pharaohs and the infamously unintelligible 1963 cover by the Kingsmen 160 Other surf music versions included the Chan Dells in 1963 the Pyramids and the Surfaris in 1964 the Trashmen the Invictas and Jan and Dean in 1965 the Challengers in 1966 the Ripp Tides in 1981 and the Shockwaves in 1988 161 Otis Redding 1964 edit Otis Redding s spunky free associating 44 version was released on his 1964 album Pain in My Heart Dave Marsh called it the best of the era and noted that he rearranged it to suit his style by adding a full horn section and garble d the lyrics so completely that it seems likely he made up the verses on the spot as he sang a story that made sense in his life including making Louie a female 162 Other versions by R amp B artists included Bobby Jay and the Hawks in 1964 Ike amp Tina Turner the Tams and Nat amp John in 1968 Wilbert Harrison in 1969 the Topics in 1970 and Barry White in 1981 161 The Angels 1964 edit With a version on their 1964 album A Halo to You the Angels were the first girl group to cover Louie Louie 159 Their unlikely stab at the frat rock staple 163 was also one of the first to deliberately duplicate the Jack Ely early vocal re entry mistake after the bridge The Best of Louie Louie Volume 2 included their rendition 164 A Minnesota girl group the Shaggs released a version as a 1965 single Concert 1 78 65 and Honey Ltd covered the song on a 1968 album and as a single LHI 1216 however the distinction of first girl group participation on a version of Louie Louie would go to the Shalimars an Olympia girl group who provided overdubbed backing vocals in 1960 for a recording by Little Bill Englehardt released as a single in 1961 Topaz 1305 70 Female solo artist versions in the 1960s included Italian singer Maddalena in 1967 as a single titled Lui Lui Ike and Tina Turner in 1968 released in 1988 on Ike amp Tina Turner s Greatest Hits Volume 2 and Julie London on her 1969 album Yummy Yummy Yummy 161 The Kinks 1964 edit Louie Louie Song by the Kinksfrom the EP Kinksize SessionReleasedNovember 27 1964 1964 11 27 RecordedOctober 18 1964 1964 10 18 StudioPye LondonGenreRhythm and bluesLength2 57LabelPye NEP 24200Songwriter s Richard BerryProducer s Shel Talmy The Kinks recorded Louie Louie on October 18 1964 It was released in November 1964 in the UK on the Kinksize Session EP reaching No 1 on the Record Retailer EP chart 165 It was also released in 1965 on two US only albums Kinks Size and Kinkdom and on a French album A Well Respected Man Live 1960s versions were released on bootlegs The Kinks in Germany 1965 Kinky Paris 1965 Live in San Francisco 1969 Kriminal Kinks 1972 and The Kinks at the BBC 2012 166 The Kast Off Kinks continue to perform it live occasionally joined by original Kinks members 167 Sources vary on the impact of Louie Louie on the writing of You Really Got Me and All Day and All of the Night One writer called the two songs sparse representations of a Louie Louie mentality 168 while another succinctly called the former a rewrite of the Kingsmen s Louie Louie 169 A 1965 letter to London s Record Mirror opined Besides completely copying the Kingsmen s vocal and instrumental style The Kinks rose to fame with two watery twists of this classic 170 An opposing opinion was voiced by a different author who noted that the You Really Got Me riff is unquestionably a guitar based piece that fundamentally differs from Louie Louie and other earlier riff pieces with which it sometimes is compared 171 Dave Marsh asserted that the Kinks blatantly based their best early hits on the Louie Louie riff 172 Other sources stated that Davies wrote You Really Got Me while trying to work out the chords of Louie Louie at the suggestion of the group s manager Larry Page 173 According to biographer Thomas M Kitts Davies confirmed that Page suggested that he write a song like Louie Louie but denied any direct influence 174 Biographer Johnny Rogan noted no Louie Louie influence writing that Davies adapted an earlier piano riff to the jazz blues style of Mose Allison and that he was further influenced by seeing Chuck Berry and Gerry Mulligan in Jazz on a Summer s Day a 1958 film about the Newport Jazz Festival Rogan also cited brother Dave Davies distorted power chords as the sonic contribution that transformed the composition into a hit song 175 Whether directly or indirectly the Kingsmen version influenced the musical style of the early Kinks They were huge fans of the Kingsmen s Louie Louie and Dave Davies remembered the song inspiring Ray s singing saying in an interview 176 177 We played that record over and over And Ray copied a lot of his vocal style from that guy Jack Ely I was always trying to get Ray to sing because I thought he had a great voice but he was very shy Then we heard The Kingsmen and he had that lazy throwaway laid back drawl in his voice and it was magic Alec Palao in the Love That Louie CD liner 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 44 The Sandpipers 1966 edit Louie Louie Song by The Sandpipersfrom the album GuantanameraReleasedOctober 1966Recorded1966StudioA amp M HollywoodGenreEasy listeningLength2 45 single 2 47 album LabelA amp M Records 819Songwriter s Richard BerryProducer s Tommy LiPuma After their No 1 hit Guantanamera the Sandpipers with producer Tommy LiPuma and arranger Nick DeCaro cleverly revived 178 the same soft rock smooth ballad Spanish language approach with a quiet yet majestic 44 sweet interpretation 179 of Louie Louie reaching No 30 and No 35 on the Billboard and Cashbox charts respectively the highest charting U S version after the Kingsmen The success of their smoky version 180 heralded the entry of the ever adaptable Louie Louie into the MOR and easy listening categories and many followed David McCallum and J J Jones 1967 Honey Ltd 1968 Julie London 1969 Sounds Orchestral 1970 Line Renaud 1973 Dave Stewart and Barbara Gaskin 1991 and others released singles and albums featuring slower and mellower versions of what had previously been an up tempo pop and rock standard 181 Travis Wammack 1966 edit With the only instrumental version to make the charts Travis Wammack reached No 128 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 in April 1966 182 An early guitar innovator and precursor to guitar hero shredding his distinctive sound on Louie Louie was liberally laced with fuzztone 44 created by playing through an overdriven drive in movie speaker 183 Released as a single Atlantic 2322 the track was not included on Wammack s first album in 1972 or any thereafter It appeared on a 1967 French release Formidable Rhythm And Blues Vol 3 but not again until two Wammack compilations That Scratchy Guitar From Memphis 1987 and Scr Scr Scratchy 1989 It was also included on two later various artists compilations Love That Louie The Louie Louie Files 2002 and Boom Boom A Go Go 2014 Other notable 1960s instrumental versions included the Ventures Ian Whitcomb and Sandy Nelson in 1965 Ace Cannon and Pete Fountain in 1966 Floyd Cramer 1967 and Willie Mitchell in 1969 161 The Sonics 1966 edit The Sonics released their blistering makeover definitive punk arrangement 44 as a 1965 single Etiquette ET 23 and on the 1966 album Boom Later versions appeared on Sinderella 1980 and Live at Easy Street 2016 Described as a major influence on punk and garage music worldwide 184 the group s characteristic hard edged fuzz drenched sound and abrasive all out approach 185 took the Northwest garage sound to its most primitive extreme 186 and made their Louie Louie version ahead of its time They also made it more fierce and threatening 187 by altering the traditional 1 4 5 4 chord pattern to the darker more sinister 1 3b 4 3b 44 Mongo Santamaria 1966 edit Cuban percussionist and bandleader Mongo Santamaria s version a cousin of Watermelon Man 188 returned Louie Louie to its Afro Cuban roots echoing Rene Touzet s El Loco Cha Cha with his conga and trumpet driven Latin jazz version Originally released on the 1966 album Hey Let s Party it was also included on the 1983 compilation The Best of Louie Louie Volume 2 164 Other early Latin flavored versions were released by Pedrito Ramirez con los Yogis Angelo 518 1965 Pete Terrace El Nuevo Pete Terrace 1966 Eddie Cano Brought Back Live from P J s 1967 Mario Allison De Fiesta 1967 and Rey Davila On His Own 1971 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 189 and this is a song like Louie Louie or Guantanamera This is a song that when you play it people are going to get up and dance and that s it 190 Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention 1967 edit Louie Louie occurred repeatedly as an idee fixe in the musical lexicon of Frank Zappa in the 1960s with the Soul Giants 191 and the Mothers of Invention He categorized the riff as one of several Archetypal American Musical Icons whose presence in an arrangement puts a spin on any lyric in their vicinity 192 and used it initially to make fun of the old fashioned rock n roll they had transcended 8 Although he characterized the Kingsmen version as a mutilation 193 and an Animal House joke 194 he had a higher opinion of Richard Berry calling him one of the most important figures in the West Coast rhythm and blues scene of the Fifties 193 and saying No one may not underestimate sic the impact of Louie Louie the original Richard Berry version 195 His original compositions Plastic People and Ruthie Ruthie from You Can t Do That on Stage Anymore Vol 1 were set to the melody of Louie Louie and included Music by Richard Berry credits 196 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 197 At a 1967 concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London Mothers of Invention keyboardist Don Preston climbed up to the venue s famous pipe organ usually used for classical works and played the signature riff included on the 1969 album Uncle Meat Quick interpolations of Louie Louie also frequently turn up in other Zappa works 198 Other 1960s versions edit Little Bill with the Adventurers and the Shalimars as a 1961 single Topaz T 1305 70 Terry Kath on a 1963 single with his first group The Mystics 199 200 The Swamp Rats on a 1964 single St Clair MF69 Also released on their 1979 album Disco Sucks 161 The Standells on a 1964 album The Standells in Person at P J s 161 Leon Russell pumping chords all the way through as a session player on The Top 40 Song Book a 1964 singalong album by arranger H B Barnum and producer David Axelrod 201 The Sentinals on their 1964 album Vegas Go Go 161 Pat Metheny in the 1960s with his first group The Beat Bombs 202 John Fogerty live in 1964 with the Golliwogs 203 Allen Collins with his first group The Mods in 1964 204 The Bobby Fuller Four recorded 1964 released on a French bootleg LP I Fought The Law in 1983 and on El Paso Rock Early Recordings Vol 1 in 1996 161 Jan and Dean live on their 1965 Command Performance album backed by the Fantastic Baggys 161 considered by some the best track on the album 205 Steven Tyler with his group Steven and the Strangeurs in 1965 206 Sandy Nelson an instrumental version on his 1965 album Boss Beat 161 Marshall Crenshaw with his first group in Detroit in the mid 1960s 207 The Invictas on their 1965 album The Invictas A Go Go re released in 1983 161 The Pink Finks Australia on a 1965 charting single Mojo MO 001 208 with Ross Wilson singing whatever sounded right to him 209 The Outcasts New York recorded 1960s released in 1987 on The Battle Of The Bands Live 161 The Ventures an instrumental version on their 1965 album The Ventures a Go Go 161 Ian Whitcomb an instrumental piano version on a 1965 single Tower 216 161 The Castaways live in 1965 at the Cow Palace 210 Jim Morrison s first vocal performance on stage was Louie Louie in 1965 with Rick and the Ravens with Ray Manzarek at the Turkey Joint West in Santa Monica 211 212 and the newly formed Doors initially used it as their opening number 213 Todd Rundgren in 1965 with his first group Money He described Louie Louie as a song that changed my life 214 and said You hear it for the first time you don t understand the words or what the song is about but you never forget it 215 Don and the Goodtimes on the 1966 various artists album The Hitmakers 161 an extended raunch fest combining elements of both the Raiders and Kingsmen s arrangements 44 Jack Ely and the Courtmen on a 1966 single Bang B 520 as Louie Louie 66 161 a version that ploughs the same basic furrow as the original with a slightly harsher edge 44 The Troggs on their 1966 UK album From Nowhere Their 1966 hit single Wild Thing used the same chord progression as fundamentally a Louie Louie rewrite 216 James Marshall of Spin Magazine said of the Troggs All you need to make a great rock n roll record are the chords to Louie Louie and a bad attitude 217 A rerecorded version was released