Thirty years ago today, Richard Berry, author of the song “LOUIE LOUIE” met Jack Ely, the original vocalist for the Kingsmen, at KFJC Radio, Los Altos Hills, California. The date was August 20, 1983 – the second day of the legendary “Maximum: LOUIE LOUIE” radio marathon which played every known version of the song at time, which turned out to be well over 800 versions, lasting approximately 63 hours. This particular moment marked the very first time Richard Berry had ever met any member of the band that transformed his composition into the popular hit recording heard all over the world.
At the time of this meeting, Richard Berry was surviving on welfare in Los Angeles, taking data entry courses to obtain a more marketable job skill.
After this particular event, his life was forever changed…
(We’ll have more on that later…)