"Louie Louie" is the world's most recorded rock song, with published estimates ranging from over 1,600 to more than 2,000 "with ever more still being released and performed" (and uploaded to music and video websites). Due to its "raw, open structure that invites interpretation, mishearing and reinvention",
Paul Revere summarized, "Three chords and the most mundane beat possible. Any idiot could learn it, and they all did." The Kingsmen version in particular has been cited as the "
Rosetta Stone" of garage rock, and "the original grunge classic". "The influential rock critics Dave Marsh and Greil Marcus believe that virtually all punk rock can be traced back to a single proto-punk song, 'Louie Louie'." Pronunciation has varied widely from Berry's original "Lou-ee Lou-ee" to "Lou-ee Lou-eye" (Kingsmen, 1963), "Lou-ee Lou-eye-ay" (Angels, 1964), "Lou-eye Lou-way" (Sonics, 1966; Iggy Pop, 1972), "Lou-ee-a Lou-way" (Kinks, 1964; Motörhead, 1978), "Lou-way Lou-way" (Clarke/Duke Project, 1981), and others.
1950s Richard Berry was on the underbill for a concert in the Seattle–Tacoma area in September 1957 and his record appeared on local radio station charts in November 1957 after "African American DJs Bob Summerrise and Eager Beaver started playing it on their radio shows”. he would often substitute mumbled, "somewhat pornographic" lyrics in "a live tour de force [that] often lasted ten minutes or longer, devastating local audiences." released a three chord clone, "David's Mood - Part 2", that was a regional hit in 1963.
The Wailers, Little Bill and the Bluenotes,
the Frantics, Tiny Tony and the Statics,
Merrilee and the Turnabouts, and other local groups soon added the song to their set lists.
1960s Rockin' Robin Roberts and the Wailers (1961) Robin Roberts developed an interest in rock 'n' roll and
rhythm and blues records as a high school student in
Tacoma, Washington. Among the songs he began performing as an occasional guest singer with a local band, the Bluenotes, in 1958 were "Louie Louie", which he had "rescued from oblivion" In 1959, Roberts left the Bluenotes and began singing with another local band,
the Wailers, famed for their "hard-nosed R&B/rock fusion". Known for his dynamic onstage performances, Roberts added "Louie Louie" to the band's set and, in 1960 recorded the track with the Wailers as his backing band. The arrangement, devised by Roberts with the band, was "the first-ever garage version of 'Louie Louie'" and included "one of the true great moments of rock", his ad-libbed "Let's give it to 'em, RIGHT NOW!!" before the guitar solo. Roberts was killed in an automobile accident in 1967, but his "legacy would reverberate down through the ages". Dave Marsh dedicated his 1993 book, "For Richard Berry, who gave birth to this unruly child, and Rockin' Robin Roberts, who first raised it to glory."
The Kingsmen (1963) }} On 6 April 1963,
the Kingsmen, a rock and roll group from
Portland, Oregon, chose "Louie Louie" for their second recording. The session took place at Northwestern Inc. Motion Pictures & Recording Studios at 411 SW 13th Avenue in Portland. The one hour session, originally intended to produce an audition tape for a summer cruise ship gig, cost either $36, $50, or somewhere in between, and the band split the cost. The session was produced by Ken Chase, a local disc jockey on the AM rock station
KISN who also owned The Chase, the teen nightclub where the Kingsmen were the house band. The engineer for the session was the studio owner, Robert Lindahl. The Kingsmen's lead vocalist,
Jack Ely, based his version on the recording by Rockin' Robin Roberts with the Fabulous Wailers, but unintentionally reintroduced Berry's original
stop-time rhythm as he showed the other members how to play it with a 1–2–3, 1–2, 1–2–3 beat instead of the 1–2–3–4, 1–2, 1–2–3–4 beat on the Wailers record. The night before their recording session, the band played a 90-minute version of the song during a gig at a local teen club. The Kingsmen's studio version was recorded in one partial and one full take. They also recorded "
Jamaica Farewell" and what became the B-side of the release, an original "surf instrumental" by Ely and keyboardist Don Gallucci called "Haunted Castle". The Kingsmen's version with its "ragged", "sloppy", "chaotic", "shambolic, lumbering style", complete with "manic lead guitar solo, insane cymbal crashes, generally slurred and unintelligible lyrics", transformed the earlier Rockin' Robin Roberts version on which it was based into a "bumbling, bear-in-a-china-shop", "gloriously incoherent", "raw and raucous" "so wrong it's right". Ely had to stand on tiptoe to sing into a boom mike, and his braces further impeded his "sinew-stretching", "giraffe-neck gabble" singing. The result was a "raw and unsanitized, unmanaged and unscrubbed" effort that the group hated but manager Ken Chase loved. Jerry Dennon's local Jerden label was contracted to press 1,000 vinyl 45s. The guitar break is triggered by a shout, "Okay, let's give it to 'em right now!", both lifted from the Roberts version. Critic
Dave Marsh suggests it is this moment that gives the recording greatness: [Ely] went for it so avidly you'd have thought he'd spotted the jugular of a lifelong enemy, so crudely that, at that instant, Ely sounds like Donald Duck on helium. And it's that faintly ridiculous air that makes the Kingsmen's record the classic that it is...
