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Post by jk on Feb 1, 2021 16:35:17 GMT -5
For me, "Louie Louie" is The Kingsmen (and The Kingsmen are "Louie Louie") ever since I first heard it one dark homework-filled evening towards the end of 1963 fading in and out on a French radio station. This was long after I'd seen it mentioned as bubbling under the Cashbox Top Fifty. The French disc jockey announced it as "une disque très comique", something that baffles me to this day. It was the wildest, most abandoned record I had ever heard -- maybe vocalist Jack Ely's strangled vocals struck the deejay as "comique". There were three reasons for the sounds coming out of Jack's throat: The band had done a marathon version of "Louie" the night before and his vocal cords were scrunched to hell; the boom mic couldn't be set any lower and Jack didn't have height on his side so he had to stretch up uncomfortably to get anywhere near it; and, Jack wore a brace. For a good understanding of the song in all its often unseemly facets, Dave Marsh's excellent book on the subject is all you'll ever need (* here* in an incomplete form, for as long as it's up). We are primarily concerned with The Kingsmen's iconic hit version and what Marsh describes as "the rest of their unconscionably long career", but should you have another version of "Louie" you'd like us to hear, please feel free to post it. (My own second choice is by Tacoma's pride and joy The Sonics.) First though, the hit version that began as "worst record of the week" on a 1963 radio show. By then, the original Kingsmen were no more (Ely had been squeezed out in a messy coup) and the later lineups struggled on for a number of years with often toe-curlingly embarrassing results -- you have been warned! en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Kingsmen |
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Post by jk on Feb 2, 2021 5:09:48 GMT -5
"That was great!" called manager Jerry Dennon from the booth, "Do you have anything to put on the other side?" (All anecdotes etc are off the top of my head, which will explain any errors.) The lads were non-plussed -- surely this had been just a tryout, a practice run to get the balance right? Lynn Easton had got his sticks in a tangle and yelled "F**k!" (it's audible after the second chorus) and Ely came in two bars too early after the chaotic instrumental break. Thankfully the whole was anchored in place by Don Gallucci on electric piano and Bob Nordby on bass. Well… they had this instrumental called "Haunted Castle" with Gallucci and guitarist Mike Mitchell to the fore. So that became the B-side. It even dips into the "Louie" chords along the way: And here is my second favourite version, a raucous outing by The Sonics from their 1966 album Boom. It was described in a recent-ish review as being so underdeveloped that it still had gills and fins:  en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sonics |
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Post by jk on Feb 3, 2021 16:05:01 GMT -5
Ignoring their next 45, a limp version of Barrett Strong's "Money (That's What I Want)" that went US top twenty on the strength of its predecessor, The Kingsmen Mark II would have one brief creative flare with "Little Latin Lupe Lu" (1964), previously a minor hit for The Righteous Brothers in their pre-Spector days. I remember DJ Brian Matthew, a big-band fan whose favourite track I seem to recall was "Pawn Ticket" from Billy May's album Big Fat Brass (!), introduced The Kingsmen's third single by saying something to the effect of "I don't like this but I have to play it"! (I hate to think how he would have introduced "Louie Louie".) Lynn Easton had left the drummer's seat and taken over lead vocals, adding (ahem) sax along the way. This was one reason why from then on, the band would have awful trouble performing "Louie Louie", as in their hands it sounded like a different song! "Little Latin Lupe Lu" would be The Kingsmen's last moment of anything approaching greatness: |
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Post by jk on Feb 6, 2021 16:42:22 GMT -5
A further slip down the ladder but quite acceptable in a Louie-ish sort of a way is the lads' more upbeat version (once again from 1964) of Donald Woods' utterly depressing "Death Of An Angel":
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Post by jk on Feb 10, 2021 7:35:31 GMT -5
The lads would have one last big North American hit with "The Jolly Green Giant" in early 1965. The last word in gimmicks, it was the last Kingsmen record I would buy (I had every 45 of theirs up until then) until I reacquired everything in 2000 on a French CD. That comp gave a graphic musical account of their rapid descent into Drecksville. But more on that later...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Jolly_Green_Giant |
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Post by jk on Feb 10, 2021 18:03:40 GMT -5
Treat this as an interlude, folks... I've been thinking about the title I gave this topic, especially "decline and fall". I know, it's just another thread title on a music forum, but still... Decline is definitely the case... but fall? H'mm. Well... you could say The Kingsmen's career stopped before it had started, that their "Louie" put paid to the very idea of a career. Another stigmatizing aspect was that Jack Ely's original slurred vocals got folks to thinking "Louie" had dirty lyrics -- I've seen pages of the stuff online -- which hilariously led to a full-scale investigation by the FBI, who after repeated listens decided the lyrics were "unintelligible at any speed". One post-coup band member recalled that often when they attempted to replicate "Louie" onstage, folks in the audience would start peering down at scraps of paper to check their dirty interpretation of the lyrics against what Lynn Easton was singing. So "Louie Louie" was both The Kingsmen's finest hour and their downfall. (Well it keeps me off the Dutch streets.  ) |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 10, 2021 19:30:42 GMT -5
I wish I could post my favorite version of Louie Louie, but as far as I know the only recording of it that might exist is a camcorder home video made at a private birthday party in the mid-1990's (and who knows if that has survived the years).
