Origin of " Louie Louie " - 3 versions. Wailers, Richard Berry, Little Bill

[MisterNickOtine]

and i also like thrash metal. god what is wrong with me???

[SunnBurn]

The Rockin Robin Roberts & the Wailers version is fantastic. No wonder the Kingsmen copied it. The rest is history.

[Snibo]

All 3 Versions are just tooooo slow.

If I had to pick........Version 2.

The Kingsmen OWN this song.

My view: The Kingsmen should receive ALL the credit for this hit and it's worldwide phenomena.

[Tott26]

@Snibo Kingsmen's version's the best, I agree, BUT Richard Berry's version will always be the original one, so the credit must stay with him..

[brucer12]

The Rockin Robin Roberts version hits a home run in my book---a bluesy,garage band sound.

[Jmma1235]

dun dun dun-dada-dun dun dun-dada- dun dun dun-dada dun dun dun -dada

[HSECMAN]

no I"M Bill!

[harvey1954]

Richard Berry is suppose to be Chuck Berry's cousin.

[bellgardens53]

@harvey1954 Richard is NOT Chuck Berry's cousin but he said he was inspired by Chuck's 'Havana Moon', thus the Jamaican accent. Richard was born April 11, 1935, in Extension, Louisiana, near New Orleans and came to Los Angeles at the tender age of one year old, to live with an aunt. If you and/or anybody else want to know the story about this song, type in search: Who sang the original Louie Louie. (video by username thecourtsmen). Yesterday I wrote some 10 full comments like this. LOL

[harvey1954]

@bellgardens53 I had read the thing about Chuck and Richard so it could have been a lie. What did you think of Dave Marsh's Louie Louie book?

[bellgardens53]

@harvey1954 Well, I have not read, heard or otherwise have any indications they are cousins. But maybe I should not say no as the real world can be more incredible than fiction. No I have not read this book. Maybe I ought to. Take care.

[bellgardens53]

@bellgardens53 Cont...and Richard Berry says explicite, according to this records text, "Chuck Berry had a song out..." (Havana Moon) OUT aka released. So Richard can not have heard Chuck just singing it, before being recorded/released, as Los Angeles and Chicago are worlds apart. Either bad memory, but then, were did Richard pic up the Jamaican words/accent in Louie Louie. Or maybe it was as in the movie "Back to the Future", cousins after al,l and Chuck sang it on the phone. Great harvey1954;)

[bellgardens53]

@harvey1954 Contin...Album from 1986, Earht Angel Records, JD-901 mono (a division of mr R&B records) and that guy (owner) I met him once, and what he did not know about R&B , Blues etc is not worh knowing. I forgot his name but his is well known among colletctors etc., and discograpy is compiled by Jim Dawson and Ray Topping. Topping esp is a well known expert. Anyway, it says that Berry's Louie Louie was recorded in Los Angeles, April 1956, but not released until early 1957. According to...

[bellgardens53]

@harvey1954 Looks like my last cont comment dissapeared. Anyway, one inspiration was Chuck Berrys "Havana Moon" with its calypso beat, and Chuck using a Jamaican accent. Richard Berry: " ...those two songs were my main inspiration when I started writing Louie...in late 55" Now the problem starts! I checked my "After Scool Session" Chuck LP and according to it, 'Havana Moon' was not recorded until October 1956. How can Richard be inspired by Chuck's song, when he recorded Louie in April 1956?

[harvey1954]

@bellgardens53 That's easy, Richard, heard it at a family reunion when his cousin, Chuck, played it for the family before recording it : p

[bellgardens53]

@harvey1954 Right! Wonder where they had the reunion, Los Angeles, Chicago or St Louis? I bet Los Angeles, at the Paficic, as they watched the cosmic surfer's wave unfurl towards infinity or lounged by the poolside, Louie coming with high ball drinks, and they counted the passing bikinis in the eternal summer. Guess Chuck got drunk on rum and started to chat with som Jamaican guy, imitated that poor fellows accent and Richard was pestering Louie for more rum and cola. Rest is history. ^_*

[GOLDBAND45]

@bellgardens53

Jamaican accent?.You surely mean Spanish?