Thurston Moore of
Sonic Youth, whose "passion for music was ignited by the Kingsmen's 'Louie Louie'", termed it a "totem of magic", and recalled that "the lead singer's [Ely] voice had the air of a boy smoking a cigarette with one hand while banging a tambourine in the other, an insolent distance to his delivery, a vision of being at once boss and bored." Marsh ranked the song as No. 11 out of the 1001 greatest singles ever made, describing it as "the most profound and sublime expression of rock and roll's ability to create something from nothing".
The Independent in Britain noted that it reinforced "a growing suspicion that enthusiasm was more important to rock 'n' roll than technical competence or literal meaning", Music producer and historian
Alec Palao wrote, What makes the Kingsmen's "Louie Louie" a good record? Neither lyrics nor melodic design, harmonic motion, rhythmic groove, or instrumental arrangement — all of which can be represented in some fashion apart from the record (though the lyrics would be at best an approximation) — hold the key to the answer. The record's power is in its sound, which represents multiple elements, processes, and voices — song, arrangement, sounds, techniques of sound recording and processing, musical performances, and all the particular ephemeral nuances that attend the moment of inscription. What is, from a certain perspective, mind-numbingly simple is in fact a complex network of phenomenal elements that we perceive as a whole. A significant error on the Kingsmen version occurred just after the lead guitar break. As the group was going by the Wailers version, which had a restatement of the riff twice over before the lead vocalist came back in, it would be expected that Ely would do the same. Ely, however, missed his mark, coming in too soon before the second restatement of the riff. He realized his mistake and stopped the verse short, but the band did not realize that he had done so. As a quick fix, drummer Lynn Easton covered the pause with a
drum fill. The error "imbued the Kingsmen recording with a touching humility and humanity" First released in May 1963, the single was initially issued by the small
Jerden label, before being picked up by the larger
Wand Records in October 1963. Wand president
Florence Greenberg said, "... it was forced down my throat by friends. I was ashamed to put it out."
Herb Alpert and
A&M Records passed on the distribution opportunity, deeming it "too long" and "out of tune". Sales of the Kingsmen record were initially so low (reportedly 600) that the group considered disbanding. Things changed when Boston's biggest DJ,
Arnie Ginsburg, was given the record by a pitchman. Amused by its slapdash sound, he played it on his program as "The Worst Record of the Week". Despite the slam, listener response was swift and positive. On October 19, it was listed in
Billboard as a regional breakout in Boston and the following week as a "bubbling under" entry at No. 132 on the national chart. Meanwhile, the Raiders version, with far stronger promotion, was becoming a hit in California and was also listed as "bubbling under" one week after the Kingsmen debuted on the chart. For a few weeks, the two singles appeared destined to battle each other, but demand for the Kingsmen single, backed by national promotion from Wand, acquired momentum and by the end of 1963,
Columbia Records had stopped promoting the Raiders version. It entered the
Billboard Hot 100 chart at No. 83 on November 2, moved into the top ten on December 7, and peaked at No. 2 the following week, a spot it held for six non-consecutive weeks. It would remain in the top ten throughout December 1963 and January 1964 before dropping off in early February. In total, the Kingsmen's version spent 16 weeks on the Hot 100, selling a million copies by April 1964.
The Singing Nun's "
Dominique" and
Bobby Vinton's "
There! I've Said It Again" prevented the single from reaching No. 1 (although Marsh asserts that it "far outsold" the other records, but was denied ''Billboard's
top spot due to lack of "proper decorum".) "Louie Louie" did reach No. 1 on the Cash Box and Music Vendor/Record World pop charts, as well as No. 1 on the Cash Box
R&B chart. In Canada it was No. 1 for three weeks beginning December 30, 1963. It was the last No. 1 on Cash Box
before Beatlemania hit the United States with "I Want to Hold Your Hand". The Kingsmen version quickly became a standard at teen parties in the U.S. during the 1960s and, reaching No. 26 on the UK Singles Chart, was the preferred tune for a popular British dance called "The Shake". The first album, The Kingsmen in Person'', peaked at No. 20 in 1964 and remained on the charts for over two years (131 weeks total) until 1966. Due to the lyrics controversy and supported by the band's heavy touring schedule, the single continued to sell throughout 1965 and, after being reissued in 1966 as "Louie Louie 64-65-66", briefly reappeared on the charts, reaching No. 65 in
Cash Box, No. 76 in
Record World, No. 97 in
Billboard, and cracking the Top 40 in the Washington market. Total sales estimates for the single range from 10 million Another factor in the success of the record may have been the rumour that the vocals were intentionally slurred by the Kingsmen to cover up lyrics that were allegedly laced with profanity, graphically depicting sex between the sailor and his lady. Crumpled pieces of paper professing to be "the real lyrics" to "Louie Louie" circulated among teens. The song was banned on many radio stations and in many places in the United States, including Indiana, where a ban was requested by Governor