on the 2013 album This Is The Troggs 161 The Challengers on their 1966 album California Kicks 161 The song underwent psychedelic treatment courtesy of the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band in 1966 on their debut album Volume One Friar Tuck on his 1967 album Friar Tuck and His Psychedelic Guitar Neighb rhood Childr n on their 1997 album recorded 1967 Long Years in Space and the Underground All Stars on their 1968 album Extremely Heavy 161 The Beau Brummels on a 1966 album Beau Brummels 66 and a second version on the 1968 compilation The Best of the Beau Brummels Vol 44 161 Ace Cannon an instrumental saxophone version on his 1966 album Sweet amp Tough 161 Pete Fountain an instrumental clarinet version on his 1966 album I ve Got You Under My Skin 161 also included on the 1983 compilation The Best of Louie Louie Volume 2 164 The Swingin Medallions on their 1966 album Double Shot Of My Baby s Love 161 The Syndicate of Sound a live version from 1966 was released in 1991 by Cream Puff War magazine 218 Pink Floyd in an earlier incarnation as The Pink Floyd Sound regularly performed psychedelic versions with wild improvised interludes 219 and echo laced discordant jams 220 in the mid 1960s 221 222 However after an October 1966 Melody Maker concert review criticized their dated R amp B things and said Psychedelic versions of Louie Louie won t come off the song was dropped from future setlists 219 223 Eddie Cano and his Quintet on his 1967 Brought Back Live from P J s album 161 Floyd Cramer an instrumental piano version on his 1967 album Here s What s Happening 161 David McCallum on his 1967 It s Happening Now album 161 described by Billboard as exceptional as it builds slowly 224 The Robbs on a 1968 EP W R IT In Milwaukee Radio 161 The Tams on their 1968 album A Little More Soul 161 The Dick Crest Orchestra on a 1968 album Would You Believe 161 Africa in a medley with Ode to Billie Joe on their 1968 album Music From Lil Brown described as surprisingly ripe for lysergic interpretation 225 Ike and Tina Turner recorded a sultry little known rendition 226 in 1968 sung from his avaricious girlfriend s point of view with the forlorn sailor owning a yacht 162 Their soul romp 188 version was released on Ike and Tina Turner s Greatest Hits Volume 2 in 1988 and also on The Best of Louie Louie Volume Two in 1989 164 Honey Ltd on their eponymous 1968 album and as a single LHI 1216 161 A slow tempo brass and funk rendition replete with cries of Sock it to me Louie it was produced by Jack Nitzsche and featured Ry Cooder on guitar 227 One writer characterized it as slow vague and really drawn out 228 and group member Joan Sliwin said I never understood why Louie Louie 229 Wilbert Harrison on his 1969 album Let s Work Together and as a single Juggernaut 70SUG405 Noted for imparting his own personal stamp and unique vocal delivery on his version 230 Willie Mitchell an instrumental trumpet version on his 1969 album On Top 161 Jefferson Airplane and Grateful Dead Joey Covington vocals Jerry Garcia Jorma Kaukonen Gary Duncan Jack Casady Mike Shrieve others live at the Family Dog at Great Highway San Francisco on September 7 1969 231 The Beatles from the Get Back Let It Be sessions in 1969 released on the 1995 Jamming With Heather bootleg CD A sexiest of all version by smokey voiced diva Julie London 232 released as a 1969 single Liberty 56085 and included on her final album Yummy Yummy Yummy which also featured other contemporary rock songs George Strait in the late 1960s with his high school group The Stoics 233 The Messengers on their eponymous 1969 album and a 1970 single both on the Rare Earth label 161 1970s edit Iggy Pop 1972 edit Iggy Pop then known as Jim Osterberg began performing Louie Louie a song nearly as old and unkillable as Iggy himself 234 with his own version of the dirty lyrics 235 in 1965 as a member of the Iguanas Later with the Stooges and as a solo performer he recorded multiple versions of the song As the godfather of punk he inspired a host of punk rock successors including many with their own versions as the song became a live staple for many punk rock bands of the 1970s 236 237 A 1964 instrumental demo cut with Osterberg Pop on drums was released on Jumpin with the Iguanas 1995 238 and a London rehearsal version from 1972 was released on Heavy Liquid 2005 and again on Born in a Trailer 2016 A 1973 live version was released on The Detroit Tapes 2009 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 239 55 Minute Louie Louie released in 2017 by Shave on their High Alert digital album commemorated the occasion Consequence called this version a rock standard blown up from the inside out and said The band s cover of Louie Louie somehow both honors their rock n roll forebears and spits on their legacy In other words it s punk at its best 240 Pop later wrote a new version with political and satirical verses instead of obscenities that was released on American Caesar in 1993 One lyric in particular captured Pop s long term relationship with the song I think about the meaning of my life again and I have to sing Louie Louie again 241 Far Out Magazine called it the best version of the song out there 242 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 The Just Dance video game also featured this version performed by a dancing Iggy Pop avatar Multiple live versions were released on Nuggets recorded 1980 released 1999 Where The Faces Shine Volume 2 recorded 1982 released 2008 The Legendary Breaking Point Tour recorded 1983 released 1993 Kiss My Blood 1991 VHS Beside You 1993 and Roadkill Rising 1994 243 Toots and the Maytals 1972 edit Louie Louie journeyed to its lyrical Jamaican destination with a slow skanking 244 reggae version as soulful as it gets 44 by Toots and the Maytals A shorter version was released as a 1972 single in Jamaica Jaguar J 49 and the U K Trojan TR 7865 with a longer version included on the 1973 Funky Kingston album described by rock critic Lester Bangs writing in Stereo Review as Perfection the most exciting and diversified set of reggae tunes by a single artist yet released 245 A BBC reviewer said The goofy garage anthem becomes both fiery sermon and dance til you drop marathon And thanks to Toots soulman s disregard for verbal meaning the words are if anything even harder to discern than in the Kingsmen s version 246 Rolling Stone wrote And it passes the toughest test of any Louie Louie remake it rocks hard 247 while Hi Fi News amp Record Review cited its incomprehensible majesty and crazy vigour that made it the best version ever 248 Another author writing about the song s use in a scene in This Is England noted A black Jamaican band s cover of a black American song made famous by a white American band seems an appropriate signifier of the racial harmony that director Shane Meadows seeks to evoke 249 The group performed the song frequently in concert and a live version appeared on the 1998 various artists album Reggae Live Sessions Volume 2 Toots Hibbert also performed it solo and with other acts until his death in 2020 most notably the Red Hot Chili Peppers 250 and the Dave Matthews Band 251 Brother Louie 1973 edit Although musically not a true cover version Brother Louie Errol Brown and Tony Wilson s song about an interracial romance was strongly inspired by the Kingsmen s classic 252 and described 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 253 The original release by Hot Chocolate reached No 7 on the UK singles chart A cover version by Stories was a No 1 hit in the U S later the same year 253 In 1993 the Quireboys version reached No 31 in the UK 254 Patti Smith 1975 edit Multiple live versions by Patti Smith the punk poet laureate 255 were released in the mid 1970s on bootleg albums Let s Deodorize The Night Teenage Perversity amp 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 161 256 A 1975 live version at The Bottom Line was described as uptight with her raw voice barking out the chorus 257 Her version has also been described as tapping directly into the primal urchin like spirit of rock s renaissance 258 Jon the Postman 1977 edit Described as a committed and omnipresent figure on the punk and post punk scene in Manchester 259 Jon the Postman became known for waiting until headline bands like the Buzzcocks the Fall and Warsaw later Joy Division 260 had finished their sets sometimes before they had finished before mounting the stage in a drunken state grabbing the microphone and performing his own versions of Louie Louie 261 262 The first occurrence was at a Buzzcocks concert at the Band on the Wall venue on May 2 1977 263 which he described I think the Buzzcocks left the stage and the microphone was there and a little voice must have been calling This is your moment Jon I ve no idea to this day why I sang Louie Louie the ultimate garage anthem from the 60s And why I did ita cappellaand changed all the lyrics apart from the actual chorus I have no idea I suppose it was my bid for immortality one of those great bolts of inspiration 264 For some reason it appeared to go down rather well I suppose it was taking the punk ethos to the extreme anyone can have a go Before punk it was like you had to have a double degree in music It was a liberation for someone like me who was totally unmusical but wanted to have a go 265 A version of the song by The Fall with Jon on vocals appeared on the Live 1977 album which was described by Stewart Home as taking the amateurism of the Kingsmen to its logical conclusion with grossly incompetent musicianship and a drummer who seems to be experiencing extreme difficulty simply keeping time 262 A version with his group Puerile was included on the 1978 album John the Postman s Puerile Motorhead 1978 edit Louie Louie nbsp Single by Motorheadfrom the album Overkill re issue B side Tear Ya Down Released25 August 1978Recorded1978StudioWessex LondonGenreRock and roll hard rockLength2 47LabelBronze EMISongwriter s Richard BerryProducer s Neil Richmond MotorheadMotorhead singles chronology Motorhead 1977 Louie Louie 1978 Overkill 1979 Motorhead s charming laid back rendition of an old rock chestnut 266 originated as a cheap one take demo produced by Alvin Lee 267 With support from manager Doug Smith the track was rerecorded and shopped to Bronze Records Founder Gerry Bron disliked the incendiary almost sullen rendition 266 labeling it about the worst record I d ever heard 267 Nevertheless it was released as the group s second single purely as a favour to promoter Neil Warnock to coincide with an upcoming tour 267 A rough edged cover of the garage rock warhorse 268 with Clarke s guitar emulating the opening electric piano riff it was paired with Tear Ya Down on a 7 vinyl single Supported by a back breaking touring schedule the high octane version reached No 68 on the UK Singles Chart 269 The track also appeared on the CD re issues of Overkill 1996 and The Best of Motorhead 2000 270 Lead singer Lemmy Kilmister said 271 I think we did a really good version of it people tell me that it s one of the few times it s been recorded where the lyrics can be understood Actually I only got the first two verses and then the last verse was largely improvised On 25 October 1978 a pre recording of the band playing the song was broadcast on the BBC show Top of the Pops 272 and was subsequently released on the 2005 album BBC Live amp In Session Another live 1978 version was released on Lock Up Your Daughters 1990 and a 1978 alternate studio track appeared on Over the Top The Rarities 2000 The 2005 deluxe edition of Overkill included the original version the BBC version and two alternate versions 270 National Lampoon s Animal House 1978 edit Bluto Blutarsky John Belushi performing Louie Louie in National Lampoon s Animal House forever cemented the song s status as a frat rock classic and a staple of toga parties Belushi may have insisted on singing Louie Louie because he associated it with losing his virginity 273 but according to director John Landis it was included in the screenplay by soundtrack producer Kenny Vance long before Belushi was involved with the project because it would be the song the Deltas would sing 274 In the film the Deltas were clearly aping the Kingsmen version complete with slurred dirty lyrics but the setting was 1962 a year before the Kingsmen recording Although Richard Berry released his original version of the song in 1957 and the song had been popular with local bands in the Northwest following Rockin Robin Roberts 1961 single the mythical Faber College was based on Dartmouth College in the Northeast U S so the use of Louie Louie was an anachronism 274 The Kingsmen version was heard during the film along with a brief live rendition by Belushi with Tim Matheson Peter Riegert Tom Hulce Stephen Furst Bruce