Louie Louie

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Written by: Richard Berry
Produced by: Ken Chase
Released: June '63 on Jerden
Charts: 16 weeks
Top spot: No. 2

The Kingsmen's cover of a Richard Berry R&B song, a blast of raw guitars and half-intelligible shouting recorded for fifty-two dollars, hit Number Two in 1963, thanks to supposedly pornographic lyrics that drew the attention of the FBI. The song's indecipherability was unintentional: The Portland, Oregon, quintet recorded it crowded around a single microphone. "I was yelling at a mike far away," singer Jack Ely told ROLLING STONE. "I always thought the controversy was record-company hype."

Appears on: The Best of the Kingsmen (Rhino)

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