Matthew Welsh. These actions were taken despite the fact that practically no one could distinguish the actual lyrics. Denials of chicanery by Kingsmen and Ely did not stop the controversy. The FBI started a 31-month investigation into the matter and concluded they were "unable to interpret any of the wording in the record." By the time the Kingsmen version had achieved national popularity, the band had split. Two rival editions—one featuring lead singer Jack Ely, the other with Lynn Easton who held the rights to the band's name—were competing for live audiences across the country. A settlement was reached later in 1964 giving Easton the right to the Kingsmen name but requiring all future pressings of the original version of "Louie Louie" to display "Lead vocal by Jack Ely" on the label. Ely released "Love That Louie" (as Jack E. Lee and the Squires) in 1964 and "Louie Louie '66" and "
Louie Go Home" (as Jack Ely and the Courtmen) in 1966 without chart success. He re-recorded "Louie Louie" in 1976 and again in 1980, and these versions appear on multiple 60s hit compilations credited to "Jack Ely (formerly of the Kingsmen)" or "re-recordings by the original artists". Ely's 1990 album
The Kingsman included three additional versions: "Louie Louie", "Louie Louie (Cali 86)", and "Ska Louie". Subsequent Kingsmen "Louie Louie" versions with either Lynn Easton or Dick Peterson as lead vocalist appeared on
Live & Unreleased (recorded 1963, released 1992),
Live at the Castle (recorded 1964, released 2011),
Shindig! Presents Frat Party (VHS, recorded 1965, released 1991),
60s Dance Party (1982),
California Cooler Presents Cooler Hits (recorded 1986, released 1987),
The Louie Louie Collection (as the Mystery Band, 1994),
Red, White & Rock (2002),
Garage Sale (recorded 2002, released 2003), and ''My Music: '60s Pop, Rock & Soul
(DVD, 2011). A solo version by Peterson was also included on the 1999 Circle of Friends, Volume 1'' CD. On 9 November 1998, after a protracted lawsuit that lasted five years and cost $1.3 million, the Kingsmen were awarded ownership of all their recordings released on
Wand Records from
Gusto Records, including "Louie Louie". They had not been paid royalties on the songs since the 1960s. When Jack Ely died on April 28, 2015, his son reported that "my father would say, 'We were initially just going to record the song as an instrumental, and at the last minute I decided I'd sing it. When it came time to do that, however, Ely discovered the sound engineer had raised the studio's only microphone several feet above his head. Then he placed Ely in the middle of his fellow musicians, all in an effort to create a better "live feel" for the recording. The result, Ely would say over the years, was that he had to stand on his toes, lean his head back and shout as loudly as he could just to be heard over the drums and guitars. When Mike Mitchell died on April 16, 2021, he was the only remaining member of the Kingsmen's original lineup who still performed with the band. His "Louie Louie" guitar break has been called "iconic", "blistering", and "one of the most famous guitar solos of all time".
Guitar Player magazine noted, "Raw, lightning-fast, and loud, the solo's unbridled energy helped make the song a No. 2 pop hit, but also helped set the template for garage-rock – and later hard-rock – guitar." Citing it as “the only piece of pop music I can remember from my youth”, British writer
Peter Ackroyd selected the Kingsmen's "Louie Louie", along with works by
Beethoven,
Bach, and
Prokofiev as music selections on the
BBC Radio 4 show,
Desert Island Discs. British newspaper
The Independent in 2015 declared it the "party anthem of the universe". In 2014, the copyright for the Kingsmen's version was acquired by
Reservoir Media from First State Media Group.
Certifications Paul Revere & the Raiders (1963) }} Shortly after the Kingsmen,
Paul Revere & the Raiders recorded a "cleaner, more accomplished" of "Louie Louie" in the same Portland studio. Sources concur that the Kingsmen session was first, but differ on the Raiders recording date. Personnel included
Mark Lindsay (sax, vocals), Steve West (guitar), and
Mike Smith (drums) with Paul Revere subbing on bass. The recording was paid for and produced by
KISN radio personality Roger Hart, who soon became personal manager for the band. Released on Hart's Sandē label and plugged on his radio show, their version was more successful locally.
Columbia Records issued the single nationally in June 1963 and it went to No. 1 in the West and Hawaii, but only reached No. 103 on the
Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart. The quick success of "Louie Louie" faltered, however, due to lack of support from Columbia and its
A&R man
Mitch Miller, a former bandleader (
Sing Along With Mitch) with "retrogressive taste" who disliked the "musical illiteracy" of rock and roll. The Raiders version opened with Lindsay's saxophone intro followed by Smitty's exhortation to "Grab yo woman, it's-a 'Louie Louie' time!". Another signature phrase was "Stomp and shout and work it on out". Lyrically, only the first verse was used with Lindsay improvising the remaining vocals. The original version also contains a scarcely audible "dirty lyric" when Lindsay says, "Do she fuck? That psyches me up!" behind the guitar solo. Robert Lindahl, president and chief engineer of NWI and sound engineer on both the Kingsmen and Raiders recordings, stated that the Raiders version was not known for "garbled lyrics" or an amateurish recording technique, but, as one author noted, their "more competent but uptight take on the song" was less exciting than the Kingsmen's version. Live versions were included on
Here They Come! (1965),
Paul Revere Rides Again! (1983),
The Last Madman of Rock and Roll (1986, DVD), and
Mojo Workout! (2000). Later releases featured different lead vocalists on
Special Edition (1982,
Michael Bradley),
Generic Rock & Roll (1993, Carlo Driggs),
Flower Power (2011, Darren Dowler), and
The Revolutionary Hits of Paul Revere & the Raiders (2019, David Huizenga). The Raiders also recorded Richard Berry's "
Have Love, Will Travel", a "'Louie Louie' rewrite", and "
Louie, Go Home", an
answer song penned by Lindsay and Revere after Berry declined their request to write a "Louie Louie" follow-up, as well as "
Just Like Me", a "first cousin to 'Louie Louie'".