As I've stated elsewhere, Jack was a neighbor of mine at Crooked River Ranch, Oregon back in the 90s. My wife at the time, and several of the neighbors regularly went horse back riding with Jack.
One night he was one of the guests at a birthday party for a woman named Lisa (I can't remember her last name). There was a karaoke machine set up in her back yard, and Jack got up and belted out a pretty wild (and somewhat intoxicated) version of Louie Louie. It was amazing! Jack was a great guy, and definitely a good sport.
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Post by jk on Feb 11, 2021 4:37:03 GMT -5
Thanks for your karaoke anecdote, sockit . I recall you mentioning the horse-riding connection way back, maybe under another alias (?)... I've read that Jack recorded mainly Christian music in his last years. He's one of the heroes of Dave Marsh's Louie Louie book (which I bought in the early to mid '90s) and from his contributions he struck me as being a warm-hearted guy who was done wrong at the time, a bit like David Marks perhaps? Oh, and thanks for giving this topic some much-needed credibility!  This is Jack with "Louie" composer Richard Berry. R.I.P. both.  |
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Post by filledeplage on Feb 11, 2021 9:28:51 GMT -5
I wish I could post my favorite version of Louie Louie, but as far as I know the only recording of it that might exist is a camcorder home video made at a private birthday party in the mid-1990's (and who knows if that has survived the years). As I've stated elsewhere, Jack was a neighbor of mine at Crooked River Ranch, Oregon back in the 90s. My wife at the time, and several of the neighbors regularly went horse back riding with Jack. One night he was one of the guests at a birthday party for a woman named Lisa (I can't remember her last name). There was a karaoke machine set up in her back yard, and Jack got up and belted out a pretty wild (and somewhat intoxicated) version of Louie Louie. It was amazing! Jack was a great guy, and definitely a good sport. Great story! |
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Post by jk on Feb 12, 2021 6:47:38 GMT -5
Maybe filledeplage recalls hearing this one at the time. I certainly don't -- I never heard anything by The Kingsmen on UK radio -- "Louie Louie" I heard twice on a French station and "Little Latin Lupe Lu" once on Radio Luxembourg. Their next 45, "The Climb" can best be described as pedestrian although it did get them to #65 in '65. The B-side, "The Waiting", is typical of stuff the lads performed live -- in fact it's taken from their live LP The Kingsmen in Person: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Kingsmen_In_Person |
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Post by filledeplage on Feb 12, 2021 9:47:02 GMT -5
Maybe filledeplage recalls hearing this one at the time. I certainly don't -- I never heard anything by The Kingsmen on UK radio -- "Louie Louie" I heard twice on a French station and "Little Latin Lupe Lu" once on Radio Luxembourg. Their next 45, "The Climb" can best be described as pedestrian although it did get them to #65 in '65. The B-side, "The Waiting", is typical of stuff the lads performed live -- in fact it's taken from their live LP The Kingsmen in Person: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Kingsmen_In_PersonIt is a neat little song but I don't remember it. Thanks for posting it. I do recall when Louie, Louie was a verboten item. The Establishment always needed a scapegoat for that which intimidated them as a power force - kids having a voice. Nostalgie is a great app for your devices. |
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Post by jk on Feb 12, 2021 13:57:05 GMT -5
It is a neat little song but I don't remember it. Thanks for posting it. I do recall when Louie, Louie was a verboten item. The Establishment always needed a scapegoat for that which intimidated them as a power force - kids having a voice. Nostalgie is a great app for your devices. From what Dave Marsh says (and from what you say), "Louie" was a big issue in the US. In the UK, the song's audience was restricted by the complete lack of airplay. The music-loving public at large was quite simply unaware of its existence! For me it was a bigger musical milestone than the emergence of The Beatles. "Louie" threw all the rules about what you could and couldn't do out of the window. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 12, 2021 20:50:26 GMT -5
Thanks for your karaoke anecdote, sockit . I recall you mentioning the horse-riding connection way back, maybe under another alias (?)... Possibly on the other board under the name sockittome (yeah, a real stretch!) I do believe I posted about the time I met Jack at another neighbor's dinner party. I asked him about the recording process for Louie Louie, and he didn't have much to say other than something to the effect of everyone playing into a mic and recording it on a single track. He was a bit quiet that night and seemed reluctant to talk about it. I felt like maybe I had put him on the spot, or he felt like he was being interviewed. Not sure. We moved on to other subjects. |
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Post by jk on Feb 13, 2021 12:28:48 GMT -5
