Louie Louie
Louie Louie is an American rhythm and blues song written by Richard Berry in 1955 . It has become a standard piece in pop and rock music . Hundreds of versions exist and it has been interpreted by a wide variety of artists.
The version of The Kingsmen , released in 1963, is one of the best known. This version was also part of an FBI investigation into possible profanity in the text.
Original version
The basic riff of the song came from Rene Touzet and was the introduction of the cha-cha-chas El Loco of Cuban composer Rosendo Ruiz, Jr . Richard Berry first heard the song during a performance by Ricky Rivera and the Rhythm Rockers . He occasionally helped out with the band as a singer and waited for his performance when the band played El Loco Cha Cha . It inspired him to create his own version called Louie Louie .
In April 1957, it was released as the b-side of the single You Are My Sunshine by Richard Berry & The Pharaohs. Richard had taken the original riff from El Loco Cha Cha , added a bridge and replaced the original text with his own. It became a rhythm & blues song that took on a Latin American character thanks to the rhythm that was based on the original . The single became a local hit thanks to the B-side. It was then re-released, this time with Louie, Louie as A-side, and placed on the American Rhythm & Blues charts .
The original text
The song was written in the style of a simple Jamaican ballad . In the simple verse- chorus-chorus form, a Jamaican sailor tells a bartender named Louie that he wants to go back to the island to see his loved one. The lyrics were influenced by Chuck Berry's Havana Moon , which was a derivative of the Calypso Blues by Nat King Cole . Berry took further ideas from the song One for My Baby (And One More for the Road) by Johnny Mercer and Harold Arlen , in which a drunk pours his heart out to the bartender. The song was also performed under the title Set 'em up Joe by Frank Sinatra . It is said that Richard Berry was also inspired by the song Run Joe by Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five. At the beginning of the song, the Tympany Five shouted Louie, Louie, Louie several times in homage to their band leader.
The version of The Kingsmen
In the Seattle area , Louie Louie was included in their live repertoire by many bands because it was particularly popular with the audience there. In addition to bands like Holden and the Playboys, Little Bill and the Bluenotes, The Frantics and others, it was also in the repertoire of The Wailers (not Bob Marley 's band of the same name ). They recorded the piece in 1961 as a backing band with rockin 'Robin Roberts. This recording turned the piece into a rock and roll piece with no Latin American influences, and the singer added the familiar line “OK, let's give it to 'em right now” to the lyrics . There was also no original text. The band had only heard the lyrics from Richard Berry's original single.
It was The Kingsmen of Portland , Oregon who heard the recording of Rockin 'Robin Roberts, which received little attention outside the area, and added the piece to their live repertoire. Another band from Portland called Paul Revere & the Raiders were asked to play Louie Louie at their concerts . But the band didn't know it. Someone told them it was rockin 'Robin Roberts. The Raiders bought the single, loved it, and recorded Louie Louie for a single in 1963. Almost at the same time, the Kingsmen went to the same studio to record their version of Louie Louie for a single, which was then released on the wall label . To this day there is still a debate about which recording was the first. However, the more successful was the Kingsmen version. It reached number two in the US charts.
The kingsmen had changed the rhythm again. This time from 1-2-3-4, 1-2, 1-2-3-4, which was the version of Rockin 'Robin Roberts, to 1-2-3, 1-2, 1-2-3. Much more important, however, was the singing . The recording of the Kingsmen sounded a bit unprofessional. In addition, the singer mumbled and swallowed words. There were various stories about it. One is that the singer was hoarse at the time of recording and therefore couldn't sing properly. Another gives difficulties with the microphone , which was suspended from the ceiling and could not be adjusted to the size of the singer, which is why he had to stand on his toes, as the reason for the garbled text. Another story tells of braces the singer wore that gave him trouble. Or maybe it was just the inability of the singer and band to get a decent recording. Because the drummer also had a mishap with his sticks during the recording. He believed that this had made the recording unusable and cursed loudly what was on the recording.
It was probably precisely the garbled text that made the piece so successful. It became a staple of every teenage party, and texts that were supposedly original and complete circulated among the teenagers . There was a widespread opinion that the text was peppered with clear sexual allusions and that it was intentionally incomprehensible in order to avoid censorship .
The text of The Kingsmen
The following is possibly the best attempt at rendering the lyrics of Louie Louie as sung by the Kingsmen. It was introduced into the public domain by David Spector .
Louie, Louie, oh no, me gotta go.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, said, Louie, Louie, oh, baby, me gotta go.
A fine little girl she waits for me
Me catch a ship for cross the sea.
Me sail that ship all alone
Me never think how I make it home.
Ah, Louie, Louie. No, no, no, no, me gotta go.
Oh, no. Said, Louie, Louie. Oh, baby, said we gotta go.
(Indistinct scream in the background, possibly "Fuck!")
Three nights and days I sail the sea
Think of girl, oh, constantly.
Ah, on that ship I dream she there
I smell the rose, ah, in her hair.
Ah, Louie, Louie. Oh, no, sayin 'we gotta go.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, but, ah, Louie, Louie. Oh, baby, said, we gotta go.
(Screaming) Okay, let's give it to 'em right now! (instrumental part)
Me see Jamaica, ah, moon above.
It won't be long, me see me love.
Take her in my arms again,
I got her; I'll never leave again.
Ah, Louie, Louie. Oh, no, sayin 'me gotta go.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, but, ah, Louie, Louie. Oh, baby, said, ah, we gotta go.
I said we gotta go now,
Let's get on outta here.
(Screaming) Let's go!
A fake text
This is one of the alleged original texts. It was circulating among youth in the Detroit area around 1965.
Louie, Louie. Oh no, grab her way down low.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, said, Louie, Louie. Oh baby, grab her way down low
There is a fine little girl waiting for me
She is just a girl across the way.
