Posted on 04/28/2015 2:21:55 PM PDT by Borges
Jack Ely, the Portland guitarist and singer best known for the Kingsmen's 1960s hit "Louie, Louie," has died, his son told KOIN news this morning.
In 1963, as the story goes, The Kingsmen recorded "Louie, Louie" in a studio at Northwest 13th Avenue and Burnside. Ely, the only band member who knew all the words to Richard Berry's calypso-meets-R&B song that day had just had his braces tightened and couldn't enunciate clearly. The producer moved the microphone away from him, capturing the music but muffling the words.
Ely's incomprehensible vocal track famously spawned an FBI investigation into whether the Portland-bred garage band violated federal obscenity laws with the lyrics of the hit, which was sweeping up the charts worldwide.
In 2013, on the 50th anniversary of the release of "Louie, Louie", Portland declared Oct. 5 Louie, Louie day in the city. Visit OregonLive.com/music for more details as this story develops.
RIP.
Great song, if you’re drunk.
But, here's an admittedly non-canonical transcription of all of the different versions of "Louie, Louie":
Oh wow. One of the best songs EVAH...
Jeeze, I feel OLD....
Whenever someone tends to be a perfectionist with recording/mixing a track, I tell them Louie Louie was recorded in one take with one mic.
Same here back in 1963.
Jack Elam is still dead, though.
He's not too happy about it from the looks of him.
Yep. That and G-l-o-r-i-a.
The Modesto Kid.
He gotta go.
I did not see this when I posted. ou may want to pull mine.
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