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FEBRUARY / MARCH 2020 • MONTANA SENIOR NEWS ENtERtAINMENt PAGE 47
The Million-Selling Sloppy Soundcheck
from the control room, explaining that
the soundcheck had exactly the raw edge
BY RANDAL C. HILL that he sought.
The Kingsmen, understandably, were
Music critics were never kind to one incredulous: This piece of garbage would
of the biggest hits of all time. One writer become their debut single? Sadly, the
proclaimed it “a ridiculous piece of junk.” answer was yes.
Another grumbled that “it had all the charm Jerden Records in Seattle released the
of a clanging hubcap.” Strangely enough, soundcheck version, which earned some
the Kingsmen, the band responsible for airplay on Pacific Northwest radio before
“Louie, Louie,” felt the same way. it fell off the playlists. Somehow, the for-
The three-verse ditty had originally The Kingsmen in 1966. Clockwise from lower left: gotten 45 made its way across the country,
been a 1956 release by Los Angeles R & B Lynn Easton, J.C. Rieck, Kerry Magness, Mike Mitchell, and popular Boston rock DJ Arnie Ginsberg
singer/songwriter Richard Berry, whose Flip Dick Peterson. Public Domain. By Scandore/Shayne, ended up spinning “Louie, Louie” on a
Billboard page 19 (1966).
Records single told of a lonely sailor lament- Friday night feature he called “The Worst
ing to a bartender named Louie. Berry’s 45 raised the vocalist’s boom microphone Record of the Week.”
never cracked the national charts, but the to 15 feet off the floor, claiming this Surprisingly, several record stores
tune lingered on—and on and on—into the would offer a better “live” feel when phoned to ask about ordering the disc, and
early 1960s, where it became a staple of the Kingsmen recorded. soon New York’s Wand Records leased the
three-chord garage bands throughout the Things quickly went south when the Jerden master, and by January 1964, “Louie,
Pacific Northwest. tape rolled. Ely had to lean back to sing— Louie” sat at Number Two on Billboard’s
The Kingsmen were a Portland, Oregon, shout, really—up to the microphone far Hot 100 chart.
rock quintet fronted by Jack Ely. Ken Chase, above him, resulting in a slurring of When some listeners erroneously
the Kingsmen’s manager, provided work for Berry’s simplistic lyrics. Drummer Lynn claimed that “Louie, Louie” contained filthy
the outfit at a teen dance club he owned. Easton lost the beat partway through. lyrics, two FBI agents visited Richard Berry,
On a whim one night, the group played And, following the instrumental break, Ely who later explained with a chuckle, “They
a nonstop 90-minute set of nothing but came in too soon on the song’s final verse came to the conclusion that the singer’s
“Louie, Louie.” The dancers went wild and and had to restart it. After two excruci- words were indecipherable.”
even demanded more. Chase recognized ating minutes, “Louie, Louie” mercifully “I was never contacted about the lyrics,”
the song’s potential for the Kingsmen and ground to a halt. Ely grumbled in a postscript. “Nobody ever
scheduled time at Northwest Recorders, the Then came Chase’s jaw-dropping wanted to talk to the guy who actually sang
only recording studio in Portland. announcement. “That’s it! That’s the the supposedly dirty words.” MSN
When a soundcheck was ordered take I want!” he enthused as he bolted
to test the microphone levels, Chase
