This week, I’ve invited my old friend Michael Dresbach to be a special guest blogger.
Michael was a part of the infamous KFJC Maximum LOUIE LOUIE marathon all those years ago, and I thought it’d be fun to share his story. – E.P.
I grew up in Okinawa, Japan (well, it wasn’t “Japan” then, it was a US Administrated Island), but not as part of the Occupying Force; my parents were missionaries. I hadn’t heard any rock music. I paid attention to newspapers and news magazines so I was aware of the Beatles but I hadn’t heard any of their music. When I was in the fifth grade we returned to San Jose, California, for a furlough and, having access to a radio, I started listening to KLIV. This is where I first heard LOUIE LOUIE, but it was just another one of them rackety-roll songs and not a life-changing-experience. The next year we returned to Okinawa, but now I would sneak around to listen to the “Wicked, Cheap, Teenage Music Which Would Place My Soul In Eternal Perdition,” and was the rock of the 1960’s. We returned to California for the final time in 1970. I was sixteen, and very into that rackety-roll. I was excited to listen to FM radio and had purchased an FM radio on Akihabara street in Tokyo. However, it had a Japanese FM band, which was 76 to 90 MHz, much lower than the frequencies on the US FM band, so I could only listen to the audio from KPIX TV or KFJC-FM, where I heard music I certainly didn’t hear on KLIV. But I digress; let’s get back to the LOUIE LOUIE thang.
So, we move ahead to the late 1970’s and early 1980’s. I played in bands, as did everyone in those days (I believe it was a law of some sort). I answered an ad for a bassist (which I heard on KFJC) and met Matthew Hubbard, an extremely talented keyboardist and song writer (AND smart as a whip; he was on Jeopardy in 1985 and won the Big Money!). He was designing them new-fangled video games for a little outfit called Atari, later moving to another little outfit called Activision. We started a cover band which didn’t get anywhere. Then we auditioned for bands as a keyboardist/bassist team. This, too, did not work. One day I suggested we give up and just record his songs. We could buy some synthesizers and a drum machine and Do It Ourselves. So we did. We became The Wonders of Science.
We released an EP (that’s Extended Play, not Eric Predoehl!) entitled “The Record of the Same Name.” We also released a single: “The Big Picture” b/w “My Only Desire.” We were ready to take the Pop Music World by storm!
And…like so many others, it didn’t happen. Now, at the same time, I was at my sister and brother-in-law’s house, and my brother-in-law (at the time), the Famous Uncle Kenny Walter, showed me a program he had made for the Macintosh (one of those really old Macs, cuz it was in the olden days) which played the song LOUIE LOUIE. It had a map of the USA on which one could find versions of LOUIE LOUIE recorded in different states and hear a snippet of said recording. It was interesting but, as far as I was concerned, just another Uncle Kenny obsession. Little did I know that soon the entire South Bay would all catch up with Uncle Kenny and be just as obsessed with this little ditty as he! Soon we heard about how Jeff “Stretch” Riedle played several versions of LOUIE LOUIE on his extremely popular radio program.
At this time The Wonders of Science had expanded to include Travis Hunt on bass and Nathan Lindsey on drums, as we couldn’t pull off the Two-Guys-With-Synth thang live. Some DJ at KALX in Berkeley decided to play a few more versions than did Stretch. Then Stretch played a few more, and, as often happens when testosterone is involved, a fierce competition developed (Okay, I’m old and don’t remember exactly who started it. However, if interested in challenging my memory, ask me what was happening theologically in Fourth Century Cappadocia; my wife claims I spend more time there than in the present). And then, the gauntlet laid down, the LOUIE LOUIE Marathon took place, a moment that will live forever in Rock and Roll history. Everyone started submitting versions of LOUIE LOUIE. I had a little 4-track in my basement (where The Wonders of Science practiced) and recorded two versions of said song.