[bellgardens53]

@GOLDBAND45 According to that album from 1986 R Berry says: "Now Chuck Berry had a song out then called 'Havana Moon', and that influenced me, too. He sang it with a calypso beat, using a Jamaican accent..." The thing is that Chuck did NOT have "Havana Moon" out at that time as Richard Berry recorded "Louie Louie" before Chuck recorded "Havana Moon". So how can he be influenced by a non existent record? I'll see if I get wiser after reading Dave Marsh book.

[GOLDBAND45]

@bellgardens53 Chuck borrowed Havana Moon from Nat King Coles 'Calypso Blues' a number Chuck performed at the Cosmo Club in East St Louis.The idea of title 'Havana Moon 'was brought about through contacts with the Cuban population in Harlem when he played at the Paramount and the Apollo.He became interested in Spanish spoken in New York and LA.The lyrics were based on Chuck's experiences .R.Berry probably mixed things up,he was thinking of 'Calypso Blues 'but that's not 'Havana Moon'

[bellgardens53]

@harvey1954 Okay, now you got me interested of this book. Can get it from AbeBooks, amazon.uk etc. I guess it is a good one as Dave Marsh is quite wellknown...or? About this subject, I should have checked, double checked and then checked again as I do when I read modern history (WWII, from all aspects) as any expert can be wrong. I got my info from an album, a special one, schock full of info and photos, like Berry 3 years old, 50's pics, Berry and Ely together in Lost Altos, California...

[flimbambo]

I couldn't believe how close the Wailers version is to the later Kingsmen's version.  To me, the guy on the Wailers' version sings it even better than Jack Ely's excellent vocal. Archivists should always mention that the kingsmen were obviously influenced by the former group when talking about the song, otherwise fans of the song will never hear of this brilliant version.

[thingwhatever]

am trying to download this with "free youtube to mp3 converter" but it says file is restricted.....is ther any way around this B.S.??? Thx!

[montereypopfestiva67]

@thingwhatever try zamzar

[jockojonson17]

The Sonics and the Swamp Rats versions never charted either. That's the real tragedy. ;(

[whactya]

Rockin Robin Roberts and the Wailers really do wail it the way it has come to be expected for this song They even have the guitar solo. The Kingsmen took it one step further by injecting more energy and brashness into it.

[greatvanzinni]

Rich Dangel on guitar for the Wailers. A big influence on me as a kid. I always thought Freddie King was prob. a big influence on him. Luckily I got to see them a few times as my older brothers band opened for them a few times. They were all darned good. Mike Burk & his wild syncopated drums were so cool too.

[whirlyfan]

all really diffrent ways singing the song rellay hard to decied which i like best ! sooo many artist covered it me mum remembers the kinks version! i like them all lol

[54markl]

All three versions are great, especially the original by Richard Berry. Richard Berry is the Founding Father of Garage Rock, the precursor of Punk Rock. I hate to say it , but I still like the Kingsmen's version the best, because that's what I grew up with. That was the Nuclear Explosion that ignited the Garage Rock Conflagration of the Psychedelic Sixties.

[oatstao]

"By the way, what the craziness is about is a fellow talking to his friend Louie about sailing back to Jamaica to see his lady." well that's the ultimate tie in revelation with the Jamaica inference. ME GOTTA GO. Perfect. amazing. The Richard Berry disc (is that Berry singing) has a fabulous sound and singer I've never heard these versions thanks for posting. :D

[1776vtgmb]

Bill!!! That guitar sounded about 10 years ahead of its time!

I like your version, wish I had heard it years ago!

[dancingbrit88]

@GSMusicMoments I agree that it is sloppy but for the Kinks that was their signature style of playing. Check out other hits and you'll see that you could barely understand half the lyrics they were singing. I do prefer it to the Kingsmen version

[dancingbrit88]

People may not like the Kingsmen version. But I personally like the cover done by the Kinks. The fact that this was originally recorded by an African American and then popularized by a white group was pretty common during the 50s and 60s

[GSMusicMoments]

@dancingbrit88 I finally got to hear The Kinks' on Youtube. It's pretty good, also in the sloppy league. Usually on the internet it's one of those dumb errors where the Kingsmen version is mislabelled as Kinks.

[SunnBurn]

This is a great posting that any fan of music should love. To me, the Wailers version is best. It is also pretty clear that the Kingsmen pretty much copied that particular version. Still, the beauty of this post and You Tube is that you get to hear them all. And since each version out there is good in its own way, it is not like have to decide that one is better (or worse) than the others.