McGill and James Widdoes A separate version by Belushi played during the credits and was included on the soundtrack album The Belushi version was also released as a single MCA 3046 and reached No 89 No 91 and No 91 on the Billboard Cashbox and Record World charts respectively 118 Another actor from the film DeWayne Jessie as Otis Day of Otis Day and the Knights included a version on the VHS release Otis My Man in 1987 161 The film s soundtrack producer Kenny Vance formerly of Jay and the Americans also released a version with his group The Planotones on the 2007 album Dancin And Romancin 275 Bruce Springsteen 1978 edit Bruce Springsteen has had a long association with Louie Louie playing it at multiple concerts and guest appearances and commenting often on its significance From the 1979 No Nukes concert 276 Rock is primarily about longing All the great rock songs are about longing Like A Rolling Stone is about longing How does it feel to be without a home Louie Louie You re yearning for Where s that big party that I know is out there but I can t find it From the 2018 soundtrack album for Springsteen on Broadway spoken intro to Tenth Avenue Freeze Out 277 There is no love without one plus one equaling three It s the essential equation of art It s the essential equation of rock n roll It s the reason the universe will never be fully comprehensible It s the reason Louie Louie will never be fully comprehensible And it s the reason true rock n roll and true rock n roll bands will never die He has said that Born in the U S A was the most misunderstood song since Louie Louie 278 and one critic characterized The River as Less Kierkegaard lots more Kingsmen 279 The first known recorded performance was on September 9 1978 at the University of Notre Dame on the Darkness Tour followed by other tour performances in 1978 1981 2009 and 2014 He also played the song in guest appearances with other groups in 1982 at the Stone Pony with Cats on a Hot Surface and 1983 at The Headliner in Neptune NJ with Midnight Thunder Song snippets are frequently played within other songs High School Confidential Twist and Shout Glory Days and Pay Me My Money Down 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 amp Roll Is Here to Stay 1990 Clubs Stories 1994 Songs for an Electric Mule 1994 Lost amp Live 1995 The Boss Hits the Sixties 2009 Satisfaction 2014 Charlotte NC 04 19 14 2014 Who s Been Covered by the Boss 2014 Saginaw 1978 2015 and High Hopes Tour 2014 2018 E Street Band drummer Max Weinberg played Louie Louie on his 2017 live Jukebox show 280 and guitarist Nils Lofgren credited some of his success to I just happened to play Louie Louie a little different than the other guys 281 Steven Van Zandt remembered it as the record that changed his life saying That s where it all started 282 More recently Springsteen included the Kingsmen s version in a curated frat rock playlist on the 25th episode of his From My Home to Yours Sirius XM radio show in July 2021 283 and again as an intro on the 30th episode in October 2023 284 Other 1970s versions edit Sounds Orchestral by far the best of the numerous easy listening interpretations 44 in 1970 as a single Janus 124 and on albums One More Time US Good Morning Starshine UK and Fantastic France Allman Brothers Band live at the 1970 Tulane University homecoming dance 285 John Lennon and Friends at his 31st birthday party in 1971 released on the 1989 bootleg CD Let s Have A Party 286 MC5 included in early setlists 287 and live in Helsinki in 1972 released on the Kick Copenhagen bootleg LP 161 Flash Cadillac amp the Continental Kids as Herby and the Heartbeats in American Graffiti 1973 soundtrack album and 1984 home video release 161 Line Renaud French singer actress and AIDS activist as a 1973 single MGM K14500 161 also included on the 2007 compilation 100 Chansons New York Dolls live in the early 1970s 288 their song Private World has been termed a Louie Louie update 289 Flamin Groovies on their 1971 album Teenage Head and included on their 1976 compilation Still Shakin Live versions appeared on Bucketful of Brains 1983 Slow Death Live France 1983 and Studio 70 France 1984 161 Lyres recorded mid 1970s released on their 1987 album Live at Cantones 161 Goddo on their initial 1975 single A amp M 398 that reached No 75 on the Canadian RPM chart 290 The Clash on the 1977 Louie is a Punkrocker vinyl bootleg from the Sandinista outtakes 291 292 One writer characterized it as a raw and unusable jam 293 The Dictators live at Popeye s Spinach Factory in 1977 294 Warsaw later Joy Division included in early setlists and live in Liverpool in 1977 295 The Fall on the Live 1977 album 296 The Pop Group in early 1977 setlists because it was easy to play 297 Spider Stacy and the New Bastards later with The Pogues live at Whitefields School in 1977 298 The Studs punk spoof supergroup Cabaret Voltaire members Stephen Mallinder Richard H Kirk and Chris Watson plus Ian Craig Marsh Adi Newton Glenn Gregory Martyn Ware and Haydn Boyes Weston live in Sheffield UK in June 1977 299 Lou Reed live at the Bottom Line May 21 1978 300 Blondie live on the European Tour December 1979 January 1980 released on the 1979 Wet Lips Shapely Hips bootleg album 161 301 1980s edit Black Flag 1981 edit Louie Louie nbsp The cover features Black Flag s singer Dez Cadena and some of his improvised lyrics to Louie Louie Single by Black FlagB side Damaged I Released1981 1981 7 inch single CD singleGenreHardcore punkLength5 22LabelPosh BoySongwriter s Richard BerryProducer s Spot Black Flag The Hermosa Beach California hardcore punk band Black Flag released a raw 302 rubbished 303 brilliant demented 304 version of Louie Louie as a single in 1981 on Posh Boy Records It was the band s first release with Dez Cadena as singer replacing Ron Reyes Cadena would go on to sing on the Six Pack EP before switching to rhythm guitar and being replaced on vocals by Henry Rollins 305 306 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 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 307 You know the pain that s in my heartIt just shows I m not very smartWho needs love when you ve got a gun Who needs love to have any fun The single also included an early version of Damaged I which would be re recorded with Rollins for the band s debut album Damaged later that year 307 Demo versions of both tracks recorded with Cadena were included on the 1982 compilation album Everything Went Black 308 The front cover art shows the main verse of the lyrics to Louie Louie over a photograph by Edward Colver featuring Black Flag s third singer Dez Cadena Both tracks from the single were included on the 1983 compilation album The First Four Years and Louie Louie was also included on 1987 s Wasted Again 309 310 A live version of Louie Louie recorded by the band s 1985 lineup was released on Who s Got the 10 with Rollins improvising his own lyrics 311 Continued touring line up changes and occasional reunions resulted in multiple recorded live versions with various lead singers Keith Morris Ron Reyes Dez Cadena Henry Rollins and Mike Vallely 312 Stanley Clarke and George Duke 1981 edit A duo of jazz rock fusioneers 313 bassist Stanley Clarke and keyboardist George Duke included a killer version 314 funk cover 315 on The Clarke Duke Project a 1981 album of eight original compositions and one cover The song s combination of narration and singing within a storytelling structure elicited a variety of reactions ranging from appealing 316 and imaginative adaptation 313 to probably the funkiest version of Louie Louie ever recorded 317 One Allmusic reviewer called it a truly bizarre rendition 318 while another lamented that the Clarke Duke version criminally never made it onto any of the various artists collections that showcased the legendary Richard Berry tune 315 but it was included on The Best of Louie Louie Volume 2 164 A single was also released in Europe cut to 3 38 from the album s 5 05 length 319 The album was nominated for a 1982 Grammy Award for Best R amp B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals 320 Barry White 1981 edit Disco king Barry White created Richard Berry s all time favorite version 321 as he reworked and revamped 322 the original to create a Latin tinged 323 rendition that took the song from pure rock n roll to pure moan n groan 321 Not all reaction was positive however as CD Review dismissed it as blasphemy and disco fied 324 White commented I m gonna sing just like Richard Berry I m gonna do this song that this black guy wrote Everybody thinks that these white guys recorded it but a black guy did this 325 Dave Marsh summarized Berry s reaction In White s arrangement Louie Louie emerges as an up tempo Latin groove driven by timbales and congas and punctuated by brilliant trumpet riffs while White supplements the chorus with the plaintive interpolation Comin home Jamaaaica Richard Berry loved it because White s version finally brought to life his original vision of all the timbales and congas going and me singing Louie Louie Barry White did it exactly the way I wanted to do it Berry enthused I loved it 321 In the Beware liner notes White wrote I would like to take this opportunity to emphasize and give an acknowledgement of credit The song Louie Louie was originally written and created by a man who I feel was one of the true pioneers of my time All my respect highest admiration and love goes to Mr Richard Berry 326 The track was released on White s 1981 Beware album and also as 12 and a 7 single shortened from 7 14 to 3 35 327 White also performed it on Soul Train on September 19 1981 and on American Bandstand on August 8 1981 328 The Fat Boys 1988 edit The Fat Boys with producers Latin Rascals brought Louie Louie up to date in 1988 with a hip hop version which reached No 89 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and No 46 on the UK Top 100 Their rap with rewritten lyrics chronicled a pursuit of the song s real words 329 Dave Marsh in 1993 called their version the last great Louie Louie to date 329 The Fat Boys version was released on the Coming Back Hard Again album on the Tin Pan Apple label and also on a 12 single 5 42 and 3 50 edits and a 7 single 3 50 edit The 2009 compilation album Fat Boys On Rewind included it as well 330 Notable live performances in 1988 included Club MTV and the MTV Video Music Awards The music video directed by Scott Kalvert was a parody of Animal House with food fights dancing girls and togas 329 Other 1980s versions edit The Grateful Dead multiple live versions in the 1980s with Brent Mydland on vocals 331 Joan Jett amp the Blackhearts on the 1992 CD reissue of the 1981 album I Love Rock n Roll one of multiple versions that deliberately repeated the Jack Ely early vocal entry mistake 94 Joan Jett said of producer Neil Bogart s insistence that she record Louie Louie This was a song that I did not want to do All that stuff at the beginning of the song is me trying to ensure that the song would suck Didn t work I thought it came out well 332 Half Japanese on their 1981 album Our Solar System 161 Described by Robert Christgau as lots to laugh at 333 Charlie Harper on his 1981 album Stolen Property 161 Magazine 60 France on their eponymous 1981 album 161 39 Clocks Germany recorded as Psychotic Louie Louie on their 1982 album Subnarcotic 161 Moe Tucker on her 1982 album Playin Possum 161 Johnny Thunders on his 1982 album In Cold Blood 161 A second version was released on the 2008 Who s Been Talking compilation Rory Gallagher live at the Olympia Hall Paris in 1982 released on the 2022 album A Burning Fever 334 The Last on the 1983 various artists album The Best of Louie Louie also released on Painting Smiles on a Dead Man France 1983 161 Flo amp Eddie on the 1983 album The History of Flo amp Eddie amp the Turtles 335 also live in 1980s concerts as the Turtles 336 Australian Crawl on their 1983 album Phalanx and as a single also released on the 1986 album The Final Wave as The Last Louie Louie 161 David Surkamp on a 1984 single Butt Records MGLS003 161 Royal Crescent Mob live in 1985 in Louisville KY a 45 minute version as Louisville Louisville 337 Howard Stern vocals piano and Frank Zappa guitar live on The Howard Stern Show in 1985 338 The show was rebroadcast on Sirius Satellite Radio in 2006 and the track was included on the Under The Covers compilation album in 2019 339 The Bangles in 1985 on MTV s The Cutting Edge with comment Does anybody know the words 340 Kevin Dunn on his 1985 album Tanzfeld 161 Described as disjointed and slightly dissonant 341 and wickedly satirical 342 his version was also released on the 2010 anthology No Great Lost Songs 1979 1985 Robert Christgau s album review characterized his rewritten Louie Louie lyrics as inspirational verse 343 Bob Dylan and Tom Petty during