Synth Pop LOUIE LOUIE
(KFJC Max LOUIE #469 of 842 versions)
Telephone LOUIE LOUIE
(KFJC Max LOUIE #388 of 842 versions)
On the day of the marathon, The Wonders of Science played live on the air, right after the infamous Richard Berry/Jack Ely performance (with Lady Bo!). The Famous Uncle Kenny (remember him?) was serving as a Roadie with us. While we were setting up, Marvelous Marty (Preece), who was doing the sound for the on-air performances, said, “You guys could really use a horn player.” Well, as luck would have it, Uncle Kenny is an outstanding trumpet player; he played with symphonies and brass quintets and all that, so he went off to find a horn he could borrow. By the time he came back with a trumpet, Marty was gone and in the control booth. We, The Wonders of Science (now with Uncle Kenny!) played our LOUIE LOUIE medley (incorporating a messa songs which used the same chord progression) live on the radio. Once we were finished, Uncle Kenny ran off to return the borrowed trumpet. Marty came flying in to the room asking who was playing the trumpet. We denied that there was any trumpet, yuk yuk. Later we thanked Richard Berry and Jack Ely (with Lady Bo!) for opening for us, yuk yuk. We were just a barrel of laughs that day!
Back then, not only was I playing in The Wonders of Science and recording various bands, I was also working a day job AND working as a Church Musician at St. Patrick’s Church in San Jose, which required me to get up early on Sunday mornings. My clock radio woke me on the Sunday of the LOUIE LOUIE Marathon and I heard the two versions I had submitted. What fun! I realized that the LOUIE LOUIE thang was a successful event when, later that day, I heard my pre-school daughters playing LOUIE LOUIE on their toy piano and singing along.
The Wonders of Science mutated into A Cruel Hoax around 1985 or so. By then Louie Louie was THE song one must have in one’s set list. I remember being at gigs and having Stretch ask, “Are you guys playing LOUIE LOUIE tonight?” I’d say, “yes” and then he would ask, “Can I record it?” I always allowed him to do so as he would always play it on his show. I remember E P (Eric Predoehl, not extended play) was working on an epic LOUIE LOUIE film (I believe he still is- YES!) and him filming Travis and I walking down First Street singing LOUIE LOUIE* but E P said it didn’t happen and, you know, “pictures or GTFO”, so my memory fails me once again (perhaps it happened in Fourth Century Cappadocia?).
A Cruel Hoax combined forces with the Social Club, the Frontier Wives, and the Kingpins to record “San Jose is Ground Zero: We’re Number One!” and figured “NOW it’s gonna happen!” We played regularly at the local clubs and helped form the First Strike Musicians Guild and released cassette tapes and did all that stuff but we couldn’t get anywhere. We wrote great songs (in my opinion) and we had a great sound but it wasn’t happening. One day I was putting gas in the car, thinking about how our latest recording wasn’t catching on and decided, “Screw it! I’m going to Seminary”, cuz, that’s whatcha do when you can’t make it as a Pop Star.
I quit the band, got my Bachelors in Science, then went to seminary (The Church Divinity School of the Pacific in Berkeley), earned a Masters of Divinity and a Master of Arts in History of Religion, and was ordained as a priest in the Episcopal Church. I served as a missionary in the Republic of Panama for a little over twelve years, returned to the USA and served as priest at All Saints Cristo Rey Episcopal Church in Watsonville and am now retired… but I can still play LOUIE LOUIE and know all the words.
Thank you for your patience and you can wake up now.
– Michael Dresbach (aka Padre Mickey)
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* = Sadly, I have no memory nor can I find any evidence of this impromptu recording that I supposedly captured….
… but here’s a few special moments from the Maximum LOUIE LOUIE event!
Thank you, Michael! – E.P.
The Wonders of Science – Live on KFJC
(KFJC Max LOUIE #336 of 842 versions)
It’s February – Black History Month, and this seems like a good time as any to pause to remember one of the great underrated rhythm and blues singers from Los Angeles in the 1950s.