Me gotta go now. 

[glanalspubis]

BUCK ORMSBY OWES ME MONEY.

[Gliddee]

Louie Louie one of the best songs ever

[MDProdTV]

"The FBI sure don't know music..but they sure can sell a lot of records"

[originalkillerguitar]

Hey guys ... don't rip on my friend Jack Ely. He doesn't deserve your negative comments. Like him or not. he is a living legend! I did play guitar with Richard Berry for a short time.

[surfercrow]

So cool, you can hear that Jack Ely based his vocal delivery straight from that Robin Roberts/Wailers recording, more than from Richard Berry's original. Doesn't quite have the messed up swagger & energy that the Kingsmen version has, but this is the blue print where it came from. All respect must go to Richard Berry, the original. His calypso beat got toughened with the more raucous approach of those Northwest guys. Let's face it, they're all great versions. One of the best songs ever! Dig it

[fernandinhamilk]

Thanks!!!! bitiful!

[lrush777]

@bobyoung53 Fuck the label racist crap, doo wop is rock n roll. It like ,white only play rock n roll music. White music fans use labels like racist jim crow laws. The Kingman's version was terrible.

[hah13]

@lrush777 as a white man who was listening in the early, fifties, i ;post the same type remarks about music being stolen

some of these pople even thin k gale storm was great

endles comments about how nothing was stolen makes me want to scream

[Frowned]

@lrush777 You and that dekman asshole need to click on the video that this was linked to. Turns out Richard Berry basically used (if he was white, you would say stole) the melody from the song El Loco Cha Cha by a Cuban (read white) musician named Rene Touzet and another song by Chuck Berry. Besides the fact that two of the three recordings here were done by white people and weren't big hits either. Other than that, you both need to fuck off and let us normal people enjoy the fucking music.

[bazbee]

All you Louie Louie enthusiasts may wish to hear my Mixcloud project 'The Louie Louie Story' - copy/paste:

mixcloud.com/song/the-louie-lo­uie-story/

Hal E.Barry

[mkl8000]

Yeah! I remember you well Little Bill and the Bluenotes.. 1959 Lincoln High, Tacoma senior cruise. You were awesome!!

[mkl8000]

I remember you little Bill and the Bluenotes on our senior cruise, 1959 Lincoln High in Tacoma. You were great!!! MKL8000

[lrush777]

Most white American music fans of the 1950's and 60's were somewhat , racist or very superficial. They wanted to see a 'white face' singing a song they loved. It got to be a pretty, white, face singing, that song . Still that way today, sad to say.

[floundersrule]

The Kingsmen's version is the best of all.

[josh90123]

Niiiice!!

[JfizzleDizzleNizzle]

where's The Kingsmen version?!

[GSilverWorld]

@JfizzleDizzleNizzle It's blocked on Youtube.

[xyjudgexy]

Lets give it too um....right now......

[JiS01]

Great, thanks a lot man!! Never heard the Wailers version suprisily gooood!!!

[JesusDeBonn]

the guy at the first page looks like magic johnson

[engelhart1959j]

Little Bill's version never charted. I know because I am Bill

[GeoSilverMore]

@engelhart1959j  Thanks a lot Bill. You must know because you're Bill.

[BELACSAMOHT]

@engelhart1959j

Yours is the best sounding. Shame it never charted.

[thericecrackerprojec]

@engelhart1959j Well, if ANYONE should know, it should be you:)

[London2272]

@engelhart1959j Hey Bill, watch out for Black Mamba.

[buddyeagle]

@engelhart1959j Are you the real Little Bill or just wild Bill???

[deweypug]

Sorry to disappoint, but the KINGSMEN's version shines above all of 'em!

[DEKMAN99]

@deweypug Bullshit , come to think of it, the Kingmen's version really stinks. You couldn't understand one fucking word they were singing. They had a really bad ,crappy lead singer.

[deweypug]

@DEKMAN99 How can it be bull to state an opinion? I prefer the Kingsmen's version, so live with it.

[DEKMAN99]

@deweypug Bullshit , moronic opinion , live with that.

[pretorious700]

@DEKMAN99 You have no conception of what makes music good if you think technical perfection is important. If not for the Kingsmans' version, Louie Louie would be an obscure r&b song a handful of people were aware of. Don't be a dumbass....oops, too late.