rehearsals for Farm Aid 1985 344 released on the 2005 DVD So Many Directions Home Vol 2 Multiple live versions by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were released on Live at the Fillmore 1997 and other albums The Kingsmen in an audience performance at the end of Bud Clark s Inaugural Ball beginning his term as Mayor of Portland Oregon in 1985 345 Girl Trouble on the 1990 album Stomp And Shout And Work It On Out recorded 1985 161 R E M in multiple 1985 concert encores on the Pre Construction and Reconstruction tours 346 A 1984 concert version was released on a 1987 Italian promotional double LP The Pop Dream 347 The Sisters of Mercy on the 1985 bootleg Brimstone amp Treacle EP Various live versions appeared on bootleg albums Possession Half Moon Over Amsterdam The Lights Shine Clear Through The Sodium Haze A Fire In The Hull At The Blind Parade Cryptic Flowers Live In Maastricht Tune In Turn Off Burn Out and The Quality Of Mercy 161 The Cult on the 1986 Lil Devil EP as Wild Thing Louie Louie Live 161 Husker Du Meat Puppets Minutemen Saccharine Trust and SWA on the 1986 VHS release The Tour 348 Meat Loaf in multiple concerts in Germany Switzerland and the UK on the 20 20 World Tour in 1987 349 Jimmy Buffett live in 1987 at the Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre 350 The Purple Helmets The Stranglers on their 1988 album Ride Again 161 and in multiple 1988 and 1989 live shows 351 Tiger Moon three mixes on a 1988 12 single Vision Records VR 1205 161 Paul Shaffer on the 1989 album Coast to Coast 161 Deniz Tek on his 1989 album Orphan Tracks 161 John Stamos with Scott Baio and cast members on Full House S3E9 November 24 1989 352 Young amp Restless on their 1990 album Something to Get You Hyped 161 1990s edit Coupe de Ville 1990 edit Written by Mike Binder and directed by Joe Roth Coupe de Ville featured an extended scene discussing possible interpretations of the Louie Louie lyrics and a closing credit montage of multiple Louie Louie versions 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 353 354 As the Los Angeles Times noted Joe Roth obviously knows the importance of the Louie Louie lyric controversy 355 Multiple versions played during the closing credits Richard Berry the Rice University Marching Owl Band the Sandpipers Les Dantz and his Orchestra the Kingsmen and Young MC s Louie Louie House Mix a remix of the Kingsmen version with samples from Richard Berry and the Rice University MOB The movie trailer also used the Richard Berry and Kingsmen versions The soundtrack album released by Cypress Records on vinyl CD and cassette included the Kingsmen and Young MC versions 356 A 12 EP Cypress Records V 74500 was released with four tracks Louie Rap Louie Vocal Attack Louie Louie House Mix and Louie DePalma Mix all featuring Maestro Fresh Wes and produced by Young MC 357 A music video of Louie Louie House Mix credited to Various Artists featuring Young MC was concurrently released and included appearances by Robert Townsend It s a hump song Kareem Abdul Jabbar It s a dance song Martin Short Young MC and others 358 The inclusion of the Kingsmen s Louie Louie is a bit of an anachronism in that the film takes place on a trip from Detroit to Florida during the summer of 1963 The initial release of the Kingsmen version on the regional Jerden label was in May 1963 but no significant national radio airplay and chart activity or lyrics controversy occurred until October and its national chart debut was not until early November 359 The Three Amigos 1999 edit The first release by the Three Amigos Dylan Amlot Milroy Nadarajah and Marc Williams was their cover of Louie Louie The 12 EP titled Louie Louie included Original Mix Da Digglar Mix Wiseguys Remix and Touche s Bonus Beats 360 Released in July 1999 the Original Mix version reached No 15 on the UK Singles Chart higher than the Kingsmen s No 26 in 1964 and to date remains the last Louie Louie version to appear on the US or UK charts 361 Other 1990s versions edit Johnny Winter on the 1990 album A Lone Star Kind of Day 161 Guru Josh on his 1990 acid house album Infinity that reached No 41 on the UK chart But when critics spotted a cover of Louie Louie on his debut album the game was definitely up 362 161 Ry Cooder live in 1990 at a Village Music function with Richard Berry Tim Drummond Scott Mathews Steve Douglas and Johnnie Johnson Eric Burdon live in 1990 at a Ventura Beach concert 363 Burdon also included the Kingsmen s version in his curated list of 13 tracks as host of Rolling Stone s Guest D J program 105 on March 26 1984 364 Dave Stewart and Barbara Gaskin on their 1991 album Spin as a medley with Cast Your Fate to the Wind 161 The Dave Matthews Band in some of their early 1990s setlists A version was included on the 2000 album The Best Of What s Around Vol 1 365 John Stamos and David Coulier on Full House S7E3 September 28 1993 with Dylan amp Blake Tuomy Wilhoit 366 The Queers on a bonus 7 record included with the 1994 Shout at the Queers album 367 Neil Diamond live at the 1995 NYU commencement ceremony 368 At the 1997 opening of the Experience Music Project an encore version was performed by the Kingsmen joined by Paul Allen the Presidents of the United States of America and Steve Turner of Mudhoney The other members of Mudhoney declined to participate calling it kind of lame 369 Warren Zevon live with the Rock Bottom Remainders in Bangor Maine in 1998 Horror author Stephen King sang lead and music critic Joel Selvin performed an extended scream solo 370 2000s edit The Guess Who at their 2000 reunion concert in Winnipeg 371 The early group was known for their most wondrous Louie Louie medley including versions by the Kingsmen Kinks Beach Boys and Raiders 372 Burton Cummings regularly performs live versions at his concerts 373 Steve Jordan released an innovative blatantly personal 374 Tejano conjunto version on his 2005 album 25 Golden Hits 375 Mike Huckabee and Capitol Offense live at HuckPAC 2008 376 Lisa Simpson and the Springfield Children s Band on the 2005 episode of The Simpsons Episode 367 We re on the Road to D ohwhere 377 Joe McPhee Cato Salsa Experience and The Thing on the 2007 album Two Bands And A Legend 378 Eddie Angel and Johnny Rabb with The Trashmen live at the Turf Club in St Paul MN on November 22 2008 The Hives live with The Sonics November 27 2009 at Debaser Medis Stockholm Sweden The Smashing Pumpkins on their 2008 Live Smashing Pumpkins album series 379 Detroit7 Japan on two 2009 albums Detroit7 and Black amp White 380 James Williamson with Careless Hearts on their eponymous 2009 album 381 2010s edit Mark Lindsay live on the 2011 Happy Together 25th Anniversary Tour 382 Baby It s You a 2011 Broadway jukebox musical featured a production of Louie Louie by cast members as the Kingsmen the Shirelles and Chuck Jackson not included on original cast soundtrack album 383 384 Dick Dale live at The Middle East in Cambridge in 2014 385 The Most Sweden on their 2015 album Invasion Completed a fabulously executed cover 386 Billy Joel live at the Moda Center in Portland on December 8 2017 387 2020s edit The September 2021 issue of Rolling Stone magazine published a revised list of Rolling Stone s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time that ranked Louie Louie No 156 down from No 54 and No 55 in the 2004 and 2010 rankings respectively 388 Summary of charting versions edit Singles edit Year a Artist Peak chart positions Label Album Billboard Hot 100 118 Cashbox Top 100 118 Record World 118 Canada b U K 254 1963 The Kingsmen 2 c 1 d 1 e 1 26 f g Wand 143 h The Kingsmen In Person i Paul Revere and the Raiders 103 j Columbia 42814 k l m 1966 Travis Wammack 128 n Atlantic 2322 l The Kingsmen o 97 p 65 76 Wand 143 o The Kingsmen In Person i The Sandpipers 30 q 35 30 29 r A amp M 819 Guantanamera 1975 Goddo 75 s A amp M 398 l 1978 Motorhead 68 t Bronze BRO 60 l John Belushi 89 u 91 91 99 v MCA 40950 Animal House 1988 The Fat Boys 89 w 46 x Tin Pan Apple 871010 Coming Back Hard Again 1999 The Three Amigos 15 y Inferno CDFERN 17 z Table notes Ordered by chart entry date CHUM chart 1963 1964 RPM chart 1965 and later Entered chart November 9 1963 and remained for 16 weeks peaked in February 1964 Dave Marsh asserts that Louie Louie far outsold the No 1 record Dominique but that proper decorum was a factor in keeping it from Billboard s top spot 111 Also reached 1 on the Cash Box R amp B chart The Billboard R amp B chart was not published at this time Also reached 1 on the Record World R amp B chart Entered chart January 30 1964 for seven weeks UK chart position was a composite ranking published by the Official UK Charts Company Reached 17 in the NME rankings and 27 in Record Mirror per Marsh p 142 Also made UK charts in Melody Maker 27 Disc 22 Record Mirror 26 and Pop Weekly 21 Released on regional Jerden label in April 1963 Released nationally on Wand label in October 1963 Peak chart position reached in February 1964 a b Crowd noise overdubs added to simulate live version Entered Bubbling Under chart November 9 1963 for three weeks Released on regional Sande label in April 1963 Released nationally on Columbia label in October 1963 a b c d Included on later reissue compilation Live version included on Here They Come 1965 Entered Bubbling Under chart April 9 1966 for one week a b Same version re issued as Louie Louie 64 65 66 Entered chart May 14 1966 for two weeks Entered chart October 22 1966 for seven weeks Entered chart October 17 1966 for nine weeks Entered chart August 2 1975 for six weeks Entered chart September 16 1999 for two weeks Entered chart September 30 1978 for four weeks Entered chart October 21 1978 for three weeks Entered chart October 15 1988 for three weeks Entered chart November 5 1988 for four weeks Entered chart July 3 1999 for six weeks Released as a CD single and on Louie Louie a 12 four song EP EPs edit Year Artist EP Label Peak chart positions U S U K 165 1964 The Kinks Kinksize Session Pye NEP 24200 a 1 b Table notes U K release only Also reached 7 on the Record Mirror EP chart Albums edit Year a Artist Album b Label Peak chart positions U S 117 U K 254 1964 The Kingsmen The Kingsmen In Person c d Wand 657 20 The Surfaris Hit City 64 Decca 74487 120 The Pyramids The Original Penetration Best 16501 119 The Beach Boys Shut Down Volume 2 Capitol 2027 13 Otis Redding Pain in My Heart Atco 161 e 103 28 The Wailers Tall Cool One Imperial 12262 127 1965 Jan amp Dean Command Performance f Liberty 7403 33 The Kinks Kinks Size Reprise 6158 13 g Paul Revere amp The Raiders Here They Come f Columbia 9107 71 The Ventures The Ventures a Go Go Dolton 8037 16 The Kinks Kinks Kinkdom Reprise 6184 47 g 1966 Sandy Nelson Boss Beat Imperial 12298 126 Mongo Santamaria Hey Let s Party Columbia 9273 135 The Beach Boys Best of the Beach Boys Capitol 2545 8 h The Swingin Medallions Double Shot Of My Baby s Love Smash 67083 88 The Troggs From Nowhere Fontana TL 5355 i 6 The Sandpipers Guantanamera A amp M 4117 13 1967 The Kinks Sunny Afternoon Marble Arch 716 j 9 Floyd Cramer Here s What s Happening RCA 3746 166 Paul Revere amp The Raiders Greatest Hits Columbia 9462 9 1969 The Mothers of Invention Uncle Meat k Bizarre 2024 43 1971 The Kinks Golden Hour of The Kinks Pye Golden Hour GH 501 j 21 1972 Paul Revere amp The Raiders All Time Greatest Hits Columbia 30768 143 1975 Toots and the Maytals Funky Kingston Island 9330 164 g 1978 John Belushi Animal House MCA 3046 71 1979 The Kingsmen Quadrophenia l Polydor 6235 m 46 23 1981 Stanley Clarke and George Duke The Clarke Duke Project Epic 36918 33 1988 The Fat Boys Coming Back Hard Again Tin Pan Alley 835809 n 33 98 1990 Young and Restless Something To Get You Hyped Pandisc 8809 104 Guru Josh Infinity o Deconstruction PL 74701 j 41 1994 Robert Plant Wayne s World 2 Reprise 45485 p 78 17 1997 The Kinks The Very Best of The Kinks Polygram TV 5375542 j 42 2000 Motorhead The Best of Motorhead q Metal is MISDD002 j 52 Not listed Motorhead Overkill UK 24 version included on the 1996 CD reissue but not on the original 1979 release Joan Jett amp the Blackhearts I Love Rock n Roll US 2 UK 25 version included on the 1992 CD reissue but not on the original 1981 release Table notes Ordered by chart entry date US UK charting albums with a Louie Louie version Released December 1963 entered Billboard chart January 1964 Crowd noise overdubs added to album version to simulate a live performance Released in U K on Atlantic 587042 a b Live version a b c U S release only Not included on 2 U K release Not included on 52 U S Wild Thing release a b c d e U K release only Louie Louie clone Plastic People included on Absolutely Free 1967 41 and Mothermania 1969 151 Movie soundtrack album only Omitted from the 1993 CD reissue but included on the 2000 CD reissue Released in U K on