Richard Berry, the man responsible for writing the song LOUIE LOUIE, had high praise for Jesse Belvin, who he considered as a mentor. In the Los Angeles rhythm and blues community, Jesse was often considered one of the most influential singer-songwriters from the tradition of vocal harmony groups known as Doo-Wop music.
Jesse Belvin doesn’t seem to get a lot of attention in rock and roll history books, but I was pleasantly surprised to see him acknowledged in two different documentaries on the short life of Sam Cooke.
The South was a very dangerous place for black musicians in the 1960s.
While the USA has made great strides in the past 60+ years, we’re still facing some real problems in 2021.
This week, as we pay tribute to Jesse Belvin, we’ll share some recycled and slightly modified words originally posted by our friend Deborah Roldan-Dixon, who runs the Juke Jive n’ Jam Facebook group.
____________________________
Jesse Belvin
An R&B singer, pianist and songwriter popular in the 1950s, Belvin’s success was cut short by his death in a car crash at age 27.
Born in Texarkana, Texas, Belvin moved with his family to Los Angeles at the age of five. In 1950, he joined saxophonist Big Jay McNeely’s backing vocal quartet —Three Dots and a Dash — and was featured prominently on their record releases.
In 1952, he joined Specialty Records. Although his early solo records were unsuccessful, his fourth record, “Dream Girl,” credited to Jesse & Marvin and featuring Marvin Phillips on saxophone, reached #2 on the R&B charts in 1953.
He was then drafted into the Army, but continued to write songs during his enlistment. His composition, “Earth Angel,” eventually co-credited to Belvin and Hollywood Flames singers Curtis Williams and Gaynel Hodge after a legal dispute, was recorded by The Penguins. It became one of the first R&B singles to cross over onto the pop charts, selling a million copies in 1954/55.
In 1956, he signed a contract with Modern Records, but also continued to sing for other labels under different names. His biggest hit was “Goodnight My Love,” which reached #7 on the R&B chart.
The piano on the session was reportedly played by the 11-year-old Barry White. The song became the closing theme to Alan Freed’s rock and roll radio shows.
Belvin’s other recordings for Modern were less successful, and in 1958 he recorded on Dot Records with a group, The Shields, who included lead singer Frankie Ervin and guitarist Johnny “Guitar” Watson. Their record, “You Cheated,” reached #15 on the U.S. pop chart and #11 on the R&B chart. He also recorded with Eugene Church as the Cliques on a less successful single, “Girl of My Dreams” which was covered by the Four Lovers. Two of group’s members including Frankie Valli would later become The Four Seasons. Inspired by his wife and manager, Jo Anne, to develop his style, he signed to RCA Records in 1959. He immediately had a Top 40 hit with “Guess Who,” written by his wife.
He also recorded an album, Just Jesse Belvin, developing a more mature and sophisticated sound on ballads. His style was influenced by Nat “King” Cole and Billy Eckstine, and became a model for Sam Cooke and others.
He acquired the nickname “Mr. Easy,” and the record company began moulding him as a potential crossover star for white audiences, as well as a professional rival to Capitol Records’ recording star, Nat “King” Cole.
He recorded a further series of tracks later in the year, with arranger Marty Paich and an orchestra including saxophonist Art Pepper. The songs included soulful covers of standards like “Blues in the Night,” “In the Still of the Night” and “Makin’ Whoopee.” They were issued on the album, Mr. Easy.
However, before the album was issued, and shortly after finishing a performance in Little Rock on a bill with Sam Cooke, Jackie Wilson and Marv Johnson, Belvin and his wife were killed in a head-on collision on February 6, 1960 at Hope, Arkansas.
The concert was the first concert played before an integrated audience in the history of Little Rock, and had been stopped twice by interruptions from whites in the audience. They shouted racial epithets and urged the white teenagers in attendance to leave at once.
There had been several death threats on Belvin prior to the concert, and that led to speculation that Belvin’s car had been tampered with prior to the accident.
Various journalists have argued that the car had indeed been tampered with and Jackie Wilson made a statement to the press that his lawyer would look into the matter, but nothing ever became of that.