Thanks for your karaoke anecdote, sockit . I recall you mentioning the horse-riding connection way back, maybe under another alias (?)... Possibly on the other board under the name sockittome (yeah, a real stretch!) I do believe I posted about the time I met Jack at another neighbor's dinner party. I asked him about the recording process for Louie Louie, and he didn't have much to say other than something to the effect of everyone playing into a mic and recording it on a single track. He was a bit quiet that night and seemed reluctant to talk about it. I felt like maybe I had put him on the spot, or he felt like he was being interviewed. Not sure. We moved on to other subjects. Yes, you did post about this other encounter. Who knows, maybe Jack had had that question thrown at him too many times. Chances are he'd just got tight-lipped about it, as there was more to his life than just that moment of recording "Louie Louie" with The Kingsmen. I certainly don't blame you for asking though! |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 13, 2021 13:14:16 GMT -5
Possibly on the other board under the name sockittome (yeah, a real stretch!) I do believe I posted about the time I met Jack at another neighbor's dinner party. I asked him about the recording process for Louie Louie, and he didn't have much to say other than something to the effect of everyone playing into a mic and recording it on a single track. He was a bit quiet that night and seemed reluctant to talk about it. I felt like maybe I had put him on the spot, or he felt like he was being interviewed. Not sure. We moved on to other subjects. Yes, you did post about this other encounter. Who knows, maybe Jack had had that question thrown at him too many times. Chances are he'd just got tight-lipped about it, as there was more to his life than just that moment of recording "Louie Louie" with The Kingsmen. I certainly don't blame you for asking though! Well I was a bit of an outsider in the group. I was the only music nerd and not a horse person. My ex and the neighbors got to spend hours exploring that beautiful area on horseback, and that's what most of the conversation consisted of. They had somewhat of a club established, but I worked long hours and many of the weekends, so I never had time to participate. (Btw, that's how we were able to afford the land and horses! ) |
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Post by jk on Feb 15, 2021 3:53:32 GMT -5
Couple of B-sides now. Dave Marsh describes their take on "Money", The Kingsmen's second, smaller hit, as "the world's most hapless rendition" -- it's not much cop, to be sure. The flip, "Bent Scepter", is more entertaining, breaking into quite a funky groove about fifty seconds in. One observant commenter saw the lads "trying hard to sound like The Wailers" (of Tacoma, not Jamaica). The "Fabulous" Wailers are a very important ingredient of The Kingsmen's moment of glory, of which more another time. In many ways, "Bent Scepter" carries on where the A-side left off, throwing in some "Louie" chords for good measure. Don Gallucci has traded in his electric piano for what sounds like a Hammond B-3 organ: Don's organ is even more to the fore on the flip of "Little Latin Lupe Lu", a cover of keyboardist Dave Lewis's "David's Mood": en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Lewis_(American_musician) |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 15, 2021 22:03:09 GMT -5
Couple of B-sides now. Dave Marsh describes their take on "Money", The Kingsmen's second, smaller hit, as "the world's most hapless rendition" -- it's not much cop, to be sure. The flip, "Bent Scepter", is more entertaining, breaking into quite a funky groove about fifty seconds in. One observant commenter saw the lads "trying hard to sound like The Wailers" (of Tacoma, not Jamaica). The "Fabulous" Wailers are a very important ingredient of The Kingsmen's moment of glory, of which more another time. In many ways, "Bent Scepter" carries on where the A-side left off, throwing in some "Louie" chords for good measure. Don Gallucci has traded in his electric piano for what sounds like a Hammond B-3 organ: You will have to forgive my ignorance on much of the material post Louie Louie. In fact if memory serves, I only have three Kingsmen singles in my collection. The above tune is not one of them. My question is...is that an actual live track or is that one of those "party" mixes so popular in the mid-60s? |
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Post by markmoore on Feb 15, 2021 23:46:04 GMT -5
Fun version of "Louie, Louie" by Jan & Dean . . . arranged and produced by Jan Berry:
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Post by jk on Feb 16, 2021 4:28:06 GMT -5
Couple of B-sides now. Dave Marsh describes their take on "Money", The Kingsmen's second, smaller hit, as "the world's most hapless rendition" -- it's not much cop, to be sure. The flip, "Bent Scepter", is more entertaining, breaking into quite a funky groove about fifty seconds in. One observant commenter saw the lads "trying hard to sound like The Wailers" (of Tacoma, not Jamaica). The "Fabulous" Wailers are a very important ingredient of The Kingsmen's moment of glory, of which more another time. You will have to forgive my ignorance on much of the material post Louie Louie. In fact if memory serves, I only have three Kingsmen singles in my collection. The above tune is not one of them. My question is...is that an actual live track or is that one of those "party" mixes so popular in the mid-60s? No need to apologize for not knowing much about the band post-"Louie"! Well, it and the A-side would appear to be live tracks from The Kingsmen in Person. To quote the album's wiki: "Trying to capitalize on the success of ["Louie Louie"], the Kingsmen decided to release an entire album, and gigs at the Chase nightclub were booked on November 15 and 16 [1963] to record what was to become The Kingsmen in Person." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Kingsmen_In_Person |