Polydor 2625 037 Released in U K on Urban URBLP 13 Included on CD release only Released in U K on Warner Brothers WB 45485 Alternate version Louie Louie compilations edit In 1983 Rhino Records released The Best of Louie Louie The Greatest Renditions of Rock s 1 All Time Song in conjunction with KFJC s Maximum Louie Louie event The album featured a re recorded Richard Berry version 45 influential versions by Rockin Robin Roberts the Sonics and the Kingsmen Black Flag s version and several other versions some bizarre These included an outlandish 188 performance by the Rice University Marching Owl Band an a cappella Hallalouie Chorus in which the song s title was sung to the melody of Handel s Hallelujah Chorus and a David Bowie imitation by Les Dantz and his Orchestra 42 Reissued on CD in 1988 by Rhino Re released in 2023 in Japan by Oldays as The Best of Louie Louie amp More with 15 additional tracks The Best of Louie Louie Volume 2 followed in 1989 with versions by Paul Revere and the Raiders Mongo Santamaria Pete Fountain the Kinks Ike and Tina Turner the Shockwaves and others 164 In 1994 Jerden Records released The Louie Louie Collection by the Best of the Northwest a Pacific Northwest oriented compilation featuring versions by the Kingsmen Paul Revere and the Raiders Don and the Goodtimes Little Bill amp the Adventurers the Feelies Ian Whitcomb the University of Washington Husky Marching Band and others The UW Husky Marching Band has been playing Louie Louie for over 40 years 389 In 1997 The First Louie Louie Spanish Compilation was released by Louie Records featuring 11 versions by the Flaming Sideburns the Navahodads Luxury Liner and others 390 In 2002 Ace Records released Love That Louie The Louie Louie Files a comprehensive overview of the origins impact and legacy of the cultural phenomenon known as Louie Louie Featuring detailed sleeve notes by Alec Palao the CD contained 24 tracks divided into eight sections titled The Original Louie Inspirational Louie Northwest Louie Louie As A Way Of Life Transatlantic Louie Louie The Rewrite Louie The Sequel and Louie Goes Home The first CD reissue of Richard Berry s original version was included along with multiple historically important versions 391 Foreign language versions edit Shortly after the Kingsmen s version charted in late 1963 the first international covers appeared Since the original lyrics were notoriously difficult to discern the translations were often inaccurate or adapted to a different storyline Early foreign language versions included 392 Los Apson Mexico as Ya No Lo Hagas on a 1963 single Peerless 1263 and a 1964 album Atras De La Raya 161 Joske Harry s and the King Creoles Belgium on a 1963 single Arsa 107 161 Les Players France as Si C Etait Elle on a 1964 single Polydor 1879 and a 1964 EP Polydor 27 129 161 Los Supersonicos El Salvador on a 1965 single DCA 1082 and eponymous album 161 Pedrito Ramirez con Los Yogis US on a 1965 single Angelo 518 I Trappers Italy as Lui Lui Non Ha on a 1965 single CGD 9606 Los Corbs Spain as Loui Loui on a 1966 EP Marfer M 622 Les Zeniths Canada on a 1966 single Premiere 825 Maddalena Italy as Lui Lui on a 1967 single RCA Italiana 3413 161 Los Yetis Colombia on a 1968 album Olvidate In 1966 the Sandpipers a US group released a slower tempo Spanish language version that reached No 30 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was covered that same year in German by Die Rosy Singers 393 The 1983 compilation The Best of Louie Louie featured a goofy 188 Russian version by Red Square 42 and in 1997 an entire album of Spanish covers The First Louie Louie Spanish Compilation was released with versions by the Flaming Sideburns the Navahodads Los DelTonos and eight others Other Spanish versions were released by Los Hermanos Carrion Mexico as Alu Aluai on a 1971 album Lagrimas de Cristal Que Manera de Perder Los Elegantes Spain as Luisa Se Va on a 1985 album Paso A Paso 394 and Desperados Spain on a 1997 album Por Un Punado De Temas In 1988 Michael Doucet released a great vocal treatment 395 of Louie Louie in Cajun French on the Michael Doucet and Cajun Brew album CD Review characterized his version as oddly appropriate 396 More recent non English efforts included Elektricni Orgazam Serbia as Lui Lui on a 1986 album Distorzija Irha Italy as Lui Luisa on a 1989 EP Beati I Primi Attack Punk Records APR 12 397 Elakelaiset Finland as Tilulilulei on a 1994 album Joulumanteli The Dizzy Brains Madagascar as Hiala Aho Zao on a 2014 album Mola Kely Dynasis Greece as Loui Loui on a 2019 digital single 398 Answer songs sequels and tributes edit Louie Louie has spawned a number of answer songs sequels and tributes from the 1960s to the present Louie Go Home 1964 Paul Revere amp the Raiders Columbia 4 43008 also recorded in 1964 by Davie Jones amp The King Bees David Bowie as Louie Louie Go Home and by The Who in 1965 as Lubie Come Back Home 44 Love That Louie 1964 Jack E Lee amp The Squires RCA 54 8452 a brazen attempt to approximate the idiosyncrasies of its predecessor 44 Louie Come Home 1965 The Epics Zen 202 391 Louie Come Back 1965 The Legends Shout Northwest Killers Volume 2 Norton NW 907 399 Louise Louise 1966 H B amp The Checkmates Lavender R1936 a raucous re write 44 Louie Go Home 1966 The Campus Kingsmen Impalla V 1481 different song from the Raiders version 400 Louie Louie s Comin Back 1967 The Pantels Rich RR 120 401 Louie Louie Louie 1989 Henry Lee Summer I ve Got Everything CBS ZK 45124 402 Louie Louie Got Married 1994 The Tentacles K Records IPU XCIV 403 Louie 1994 by Phil Milstein on the RRRecords America The Beautiful experimental album a smog cloud tribute collage of dozens of earlier versions 125 Louie Louie Where Did She Roam 1996 Thee Headcoats SFTRI 335 404 The Louie Louie Variations 1996 an intriguingly titled alternative classical composition by Phillip Kent Bimstein performed by the Modern Mandolin Quartet on his Garland Hirschi s Cows album 405 Bimstein described the work as a lively fantasy based on the archetypical I IV V chord progression that sends a small fragment on a deconstructive mission through a contemporary classical landscape 406 The Ballad of the Kingsmen 2004 Todd Snider East Nashville Skyline Oh Boy Records OBR 031 commentary on the tendency of the religious right and the government to blame rock music for the moral decline of our youth 407 Louie Louie Music 2012 Armitage Shanks Louie Louie Music EP Little Teddy LiTe765 408 I Love Louie Louie 2014 The Rubinoos 45 Pynotic Productions 0045 409 55 Minute Louie Louie 2017 Shave High Alert Rockstars Anonymous Music 410 I Wanna Louie Louie All Night Long 2018 Charles Albright Everything Went Charles Albright Sacramento Records 028 411 Parodies and rewrites editDue to the song s distinctive rhythm and simple structure it has been used often as a basis for parodies and rewrites Examples include Lilly Lilly by Slim Jim Satirized the mumbled vocals of the Kingsmen version Released on a 1965 single Laurie 3226 produced and co written by Ernie Maresca 412 413 Lewis Lewis by the Rain Kings Self released on a 1966 EP with lyrics rewritten by group members Doug Dossett and Steve Lowry 414 Plastic People by Frank Zappa with Richard Berry co writer credit Included on Absolutely Free in 1967 and on You Can t Do That on Stage Anymore Vol 1 in 1988 415 The Lumpen a Black Panther Party musical group rewrote Louie Louie as a protest song in 1967 416 Pharaoh Pharaoh Written in 1971 by Tony Sbrana Released on multiple religious music albums often with added verses 417 Wal ly Wal ly by Wally George Political satire version released in 1984 on a 12 mini LP Rhino RNEP 612 418 419 Ruthie Ruthie by Frank Zappa with Richard Berry co writer credit Recorded in 1974 and released on You Can t Do That on Stage Anymore Vol 1 in 1988 415 Bernie Bernie by The Bleacher Bums with Richard Berry writer credit Ode to Bernie Kosar released by Leaky Records on cassette and vinyl single in 1987 420 Christmas Christmas by Mojo Nixon Released on the Punk Rock Christmas compilation in 1995 421 Santa Santa by The 60s Invasion Released on the 2012 album Incense amp Chia Pets A 60 s Christmas Celebration 422 Buddy Buddy Ode to Oklahoma basketball star Buddy Hield written and recorded by Eric Kiper in 2015 423 Jedi Jedi Star Wars parody released online by Royish Good Looks in 2018 424 Lyrics controversy and investigations editAs Louie Louie began to climb the national charts in late 1963 Jack Ely s slurry snarl 425 and mush mouthed 426 gloriously garbled 427 infamously incomprehensible 428 legendarily manic 429 punk squawk 44 vocals gave rise to rumors about dirty lyrics The Kingsmen initially ignored the rumors but soon news networks were filing reports from New Orleans Florida Michigan and elsewhere about an American public nearly hysterical over the possible dangers of this record 91 The song quickly became something of a Rorschach test for dirty minds 430 who thought they could detect obscene suggestions in the lyric 431 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 432 433 He referred the matter to the FCC and also requested that the Indiana Broadcasters Association advise their member stations to pull the record from their playlists An initial FCC investigation found the song unintelligible at any speed 434 The National Association of Broadcasters also investigated and deemed it unintelligible to the average listener but that t he phonetic qualities of this recording are such that a listener possessing the phony lyrics could imagine them to be genuine 435 Neither the FCC nor the NAB took any further action In response Max Feirtag of publisher Limax Music offered 1 000 to anyone finding anything suggestive in the lyrics 436 and Broadcasting magazine published the actual lyrics as provided by Limax 437 Scepter Wand Records commented Not in anyone s wildest imagination are the lyrics as presented on the Wand recording suggestive let alone obscene 438 Producer Jerry Dennon thanked the governor saying We really owe Governor Welsh a lot The record already was going great but since he s stepped in to give us a publicity boost it s hard to keep up with orders 439 Billboard noted It also seems likely that some shrewd press agentry may also be playing an important role in this teapot tempest 432 The following month an outraged parent wrote to Attorney General Robert F Kennedy alleging that the lyrics of Louie Louie were obscene saying The lyrics are so filthy that I can not sic enclose them in this letter 440 441 The Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the complaint 442 and looked into the various rumors of real lyrics that were circulating among teenagers 443 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 444 and therefore the Bureau could not find that the recording was obscene 22 Over the course of the investigation a folk legend of modern times that has yet to be bettered for sheer inanity 44 the FBI interviewed Richard Berry members of the Kingsmen members of Paul Revere and the Raiders and record company executives The one person they never interviewed was the man who actually sang the words in question Jack Ely whose name apparently never came up because he was no longer with the Kingsmen 443 445 446 By contrast in 1964 the Ohio State University student newspaper The Lantern initiated an investigation in response to a growing campus controversy Working with local radio station WCOL a letter was sent to Wand Records requesting a copy of the lyrics The paper printed the lyrics in full resolving the issue and resulting in booking the Kingsmen for the fall homecoming entertainment 447 In a 1964 interview Lynn Easton of the Kingsmen said We took the words from the original version and recorded them faithfully 433 and group member Barry Curtis later added Richard Berry never wrote dirty lyrics you listen and you hear what you want to hear 19 Richard Berry told Esquire in 1988 that the Kingsmen had sung the song exactly as written 26 and often deflected questions about the lyrics by saying If I told you the words you wouldn t believe me anyway 448 449 In a 1991 Dave Marsh interview Governor Welsh emphatically denied being a censor claiming he never banned the record and only suggested that it not be played Marsh disagreed saying If a record isn t played at the suggestion of the state s chief executive it has been banned 450 A history of the song and its notoriety was published in 1993 by Dave Marsh including an extensive recounting of the multiple lyrics investigations 451 but he was unable to obtain permission to publish the song s actual lyrics 452 because the then current owner Windswept Pacific wanted people to continue to fantasize what the words are 453 Marsh noted that the lyrics controversy reflected the country s infantile sexuality