As was reported in some obituaries, it was believed that the driver nodded off, lost control of the car and had a head-on collision with a car traveling in the opposite direction. According to those publications, the driver had previously been recently fired for falling asleep at the wheel by another musical act.
It’s time for the first LOUIE post for 2021! It’s a new year, as we hit the “restart” with a new operating system in the USA, which will hopefully be a better year than the other year!
Today is 1-23-21, or 12321….backwards or forwards… a Palindrome Day!
Exciting, huh?
Anyways, the first noteworthy LOUIE news for 2021 was a record-setting sale for a vintage LOUIE LOUIE record!
On January 3rd, someone paid $4,850 for an ultra-rare 45 single recording of “LOUIE LOUIE” with “Johnny B. Goode” on the flipside. The band was the Sonics, but it had no relationship to the more popular band from Tacoma, Washington with the same name.
MopTopMike shared a short history of this particular band called the Sonics on the g45central webpage:
The guys all attended school in Thailand, as their parents all had government or government related jobs which relocated them overseas for a certain amount of time. The group was not from Florida.
Each of the members came from a different state in the USA. And the group started long before the Beatles / Brit Invasion era. There were many members during the course of the group’s existence.
All of the recordings were done in Thailand, and all three came with picture sleeves. There were other recordings but none were issued as singles.
Neither of these Sonics knew of the other band with the same name. The Tacoma Sonics were signed to Etiquette Records, a label operated by the (Fabulous) Wailers, with some national distribution by Imperial Records. The Thailand Sonics aka “Sonics Inc.”, released 3 singles on their own Sonics Music Ltd. record label with considerably smaller distribution.
Both Sonics released their version of LOUIE LOUIE in 1966.
Today is Christmas, and we are celebrating this special day.
Mojo Nixon provided a wonderful way to celebrate Christmas with a LOUIE LOUIE theme, which we’re sharing once again….
On these LouieLouie.net pages, there was an attempt to merge LOUIE LOUIE celebrations with the 12 Days of Christmas theme, which changed into a “12 Days ’til Christmas” theme after we realized it wasn’t following the proper structure of traditional “12 Days of Christmas” concept… which led to the numbering system getting a bit messed up.
We also looked for likewise-minded celebrations that someone else might have attempted, but the closest thing we could find was a NASTY but funny clip called “The 12 Days of Uncle Louie.”
We were also thinking of creating a big ambitious video clip that would consist of stock film footage of partridges, turtle doves, French hens, calling birds, assorted people wearing golden rings, lots of geese a-laying, many swans a-swimming, more maids a-milking, lots of ladies dancing, some lords leaping, various pipers piping and a whole bunch of drummers making assorted sounds that would all be combined into a massive mashup of LOUIE LOUIE and the song “The 12 Days of Christmas.”
Unfortunately, as we ran out of time and resources, that little project never happened.
BUT.. we did find a cool video clip of various animals singing “12 Days of Christmas!”
In the meantime, we leave you with this clip of a performance that does combine LOUIE LOUIE with another song. This medley-mashup combines LOUIE LOUIE with the Vince Guaraldi song “Cast Your Fate to the Wind” as performed by Dave Stewart and Barbara Gaskin.
That being said, the concept of “casting your find to the wind” during this weird moment in history when airborne particles are potentially more dangerous than ever before, is not necessarily a wise move.
We’d like to encourage our fellow citizens to act responsibly, and wear face masks when in the presence of other humans. (Airborne particles CAN travel 20 feet)
As long as people refuse the call to act responsibly, the longer we’ll have to deal with this damned pandemic.
We wish all of our friends the best of health during these extremely challenging times.
It’s the 11th day of the 12 days ’til LOUIE LOUIE 2020 Christmas celebration, and we’ve thinking about …
Frank Zappa
A diverse composer/performer/producer that was able to blend rock, pop, jazz fusion, doo-wop vocals and orchestral sounds into some beautifully unique music.
A brilliant cynical mind with a wicked sense of humor.