When I take her all alone
She's never the girl I lay at home.
Louie, Louie. Oh no, grab her way down low.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, said, Louie, Louie. Oh baby, grab her way down low
Tonight at ten I'll lay her again
We'll fuck you girl and by the way.
And on that chair I'll lay her there
I felt my bone, ah, in her hair.
Louie, Louie. Oh no, grab her way down low.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, said, Louie, Louie. Oh baby, grab her way down low
She had a rag on, I moved above
It won't be long, she'll slip it off
Take her in my arms and then,
And I told her I'd rather lay her again.
Louie, Louie. Oh no, grab her way down low.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, said, Louie, Louie. Oh baby, grab her way down low
The FBI
The earliest FBI memo was from November 1963. A woman had bought a single in an Indiana store that had appeared on the wall label without thinking, because the record's design showed no evidence of profanity. She later found out that the song Louie Louie from the record would have obscene lyrics if it were played at 33 revolutions per minute instead of 45 revolutions per minute. She had enclosed a text in her letter to the FBI that she had received from an unknown person. The lyrics reproduce exactly what can be heard on the single at the wrong speed. The FBI sent the paper with the text to their laboratories for investigation. Another note concerns a district attorney, also from Indiana, who asked the FBI to investigate. Please let the FBI determine if the record violates the "Dissemination of Obscene Content Through Sale or Distribution" Act. If the FBI found something, he could arrange for the perpetrators to be arrested.
The FBI started the investigation. It collected fake texts circulating in the US, complaints from concerned parents, took photos of records, interviewed Richard Berry and the Kingsmen. The FBI contacted the FCC and BMI to investigate . Indiana didn't want to wait for the FBI's outcome. Governor Matthew Welch banned the song in his state . The Billboard magazine headlined: "The governor of Indiana prohibits pornographic Wall song". Boycotts of radio stations and dealers followed. Hardly anyone wanted to have anything to do with the song, the band or the label anymore. During this time, an FBI agent from the Tampa area felt “hindered in his work” because, according to the memorandum, “the Louie Louie record is no longer popular in this area of Sarasota ... the obscene texts ... are no longer circulated and are no longer the subject of discussion ”.
The Kingsmen protested against the boycotts and the ban in Indiana, but that did not help. The band kept assuring them that they had largely adhered to Richard Berry's lyrics. It is more likely that they only knew the version of Rockin 'Robin Roberts until the song was recorded and had only "heard" the lyrics from his single. Because the Kinsgsmen also copied the line: "OK, let's give it to 'em right now", which Rockin' Robin Roberts had just introduced.
The FBI investigated 31 months and created a report of about 250 pages. It came to the conclusion that one was unable to interpret the meaning of the text of the Louie Louie version by the Kingsmen.
The FBI text
Louie, Louie ... oh yea, a-way we go
Yea, yea, yea, yea, yea Louie, Louie ... oh baby, a-way we go
A fine little girl - she wait for me.
Me catch the ship - a-cross the sea.
I sailed the ship - all a-lone.
I never think - I'll make it home.
Louie, Louie ... a-way we go
Three nights and days we sailed the sea.
Me think of girl constant-ly.
On the ship - dream she there.
I smell the rose - in her hair.
Louie, Louie ... oh baby, a-way we go
Me see Jamaica - moon a-bove.
It won't be long - me see me love.
Me take her in arms and then.
I tell her I never leave a-gain.
Louie, Louie ... oh yea, a-way we go
More versions and history
With the release of The Kingsmen's song, it became a standard in rock music . According to information from louielouie.net, there are around 1500 cover versions . Most used Richard Berry's text. The first to play an actually obscene version of the song were likely Iggy Pop and the Stooges during a live performance in February 1974. It is documented on the album Metallic KO Iggy Pop took a new version of Louie for his 1993 album American Caesar Louie up with a completely new text.
Frank Zappa recorded many different versions of the song. In some cases, however, there are small references in the form of quotations. The song runs like a red thread through Zappa's musical career.
In the early days of UK punk , the piece was notorious, with John the Postman storming every stage between 1976 and 1980, picking up the microphone and voicing Louie Louie . The subsequent record is, according to punk theorist Stewart Home, the definitive version of the piece. The punk band Black Flag released Louie Louie on a single with new lyrics in 1981 .
In 1983 the Rhino Records label released the compilation The Best of Louie Louie . It was created in connection with the Maximum Louie Louie marathon on the radio station KFJC. The station played 823 versions without interruption in 63 hours. The compilation contains a new recording by Richard Berry, as the original recording could not be used. Berry had sold the rights to the song in 1959 for $ 750 to Limax Music Publishing Co. It wasn't until 1986 that Berry got part of the rights back. Three years later, the song had earned him $ 160,000. It was more than he had ever made in his entire music career.
The song made it into the Guinness Book of Records in 2003 when 754 guitarists played a 10-minute version of the song at Cheney Stadium in Tacoma, Washington . Efforts have also been made in Washington to make the song the state's official anthem , but, like efforts in Oregon, they failed.
Discography
- 1983: The Best of Louie Louie
- 1988: The Best of Louie Louie (Volume 2)
- 2002: Love That Louie: The Louie Louie Files
literature
- Dave Marsh: Louie Louie: The History and Mythology of the World's Most Famous Rock 'n' Roll Song . Hyperion, New York 1993, ISBN 1-56282-865-7 .
Web links
- LouieLouie.net (engl.)
- Theo de Grood's "Louie Louie" website
- The Smoking Gun: Excerpts from the song from the FBI files
- Peter Wicke: Louie Louie . In: Song Lexicon . Retrieved August 4, 2014.
- 24/7 Louie Louie web radio