and ensured the song s eternal perpetuation he also included multiple versions of the supposed dirty lyrics 23 Other authors noted that the song reap ed the benefits that accrue from being pursued by the guardians of public morals 454 and s uch stupidity helped ensure Louie Louie a long and prosperous life 455 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 2 Cultural impact editBook edit Music critic Dave Marsh wrote a 245 page book about the song 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 F B I and a Cast of Millions 456 The Who edit The Who were impacted in their early recording career by the riff rhythm of Louie Louie owing to the song s influence on the Kinks who were also produced by Shel Talmy Talmy wanted the successful sounds of the Kinks 1964 hits You Really Got Me All Day and All of the Night and Till the End of the Day to be copied by the Who 159 As a result Pete Townshend penned I Can t Explain a desperate copy of The Kinks 457 released in March 1965 The Who also covered the 1964 Lindsay Revere sequel Louie Go Home in 1965 as Lubie Come Back Home In 1979 Louie Louie Kingsmen version was included on the Quadrophenia soundtrack album and in 1980 the group performed a brief version in concert at the Los Angeles Sports Arena 458 459 In his 1993 book Dave Marsh compared Keith Moon s drumming style to Lynn Easton of the Kingsmen 460 Psyche Rock and Futurama edit In 1967 French composers Michel Colombier and Pierre Henry collaborating as Les Yper Sound produced a synthesizer and musique concrete work based on the Louie Louie riff titled Psyche Rock 461 They subsequently worked with choreographer Maurice Bejart on a Psyche Rock based score for the ballet Messe pour le temps present The full score with multiple mixes of Psyche Rock was released the same year on the album Metamorphose The album was reissued in 1997 with additional remixes including one by Ken Abyss titled Psyche Rock Metal Time Machine Mix which along with the original Christopher Tyng reworked into the theme song for the animated television comedy series Futurama 462 463 464 Louie Louie marathons edit In the early 1980s KPFK DJs Art Damage and Chuck Steak began hosting a weekly Battle of the Louie Louie contest featuring multiple renditions and listener voting 15 In 1981 KFJC DJ Jeff Stretch Riedle broadcast a full hour of various versions Soon after KALX in Berkeley responded and the two stations engaged in a Louie Louie marathon battle with each increasing the number of versions played KFJC s Maximum Louie Louie Marathon topped the competition in August 1983 with 823 versions played over 63 hours plus in studio performances by Richard Berry and Jack Ely 465 466 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 467 Other stations used the same idea to introduce format changes including WWSW Pittsburgh KROX Dallas WNOR Norfolk and WRQN Toledo 468 469 In 2011 KFJC celebrated International Louie Louie Day with a reprise of its 1983 event featuring multiple Louie Louie versions new music by Richard Berry and appearances by musicians DJs and celebrities with Louie Louie connections 470 In April 2015 Orme Radio broadcast the First Italian Louie Louie Marathon playing 279 versions in 24 hours 471 In 2023 the city of Portland hosted a 24 hour live marathon to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Kingsmen version 472 Use in movies edit Various versions of Louie Louie have appeared in the films listed below 473 Year Title Version s On OSTAlbum Comments 1969 Zavolies Zabolies a Fotis Lazaridis Orchestra n a Greece release 1972 Tijuana Blue b Kingsmen n a 1973 American Graffiti Flash Cadillac No c 1978 National Lampoon s Animal House Kingsmen Cast John Belushi d Yes e Billboard 71 1979 Quadrophenia Kingsmen Yes f Billboard 46 UK 23 g 1983 Heart Like A Wheel Jack Ely No Nightmares Black Flag Yes 1984 Blood Simple Toots and the Maytals No 1986 The Cult Live In Milan h The Cult No Italy release 1987 Survival Game i Kingsmen n a Also in trailer The Return of Sherlock Holmes Cast uncredited bar band n a TV movie 1988 The Naked Gun From the Files of Police Squad Marching Owl Band j Yes Love at Stake Kingsmen No 1989 Fright Night Part 2 Black Flag No 1990 Coupe de Ville Kingsmen Young MC k Yes 1991 Reality 86 d Black Flag n a 1992 Jennifer 8 Kingsmen No Passed Away Kingsmen Yes Dave Cast Kevin Kline No 1993 Wayne s World 2 Robert Plant Yes l Billboard 78 UK 17 1994 A Simple Twist of Fate Cast party singalong No 1995 Mr Holland s Opus Cast student band instrumental No Man of the House Kingsmen n a 1996 Down Periscope USS Stingray crew Kelsey Grammer and others n a 1997 My Best Friend s Wedding Kingsmen No 1998 ABC The Alphabetic Tribe m Kingsmen Sandpipers n a Swiss release Wild Things Iggy Pop No 2001 Say It Isn t So Kingsmen No 2002 La Bande du drugstore Full Spirits Yes France release 24 Hour Party People John The Postman Factory All Stars No UK release 2003 Old School Black Flag Yes Kingsmen tribute n Coffee and Cigarettes Richard Berry Iggy Pop Yes 2004 Friday Night Lights Cast marching band instrumental No 2005 Guy X Kingsmen n a 2006 This Is England Toots and the Maytals Yes UK release Bobby Cast Demi Moore o Yes 2009 Capitalism A Love Story Iggy Pop n a 2010 Lemmy Motorhead n a UK release Knight and Day Kingsmen p No Tournee Nomads Kingsmen Yes q France release 2012 Best Possible Taste The Kenny Everett Story r Kingsmen n a UK TV movie 2013 Il etait une fois les Boys King Melrose Yes Canada release Her Aim Is True Sonics Wailers n a Sonics version also in trailer 2014 Desert Dancer Jack Ely No UK release 2018 A Futile and Stupid Gesture Kingsmen n a 2019 Assholes A Theory Kingsmen s n a Canada release 2020 The Way Back Cast pep band instrumental No 2021 Penguin Bloom Kingsmen n a Australia release The Kingsmen version was used in television commercials for Spaced Invaders 1990 but did not appear in the movie t The Kingsmen version also appeared on More American Graffiti 1975 and Good Morning Vietnam 1987 compilations but was not used in either movie Movie table notes Zavolies at IMDb nbsp Tijuana Blue Soundtrack 1972 ringostrack com Ringostrack Not on the 1973 OST album or the 1979 More American Graffiti album The Kingsmen version is heard during the film as is an impromptu version by John Belushi Tim Matheson Peter Riegert Tom Hulce Stephen Furst Bruce McGill and James Widdoes Both versions were used in the trailer A separately recorded version by John Belushi plays over the closing credits and was released as a single Only the John Belushi version is on the soundtrack album Not on the original 1973 album Included on the 1979 soundtrack LP and subsequent CD reissues Chart rankings for 1979 soundtrack album The original 1973 LP without a Louie Louie version reached 2 in the US and the UK The Cult Live in Milan at IMDb nbsp Survival Game at IMDb nbsp In the film the USC Trojan Marching Band is shown but the Rice University MOB version is heard The Kingsmen version occurs during the film The Young MC Louie Louie House Mix feat Maestro Fresh Wes plays during the credits and samples versions by Richard Berry the Kingsmen and the Rice University Marching Owl Band Both versions are on the soundtrack album Also included on the Sixty Six to Timbuktu compilation album ABC The Alphabetic Tribe at IMDb nbsp A recreation of the 1965 The Kingsmen in Person album cover occurs when the main characters dressed in cardigan sweaters walk down the Janss Steps located on the UCLA campus Imitation of 1969 Julie London version Used as a cell phone ringtone by Roy Miller Tom Cruise character Nomads version only Best Possible Taste The Kenny Everett Story at IMDb nbsp Animal House clip YouTube Spaced Invaders TV Spot 1990 474 Use in video games edit Early video games with chiptune versions of Louie Louie included California Games 475 and Donkey Konga 476 Since its introduction in 1987 California Games has been ported to more than a dozen gaming platforms resulting in multiple unique Louie Louie versions based on different or improved programmable sound generator PSG chips Back 2 Back composed by Hideki Naganuma for Sonic Rush borrows the Louie Louie riff for its main section More recent rhythm action games featured individual artist versions including Rocksmith Joan Jett Just Dance Iggy Pop and Rocksmith 2014 Motorhead Use in ringtones and apps edit Louie Louie has long been a popular downloadable ringtone starting with early MIDI versions then audio track excerpts and then full audio tracks Tom Cruise in Knight and Day 2010 used the Kingsmen version as a ringtone movement reminder 477 In 2015 Microsoft Messenger introduced the Zya Ditty app which allowed users to create short text to autotune music videos using a library of pre licensed songs including Louie Louie and others 478 Use in audio sampling edit The earliest known sampling of Louie Louie Kingsmen version was Flying Saucer by Ed Solomon in 1964 Diamond 160 one of many break in records popular in the 1960s Beginning in 1988 multiple rap and hip hop artists used audio samples of the keyboard intro and chorus of the Kingsmen version 1988 Ultramagnetic MCs Travelling at the Speed of Thought 12 single initial release only described by Melody Maker columnist Simon Reynolds as a sublimely teasing edit of the sixties punk tearaway reincarnated in the eighties B boy motormouth 479 1988 JVC Force Doin Damage from album Doin Damage 1988 Fat Boys Louie Louie from album Coming Back Hard Again also released as a single 1990 Young and Restless Louie Louie from album Something To Get You Hyped 1990 Young MC and Maestro Fresh Wes Louie Louie from Coupe de Ville soundtrack album samples Richard Berry Kingsmen and other versions 1999 The Three Amigos Louie Louie Original Mix and Wiseguys Remix 12 EP UK release 1999 Mutha Funkin Say It Again 12 single UK release 2004 T O K feat Shaggy Deja Vu from album Unknown Language 480 Marching and concert band arrangements edit In the 1980s due to the widespread availability of sheet music arrangements Louie Louie became a staple of concert marching and pep bands for middle schools high schools and colleges and universities in the U S The earliest known high school band albums with a song version were the Evanston Township High School s Hi Lights 1965 and the Franklin High School Choir Orchestra and Stage Band s 1966 Bel Cantos Concert The first college band album with a version was the USC Trojan Marching Band s Let The Games Begin in 1984 161 Early orchestra and big band releases included Dick Crest Would You Believe The Dick Crest Orchestra and Neil Chotem Neil Chotem and his Orchestra both in 1968 Although not commercially released an example of the song s influence was the 2000 performance by the Dover High School Band joined on saxophone by Bill Clinton who played in a jazz trio named the Kingsmen at Hot Springs High School and at whose 1964 graduation dance the actual Kingsmen performed 481 482 Washington State song edit In 1985 Ross Shafer host and a writer performer of the late night comedy series Almost Live 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 5 A groundswell of public support followed including support from the Kingsmen Paul Revere and the Raiders and the Wailers an appearance by Shafer on Dick Clark s TV s Bloopers amp Practical Jokes and a Dubious Achievement Award from Esquire 483 Picking up on this initially prankish effort Whatcom County Councilman Craig Cole introduced Resolution No 85 12 in the state legislature citing the need for a contemporary theme song that can be used to engender a sense of pride and community and in the enhancement of tourism and economic development His resolution also called for the creation of a new Louie Louie County While the House did not pass it the Senate s Resolution 1985 37 declared April 12 1985 Louie Louie Day A crowd of 4 000 estimated by press reports convened at the state capitol that day for speeches singalongs and performances by the Wailers the Kingsmen and Paul Revere amp the Raiders Two days later a Seattle event commemorated the occasion with the premiere performance of a new Washington centric version of the song co written by composer Berry 484 After a spirited debate the legislature ultimately preserved Washington My Home as the state song while also adopting Woody Guthrie s Roll On Columbia Roll On as the official folk song Louie Louie remains the unofficial state rock song 485 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 389 The state rock song was played following Take Me Out to the Ball Game during the seventh inning stretch at all Seattle Mariners home games from 1990 up until the 2022 season 486 International Louie Louie Day edit April 11 Richard Berry s birthday is celebrated as International Louie Louie Day 487 488 and is listed by Chase s