The Beach Boys (1964) Surf music icons
the Beach Boys released their version on the 1964 album
Shut Down Volume 2 with lead vocals shared by
Carl Wilson and
Mike Love. Their effort was unusual in that it was rendered "in a version so faithful to Berry's Angeleno-revered original" instead of the more common garage rock style as they "[paid] tribute to the two most important earlier recordings of 'Louie Louie' — the 1957 original by Richard Berry and the Pharaohs, and the infamously unintelligible 1963 cover by the Kingsmen". Other surf music versions included the Chan-Dells in 1963,
the Pyramids and
the Surfaris in 1964,
the Trashmen,
the Invictas, and
Jan and Dean in 1965,
the Challengers in 1966, the Ripp Tides in 1981, and the Shockwaves in 1988.
Otis Redding (1964) Otis Redding's "spunky ... free-associating" was also one of the first to deliberately duplicate the Jack Ely early vocal re-entry mistake after the bridge.
The Best of Louie Louie, Volume 2 included their rendition. It was also released in 1965 on two US-only albums,
Kinks-Size and
Kinkdom, and on a French album,
A Well Respected Man. Live 1960s versions were released on bootlegs
The Kinks in Germany (1965),
Kinky Paris (1965),
Live in San Francisco (1969),
Kriminal Kinks (1972), and
The Kinks at the BBC (2012). The Kinks version re-entered the charts in 2015, reaching No. 19 on the
UK singles chart based on sales, downloads and streaming.
The Kast Off Kinks continue to perform it live, occasionally joined by original Kinks members. Sources vary on the impact of "Louie Louie" on the writing of "
You Really Got Me" and "
All Day and All of the Night". One writer called the two songs "sparse representations of a 'Louie Louie' mentality", while another succinctly called the former "a rewrite of the Kingsmen's 'Louie Louie'". A 1965 letter to London's
Record Mirror opined, "Besides completely copying the Kingsmen's vocal and instrumental style, The Kinks rose to fame with two watery twists of this classic...." An opposing opinion was voiced by a different author who noted that the "You Really Got Me" riff is "unquestionably a guitar-based piece, [that] fundamentally differs from "Louie Louie" and other earlier riff pieces with which it sometimes is compared". Dave Marsh asserted that the Kinks "blatantly based their best early hits" on the "Louie Louie" riff. Other sources stated that Davies wrote "You Really Got Me" while trying to work out the chords of "Louie Louie" at the suggestion of the group's manager,
Larry Page. According to biographer Thomas M. Kitts, Davies confirmed that Page suggested that "he write a song like 'Louie Louie'", but denied any direct influence. Biographer Johnny Rogan noted no "Louie Louie" influence, writing that Davies adapted an earlier piano riff to the jazz blues style of
Mose Allison, and that he was further influenced by seeing
Chuck Berry and
Gerry Mulligan in ''
Jazz on a Summer's Day'', a 1958 film about the
Newport Jazz Festival. Rogan also cited brother Dave Davies' distorted power chords as "the sonic contribution that transformed the composition" into a hit song. Whether directly or indirectly, the Kingsmen version influenced the musical style of the early Kinks. They were huge fans of the Kingsmen's "Louie Louie" and Dave Davies remembered the song inspiring Ray's singing, saying in an interview:
We played that record over and over. And Ray copied a lot of his vocal style from that guy [Jack Ely]. I was always trying to get Ray to sing, because I thought he had a great voice, but he was very shy. Then we heard The Kingsmen and he had that lazy, throwaway, laid-back drawl in his voice, and it was magic. Steven Van Zandt noted the same impact by Ely on Davies' "unusually conversational" vocal style.
Alec Palao in the
Love That Louie CD liner notes highlighted Davies' "supremely lecherous, almost drunken vocal" and suggested that "Davies drew from 'Louie' the urchin persona that populated so much of the Kinks' early work". the same
soft rock, smooth ballad, Spanish language approach with a "quiet, yet majestic", of "Louie Louie", reaching No. 30 and No. 35 on the Billboard and Cashbox charts, respectively (the highest charting U.S. version after the Kingsmen). The success of their "smoky version" heralded the entry of the ever adaptable "Louie Louie" into the
MOR and
easy listening categories and many followed:
David McCallum and J.J. Jones (1967),
Honey Ltd. (1968),
Julie London (1969),
Sounds Orchestral (1970),
Line Renaud (1973),
Dave Stewart and
Barbara Gaskin (1991), and others released singles and albums featuring slower and mellower versions of what had previously been an up tempo pop and rock standard.
