“Louie Louie” is an American rhythm and blues song written by Richard Berry in 1955 and best known for the 1963 hit version by The Kingsmen. It has become a standard in pop and rock, with hundreds of versions recorded by different artists. First released in May 1963, the Kingsmen’s recording entered the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for December 7, and peaked at number two the following week. It was the last #1 on Cashbox before Beatlemania hit the United States with “I Want to Hold Your Hand”. The Kingsmen’s recording was the subject of an FBI investigation about the supposed but nonexistent obscenity of the lyrics, an investigation that ended without prosecution. “Louie Louie” has been recognized by organizations and publications worldwide for its influence on the history of rock and roll. A partial list includes the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Grammy Hall of Fame, National Public Radio, VH1, Rolling Stone, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Recording Industry Association of America. (More from Wikipedia)
Now, of all of the songs that Greg Shaw could have used to name and then subtitle his magazine Who Put the Bomp, two of them came out in 1963, and the other in 1964, though that one could just as easily have been made in 1963. Why 1963? Greg Shaw was 14 in 1963; and, according to neuroscientist and author Daniel Levitin in his book, This is Your Brain on Music, this is when the brain is most susceptible to the influence of music. As quoted in Bomp 2, Levitin writes: “Part of the reason we remember songs from our teenage years is because those years were times of self discovery, and as a consequence, they were emotionally charged.”
Many years later, Greg Shaw wrote in 2001: “One of my favorite phases of 60’s garage was 1963, when nobody had ever heard of England, and songs like ‘Louie Louie’ [by the Kingsmen] and ‘Surfin’ Bird’ [by the Trashmen] were drawing on 50’s R&B to create something new.”
(May 2013)
I had heard from several people that “Satisfaction” had dirty lyrics; we’d heard the same rumors about “Louie Louie”. The line that was mentioned to me (probably by a summer camp counselor) was: “I’m trying to make some girl” – I said, okay, but I didn’t actually know what that meant at the time.
(May 2015)