Calendar of Events the National Special Events Registry and other sources Support for International Louie Louie Day and other Louie Louie related observances is provided by the Louie Louie Advocacy and Music Appreciation Society LLAMAS 489 and Louie Louie fans worldwide LouieFest edit The City of Tacoma held a summer music and arts festival from 2003 to 2012 in July named LouieFest The event began in 2003 as the 1000 Guitars Festival and featured a group performance of Louie Louie open to anyone with a guitar The event was renamed LouieFest in 2004 Members of the Wailers Kingsmen Raiders Sonics and other groups with Louie Louie associations regularly made appearances The grand finale each year was the Celebration of 1000 Guitars mass performance of Louie Louie on the main stage 490 Louie Louie parades edit The largest Louie Louie parade organized by WWMR deejay John DeBella was held in Philadelphia from 1985 to 1989 with proceeds going to leukemia victims 491 DeBella described it as a parade for no reason and the no reason would be Louie Louie 492 It regularly drew crowds in excess of 50 000 but was ultimately cancelled due to excessive rowdiness 493 Peoria Illinois claims the longest running Louie Louie event holding an annual Louie Louie street party parade and festival every year since 1988 494 Louie Louie sculpture edit A sculpture titled Louie Louie 2013 by Las Vegas based artist Tim Bavington was displayed on the lobby wall of the Edith Green Wendell Wyatt Federal Building in Portland Oregon from 2013 to 2024 The work is constructed of 80 colored glass and acrylic panels representing the waveforms of the song using Bavington s concept of sculpting sound waves 495 496 In 2024 it was sold for 250 000 to a private party 497 The Louie Awards edit The Seattle Times bestows its Louie Awards upon those who through conscious act rotten luck or slip of the tongue stretch the limits of imagination or tolerance or taste in the Great Northwest 498 Recognition and rankings edit Summary of Louie Louie rankings and recognition in major publications and surveys Source Poll Survey Year Rank Rock amp Roll Hall of Fame Hall of Fame Singles 2018 None 499 Rock amp Roll Hall of Fame Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll 1995 None 500 National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences Grammy Hall of Fame 1999 None 501 National Public Radio The 300 Most Important American Records of the 20th Century 1999 None 502 Smash Hits James E Perone The 100 Songs That Defined America 2016 None 503 The Wire Magazine The 100 Most Important Records Ever Made 1992 None 504 Mojo Magazine Ultimate Jukebox The 100 Singles You Must Own 2003 1 505 The Ultimate Playlist Robert Webb The 100 Greatest Cover Versions 2012 1 506 Paste Magazine The 50 Best Garage Rock Songs of All Time 2014 3 507 Rolling Stone Magazine 40 Songs That Changed The World 2007 5 508 All Time Top 1000 Albums Colin Larkin The All Time Top 100 Singles 2000 6 509 Q Magazine The Music That Changed the World 2004 10 510 VH1 100 Greatest Songs of Rock and Roll 2000 11 511 The Heart of Rock and Soul Dave Marsh The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made 1989 11 512 Rolling Stone Magazine The 100 Best Singles of the Last 25 Years 1989 18 513 Los Angeles Magazine LA s Top 100 2001 19 514 Rock and Roll Paul Williams The 100 Best Singles 1993 22 515 VH1 100 Greatest Dance Songs 2000 27 516 NME Magazine Top 100 Singles of All Time 1976 43 517 Mojo Magazine 100 Greatest Singles of All Time 1997 51 518 Rolling Stone Magazine The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time 2004 54 519 Rolling Stone Magazine The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time 2010 55 520 NEA and RIAA Songs of the Century 1999 57 521 Mojo Magazine Big Bangs 100 Records That Changed The World 2007 70 522 Pitchfork Magazine The 200 Best Songs of the 1960s 2006 154 523 Rolling Stone Magazine The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time 2021 156 388 NME Magazine The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time 2014 157 524 WCBS FM Top 1001 Songs of the Century 2005 184 525 References edit Flip 321 was re released in 1961 with Louie Louie as the A side and Rock Rock Rock as the B side The reissue was covered in the April 10 1961 issue of Billboard magazine p 38 and reviewed in the April 15 1961 issue of Cash Box magazine p 10 a b Corn Revere Robert March 2022 Moral Panic How Anti Smut Activists Made Louie Louie Famous Reason Retrieved September 26 2023 Van Zandt Steven BBC Radio International Pop Docs Catalogue Louie Louie and the G Men FE234 PDF BBC Radio International p 13 Retrieved October 2 2023 Doll 2017 p 296 a b Reighley Kurt B October 27 1999 Music The State I m In Seattle Weekly Retrieved October 9 2023 Marsh 1993 p 3 Marsh Dave 2006 Bruce Springsteen on Tour 1968 2005 Bloomsbury USA p 23 ISBN 978 1596912823 a b c d Marcus Greil 2015 Mystery Train Images of America in Rock n Roll Music New York Plume p 362 ISBN 978 0142181584 Pareles Jon January 25 1997 Richard Berry Songwriter of Louie Louie Dies at 61 The New York Times a b Blecha Peter April 1 2007 Garage Rock Anthem Louie Louie Turns 50 The Seattle Times Retrieved July 21 2019 Forest Michael 2019 Primal and Spontaneous Neil Young s Aesthetics of Authenticity In Douglas L Berger ed Neil Young and Philosophy Lexington Books p 15 ISBN 978 1498505123 Blake Mark 2006 Punk The Whole Story London DK p 238 ISBN 978 0756623593 McLucas 2010 p 56 Morales Ed 2007 Living in Spanglish The Search for Latino Identity in America St Martin s Press p 155 ISBN 978 1429978231 a b c Reagan Rhino 1983 The Best of Louie Louie The Greatest Renditions of Rock s 1 All Time Song LP liner notes Los Angeles Rhino Records Hess Mickey 2009 Hip Hop in America A Regional Guide Greenwood Press p 289 ISBN 978 0313343216 Rosenberg Stuart 2009 Rock and Roll and the American Landscape The Birth of an Industry and the Expansion of the Popular Culture 1955 1969 iUniverse p 112 ISBN 978 1440164583 Marshall James February 1993 Blue Light Special Spin Magazine p 82 a b c Nelson Rick August 24 2003 It s Louie Louie Time The News Tribune Tacoma pp D1 D5 Barry Dave 2012 Dave Barry s Book of Bad Songs Kansas City Andrews McMeel Publishing p 46 ISBN 978 1449437589 a b Uitti Jacob March 31 2023 Who Wrote The Seminal Classic Rock Song Louie Louie Hint It s Not Who You Think American Songwriter Retrieved April 4 2023 a b c The Lascivious Louie Louie The Smoking Gun Retrieved February 18 2009 a b Marsh 1993 pp 118 119 Perone James E October 17 2016 Smash Hits The 100 Songs That Defined America ABC CLIO p 143 ISBN 978 1 4408 3469 1 McMurray Jacob 2011 Taking Punk to the Masses From Nowhere to Nevermind Los Angeles Fantagraphics p 1 ISBN 978 1606994337 a b c d e Greene Bob September 1 1988 The Man Who Wrote Louie Louie Esquire No 110 pp 63 67 Gurza Agustin October 13 2016 Strachwitz Frontera Collection Genre History Everybody Does the Cha Cha Cha frontera library ucla edu Retrieved March 8 2024 a b The Rubinoos 2014 I Love Louie Louie lyrics Berkeley CA Pynotic Productions Marsh 1993 p 31 Sublette Ned 2007 The Kingsmen and the Cha Cha Cha In Eric Weisbard ed Listen Again A Momentary History of Pop Music Duke University Press ISBN 978 0822340416 a b Greene Bob January 29 1997 The Whole Story of Louie Louie Down to the Punctuation Chicago Tribune Retrieved April 8 2024 a b c Williams Richard June 26 1993 Louie Louie written on lavatory paper and sold for only dollars 750 Richard Williams on a rock n roll classic that sold 300m and inspired a generation The Independent Retrieved April 11 2023 Marsh 1993 pp 31 33 a b Blecha Peter 1989 The Best of Louie Louie liner notes Rhino Records R1 70605 a b Dawson Jim Topping Ray 1986 Richard Berry Louie Louie Discogs com LP liner notes Stockholm Earth Angel JD 901 Propes Steve February March 2007 45 RPM Oddities The Louie Lovie Story Record Convention News Sylmar CA Valley Printers Propes Steve August 7 2007 Richard Berry Louie Louie 1957 45 RPM Retrieved November 22 2023 R amp B Reviews PDF Cash Box April 6 1957 p 40 Retrieved April 8 2024 Marsh 1993 p 37 McCann Ian October 8 2018 Louie Louie why the influential garage classic was investigated by the FBI Financial Times Retrieved April 11 2023 This re recording produced by Johnny Otis with session guitar by Shuggie Otis also appears on Shuggie Otis In Session Great Rhythm amp Blues 2002 and Pioneers of Rhythm amp Blues Volume 5 2008 a b c Hamilton Andrew Various artists The Best of Louie Louie Vol 1 Review at AllMusic Warner Jay 1992 The Da Capo Book of American Singing Groups A History 1940 1990 Boston Da Capo Press p 522 ISBN 0 306 80923 0 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Palao Alec 2002 Love That Louie The Louie Louie Files CD liner notes London Ace Records a b Marsh 1993 pp 41 42 195 Greenblatt Mike May 15 2015 The up and down life of Richard Berry Goldmine Retrieved November 13 2023 Kelner Martin October 21 1993 Louie Louie Oh oh Until a soft drinks company tracked him down Richard Berry was living on welfare in the slums of LA The Independent 21 October 1993 London Clewley John January 28 2014 Big Ban Creates Hot Hit Bangkok Post Retrieved February 28 2023 Curry Jessica June 20 2019 Richard Berry Los Angeles Native Turned Tacoma Icon Tacoma Music History Retrieved February 28 2023 Stokes Paul April 30 2015 10 Great Versions of Louie Louie Mojo Magazine Retrieved February 28 2023 Murray Samuel 2022 The Kingsmen Louie Louie 1963 In Sarah Hill ed One Hit Wonders An Oblique History of Popular Music London Bloomsbury Publishing ISBN 978 1501368424 Doggett 2015 p 434 Hamlin Andrew July 16 2021 Mr Jimbo Metastasizing or You Can t Aways Death What You Want Griel Marcus on the Doors Seattle Star Retrieved October 31 2021 Prichep Deena October 31 2023 Louie Louie The story behind the song everyone knows but no one understands NPR Archived from the original on November 1 2023 Retrieved November 2 2023 a b Osgerby Bill 1999 Chewing out a rhythm on my bubble gum The teenage aesthetic and genealogies of American punk In Roger Sabin ed Punk Rock So What the Cultural Legacy of Punk London Routledge p 157 ISBN 978 0 415 17030 7 Soulsby Nick August 31 2016 Proto punk 10 records that paved the way for 76 The Vinyl Factory Retrieved August 26 2021 Azerrad Michael 2010 April 16 1992 Seattle An Inside Tour of the Decade s Greatest Scene In Rolling Stone ed The 90s The Inside Stories from the Decade That Rocked New York Harper Collins ISBN 978 0061779206 Kallen Stuart A 2012 The History of Alternative Rock San Diego Lucent Books p 12 ISBN 978 1420507386 Blecha Peter September 27 2009b Richard Berry Los Angeles R amp B singer brings Louie Louie to Seattle on September 21 1957 HistoryLink Retrieved June 19 2023 Blecha 2009 pp 3 4 Marsh 1993 pp 58 61 Blecha 2009 p 106 Blecha 2009 p 91 Cross Charles R 2006 Spanish Castle Magic Room Full of Mirrors Hachette Books p 76 ISBN 978 1401382810 Givens Linda Holden 2009 Holden On To Family Roots Xlibris p 112 ISBN 978 1477160817 Blecha Peter July 22 2008 Lewis Dave 1938 1998 Father of Northwest Rock HistoryLink Retrieved February 7 2022 Marsh 1993 p 61 Blecha Peter November 30 2009a Roberts Rockin Robin 1940 1967 Historylink org Retrieved November 30 2021 DiFranco Aaron Goggins Jan 2004 The Pacific Region The Greenwood Encyclopedia of American Regional Cultures Westport CT Greenwood Press p 364 ISBN 978 0313085055 a b c d e Blecha 2009 p 116 a b Blecha 2009 p 119 Blecha 2009 p 118 The Fabulous Wailers discography at AllMusic Marsh 1993 p v Stiernberg Bonnie The 50 Best Garage Rock Songs of All Time Paste Retrieved May 15 2016 Seward Scott 2004 Nuggets In Brackett Nathan Hoard Christian eds The New Rolling Stone Album Guide 4th ed Simon amp Schuster pp 918 919 ISBN 0 7432 0169 8 Deming Mark Kingsmen Biography at AllMusic Retrieved December 9 2023 Time listed as 2 24 on the Wand single although 2 42 is more accurate Peterson 2005 p 45 Blecha 2009 p 137 On September 5 2013 the city of Portland dedicated a plaque at the site to commemorate the event An earlier version placed by the Oregon Historical Society had been stolen shortly after its dedication in 1993 Peterson 2005 p 47 Blecha 2009 p 138 a b Marsh 1993 p 98 Marsh 1993 p 15 Peterson 2005 pp 45 57 Chapman Rob 2015 The Savant Garde Surfadelica Girl Groups and Garage Land Psychedelia and Other Colours London Faber amp Faber ISBN 978 0571282753 Moores JR 2022 Electric Wizards A Tapestry of Heavy Music 1968 to the Present London Reaktion Books ISBN 978 1789144499 Stanton Scott 2003 The Legends The Tombstone Tourist New York Gallery Books p 31 ISBN 978 0743463300 Brennan Matt 2020 Kick It A Social History of the Drum Kit London Oxford University Press p 190 ISBN 978 0190683863 Doggett 2015 p 332 a b Blecha Peter 1988 The