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Who wrote "Louie Louie?"
Richard Berry
wrote the song, and was responsible for many other great songs,
which you may or may not have heard. He was a highly prolific
songwriter that often gave away songs away to others uncredited,
or shared writer's credits with people that were merely business
associates. He was an under-rated musical giant, but his influence
lives on. For more information about this man, check out the
Richard Berry webpage.
Are there any "obscene"
words in the song "Louie Louie?"
Defining "obscenity" is truly a matter
of personal opinion. What one might define as "obscene"
might be considered "fine art" by another. While
some might consider the human body a dangerous vision not
to be seen by young children, those same people have no objection
to exposing their children to random acts of violence seen
in television news, dramatic motion pictures, or video game
arcades. Perhaps greedy politics might be considered the most
obscene of all actions, as they can affect the public in more
ways than one can imagine, making criminals out of otherwise
law-abiding citizens. One could argue that the lack of personal
responsibility or moral code (not treating others as you'd
like to be treated) is the most "obscene" action
one could take.
In terms of "obscene" words in the song "Louie
Louie," one would be hard pressed to find any such items
in the lyrics written by Richard Berry. Other bands have interpreted
this song in their own unique way, often adding additional
lyrics, which may or may not be considered "obscene,"
depending on your own termperament. Whether or not the
Kingsmen's version had "obscene" lyrics is a
matter that various people have argued over. In fact, that's
something the F.B.I. spent
a lot of time and money trying to decipher....
Short answer: yes, no, and a definite maybe.
How many versions are there
of LOUIE LOUIE?
That's a very intriguing question!
In August 1983, a marathon celebrating the song was held at
KFJC Radio in Los
Altos Hills, California. For 63 hours, the event known as
"Maximum Louie Louie" captivated local and
international media alike, playing every known version of
the song, encouraging others to deliver their own recording
of the song up to the station, where it would find a guaranteed
audience on the radio. At the time of the marathon, there
were over 800 documented recordings of the song. Since that
point in time, the number of known recordings has at least
doubled, with the last count somewhere around the 1,600 range.
At the headquarters of LOUIELOUIE.NET, we've done our
best to document all known recordings, but it's a major challenge
to keep up with all the variations.
If you'd like to see some of
the latest lists of LOUIE LOUIE recordings, we have them available
as Adobe Acrobat
files:
Eric
Predoehl's ALL KNOWN LOUIE LOUIE RECORDINGS database
Clay
Stabler's LOUIE LOUIE + SPIN-OFF 45 SINGLES database.
Naturally, if you have a recording
of "Louie Louie" that's not listed on these lists,
we'd like to hear about
it.
Was "Louie Louie"
ever made a state song in Washington or Oregon?
Thanks in a large part to the folks
behind KING-TV's "Almost Live" television
show in Seattle, Washington, "Louie Louie" almost
became the official state song of the state, edging out the
current official state song, "Washington, My Home."
While it never became the "official state song"
of Washington, it was instead deemed the "official rock
song" of Washington, inspiring other states to also declare
"official rock songs." The state of Oregon tried
to also make "Louie Louie" their state song, but
it too, fell short.
What are the actual lyrics of
the song "Louie Louie?"
The song is currently owned by EMI Music
Publishing. Only they can legally grant permission
to reprint the lyrics for this song. While
there may be certain websites out there with the supposed
"real lyrics," they are non-authorized, and they
or may not contain the actual lyrics.
My favorite interpretation of the lyrics, while not necessarily
the "real" lyrics can be found at Theo
DeGrood's LOUIE website.
If you are interested in reading what the F.B.I. thought
the real lyrics were, I'd be happy to sell you a copy of the
F.B.I. investigation that I obtained via the Freedom of Information
Act. Order your copy from me,
and I'll use whatever profits I make to pay for my documentary-in-progress,
while you'll be able to stay off certain lists of people that
investigate government information.
When will "THE MEANING
OF LOUIE" be released to the general public, so people
can see the ultimate documentary on the world's most misunderstood
song?
Soon, hopefully. Keep checking in to the LOUIELOUIE.NET
site, and I'll provide updates as they happen.
Eric Predoehl
If you plan
on creating any articles on this topic for your magazine,
book, radio show, television program, website, or other media,
please give credit where credit is due, and send copies of
all completed work to ERIC PREDOEHL. Your professional courtesty
is greatly appreciated!
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