This week, I’m letting my friend Andy Martello pick the LOUIE of the Week. Here’s what he had to say about one of his FAVORITE versions of the song….
Pow woW is a freakishly talented French a cappella band who had an insanely huge hit in 1992 called “Le Chat,” a song which I’ve still never heard. They followed it up with their version of “The Lion Sleeps Tonight.”
Other than this, all I know for certain is that one of their members looks a lot like what Doctor Who actor, David Tennant would look like in about 12 years. I also know that this guy would always get more tail than me because he is in a band that had a hit and looks like David Tennant.
OH YEAH! There are also not one, but TWO most excellent versions of Louie Louie done by them. Both live. Both awesome.
Garage music fans will hate me for saying this, but their a cappella version is possibly one of the ten best versions of the song ever recorded. The energy, the vocal twists, the doo-wop-into-gospel interpretation—all takes the simplest of 3-chord songs and elevates it into the realm of art. Not bad for a song most associated with frat parties and controversy.
If you speak French or feel like making Babel Fish work extra hard, go to their website for more information.
Don’t bother with their Wikipedia page. That’s where I found all of this nothing I shared with you.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pow_woW#External_links
Type in “pow wow louie louie” and you’ll find TWO great versions of the song as well as many other fabulous performances of other great tunes.
Apologies to all music-lovers, journalists, and people who like clever writing and “Thank GOD I read this, otherwise I’d have never heard of this before” kind of reviews.