"Louie Louie"

The quintessential garage band hit was “Louie Louie,” recorded by The Kingsmen, a young band from Portland, Oregon. Originally written and recorded by African American rhythm and blues singer Richard Berry in 1956, the song found new life in 1963 when The Kingsmen gave it a raw, high-energy makeover. At the time, the group featured Jack Ely on vocals and rhythm guitar, Mike Mitchell on lead guitar, Bob Nordby on bass, Lynn Easton on drums, and later, Don Gallucci on keyboards. They recorded the track for just $50 at a small local studio, capturing a performance that would become both legendary and controversial.

Musically, “Louie Louie” reflected the stripped-down, energetic style that defined garage rock. Built on a simple chord progression (A–D–Em-D), the song featured distorted electric guitar, pounding drums, and a basic bass line. Gallucci’s electric organ provided a reedy, rhythmic texture that added to the song’s chaotic charm. Structured in a loose verse-chorus format, it opened unconventionally with the chorus and included a short, frenetic guitar solo after the second verse. At the end of the solo, Ely mistakenly comes in too early on the third verse. Realizing the error, he pauses and reenters two measures later. Rather than rerecord the song, the band kept the mistake—a decision that underscored the do-it-yourself ethos of garage bands.

What truly set “Louie Louie” apart was not just its raw sound or simplicity, but the scandal it sparked. Ely’s slurred, nearly unintelligible vocals led some listeners to believe the song contained obscene lyrics. In early 1964, the governor of Indiana called for an investigation, prompting the FBI to launch a formal inquiry. Agents spent months analyzing the tape, slowing it down and attempting to decipher the lyrics. Ultimately, they concluded that the vocals were indecipherable and therefore not obscene. The case was dropped, but the controversy only fueled the song’s popularity, helping it rise to number two on the Billboard pop chart. Ironically, while the lyrics themselves were not explicit, the recording does contain a moment of profanity—at around 0:54, drummer Lynn Easton clearly shouts “f***” after dropping his sticks during the take.