On Monday, December 21st, we celebrated his 80th birthday, wishing he didn’t have to leave the party 27 years ago.
This year, we also celebrated the release of “Zappa” – the authorized documentary of Frank Zappa, directed by Alex Winter, the “Bill” of Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventures.
I really enjoyed this one – I found it to be one of the highlights of an otherwise difficult year.
As we near the blessed end of 2020, let’s revisit the time Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention inspired some fans to combine the group’s experimental music with a fragment of America’s decaying pop-culture symbolism: Santa Claus. Gather ‘round the computer and burn some incense—it’s time to experience “Twas The Night Before Christmas” through the twisted mindset of Zappa’s avant-garde song “Absolutely Free,” thanks to one fan, his brother Bob, and a little help from the Yippies.
First, a little background: “Absolutely Free,” from the Mothers album We’re Only In It For the Money, just so happens to sync up nearly perfectly with a black-and-white short from 1946—a visual narration of the traditional Clement Clarke Moore poem “Twas The Night Before Christmas.” The nine-minute short blends live action with animation, and features an uncharacteristically giddy moon, humanized eggs dancing over sleeping children’s heads, and a mouse who looks more like a rat. The mashup itself—discovered nearly five decades ago—is the work of Zappa fan and Oakland, California resident Richard McQuillan (plus his brother, Bob). See it for yourself:
It’s the 10th day of the 12 days ’til LOUIE LOUIE 2020 Christmas celebration, and we’ve got …
“Pharaoh Pharaoh”
“Pharaoh Pharaoh” is an interesting variation of LOUIE LOUIE. It’s the revised version of LOUIE LOUIE that uses completely different lyrics to tell the biblical story of Moses leading the Israelites out of Egypt. It’s been adopted by various Christian and Jewish groups as a playful song that can be easily sung at Sunday schools, summer camps, youth ministries, and assorted church gatherings.
The song was something of a fluke. Tony Sbrana was a high school senior when he created “Pharaoh Pharaoh” in 1971. In an era when “Jesus Christ Superstar” and “Godspell” were mainstream theatrical successes, Tony and two of his fellow students created a rock opera for their “Bible As Literature” class project. “Pharaoh Pharaoh” was written as a parody of LOUIE LOUIE.
The fact that the very first version of LOUIE LOUIE ever recorded was by Richard Berry and the Pharaohs was completely coincidental.
For about year or so, Tony Sbrana and his collaborators would perform their rock opera at various church groups, before stopping it altogether.
Unbeknownst to Tony, this little “Pharaoh Pharaoh” song of his took on a life of it’s own. 1n 1987, Tony found out this parody song of his had become a popular song on the church circuit. Apparently someone must have heard Tony’s performance of this song, and shared it with others, not knowing who wrote this song.
Since then, Tony has rectified the situation, taking credit for creating this inspired reinvention of Richard Berry‘s iconic song, which is, of course, taking on a whole new life on YouTube.
Merry Christmas time!
Happy Hannukah celebrations!
Festive Winter Solstice!
…. and a Happy Birthday to Richard D’Juan Berry, grandson of the Richard Berry that wrote LOUIE LOUIE!
It’s the 9th day of the 12 days ’til LOUIE LOUIE 2020 Christmas, and we’re thinking about…
Rockin’ Robin Roberts
For many people, especially in the Pacific Northwest, Rockin’ Robin Roberts provided the definitive version of LOUIE LOUIE in 1961. Backed by the (Fabulous) Wailers of Tacoma, Washington, this was THE version that transformed Richard Berry‘s composition into an extremely popular regional hit record that created the prototype for the Kingsmen and Paul Revere & the Raiders to follow.
Today is the 53rd anniversary of the tragic death of Rockin’ Robin Roberts. He died in a terrible auto accident on December 22, 1967 in San Mateo, California three days before Christmas.
There’s certainly been no shortage of tragedy in 2020, as so many of us have lost loved ones, and this truly has been a very challenging year.
Please remember that you are not alone in your sadness…. especially now… more than ever.
Thank you for reading this.
