Historic Piano with LOUIE LOUIE connections

Today, I just found out that the Cindy Lindahl will be selling off her dad’s grand piano. Her father, Robert Lindahl, who passed away in 2006, was the original recording engineer for both the Kingsmen and Paul Revere & the Raiders. Both bands recorded LOUIE at Northwestern Incorporated of Portland, Oregon in the month of April 1963. This piano was a regular part of the recording studio, and was used by by many musicians.

What makes this piano particularly noteworthy within the LOUIE Universe is the fact that Robert Lindahl claimed that this was THE PIANO used by the Kingsmen for their iconic recording. Take a look at this video that I shot for the documentary:

Now, I’m not a musician, and certainly not a piano player, but I don’t think that a 1952 Baldwin L Series Grand piano was used on the Kingsmen’s recording of LOUIE LOUIE. To me, it sounds like a Hammond organ was used. I never did ask Don Gallucci what type of keyboards he used to play, but I believe both Jack Ely and Barry Curtis confirmed that it was indeed a Hammond.

For what it’s worth, Robert Lindahl wasn’t impressed with the Kingsmen. He’d seen a lot of bands, and he thought these guys were pretty forgettable. I don’t think it would unrealistic to imagine that he didn’t remember all the specific details of this particular recording session, which cost something like $50….. maybe $38 for a 3-4 hour recording session.

Anyways, if you would like to purchase this historic grand piano, which was used by a lot of other musicians, check out this eBay auction.

UPDATE: Jack Ely responds:

“The piano used to record LL by us was neither a regular piano nor a Hammond B3. It was a Hohner Electric Piano played through a Sears Alamo Bass Amp. I know, because I was the one who always had to tune the thing.”