The Kingsmen
February 1, 1964: Governor Matthew E. Welsh, Democrat of Indiana, declares the song "Louie Louie" by the Kingsmen "pornographic." He requests that the Indiana Broadcasters Association ban the record. Governor Welsh claimed that hearing the song made his "ears tingle."
Max Firetag, owner of Limax Records, the publisher of the song, offered $1,000 -- $9,182 in 2022 money -- to anyone that can find anything "suggestive" in the song's lyrics. He never had to pay up.
This controversy was the 2nd-biggest thing happening in American music in early 1964, behind the arrival of The Beatles and the subsequent "British Invasion" of music acts from "the Mother Country."
"Louie Louie" was written by Los Angeles-based singer Richard Berry -- no relation to Chuck Berry -- and released by him in 1957. The tune was based on "El Loco Cha Cha" by Cuban bandleader René Touzet. Berry called it a "lovesick sailor's lament to a bartender about wanting to get back home to his girl." It wasn't even meant to be the A-side of his Flip Records release: That was a cover of the country song "You Are My Sunshine."
Here are the lyrics. The chorus:
Louie Louie
oh no
you take me to where ya gotta go.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, baby.
Louie Louie
oh baby
take me to where ya gotta go
The first verse:
A fine little girl, she waits for me
Me catch a ship across the seaMe sailed that ship all aloneMe never think I'll make it home
A repeat of the chorus. The second verse:
Three nights and days I sailed the seaMe think of girl constantlyOn that ship, I dream she thereI smell the rose in her hair
A repeat of the chorus. Then a third verse:
Me see Jamaica, the moon aboveIt won't be long me see me loveMe take her in my arms and thenI tell her I'll never leave again
And one final chorus.
That's it. If they were included, and perfectly enunciated, in a movie in 1968, when the movie rating system debuted, they would be rated "G."
In 1963, The Kingsmen, a rock band from Portland, Oregon, recorded "Louie Louie" for Jerden Records. The lead singer was rhythm guitarist Jack Ely. The drummer was Lynn Easton. The lead guitarist was Mike Mitchell. The bass guitarist was Bob Nordby. The keyboard player was Don Gallucci.
Gallucci played the opening riff. At the 58-second mark, having thrown one of his drumsticks in the air and dropped it, Easton yelled, "Fuck!" Somehow, the mental acrobats calling the lyrics "obscene" missed an actual profanity that wasn't actually in the lyrics.
After the chorus between the 2nd and 3rd verses, Ely yelled, "Okay, let's give it to 'em, right now!" (Which could have been interpreted as a sex reference.) Mitchell then began one of the most beloved guitar riffs in rock and roll history. As Gallucci repeated the opening riff, to begin the 3rd verse, Ely missed his cue, and said, "May" -- "Me," with the bad attempt at a Caribbean accent he was using -- and had to stop, and start again. At the end of the song, he yelled, "Let's get on out of here... let's go!"
Things happened fast. Jerden Records was bought by Wand Records, and the "hit version" of "Louie Louie" by The Kingsmen was on Wand, making the Jerden release a rarity, and thus a collector's item. Because every member of the band was underage, Easton's mother owned the rights to the name "The Kingsmen." She pulled rank, and insisted that her son be the lead singer from that point onward.
Ely was fired, Easton became the new lead singer, and Dick Peterson became the new drummer. Norby was out on bass, and Norm Sundholm was brought in. And Gallucci, only 15 years old, was too young to tour, so he was unceremoniously replaced by Barry Curtis.
And so, every time The Kingsmen played the song live, Lynn Easton sang it, and sounded different from the voice on the record, that of Jack Ely; while, every time it was sung on TV, Easton had to lip-synch to Ely's vocal.
Welsh was, under the State Constitution of the time, prevented from running for a 2nd consecutive term in 1964, but probably would have lost anyway -- due not to his prudishness, but his tax hikes. He ran again in 1972, thinking people were ready to let it go... but in the Nixon landslide, he never had a chance.
The 1978 film Animal House, which took place in 1962, before The Kingsmen's version, used a performance by Otis Day & The Knights in the toga party scene, making "Louie Louie" forever identified with the subgenre known as "frat rock."
The Kingsmen had a few more hits, and helped start a mini-movement of rock music in the Pacific Northwest. Most of the bands would be considered "frat rock." The biggest group to get out of the region at the time was Paul Revere & The Raiders, who started in Boise, Idaho, and hit it big in the clubs of Seattle and Portland. Then, in 1967, came Seattle native Jimi Hendrix.
Ely and Gallucci formed a new band, Don and the Goodtimes. In 1967, Ely left the Goodtimes, and formed the Courtmen. That didn't last long, as he was drafted, and fought in Vietnam. When he got back, there was no demand for him as a performer. He fell victim to drugs, got clean, and founded an advocacy group called Rockers Against Drugs.
He returned to Oregon, bought a farm, raised and trained horses, and, with his former bandmates' struggles in mind, fought for performers' royalties. After all, since he hadn't written his one hit -- all other Kingsmen hits had Easton on lead -- he got nothing, not even the pittance that songwriter Berry had gotten. He said, "It's not just about me. There are a lot of one-hit wonders out there just like me, who deserve compensation when their recorded performances are played and stations get ad revenue from it."
Governor Matthew Welsh died in 1995, Richard Berry in 1997, René Touzet in 2003, Jack Ely in 2015, Lynn Easton in 2020. Mike Mitchell in 2021. As of February 1, 2022, Dick Peterson, Bob Nordby, Don Gallucci, Norm Sundholm and Barry Curtis are still alive. Other than the challenge he issued back in 1964, I can find no information on Max Firetag; but, given the length of time since it happened, and the likelihood that he was already a successful businessman, it is likely that he has died.
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February 1, 1964 was a Saturday. Baseball and football were out of season. There were 4 games in the NBA:
* The New York Knicks lost to the San Francisco Warriors, 125-106 at the old Madison Square Garden. It was just another day at the office for Wilt Chamberlain: 40 points and 16 rebounds.
* The Boston Celtics beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 119-111 at the Philadelphia Civic Center.
* The Detroit Pistons beat the Baltimore Bullets, 112-111 at the Baltimore Civic Center (now the CFG Bank Arena).
* And the St. Louis Hawks beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 113-96 at the Kiel Auditorium in St. Louis.
The NHL's entire "Original Six" were in action:
* The New York Rangers and the Chicago Black Hawks played to a tie, 2-2 at the old Madison Square Garden. Even in 1964, it was not unusual for both the Knicks and the Rangers, or any other pair of pro basketball and hockey teams, to both play in the same arena on the same day.
* The Montreal Canadiens beat the Detroit Red Wings, 9-3 at the Montreal Forum. Bobby Rousseau scored 5 goals.
* And the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Boston Bruins, 5-1 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.
And in English soccer, Manchester United beat North London team Arsenal, 3-1 at Old Trafford in Salford.
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