Everyone knows the song — or, well, parts of it.
"Louie, Louie." "Ohhhhhh, baby." "A fine little girl, she waits for me."
But the next line ... How's it go again?
The voice growling out those indecipherable lyrics belonged to Jack Ely, the lead singer of The Kingsmen, who died this week at the age of 71.
He wasn't the only one to belt out the song — there are hundreds of recordings of "Louie Louie," which was written by Richard Berry in 1955 — but The Kingsmen's 1963 version is the most famous. And it's famously hard to make out the words.
In fact, the ambiguous vocals made the recording the subject of a two-year-long FBI investigation.
Eric Predoehl, who is making a documentary about the song's history, tells NPR's Scott Simon that the investigation began after the FBI received letters from worried parents.
"Kids would, would hear these versions of the song, and they would pass around these written notes of what they thought were the lyrics," he says. "And parents were concerned, and they figured 'my gosh, this sounds like a dirty song, I don't understand it — maybe we should have an investigation of this sort of thing.' "
So the FBI tried to figure out whether the recording inserted vulgar variations on the published lyrics. The process involved a lot of agents, Predoehl says. Robert Kennedy and J. Edgar Hoover received letters about it. The governor of Indiana got involved.
The FBI looked at the recording, Predoehl says, looking at it "backwards and forwards, they played it at different speeds, they spent a lot of time on it — but it was indecipherable at any speed."
Oddly enough, Predoehl says, the FBI never talked to the one man who'd know for sure: Jack Ely, the man behind the microphone.
Click on the audio link at the top of the page to hear from Predoehl, or look below to dig into the FBI file on the investigation.
Reader beware: the document describes listener theories that the lyrics of "Louie Louie" were secretly vulgar, and includes the supposed vulgarities.
9(MDE1MTIxMDg0MDE0MDQ3NTY3MzkzMzY1NA001))
Transcript
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "LOUIE, LOUIE")
THE KINGSMEN: (Singing) Louie, Louie, oh no.
SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
"Louie, Louie" - the song everyone can kind of sing along with, right? But what are the words exactly? Jack Ely is responsible for that hard to discern sound. He was the lead singer of The Kingsmen, and Mr. Ely died this week at the age of 71. Now, there are hundreds of recordings of "Louie, Louie." This version from 1963 is arguably the most famous. And it even became the subject of a two-year long FBI investigation. Eric Predoehl is making a documentary about the song's history. He joins us on the line from San Jose, Calif. Thanks very much for being with us.
ERIC PREDOEHL: My pleasure.
SIMON: How did this song come about?
PREDOEHL: Well, it was a song written by Richard Berry in 1955, recorded in 1957. It became a regional hit in the Pacific Northwest by Rockin' Robin Robert and the Wailers. And it was covered by The Kingsmen and Paul Revere and the Raiders, who both recorded it. The same week, the same studio in Portland, Ore., had a full studio.
SIMON: Wow. What interested the FBI?
PREDOEHL: Well, apparently, they had some letters from some concerned parents that were very worried about these controversial lyrics that were passed around. Kids would share these versions of the song, and they would pass around these written notes of what they thought were the lyrics. And parents were concerned, and they figured, my gosh, this sounds like a dirty song. I don't understand it. Maybe we should have an investigation of this sort of thing.
SIMON: What did the cumulated resources of the FBI discover about the song?
PREDOEHL: That's a very interesting topic. In the 120-plus pages that I received from the FBI version, they looked at this recording backwards and forwards. They played it at different speeds. They spent a lot of time on it, but it was undecipherable at any speed.
SIMON: So the FBI had come up a cropper, as we'd say?
PREDOEHL: (Laughter) They spent some serious time on this. They brought a lot of agents out there. And they investigated all sorts of people all around the country. As I look at this thing, they - The Kingsmen were actually first interviewed by the FBI in Chicopee, Mass. Robert Kennedy received letters. J. Edgar Hoover received letters. The Governor of Indiana thought it was a terrible song, and he discouraged broadcasters not to air this version. And there were a lot of investigations in Detroit, Mich., as well.
SIMON: You knew Jack Ely, right?
PREDOEHL: I did. I did.
SIMON: What did he think of all the attention the song got?
PREDOEHL: Well, it was real interesting because when the FBI investigated this song, they interviewed all sorts of people. They interviewed The Kingsmen. They interviewed Richard Berry. They interviewed Paul Revere and the Raiders. They interviewed the record producer. They interviewed the record label. But the one person they did not interview was the guy who sang the song - Jack Ely.
SIMON: Is America a safer place because the FBI investigated this song?
PREDOEHL: (Laughter) I don't think the investigation so much made it safer, but it certainly provided some notoriety to the song and got people's attention. And I think that it got people to open up and be happy with themselves by dancing to some fun music with three chords. They're real simple. And the FBI investigation helps in that - sure, why not?
SIMON: Eric Predoehl - his forthcoming documentary about this famous song is called "The Meaning Of Louie." Thanks so much for being with us, sir.
PREDOEHL: My pleasure. Thank you.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "LOUIE, LOUIE")
THE KINGSMEN: (Singing) Louie, Louie, oh baby. I said we got to go. I say we got to go now... Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
300x250 Ad
300x250 Ad