Travis Wammack (1966) With the only instrumental version to make the charts,
Travis Wammack reached No. 128 on the
Bubbling Under Hot 100 in April 1966. An early guitar innovator and "precursor to guitar-hero shredding", his distinctive sound on "Louie Louie" was "liberally laced with fuzztone" Released as a single (Atlantic 2322), the track was not included on Wammack's first album in 1972 or any thereafter. It appeared on a 1967 French release (
Formidable Rhythm And Blues (Vol. 3)), but not again until two Wammack compilations,
That Scratchy Guitar From Memphis (1987) and
Scr-Scr-Scratchy! (1989). It was also included on two later various artists compilations,
Love That Louie: The Louie Louie Files (2002) and
Boom Boom A Go-Go! (2014). Other notable 1960s instrumental versions included
the Ventures,
Ian Whitcomb, and
Sandy Nelson in 1965,
Ace Cannon and
Pete Fountain in 1966,
Floyd Cramer in 1967, and
Willie Mitchell in 1969.
The Sonics (1966) The Sonics released their "blistering makeover ... definitive punk arrangement" the group's characteristic hard-edged, fuzz-drenched sound and "abrasive, all-out approach" "took the Northwest garage sound to its most primitive extreme" and made their "Louie Louie" version ahead of its time. They also made it more "fierce and threatening" by altering the traditional 1-4-5-4 chord pattern to the "darker, more sinister" 1-3b-4-3b. returned "Louie Louie" to its Afro-Cuban roots, echoing Rene Touzet's "El Loco Cha Cha" with his
conga- and trumpet-driven Latin jazz version. Originally released on the 1966 album ''Hey! Let's Party
, it was also included on the 1983 compilation The Best of Louie Louie, Volume 2''. and "... this is a song like 'Louie Louie' or 'Guantanamera'. This is a song that when you play it, people are going to get up and dance, and that's it."
Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention (1967) "Louie Louie" occurred repeatedly as an "
idée fixe" in the musical lexicon of
Frank Zappa in the 1960s. He categorized the riff as one of several "Archetypal American Musical Icons ... [whose] presence in an arrangement puts a spin on any lyric in their vicinity" and used it initially "to make fun of the old-fashioned rock 'n' roll they had transcended". he had a higher opinion of Richard Berry, calling him "one of the most important figures in the West Coast rhythm-and-blues scene of the Fifties" and saying, "No one may not underestimate the impact of 'Louie Louie', the original Richard Berry version." His original compositions "
Plastic People" and "Ruthie-Ruthie" (from
You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 1) were set to the melody of "Louie Louie" and included "Music by Richard Berry" credits. Zappa said that he fired guitarist
Alice Stuart from the Mothers of Invention because she couldn't play "Louie Louie", although this comment was obviously intended as a joke. At a 1967 concert at the
Royal Albert Hall in London, Mothers of Invention keyboardist
Don Preston climbed up to the venue's famous
pipe organ, usually used for classical works, and played the signature riff (included on the 1969 album
Uncle Meat). A live 1969 version appeared on the 2009
Meat Lovers #2 EP. Quick interpolations of "Louie Louie" also frequently turn up in other Zappa works.
Other 1960s versions • Little Bill with the Adventurers and the Shalimars, on a 1961 single (Topaz T-1305). •
The Jordan Brothers, live in 1963. •
Terry Kath, on a 1963 demo with his first group, The Mystics. •
The Swamp Rats, on a 1964 single (St. Clair MF69). Also released on their 1979 album
Disco Sucks. •
The Pyramids, on their 1964 album
The Pyramids Play The Original Penetration! •
The Standells, on a 1964 album
The Standells in Person at P.J.s. •
Leon Russell, "pumping chords all the way through" as a session player on
The Top-40 Song Book, a 1964 singalong album by arranger
H. B. Barnum and producer
David Axelrod. •
The Sentinals, on their 1964 album
Vegas Go Go. •
Pat Metheny, in the 1960s with his first group, The Beat Bombs. •
John Fogerty, live in 1964 with the
Golliwogs •
Allen Collins, with his first group, The Mods, in 1964 •
The Bobby Fuller Four, recorded 1964, released on a French bootleg LP
I Fought The Law in 1983 and on
El Paso Rock: Early Recordings, Vol. 1 in 1996. •
Jan and Dean, live on their 1965
Command Performance album backed by the Fantastic Baggys; considered by some the "best track on the album". •
Steven Tyler, with his group
The Strangeurs in 1965. • A
Millbrook School 1965 single featuring the Moongazers with "new singing sensation" Gino Wertz. •
Sandy Nelson, an instrumental version on his 1965 album
Boss Beat; also included on the 2005 compilation ''Sandy Nelson's Big Sixties Beat Party''. •
Marshall Crenshaw, with his first group in Detroit in the mid-1960s. •
The Invictas, on their 1965 album
The Invictas À Go-Go; re-released in 1983. •
The Pink Finks (Australia), on a 1965 charting single (Mojo MO-001) with
Ross Wilson singing "whatever sounded right to him". •
The Outcasts (New York), recorded 1960s, released in 1987 on
The Battle Of The Bands Live! •
The Ventures, an instrumental version on their 1965 album
The Ventures a Go-Go; also released on a 6-song jukebox mini-LP. •
Ian Whitcomb, an instrumental piano version on a 1965 single (
Tower 216). •
The Castaways, live in 1965 at the
Cow Palace. •
Jim Morrison's first vocal performance on stage was "Louie Louie" in 1965 with Rick and the Ravens (with
Ray Manzarek) at the Turkey Joint West in
Santa Monica, and the newly formed
Doors initially used it as their opening number. •
Todd Rundgren, in 1965 with his first group, Money. He described "Louie Louie" as "a song that changed my life". •
Don and the Goodtimes, backing Jim "Harpo" Valley on the 1966 album
