RaR17 – Louie, Louie
DIRECTIONS:
Listen to the recording of the tune by clicking the attached mp3 file. This will open the recording in a new window or tab. Listen and follow along with the listening guide in the book.
Read the liner notes below.
Read the information “What to Listen For”
Respond to the Rate-A-Record/Questions by clicking on the assignment link and then click on on the button “Write Submission” (to the right of Text Submission) to record your response. Do not use the comments field.
Louie, Louie
“Louie, Louie” may be the most recorded song in history. In 1983 KFJC, a radio station in Los Altos Hills, California, played “Louie, Louie” for sixty-three hours without repeating any version. At present, there are more than 1,600 known versions, all based on the same arresting riff.
“Louie, Louie” has a longer history than one might expect. In the 1950s, Cuban bandleader Rosendo Ruiz Quevedo wrote a song about a current dance craze entitled “Cha-Cha-Cha Loco” (Crazy for the Cha-Cha-Cha). When René Touzet, a Cuban bandleader working in Los Angeles, created an arrangement for his orchestra, he added a “crazy” riff for the claves, bass, and keyboard that replaced the standard cha-cha rhythm—1 and 2 and 3 and 4—with its near rhythmic inversion: 1 and 2 and 3 and 4. Singer/songwriter Richard Berry, best known for his backing vocals on R&B hits like “Riot in Cell Block 9” and “Roll with Me Henry,” heard the Touzet arrangement and thought the riff was catchy enough to use in a song. He fused the riff with lyrics based on a current Chuck Berry hit, “Havana Moon,” and doo-wop vocal accompaniment. The song was a hit on the West Coast and became a permanent fixture among amateur groups in the Pacific Northwest; by 1960 dozens of groups had versions of “Louie, Louie” on their playlists. Rockin’ Robin Roberts and the Wailers recorded the song in 1961; their version introduced several elements that have become standard: the surf rock–inspired guitar solo, introduced by the spoken or shouted phrase, “let’s give it to ‘em, right now!”, and the loping baión rhythm (1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and) heard under the verse.
In April 1963 in Portland, Oregon, two groups recorded “Louie, Louie” at the same recording studio. Paul Revere and the Raiders was an established local group with significant experience. The Kingsmen, by comparison, were neophytes; their largest gig to that date was at a teen-only night club. They piled into the studio the morning after an experimental (or inspired) ninety-minute set consisting of one long rendition of “Louie, Louie,” to capture the song for posterity. The version by Paul Revere and the Raiders was good enough to make their record a regional hit and to get the group signed by Columbia Records. However, the Kingmen’s “Louie, Louie,” become the definitive version, even though technically the recording is deeply flawed: the vocal track is too far back in the mix, the instruments (save for the keyboard) sound muffled and hollow, several vocal entries are late, and the lyrics are famously garbled. The last was the result of lead singer Jack Ely, who had never been in a recording studio before, singing into the wrong end of the boom microphone. However, the track captures the elemental energy of a live performance and vitality of amateur rock and roll. Their recording became nationally popular after a Boston disc jockey featured it prominently on his show as the “worst record of the week”; the next morning the station was inundated with calls from listeners who wanted to buy the record. The song gained in popularity quickly, in part because many listeners imagined the incomprehensible lyrics were obscene. The FCC began receiving complaints and spent thirty-one months trying to determine if Jack Ely sang the lyrics supplied by Richard Berry or some alternate, pornographic version. Ultimately, the FCC gave up, having determined that the lyrics were “unintelligible at any speed.”
WHAT TO LISTEN FOR:
The predominance of the backbeat from the drums
Refrain or hook – high level of “ear germ” effect – (i.e. tune/hook gets stuck in your head)
Raucous guitar solo
Form: Another Simple Verse-Chorus.
RATE-A-RECORD/QUESTIONS TO ANSWER:
Why do you think this song is the “most recorded song in history”?
Give it a rating: 0 = Bad, 100 = Awesome. Defend your number.
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APA
330 words