They then recovered quickly. This error is now so embedded in the consciousness of some groups that they deliberately duplicate it when performing the song.
There is also a persistent and oft-repeated story that the microphone for Ely was mounted too high for him to sing without tilting his head back excessively, resulting in his somewhat pinched and strangled sound through most of his vocal. This is exactly the way his head was pitched according to Ely. This seems unlikely, however, in view of the fact that it was recorded by professional personnel in a dedicated recording studio.
According to Ely himself, "There were no professional personnel in the studio that day except maybe Lindahl. The Kingsmen transformed Berry's easy-going ballad into a raucous romp, complete with a twangy guitar, occasional background chatter, and nearly unintelligible lyrics by Ely. A chaotic guitar break is triggered by the shout, "Okay, let's give it to 'em right now! Critic Dave Marsh suggests it is this moment that gives the recording greatness: "[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, especially since it's followed by a guitar solo that's just as wacky". First released in May , the single was initially issued by the small Jerden label, before being picked up by the larger Wand Records and released by them in October It entered the top ten on the Billboard Hot chart for December 7, and peaked at number two the following week; it would remain in the top 10 through December and January before dropping off in early February.
Another factor in the success of the record may have been the rumor that the lyrics were intentionally slurred by the Kingsmen. Allegedly, this was to cover the fact that it was 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 it was personally prohibited by the Governor, Matthew Welsh.
These actions were taken despite the small matter 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 month investigation into the matter and concluded they were "unable to interpret any of the wording in the record. Sales of the Kingsmen record were so low reportedly that the group considered disbanding. 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. By the end of October, the Kingsmen's version 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's debut on the chart. For a few weeks, the two singles appeared destined to battle each other, but demand for the Kingsmen single acquired momentum and, by the end of , Columbia Records had stopped promoting the Raiders' "Louie Louie", as ordered by Mitch Miller.
By the time that the Kingsmen's "Louie Louie" had achieved national popularity, the band had split. Two rival editions—one featuring lead singer 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 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.
The recording was paid for and produced by KISN radio personality Roger Hart, who soon became personal manager for the band. Columbia Records reissued the single nationally in June and it went to 1 in the West and Hawaii. Robert Lindahl, then-president and chief engineer of NWI and the sound engineer on the Kingsmen's and Raiders' recordings, [25 ] noted that the Raiders' version was not known for "garbled lyrics" or an amateurish recording technique. But despite these attributes, the single never seized the public's attention the way the less-polished Kingsmen version did.
After the Kingsmen and Raiders' versions, several other bands recorded the song:. By the s the song was inspiring numerous cover versions. It was a relatively faithful cover of the song, with "Fast" Eddie Clarke 's guitar emulating the Hohner Pianet electric piano riff.
It was released as a 7" vinyl single and reached number 68 on the UK Singles Chart. Bryan Carroll of Allmusic gave the single four out of five stars, saying that "Of the more than 1, 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. This event is now part of the annual LouieFest in Tacoma. The Smashing Pumpkins also released a cover of the song in their Live Smashing Pumpkins album series.
The album featured a re-recorded Richard Berry version, [40 ] influential versions by Rockin' Robin Roberts , the Sonics and the Kingsmen , Black Flag 's version, and several other versions, some bizarre. These included a performance by the Rice University Marching Owl Band , and the a cappella "Hallalouie Chorus", in which the song's title was sung to the melody of Handel's " Hallelujah Chorus ".
The first CD reissue of Richard Berry 's original version is included along with multiple historically important versions. The Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the complaint. In June , the FBI laboratory obtained a copy of the Kingsmen recording and, after four months of investigation, concluded that the recording could not be interpreted, that it was "unintelligible at any speed," [44 ] and therefore the Bureau could not find that the recording was obscene. The lyrics controversy resurfaced briefly in when the superintendent of the school system in Benton Harbor, Michigan , refused to let the marching band at one of the schools play the song in a parade.
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