Jack Ely, the singer on the great 1963 Kingsmen song "Louie Louie," died on Tuesday, at 71.
I cannot count the number of conversations (sometimes, near-debates) in childhood--and into adulthood--with people I knew, regarding what they believed, and what I believed, the words of the song were. We were all wrong.
The New York Times obituary about Mr. Ely, by Sam Roberts (see link below), notes the following, about the song, and about Richard Berry, who wrote it (and originally recorded it, in 1957): "Mr. Berry’s words, with a first verse that begins, 'Fine little girl she
wait for me/Me catch the ship for ’cross the sea,' are in fact
completely benign. Whatever obscenities people thought they heard, the Kingsmen’s version hewed closely to the original — lyrically if not musically."
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/30/arts/music/jack-ely-who-sang-the-kingsmens-louie-louie-dies-at-71.html?ref=obituaries
Here is the song--first, as recorded by the Kingsmen, and then, the version by Richard Berry (and The Pharaohs):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7npccwCPvU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxedxkx88t0
skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Andrew Fielding, while host of a radio talk show in Charlottesville, Virginia, 1996
A Book About Network Television in the late 1940s and early 1950s, by Andrew Lee Fielding. Originally published in 2007 by BearManor Media. Revised Edition published in 2019. See also: www.andrewleefielding.com
A Blog About Early Television...Later Television...The Big Band period...and other matters of history, family, and popular culture...
REVISED EDITION NOW AVAILABLE
"The Lucky Strike Papers"--subtitled "Journeys Through My Mother's Television Past"--profiles such early network television shows as "Your Hit Parade" (also known as "The Lucky Strike Hit Parade"), "Kay Kyser's College of Musical Knowledge," and "The Freddy Martin Show." Author Andrew Fielding's late mother, Sue Bennett, sang on these programs, and others, in the late 1940s and early 1950s.
To purchase a copy of the 2019 Revised Edition of the book, please visit:
advertisement
Are you in need of Copy Editing, Proofreading, or other writing services?
Would you like assistance in preparing a Press Release for your non-profit group, your small business, or for the book you've written?
If so, contact this address: editing2015@yahoo.com
Reasonable rates.
Blog Archive
Andrew Fielding, while host of a radio talk show in Charlottesville, Virginia, 1996
About Me
- Andrew Lee Fielding
- Andrew Fielding has written for The Boston Globe, The Boston Herald, The Providence Journal, The Philadelphia Daily News, Horizon Magazine, and other publications. He has also worked as a radio talk show host--in Philadelphia, in suburban Philadelphia, in Charlottesville, Virginia, and in northern New Jersey. He was also, for three years, the host of a weekly talk show on a nostalgia-oriented Internet radio station. His book about early television, "The Lucky Strike Papers," was published in December, 2007 by BearManor Media. A revised edition of the book was brought out in January of 2019.