Harpo: Jim Valley with Don and the Goodtimes. The "extended raunch fest" that combined "elements of both the Raiders' and Kingsmen's arrangements" James Marshall of
Spin Magazine said of the Troggs, "All you need to make a great rock 'n' roll record are the chords to 'Louie Louie' and a bad attitude." A rerecorded version was released on the 2013 album
This Is The Troggs. •
The Challengers, on their 1966 album
California Kicks. •
Psychedelic versions by
the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band in 1966 on their debut album
Volume One,
Friar Tuck on his 1967 album
Friar Tuck and His Psychedelic Guitar,
Neighb'rhood Childr'n on their 1997 album (recorded 1967)
Long Years in Space, and the Underground All-Stars on their 1968 album
Extremely Heavy!. •
The Beau Brummels, on a 1966 album ''
Beau Brummels '66 and a second version on the 1968 compilation The Best of the Beau Brummels, Vol. 44''. •
Ace Cannon, an instrumental saxophone version on his 1966 album
Sweet & Tough. •
Pete Fountain, an instrumental clarinet version on his 1966 album ''I've Got You Under My Skin
; also included on the 1983 compilation The Best of Louie Louie, Volume 2''. •
Pink Floyd, in an earlier incarnation as The Pink Floyd Sound, regularly performed psychedelic versions with "wild improvised interludes" and "echo-laced discordant jams" in the mid-1960s. However, after an October 1966
Melody Maker concert review criticized their "dated R&B things" and said "Psychedelic versions of 'Louie Louie' won't come off", the song was dropped from future setlists. •
Eddie Cano and his Quintet, on his 1967 ''Brought Back Live from P.J.'s'' album. •
Floyd Cramer, an instrumental piano version on his 1967 album ''Here's What's Happening!'' •
David McCallum, on his 1967 ''It's Happening Now!'' album; described by
Billboard as "exceptional as it builds slowly". •
The Robbs, on a 1968 EP ''W'R-IT In Milwaukee Radio!'' •
The Tams, on their 1968 album
A Little More Soul. • The
Dick Crest Orchestra, on a 1968 album
Would You Believe. •
Africa, in a medley with "
Ode to Billie Joe" on their 1968 album
Music From "Lil Brown"; described as "surprisingly ripe for lysergic interpretation." •
Ike and Tina Turner recorded "a sultry, little known rendition" in 1968 sung from "his avaricious girlfriend's point of view" with "the forlorn sailor owning a yacht". Their "soul romp" One writer characterized it as "slow, vague, and really drawn out" and group member Joan Sliwin said, "I never understood ... why 'Louie, Louie'?" •
Wilbert Harrison, on his 1969 album ''Let's Work Together'' and as a single (Juggernaut 70SUG405). Noted for "imparting his own personal stamp" and "unique vocal delivery" on his version. •
Willie Mitchell, an instrumental trumpet version on his 1969 album
On Top; also released on a 6-song jukebox mini-LP. •
Jefferson Airplane and
Grateful Dead (
Joey Covington (vocals),
Jerry Garcia,
Jorma Kaukonen,
Gary Duncan,
Jack Casady,
Mike Shrieve, others), live at the Family Dog at Great Highway, San Francisco on September 7, 1969. •
The Beatles, from the
Get Back/Let It Be sessions in 1969; released on the 1995
Jamming With Heather bootleg CD. • A "sexiest-of-all version by smokey-voiced diva
Julie London" released as a 1969 single (
Liberty 56085) and included on her final album
Yummy, Yummy, Yummy, which also featured other contemporary rock songs. •
George Strait, in the late 1960s with his high school group, The Stoics. •
The Messengers, on their eponymous 1969 album and a 1970 single, both on the
Rare Earth label.
1970s Iggy Pop (1972) Iggy Pop (then known as Jim Osterberg) began performing "Louie Louie", "a song nearly as old and unkillable as Iggy himself", "with his own version of the dirty lyrics" in 1965 as a member of
the Iguanas. Later with
the Stooges and as a solo performer, he recorded multiple versions of the song, "turn[ing] the source material into something suitable for the modern age". As the "godfather of punk", he inspired a host of
punk rock successors as "Louie Louie", with its "head banging chord sequence", became a "live staple for many punk-rock bands of the 1970s". A 1964 instrumental demo cut with Osterberg/Pop on drums was released on ''Jumpin' with the Iguanas
(1995) and a London rehearsal version from 1972 was released on Heavy Liquid
(2005) and again on Born in a Trailer
(2016). A 1973 live version was released on The Detroit Tapes
(2009).Metallic KO (1976) featured a provocative version with impromptu obscene lyrics from the last performance of Iggy and the Stooges in 1974 at the Michigan Palace in Detroit where, according to Lester Bangs, "you can actually hear hurled beer bottles breaking on guitar strings". ("55 Minute Louie-Louie", released in 2017 by Shave on their High Alert
digital album, commemorated the occasion.) Consequence'' called this version "a rock standard blown up from the inside out" and said, "The band's cover of 'Louie Louie' somehow both honors their rock ‘n’ roll forebears and spits on their legacy. In other words, it's punk at its best." Pop later wrote a new version with political and satirical verses instead of obscenities that was released on
American Caesar in 1993. One lyric in particular captured Pop's long term relationship with the song: "I think about the meaning of my life again, and I have to sing "Louie Louie" again." It was used during the opening credits of
Michael Moore's
Capitalism: A Love Story and as an ending song in
Jim Jarmusch's
Coffee and Cigarettes in which Pop took part as himself. The video game
Just Dance also featured this version performed by a dancing Iggy Pop
avatar. Multiple live versions were released on
Nuggets (recorded 1980, released 1999),
Where The Faces Shine - Volume 2 (recorded 1982, released 2008),
The Legendary Breaking Point Tour (recorded 1983, released 1993),
Kiss My Blood (1991, VHS),
Beside You (1993), and
Roadkill Rising (1994).
