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.”
Eric my friend, it was actually neither that Grand Piano nor some Hammond organ, but rather a Hohner (Model: Pianet L) electric piano (played through a Sears Alamo amp) that Don used on the Kingsmen’s “Louie Louie” recording.
Yup, yup… I stand corrected. Jack gave me the inside info on this one.
Thanks for checkin’ in….
me gotta go…
E.P.
That’s interesting: How can Jack give you information that I just gave you??? 🙂
Jack Ely is a member of the Yahoo group “LOUIE LOUIE PARTY” which I moderate. I sent out information about the blog post to the group. Jack immediately provided feedback with the proper information.
As all of these comments on the blog are moderated to slow down the flow of insane spamming from idiots that have nothing better to do with their lives, I don’t always check the comments immediately. I’m glad to see folks actually using these comments to provide me with feedback and corrections, as opposed to advertisements for free iPods, male vitalty drugs, or links to really lame websites.
By all means, please continue to send corrections about this website if you see any glaring errors.
sincerely,
E.P.
That Pianet I think was also used on
“She’s Not There” and “Tell Her No” by the Zombies