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Post by jk on Feb 16, 2021 4:31:32 GMT -5
Fun version of "Louie, Louie" by Jan & Dean . . . arranged and produced by Jan Berry: Thanks, Mark. Yes, they sound like they're having fun. Love the lyrics!  I see their version is listed at the back of Marsh's book. |
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Post by jk on Feb 17, 2021 7:25:48 GMT -5
I may have been underwhelmed by "The Jolly Green Giant" b/w/ "Long Green" or I may simply have not been aware of any new releases by the lads. At all events, that was the last record of theirs that I bought -- I never owned the live debut album or any of its successors -- until the fateful day I bought that French CD.  Decades later I learned that they followed "The Climb" with "Annie Fanny", which unlike its predecessor crept into the US top 50 in 1965. Both tracks feature on a second, more questionably "live" outing, The Kingsmen on Campus (1966), in the wake of two studio albums (they were milking the success of "Louie" for all they were worth, which regrettably was getting less all the time). "Annie Fanny" is "Alley-Oop" all over again and pretty disposable: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Kingsmen_on_Campus |
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Post by jk on Feb 19, 2021 5:44:04 GMT -5
This is the French CD I've been talking about:  I like the way the forgettable "Money" gets bigger letters than "Louie Louie"! That's Lynn Easton with the sax, holding court, one might say. See the discogs link for a track list. The rot really sets in with their third 1965 single, "(You Got) The Gamma Goochee"... ...with on the B-side the equally embarrassing "It's Only The Dog": www.discogs.com/The-Kingsmen-French-60s-EP-Collection/release/10964284 |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 19, 2021 19:42:02 GMT -5
Those last two are pretty painful to listen to! Side B is just a little tolerable due to its very familiar instrumental structure.
So, bottom line is that the Kingsmen's rise and fall was very rapid, but goshdarnit they just kept trying!
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Post by Deleted on Feb 20, 2021 14:51:25 GMT -5
That's pretty hilarious, jk! The video doesn't even remotely match, especially on the vocal.
The song, which I'm hearing here for the first time (never saw the movie), is not as wretched as that last single you posted. Not great, but not terrible.
Btw, I was able to find my small collection of Kingsmen singles and lo and behold, I do have a copy of Money b/w Bent Scepter. I could have swore I had a copy of Louie Louie, but that one is nowhere to be found in my collection. Either I'm misremembering, or it got lost in moving, who knows? I do have two copies of Jolly Green Giant with two slightly different labels. The one with the song titles in black is in pretty rough shape, but the one with red titles is in decent condition.
I also have a back to back reissue of Money b/w Little Latin Lupe Lu on a Scepter/Wand Forever label.
Well enough of my personal record collecting gab. Please continue with the Kingsmen story, if there's any left to tell. I am thoroughly enjoying this thread!
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Post by jk on Feb 20, 2021 16:15:06 GMT -5
That's pretty hilarious, jk! The video [referring to a deleted post] doesn't even remotely match, especially on the vocal. The song, which I'm hearing here for the first time (never saw the movie), is not as wretched as that last single you posted. Not great, but not terrible. Btw, I was able to find my small collection of Kingsmen singles and lo and behold, I do have a copy of Money b/w Bent Scepter. I could have swore I had a copy of Louie Louie, but that one is nowhere to be found in my collection. Either I'm misremembering, or it got lost in moving, who knows? I do have two copies of Jolly Green Giant with two slightly different labels. The one with the song titles in black is in pretty rough shape, but the one with red titles is in decent condition. I also have a back to back reissue of Money b/w Little Latin Lupe Lu on a Scepter/Wand Forever label. Well enough of my personal record collecting gab. Please continue with the Kingsmen story, if there's any left to tell. I am thoroughly enjoying this thread! That's impressive, sockit. I've never known anyone who even had "Louie Louie"! You have a point there -- there isn't an awful lot left to tell! First, I must correct an error in post #2 where I credit Jerden record label boss Jerry Dennon with being there at the birth of "Louie". It was the lads' manager Ken Chase who told them their tryout wasn't a tryout at all but the version that was going to be released. (An engineer, Lindall, was responsible for placing the mikes and doing most of the fiddling with knobs and dials.) I think I should try to organize a brief history of the song itself, preferably off the top of my head. We'll see. |
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