– E.P. of LouieLouie.net
P.S. I was reminded by my friend Stretch Riedle about our little road trip to Tacoma in August 1998. It was a day or two after our LOUIE panel at the NXNW Festival in Portland. We needed to pay a visit Robin’s gravesite. It was quite a feeling to be standing in the presence of the man who helped put LOUIE LOUIE on the map forever. We honored his memory with a bottle of LOUIE LOUIE Wine Cooler, and raised a toast with our own impromptu, unrecorded rendition.
It’s the 8th day of the 12 days ’til LOUIE LOUIE 2020 Christmas, and the first day of Winter, which makes it a perfect day for…
Johnny Winter
Johnny’s version of LOUIE LOUIE, unlike most of his other recordings, was not a standard blues-oriented performance. Instead, it had more of a Louisiana Zydeco type of groove. There’s not many details about Johnny’s recording of this song, but this was one of his early audio recordings when working with Roy E. Ames, a prominent music producer in Houston, Texas. As Johnny (and many other Texas-based musicians) discovered, Mr. Ames turned out to be a less-than-ethic businessman, and leaving Houston area turned out to be one of the best things he ever did for his career.
While Mr. Ames released a lot of Johnny Winter music (without ever paying any royalties to Mr. Winter), either on his own record labels or licensed out to other record companies, it appears that the first release of Johnny’s version of LOUIE LOUIE occurred as the first track on “A Lone Star Kind of Day,” a 1990 CD from the Relix label. This version was also on the 3-CD box set entitled “Blues In A Box,” which was released in 1998 on the M.I.L. Multimedia label, followed by a re-release of “A Lone Star Kind of Day” CD as 4-CD box set entitled “A Winters Tale,” which was sold by Past & Present Records in 2000, repeated again as “Dust Bowl Blues” -a 3CD set from Alchemy Entertainment in 2004.
I’m not even sure that Johnny actually sang on this version, as it’s been noted that it might have been bass player I.P. “Ike” Sweat or Jerry “Count” Jackson singing lead vocal on these early recordings with Mr. Ames.
As Mr. Ames passed away in 2003, leaving behind a lot of unresolved lawsuits from a multitude of other unpaid musicians, it’s anybody’s guess if or when this music may ever be re-issued.
Of course, Johnny also left us in 2014.
As fate would have it, I just found out about a newly-discovered live recording of that song by Johnny Winter. It’s on a limited edition, numbered, marbled translucent blue vinyl LP from Germany entitled “Also In Summer.”
I just ordered a couple of copies, and with any luck, I hope to get ’em within a week and hear what this newer version sounds like…
A HAPPY WINTER SOLSTICE to ALL!!
(Still haven’t found any partridges, turtle doves, French hens, calling birds golden rings, geese a-laying, swans a-swimming…. or even any maids a-milking…. sigh….)
This is what you call a “Sunday Morning Coming Down” type version… just like when Kris Kristofferson wrote about “no way to hold my head that didn’t hurt.”
On the 6th day of the 12 days ’til LOUIE LOUIE 2020 Christmas, and someone gave to me…
Los Rebeldes
Los Rebeldes is another great rock band from Spain that I recently found out about. This band was formed in Barcelona in 1979 by Carlos Segarra on vocals+ guitar, Aurelio Morata on bass and Moisés Sorolla on drums. They’ve been playing for over 40 years and are considered to be one of the most important rockabilly bands to emerge from the Spanish music scene.
Their version of LOUIE LOUIE is a very powerful live rendition that seems to borrow some signature elements from versions by Paul Revere & the Raiders, Richard Berry & the Pharaohs, the Fabulous Wailers, the Kingsmen, and the Sonics.
From what I can tell, this version is only available on Corazón de Rock And Roll – a commemorative 8-CD compilation released by Sony Music in 2019 to celebrate the band’s 40th anniversary.
I do like this one a lot!
Still haven’t found evidence of partridges, pear trees, turtle doves, or French hens involved with any LOUIE recordings…but still looking…
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