Back in the day the Kingmen's "Louie Louie" was a big hit nationwide. And at my old stomping grounds [ Rowdy High ] it was no different.
Since we're talking about medieval times, all the young dudes were mesmerized by the lyrics, which you couldn't understand and supposedly contained nothing but sexual references. And because we were young, we dug it.
While tooling home tonite, I heard a different account of what really happened. Via a classic rock radio station.
The Kingsmen recorded the song in one take. They wanted to do it again but the engineer/producer said "it was great! And what do you want to do for the B side?"
After saying "huh?" they did an instrumental. Total time in the studio: 9 minutes.
The engineer/producer asked who was gonna pay the fee.
"I gotta dollar," one said.
"Me, too."
"How much do we owe you?"
"52 dollars."
They got their mom or aunt who was waiting in the car to write a check.
And a classic song was born.
Rolling Stone includes the tune in its top 500 of all time. [ #55 to be exact ] And corroborates the $52 urban legend. Go figga!
Some more background info:
The lead singer had braces which caused him to slur the words thus making them unintelligible. And enhancing the mystique.
And the mike he sang into hung from the ceiling, requiring him to stand on his tiptoes in order to be heard. Must have been a little person or vertically challenged. Or is it horizontal?
It was a huge HIT at Rowdy High. And is still talked about and listened to today.
Farewell and adieu, v.c.
P.S. I was gonna do "my favorite recipes" of all time but got side-tracked with Louie. What was that one you liked, hootster, where it told you to go the five-and-dime to help with its creation?
Close Encounters of the Banal Kind, eh?
P.S.S. According to the classic oldies station, Paul Revere and the Nader's, er, Raiders
also recorded "Louie, Louie" in the same studio in Oregon two days later. They were the hotter act at the time. Each band knew the other and were, in fact, friends. [ For more details see: "Where The Action Is," another Dick Clark Production. ]
3 comments:
Five and dime? Help with its creation?
Sorry, but that rings no bells...
As I was reading your post, though, I clearly recall that there were at least two pop tunes that made such a vivid first impression that I had to stop what I was doing and listen. The first was Don McLean's American Pie. I was driving along the Barrett Causeway from Merritt Island to Cocoa, Florida. I had to pull over to the side of the road, stop, and listen to the lyrics. I couldn't pay attention to driving I was so absorbed. The second was in a mall. [I don't go into those places any more. That was waaaay back before I learned to despise the holiday season because it meant unrelenting toil from Thanksgiving to Christmas with no time to breath.] The song was Brother Love's Traveling Salvation Show by Neil Diamond. Again, I had to stop and listen. I went to a Neil Diamond concert a couple of times and was blown away at how much of his music was part of my growing up. He's gotta be really oooold by now. Cuz I'm old. And I don't remember when there wasn't a Neil Diamond. A few yars later onw of the kids had to be put to sleep with a Neil Diamond album. She loved the Coconut song..."put the lime in the coconut and mix it all together/ put the lime in the coconut and shake it all up..."
Hoots, Maybe it said buy a tool(?)at the Piggly Wiggly or something. Jar your memory banks. Or are you in the first stages of "Old Timers?"
American Pie was a great song. Intriguing lyrics. Good sing-along. Neil Diamond is the "real" name of our cat. Synchronicity rears its ugly head. Again! v.c.
Right!
Got it: It was Spinach Salad, the first instruction of which was "Get an egg cutter from the ten cents store." I thought I would never forget, but I did. Must be ole-timers, as you said. (S'pose it's contagious? I'm working with a bunch of those people now. One poor soul checks four or five times a day to see if her son has come yet, forgetting that he passed away last year.)
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