Toots and the Maytals (1972) "Louie Louie" journeyed to its lyrical Jamaican destination with a "slow skanking"
reggae version "as soulful as it gets" by
Toots and the Maytals. A shorter version was released as a 1972 single in Jamaica (Jaguar J.49) and the U.K. (Trojan TR-7865) with a longer version included on the 1973
Funky Kingston album, described by rock critic
Lester Bangs writing in
Stereo Review as "Perfection, the most exciting and diversified set of reggae tunes by a single artist yet released". A BBC reviewer said, "The goofy garage anthem becomes both fiery sermon and dance-til-you-drop marathon. And, thanks to Toots’ soulman's disregard for verbal meaning, the words are, if anything, even harder to discern than in the Kingsmen's version." Rolling Stone wrote, "And it passes the toughest test of any 'Louie Louie' remake — it rocks hard" while
Hi-Fi News & Record Review cited its "incomprehensible majesty" and "crazy vigour" that made it "the best version ever". Another author, writing about the song's use in a scene in
This Is England noted, "A black Jamaican band's cover of a black American song, made famous by a white American band, seems an appropriate signifier of the racial harmony that [director Shane]
Meadows seeks to evoke ...." The group performed the song frequently in concert and a live version appeared on the 1998 various artists album
Reggae Live Sessions Volume 2.
Toots Hibbert also performed it solo and with other acts until his death in 2020, most notably the
Red Hot Chili Peppers and the
Dave Matthews Band.
"Brother Louie" (1973) Although musically not a true cover version, "
Brother Louie",
Errol Brown and
Tony Wilson's song about an interracial romance, was "strongly inspired by the Kingsmen's classic" and described by Dave Marsh as "one of the truest heirs Richard Berry's 'Louie Louie' ever had" based on its theme of separated lovers and its minor key reprise of the chorus. The original release by
Hot Chocolate reached No. 7 on the
UK singles chart. A cover version by
Stories was a No. 1 hit in the U.S. later the same year. In 1993,
the Quireboys' version reached No. 31 in the UK. were released in the mid-1970s on bootleg albums ''Let's Deodorize The Night
, Teenage Perversity & Ships In The Night
, In Heat
, and Bicentenary Blues'', usually as a medley in which
Lou Reed's "
Pale Blue Eyes" would "sacrilegiously segue" into "Louie Louie". A 1975 live version at
The Bottom Line was described as "uptight" with her "raw voice barking out the chorus". Her version has also been described as tapping "directly into the primal, urchin-like spirit of rock's renaissance".
Jon the Postman (1977) Described as "a committed and omnipresent figure on the punk and post-punk scene in
Manchester",
Jon the Postman became known for waiting until headline bands like
the Buzzcocks,
the Fall, and
Warsaw (later
Joy Division) had finished their sets (sometimes before they had finished), then mounting the stage in a drunken state, grabbing the microphone, and performing his own versions of "Louie Louie". which he described: ''I think the Buzzcocks left the stage and the microphone was there and a little voice must have been calling, 'This is your moment, Jon.' I've no idea to this day why I sang 'Louie Louie,' the ultimate garage anthem from the 60s. And why I did it
a cappella and changed all the lyrics apart from the actual chorus, I have no idea. I suppose it was my bid for immortality, one of those great bolts of inspiration.''
For some reason it appeared to go down rather well. I suppose it was taking the punk ethos to the extreme – anyone can have a go. Before punk it was like you had to have a double degree in music. It was a liberation for someone like me who was totally unmusical but wanted to have a go. A version of the song by The Fall with Jon on vocals appeared on the
Live 1977 album which was described by
Stewart Home as taking "the amateurism of the Kingsmen to its logical conclusion with grossly incompetent musicianship and a drummer who seems to be experiencing extreme difficulty simply keeping time". A version with his group Puerile was included on the 1978 album ''John the Postman's Puerile''.