[DEKMAN99]

@pretorious700 Lol, Fuck that feeble minded band, the little kingmans. The only reason the radio stations play their shitty version was because they were a white band. Read your American history in music, dumb ass. White singers got away with doing white cover version of black artists songs. America was more of a racist country. Fact. truth hurt, dumb asssss.?

[AllknowingGuitarGuru]

@DEKMAN99 America was racist & still is in many respects. But since Richard Berry wrote and released his version in 1955 you're going to have a hard time supporting your argument that it was racism that kept his version from gaining wider fan support. Why? Because among the many hits of 1955 were: Maybellene" by Chuck Berry, "Tutti Fruity" by Little Richard, "The Great Pretender" by The Platters, "Ain't that a Shame" by Fats Domino, and "I Hear You Knockin' " by Smiley Lewis.

I'm just saying...

[TheClash122]

If you want to hear the Wailers' version all the way through with the complete guitar solo here's another video (copy the code into the youtube search bar): ihpGNoCreyg

[BlackBeatle]

I thought Richard Berry's version was the orignal. Has anybody heard George Duke and Stanley Clarke's version?

[Steamstock]

All fantastic versions!

[hapzap13]

NONE BETTER. Thanks for the post.

[blasticpuddhas]

LOUIE! LOUIE!

[hoopskmccann]

Another group in the Northwest put out there version because it was so popular at all the dances and halls they played. didn't climb very high pn charts and was more similar to Wailers version because lead singer also played Sax-you might remember them-Paul Revere & The Raiders circa 1962

[LittleLessTalk]

Badass.

[SpankyTheYankee]

Nice to hear the 3 original versions altogether! Learning the solo in The Wailers version got me my first lead guitar job back then. It's a shame about the needle skipping through the solo your take... I think you needed a nickel on the tonearm! Maybe you forgot that trick. Or maybe someone wore that part out learning the solo?!

[GeoSilverMore]

Used LP, recent pressing, old player, + I didn't know.

It's on CD.

Still want to know if L.Bill's charted at the time.

[SpankyTheYankee]

I don't remember being aware of Little Bill's version back then so I don't know if it got that much airplay. As far as the solo in the Wailer's version (R.I.P. Rich Dangel), it can be heard clear and complete in the same version posted by doowopIS4ever.

[personanongrataiS]

nice story about this song....thank´s.....fantastic video !!!

[MrBluesy91]

this is the first time i hear the wailers' version .. omg ....

[mcrd2001]

Thanks for posting this, it's good to see the progression of this song. It still sounds good after all these years.

[brucer12]

Our Pac. NW. anthem---Rockin Roberts has the best pure funcky version (in one guys opinion) but the BlueNotes were good too.

[steve273]

interesting -thanks for posting and -boy -this song has been sung by so many artists-troggs kinks kingsmen rem and the 3 u have here and others-anyway thanks for the history lesson-much appreciated

[keltyk]

Berry- is that a ska beat? Must be close- Later versions seem to have a different rhythm pattern-

[jedweber]

@keltyk Calypso was a brief fad in the mid-50s (i.e. Harry Belafonte) and Richard Berry was supposedly trying to jump on that bandwagon with this song. Sadly, according to Wikipedia, he sold the copyright cheap in 1959 and missed out on all the royalties from the Kingsmen and other cover versions in 1960s. He finally got some money for it in the late 80s and 90s...

[RhythmAndSoul59]

Richard Berry. The original and by FAR the best !!!!!!!

[volcomstoner420KMK]

black flags version is my favorite and is by far the heaviest sounding version.

[ThePusherMan]

Damn, great post. Thanks.

[theevindave]

best versions at the hacienda, 24 hour party people

[boneypart]

man, Richard Berry is awesome. Kingsmen's accidental naive cool version is fun too.

[241Groundhog]

personally, I like the instrumental on this version is better than the Kingsmen version.

[241Groundhog]

The Richard Berry version.

[241Groundhog]

I also like the vocal "duhn-duhn-duhn". It just sounds better than the instruments only. Wish more people recorded it like that.

