Jack Ely, Who Sang the Kingsmen’s ‘Louie Louie’, Dies at 71

[vienna]

The original lead singer of the "Kingsmen" has passed away:

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/30/arts/music/jack-ely-who-sang-the-kingsmens-louie-louie-dies-at-71.html?_r=0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4V1p1dM3snQ


The song is iconic and was the inspiration for many a garage band over the decades and still is a standard at frat parties, beach parties, and other gatherings. The song was also the center of several controversies revolving around the perceived to be obscene lyrics:

http://peewee.com/wp-content/uploads/Louie-Louie.jpg


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louie_Louie

I know there are quite a few aficionados of early garage rock and some musicians among us who have had the opportunity to play this song. I also know more than a few of us may have joined in a rousing sing-a-long in a pub or at a party...

RIP, Jack Ely, and, though it was your only hit, it meant a whole lot to a whole lot of us...


<O>

[Oberon]

He gotta go.

RIP Jack Ely, I got to admit, Louie Louie is an old favourite of mine, it's a classic. :up:

[Torplexed]

Can't believe the FBI wasted two years investigating the song.

At the end of the two years, the FBI didn’t even exonerate “Louie Louie,” they simply said that “the lyrics of the song on this record was not definitely determined by this laboratory examination, it was not possible to determine whether this recording is obscene.”

Your 1964 tax dollars at work. :) Luckily, there was enough leftover for Vietnam and the Apollo Program.

[jacobston]

I played Louie Louie on the tenor saxophone in Music class, as well as with the school band. I never could memorize the chromatic scale, but I could could get right into this song.
My music teacher would tell me to stay still during tests, because I would keep moving with my instrument while playing :|\\

RIP Jack Ely, thanks to you, Grade 10 was a bit more bearable :rock:

[Jimbuna]

RIP Jack