The Kingsmen – Louie, Louie

Louie, Louie makes the Top 100 not because it is a great musical composition but for its undeniably unmatched renown. Written in 1955 by Richard Berry it is a first-person lament of a Jamaican sailor returning to the island to see his lover. Its roots are from the tune “El Loco Cha Cha” by René Touzet y Monte, a Cuba-born bandleader. Louie, Louie (Berry says the “comma” is added incorrectly) has been covered an estimated 2000+ times and still counting. The song was the subject of an FBI investigation – 31 months-long! – for the, purportedly, obscenity of its lyrics. Google “Louie, Louie lyrics”. The Kingsmen managed to slur the words so they were essentially unintelligible.

  1. Kasey Kasem

    Such simple chords and beat that make up a good song.
    Always a tune that when it came in the radio you kind of bob your head to and sing along.
    Didn’t know the history behind the lyrics.
    After reading the lyrics I get the story.
    Good song and I give two thumbs up!

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