Kingsmen Portland s Rock Royalty Northwest Music Archives Retrieved February 8 2022 Stanley Bob 2014 America Strikes Back The Birds and Folk Rock Yeah Yeah Yeah The Story of Pop Music from Bill Haley to Beyonce New York W W Norton amp Company ISBN 978 0393242706 Doggett Peter 2015 Electric Shock From the Gramophone to the iPhone 125 Years of Pop Music London Random House p 282 ISBN 9781448130313 a b c McLucas Anne Dhu 2010 Oral Tradition in American Popular Music The Musical Ear Oral Tradition in the USA Ashgate p 57 ISBN 978 0754663966 Unterberger Richie Hicks Samb 1999 Seattle Rock in the 1960s In Jennifer Dempsey ed Music USA The Rough Guide London Rough Guides p 447 ISBN 978 1858284217 Milano Brett March 16 2023 The Greatest Debut 45 Records In History uDiscovermusic Retrieved March 21 2023 a b Jack Ely Singer whose sinew stretching rendition of Louie Louie helped make it the second most covered song in pop music The Independent London April 20 2015 Retrieved November 15 2023 Marsh 1993 p 136 Marsh 1993 p 99 Marsh 1993 p 67 Marsh 1999 p 14 Weir Keziah December 12 2023 Our 20 Favorite Books of 2023 Vanity Fair Retrieved December 13 2023 Garner Dwight October 23 2023 Thurston Moore Revisits His Sonic Youth The New York Times Retrieved October 24 2023 Marsh 1999 p 12 Harris Emily September 25 2020 10 Times Studio Mistakes Created Music Magic Reverb com Retrieved May 6 2020 Uitti Jacob August 2021 Herb Alpert Talks Passing on the Kingsmen Loving the Beatles and Recording His New LP American Songwriter DeYoung Bill November 28 2022 The Catalyst interview Herb Alpert St Pete Catalyst Lifton Dave August 8 2015 How the Kingsmen Stirred Up Controversy With Louie Louie Ultimate Classic Rock Retrieved December 26 2020 Whitburn Joel 2001 Joel Whitburn Presents Billboard Top 10 Singles Charts Menomonee Falls WI Record Research Inc pp 69 72 ISBN 0 89820 146 2 Murrells Joseph 1978 The Book of Golden Discs 2nd illustrated ed London Barrie amp Jenkins p 131 ISBN 0 214 20480 4 a b Marsh 1993 p 123 Whitburn Joel 2004 Top R amp B Hip Hop Singles 1942 2004 Menomonee Falls WI Record Research p 328 Billboard R amp B chart not published from November 30 1963 to January 23 1965 Hoffmann Frank 1983 The Cash Box Singles Charts 1950 1981 Metuchen NJ amp London The Scarecrow Press Inc p 835 Betts 2005 p 439 Lazell Barry November 29 1986 Why Louie Louie won t lie down PDF Music Week Retrieved December 24 2021 a b Whitburn Joel 1996 Joel Whitburn s Top Pop Albums Menomonee Falls WI Record Research Inc ISBN 0 89820 117 9 a b c d e Whitburn Joel 2015 The Comparison Book Billboard Cash Box Record World 1954 1982 Ann Arbor Sheridan Books ISBN 978 0 89820 213 7 Louie Louie Returns Again PDF Cash Box April 30 1966 p 52 Top Sellers in Top Markets Billboard May 14 1966 p 52 Beale Lewis September 5 1986 After 23 years Louie Louie cooler than ever Los Angeles Daily News Lewiston Journal British single certifications Kingsmen Louie Louie British Phonographic Industry Retrieved July 28 2023 Fagggen Gil February 1 1964 Indiana Gov Puts Down Pornographic Wand Tune PDF Billboard magazine Retrieved May 15 2019 Blecha Peter February 15 2003 Louie Louie the Saga of a Pacific Northwest Hit Song HistoryLink Retrieved March 5 2016 a b Macdonald Cameron June 28 2006 Seconds Phil Milstein Louie Stylus Magazine Higgins Will January 2 2019 That time Indiana teens ratted out dirty Louie Louie lyrics and the FBI got involved Indianapolis Star Retrieved March 2 2019 Blecha 2009 p 138 Marsh 1993 p 97 Attig Rick August 4 1987 Ex Kingsman brings act to C O The Bend Bulletin Retrieved March 11 2013 Mikkelson Barbara amp David P Did Louie Louie Drummer Yell F ck During Recording at Snopes com Urban Legends Reference Pages Corn Revere Robert 2021 Ya Got Trouble Censorship and Popular Music The Mind of the Censor and the Eye of the Beholder The First Amendment and the Censor s Dilemma Cambridge University Press p 143 ISBN 978 1107129948 Blecha 2009 p 156 Marcus Greil 2015 The Village Voice 1986 1990 Real Life Rock The Complete Top Ten Columns 1986 2014 New Haven Yale University Press p 10 ISBN 9780300196641 Stabler Clay Kingsmen Discography The Kingsmen Official Site Retrieved August 25 2021 Circle of Friends Volume 1 Hollywood MainStreet Entertainment 60153CD 1999 Stern Christopher November 9 1998 Kingsmen reign High court grants royalties tapes of Louie Variety Lawsuit info at Louielouie org Archived from the original on March 12 2013 Jack Ely dies at 71 vocalist on the Kingsmen s Louie Louie Los Angeles Times April 30 2015 Retrieved February 28 2022 Dubois Steven Rogers John April 28 2015 Louie Louie Singer Jack Ely Dies in Oregon at 71 Huffington Post Associated Press Retrieved March 5 2016 Kreps Daniel April 18 2021 Mike Mitchell Guitarist on the Kingsmen s Louie Louie Dead at 77 Rolling Stone Retrieved April 18 2021 Seah David April 19 2021 Mike Mitchell Co Founder of Kingsmen and Guitarist on Louie Louie Dies at 77 Guitar com Retrieved February 28 2022 Owen Matt April 19 2021 Mike Mitchell The Kingsmen co founder and Louie Louie guitarist dies aged 77 Guitar World Retrieved February 28 2022 Beaumont Thomas Ben April 19 2021 Mike Mitchell guitarist on the Kingsmen s Louie Louie dies aged 77 The Guardian Retrieved February 28 2022 Maxwell Jackson April 19 2021 Mike Mitchell Guitarist and Co Founder of The Kingsmen Dead at 77 Guitar Player Retrieved February 28 2022 Desert Island Discs Peter Ackroyd BBC Sounds BBC co uk radio interview Interviewed by Kirsty Young May 20 2012 Retrieved November 19 2023 a b Blecha 2009 p 139 ON THIS DAY IN 1963 ROGER HART PRODUCED LOUIE LOUIE RAIDERS VERSION Stumptown Blogger April 11 2011 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 In other interviews he stated that the Kingsmen s session was two days prior https www austinchronicle com daily music 2011 04 13 good thing or three days prior https journalstar com entertainment music l kent wolgamott the history of louie louie article 024802ce 7926 51ee abc7 9ebebc2d93b6 html Charlie Gillett in The Sound of the City The Rise of Rock and Roll p 314 said the groups recorded it on successive days but cited no source Steve West s 2020 biography gives April 29th as the Raiders recording date based on CBS archives Steve West Linda West Malachi Mata 2020 The Lost Raider The True Story of the Original 1963 Recording of Louie Louie ISBN 979 8372889415 Forte Dan September 2015 Steve West Life Since Louie Louie Vintage Guitar p 24 Priore Domenic March 24 2011 The Tall Cool Tale of Paul Revere amp the Raiders A Conversation with Mark Lindsay and Paul Revere Sundazed Retrieved April 4 2023 Pollock Bruce 2017 1961 1964 America s Songs III Rock Taylor amp Francis p 59 ISBN 978 1317269649 McLellan Dennis March 10 2014 Obituaries Mitch Miller dies at 99 musical innovator and host of Sing Along With Mitch The Los Angeles Times Retrieved October 16 2023 Marsh 1993 p 96 Quaglieri Al 2019 Paul Revere amp the Raiders The Essential Ride 63 67 CD sleeve notes New York City Columbia Records p 6 Bovey Seth 2019 Five Years Ahead of My Time Garage Rock from the 1950s to the Present London Reaktion Books p 40 ISBN 978 1789140941 Marsh 1993 p 39 Marsh 1993 p 174 Hann Michael October 6 2014 Paul Revere five great songs from one of America s 60s rock legends The Guardian Retrieved March 21 2023 a b c Marsh 1993 p 144 Doll 2017 p 266 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj bk bl bm bn bo Marsh 1993 pp 208 238 a b Marsh 1993 p 145 Patrick Mick 2015 Girl Zone Ace Records Retrieved February 3 2024 a b c d e f Koda Cub The Best of Louie Louie Vol 2 Various Artists at AllMusic Retrieved November 4 2022 a b McAleer Dave Gregory Andy White Matthew 2010 EP Listings by Artist The Virgin Book of British Hit Singles Vol 2 Virgin Books p 527 ISBN 978 0 7535 2245 5 The Kinks Discography Discogs com Kast Off Guests KastOffKinks Retrieved October 15 2023 Friedlander Paul 2018 Rock And Roll A Social History New York Avalon Publishing p 315 ISBN 978 0813343068 Sullivan Steve 2013 Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings Volume 1 Scarecrow Press p 858 ISBN 978 0810882959 Donald Alex January 23 1965 Louie A Pop Yardstick PDF Record Mirror London p 2 Retrieved December 24 2021 Perone James E 2009 Mods Rockers and the Music of the British Invasion ABC CLIO p 107 ISBN 978 0275998608 Marsh 1993 p 143 Hasted Nick 2011 You Really Got Me The Story of the Kinks London Omnibus Press p 28 ISBN 978 1849386609 Kitts Thomas M 2008 Ray Davies Not Like Everyone Else London Routledge p 41 ISBN 978 0415977692 Rogan Johnny 2015 Ray Davies A Complicated Life New York Random House p 137 ISBN 978 0099554080 Hasted 2011 p 28 Black Johnny September 2000 The Kinks Hellfire Club Mojo Magazine No 82 Spotlight Singles Top 60 Billboard October 8 1966 p 16 Swift Richard 2006 Volume 7 Rich Young and Pretty In Colin Larkin ed The Encyclopedia of Popular Music New York Muze p 248 ISBN 978 0195313734 Lanza Joseph 2004 Elevator Music A Surreal History of Muzak Easy Listening and Other Moodsong Revised and Expanded ed Ann Arbor University of Michigan Press p 118 ISBN 978 0472089420 Marsh 1993 pp 147 208 238 Whitburn Joel 1992 Joel Whitburn s Bubbling Under the Top 100 1959 1985 Menomonee Falls WI Record Research Inc ISBN 0 89820 082 2 Wake Matt July 3 2018 Meet the unsung Muscle Shoals guitarist who s also a snake hunter AL com Retrieved March 7 2023 Good Dave August 13 2014 The Sonics invented punk The San Diego Reader Retrieved September 22 2021 Bovey 2019 p 34 Bovey 2019 p 32 Blecha 2009 p 184 a b c d Louie Louie Meets Ike and Tina the Angels and Mongo The Chicago Tribune November 24 1989 Retrieved February 27 2024 Santana Carlos Kahn Ashley Miller Hal 2014 The Universal Tone Bringing My Story to Light New York Little Brown amp Co p 237 ISBN 978 0316244916 Weinstein Norman 2009 Carlos Santana A Biography Santa Barbara Greenwood Press p 36 ISBN 978 0313354205 Taylor Tom December 4 2023 A Confederacy of Weirdos How Frank Zappa assembled The Mothers of Invention Far Out Magazine Retrieved December 5 2023 Borders James 2008 Everett Walter ed Frank Zappa s The Black Page A Case of Musical Conceptual Continuity Expression in Pop Rock Music Critical and Analytical Essays 2nd Ed New York Routledge 51 75 155 a b Farren Mick April 26 1975 Call Francis Vincent Zappa A Mother Goes A courting New Musical Express p 28 Simms Denn Buxton Eric Samler Rob April 1990 Frank Zappa Interview December 22 1989 Society Pages No 1 p 24 Zollo Paul 1991 Frank Zappa Songwriters on Songwriting Boston Da Capo Press p 121 ISBN 978 0306812651 Couture Francois Frank Zappa You Can t Do That On Stage Anymore Vol 1 Review at AllMusic Blecha Peter June 20 2019 Alice Stuart Biography HistoryLink org Ulrich Charles May 13 2018 The Big Note A Guide to the Recordings of Frank Zappa Vancouver New Star Books ISBN 978 1 554201 46 4 Wood Tim 1998 The Mystics Terry Kath s first rock band terrykath com Retrieved March 4 2023 The Mystics Louis 45cat com 45 single Berwyn IL Balkan Recording Studio 1963 Sargent William 2021 Chapter 14 The Output of Contributions H B Barnum Superstar in a Masquerade Page Publishing ISBN 978 1662431159 Varga George September 24 2021 Pat Metheny a 20 time Grammy winner looks forward and back with new band Side Eye Music is the carrot The San Diego Union Tribune Retrieved February 20 2022 Fogerty John 2015 The Golliwogs Fortunate Son My Life My Music New York Little Brown ISBN 9780316244565 FitzGerald Michael Ray 2023 The Biggest Thing Since the Ventures Guitar Greats of Jacksonville Charleston SC The History Press p 48 ISBN 978 1467153416 Moore Mark A March 14 2016 The Jan amp Dean Record A Chronology of Studio Sessions Live Performances and Chart Positions Jefferson NC McFarland amp Company p 215 ISBN 978 1476622903 Aerosmith Davis Stephen 2012 Quest for Immortality Walk This Way The Autobiography of Aerosmith New York HarperCollins p 33 ISBN 978 0062188151 Sinkevics John March 16 2024 Rocker Marshall Crenshaw still connected to Michigan as 40th anniversary tour comes home Local Spins Retrieved March 17 2024 Marks Ian D McIntyre Iain 2010 Top 100 Beat n Garage Tracks Wild about You The Sixties Beat Explosion in Australia and New Zealand Portland Verse Chorus Press p 323 ISBN 978 1891241284 Marks Ian D McIntyre Iain 2011 The Pink Finks Wild about You The Sixties Beat Explosion in Australia and New Zealand Melbourne Verse Chorus Press p 139 ISBN 978 1891241284 Shefchik Rick 2015 Liar Liar Everybody s Heard about the Bird The True Story of 1960s Rock n Roll in Minnesota University of Minnesota Press ISBN 978 1452949741 Manzarek Ray 1998 Light My Fire My Life with The Doors New York City Berkley Boulevard Books p 86 ISBN 0 425 17045 4 a, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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