The 50th Anniversary of "Louie Louie"

The song "Louie Louie" just turned 50 years old. When I was a teenager, "Louie Louie" was the song played over and over at drunken parties. Its "dirty" lyrics were made to be sung at full volume by drunken teenagers.

"Louie, Louie, got her way down low now." "All night long I lay her there. I felt my bone in her hair." These were supposed to be the true lyrics that the Kingsmen had garbled in their version of "Louie Louie." At least, these were the "true lyrics" claimed by kids in my neighborhood. Of course, kids in other neighborhoods had claimed their own version of the song's true lyrics, and that's how "Louie Louie" became a huge hit and an enduring rock and roll legend.

"The True Lyrics"

In reality, when the Kingsmen's 1963 version of this simple repetitive chord song is played at a slower speed or otherwise analyzed by today's audio technology, there has been no bawdy or sexually explicit lyric to be found.

In the sixties, after a 2 ½ year investigation into the song's lyrics, J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI reached the same conclusion.

The true reason why the Kingsmen's lead singer had garbled the lyrics was because he was wearing ill-fitting braces on his teeth at the time.

The History of "Louie Louie"

"Louie Louie's" melody was inspired by "El Loco Cha Cha", an Afro-Cuban song by Rene Touzet. In 1957, musician Richard Berry heard this song at a club and adapted part of the melody into a Jamaican sailor's love lament. Unfortunately for Berry, he had no idea how popular his song would become and sold his copyright for $750.

A Seattle group called The Wailers (no relation to the reggae greats) brought their version of Berry's song to the Pacific Northwest, and it became a popular regional party song. In 1963, two Portland, Oregon groups recorded their versions of "Louie Louie": the Kingsmen, and Paul Revere and the Raiders. It was the Kingsmen version that broke out and became a hit.

After the Kingsmen popularized it, "Louie Louie" became one of the most covered songs in music history with versions by the Beach Boys, Otis Redding, the Kinks, and Frank Zappa.

The True Lyrics

The original Richard Berry lyrics are as follows:

"Louie, Louie, me gotta go.
Louie, Louie, me gotta go.
A fine little girl, she wait for me.
Me catch the ship across the sea.
I sailed the ship all alone.
I never think I make it home.
Louie, Louie, me gotta go.
Three night and days we sailed the sea.
Me think of girl constantly.
On the ship, I dream she there.
I smell the rose in her hair.
Louie, Louie, me gotta go.
Me see Jamaica moon above.
It won't be long me see me love.
Me take her in my arms again
and then I tell her I never leave again.
Louie, Louie, me gotta go."

SOURCES:

http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_316.html

http://www.snopes.com/music/songs/louie.asp

"The real dirt about a rock hit", Margo Jefferson, New York Times, URL: (http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE6DB133EF931A3575AC0A965958260&sec=&pagewanted=print)

http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/6595900/louie_louie

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/artsentertainment/2003643548_louie01.html

"Louie Louie", Adam Block, ArtForum, URL: (http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0268/is_n4_v32/ai_14890815)

"Don't judge a song by its independent cover", Phil Johnson, Independent, URL: (http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20020719/ai_n12630112)

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/louie/louie.html