[teracall]

I honestly dislike this version. I like The Kingsmen and Motorheads version better

[theevindave]

hahahahahahahahah...you are joking aren't you? hahahahahahahah

[Huckleberryj]

it sounds so jamaican and its so weird their name was the wailers.

[nightimelady]

cant beat the original, kingsmens version is a close second, for a great louie louie inspired tune check out bohanna nighttime lady too :)

[SpankyTheYankee]

The Kingsmens version might get the prize for being the most widely known but they did nothing but cover the Wailers version like every other band in the NW did. Even including the notes of the guitar solo. What they didn't manage to copy was the feel.

[tictaccrowe]

I honestly prefer the motorhead version. Lol

[drumhyper2]

I like the original the best. The other versions change the second half of the word Louise, they go up on that half in tone and the original does both syllables the down/up down/up. It makes the song feel different, and also doesnt have the ay ay ay ay part. thanks for posting, I never heard this version. excellent

[eloseddie]

Thanks for posting....But a small correction on your blurp....Louie Louie WAS a minor hit in Los Angeles (as Berry was from L.A.) especially with the Latino crowds. Thank Goodness for the Northwestern hipsters caught on to this as without them, this song would have been another obscure tune in a low rider compellation album........

[altobongo69]

wow! this is awesome! i was just talking to my folks about this song.

[SinginTheBluesBlues]

Wow!!!!!!!!! I've been looking for the original Wailers version of Louie Louie (studio, not live) for years. And here it is! Thank you, Geo! I've always thought it was the best version -- that tenor sax intro is great. They never got the credit they deserved. If Rockin Robin hadn't turned the song into a rock song, the Kingsmen wouldn't have been able to copy it.

[GeoSilverMore]

Yes, since I had this LP I realize it's something special. I'll make it easier for the Wailers fans: On the Collectables label there's a reissue of their 1964 Imperial LP Tall Cool One. It's not the original TCO but contains this original Louie. and without vinyl skips. I can recommend it, and I'm not usually easy on digital. There's also a reissue of their At The Castle album that includes the studio Louie.

[SinginTheBluesBlues]

I've played piano all my life, but it was the original Wailers album that started me playing by ear. I copied Tall Cool One and, I think, Road Runner. All but one song was instrumental. I still remember that cover picture -- the same one you show here with the five guys -- and NO bass player! It's funny I never realized until very recently that their first album had no bass. that must have been in 1960. Thanks again!

[tbear4pa]

The date is close, it was in 1961 when the Wailers version of Louie Louie was released, and it didn't have a bass player, unlike Richard Berry's original version, which included an acoustic upright string bass player, and the Kingsmen's version with an electric bass guitar player.

[SinginTheBluesBlues]

Feeling stupid now... Just listened to my Wailers At The Castle CD and realized that the version of Louie Louie on it is, in fact, the original studio recording. The same one I'd been searching for! So I've got a perfect copy after all.

[GeoSilverMore]

All's well that ends well.

And yes, their first album is THE one to hear - The Fabulous Wailers.

[mkl8000]

One of the best ways is to buy "Wild and Wooly" a two disc CD available from Experience Music Projects, which is the rock and roll humunges Thing next to space needle in Seattle. It starts in 1958 and ends in 2000. It has all of the famous Northwest rock artists. Yes, the Original Louie Louie by the wailers is on it, also The Kingsmen and other names like Nirvana, The Ventures, Brave New World,Merrilee and The Turnabouts Paul Revere, Heart, Pearl Jam, Built To Spill, ETC

[problem49]

Thank you so much for this tremendous heads up! I can't wait to get my mits on this fantastic anthology!

[ElComadreja777]

The thing about the Kingsmen's version was that you couldn't understand a word the lead singer sang, but everyone thought they heard all kinds of wild stuff. In the 60s my band did a version that started out "Louie Loueye, oh no, get her way down low" and deteriorated from there. It got us tossed out/banned from a lot of places but the kidsloved it, LOL.

[freeforFreak]

Original version of Louie Louie, before the Wailers or the Kingsmen.

[chesleylydekker]

the real deal.  thank you.

[Stylus1997]

This is a fascinating insight into this origins of this iconic Rock & Roll staple. Thanks for putting this together.

[boneypart]

thanks so much for putting these up. super awesome!

[starwarsiscooll]

I loved it especally the original

[melmarr22]

This is great! Thanks for posting these versions.