Motörhead (1978) Motörhead's "charming, laid-back rendition of an old rock chestnut" With support from manager Doug Smith, the track was rerecorded and shopped to
Bronze Records. Founder
Gerry Bron disliked the "incendiary, almost sullen rendition", labeling it "about the worst record I'd ever heard". with
Clarke's guitar emulating the opening
electric piano riff, it was paired with "Tear Ya Down" on a 7" vinyl single. Supported by a "back-breaking" touring schedule, the "high-octane" version reached No. 68 on the
UK Singles Chart. The track also appeared on the CD re-issues of
Overkill (1996) and
The Best of Motörhead (2000). Lead singer
Lemmy Kilmister said, ''I think we did a really good version of it – people tell me that it's one of the few times it's been recorded where the lyrics can be understood! Actually, I only got the first two verses and then the last verse was largely improvised.'' On 25 October 1978, a pre-recording of the band playing the song was broadcast on the
BBC show
Top of the Pops, and was subsequently released on the 2005 album
BBC Live & In-Session. Another live 1978 version was released on
Lock Up Your Daughters (1990) and a 1978 alternate studio track appeared on
Over the Top: The Rarities (2000). The 2005 "deluxe edition" of
Overkill included the original version, the BBC version, and two alternate versions.
''National Lampoon's Animal House'' (1978) Bluto Blutarsky (
John Belushi) performing "Louie Louie" in ''
National Lampoon's Animal House'' forever cemented the song's status as a "
frat rock" classic and a staple of
toga parties. Belushi may have insisted on singing "Louie Louie" because he associated it with losing his virginity, but, according to director
John Landis, it was included in the screenplay by soundtrack producer
Kenny Vance long before Belushi was involved with the project because "... it would be the song the Deltas would sing". In the film, the Deltas were clearly aping the Kingsmen version complete with slurred dirty lyrics, but the setting was 1962, a year before the Kingsmen recording. Although Richard Berry released his original version of the song in 1957, and the song had been popular with local bands in the Northwest following
Rockin' Robin Roberts' 1961 single, the mythical Faber College was based on
Dartmouth College in the Northeast U.S., so the use of "Louie Louie" was an
anachronism. The Kingsmen version was heard during the film along with a brief live rendition by Belushi with
Tim Matheson,
Peter Riegert,
Tom Hulce,
Stephen Furst,
Bruce McGill, and
James Widdoes. A separate version by Belushi played during the credits and was included on the soundtrack album. The Belushi version was also released as a single (MCA 3046) and reached No. 89, No. 91, and No. 91 on the Billboard, Cashbox, and Record World charts, respectively.
Bruce Springsteen (1978) Bruce Springsteen has had a long association with "Louie Louie", playing it at multiple concerts and guest appearances, and commenting often on its significance. From the 1979
No Nukes concert:''Rock is primarily about longing. All the great rock songs are about longing. "Like A Rolling Stone" is about longing; 'How does it feel to be without a home?' — "Louie, Louie"! You're yearning for –'Where's that big party that I know is out there, but I can't find it'.'' From the 2018 soundtrack album for
Springsteen on Broadway (spoken intro to "
Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out"): ''There is no love without one plus one equaling three. It's the essential equation of art. It's the essential equation of rock 'n' roll. It's the reason the universe will never be fully comprehensible. It's the reason "Louie Louie" will never be fully comprehensible. And it's the reason true rock 'n' roll, and true rock 'n' roll bands, will never die.'' He has said that "
Born in the U.S.A." was "the most misunderstood song since 'Louie Louie'", and one critic characterized
The River as "Less
Kierkegaard, lots more Kingsmen". The first known recorded performance was on September 9, 1978, at the University of Notre Dame on the
Darkness Tour, followed by other tour performances in 1978, 1981, 2009, and 2014. He also played the song in guest appearances with other groups in 1982 (at the
Stone Pony with Cats on a Hot Surface) and 1983 (at The Headliner in Neptune, NJ with Midnight Thunder). Song "snippets" are frequently played within other songs: "
High School Confidential", "
Twist and Shout", "
Glory Days", and "
Pay Me My Money Down". Multiple concert bootleg albums included a live "Louie Louie" version: ''Reggae 'N' Soul
(1988), Notre Dame Game
(1981), Rockin' Days
(1983), Rock Through the Jungle
(1983), Rock & Roll Is Here to Stay
(1990), Clubs' Stories
(1994), Songs for an Electric Mule
(1994), Lost & Live
(1995), The Boss Hits the Sixties
(2009), Satisfaction
(2014), Charlotte, NC 04/19/14
(2014), Who's Been Covered by the Boss
(2014), Saginaw 1978
(2015), and High Hopes Tour 2014'' (2018).
E Street Band drummer
Max Weinberg played "Louie Louie" on his 2017 live
Jukebox show, and guitarist
Nils Lofgren credited some of his success to "I just happened to play 'Louie Louie' a little different than the other guys."
Steven Van Zandt remembered it as the record that changed his life, saying, "That's where it all started." More recently, Springsteen included the Kingsmen's version in a curated "
frat rock" playlist on the 25th episode of his
From My Home to Yours Sirius XM radio show in October 2023. In a 2024 interview on
The Howard Stern Show, he described "Louie Louie" as "a great fucking song".
Other 1970s versions •
Sounds Orchestral, "by far the best of the numerous easy listening interpretations", • "
John Lennon and Friends", at his 31st birthday party in 1971; released on the 1989 bootleg CD ''Let's Have A Party''. •
MC5, included in early setlists and live in Helsinki in 1972; released on the
Kick Copenhagen bootleg LP. •
Flash Cadillac & the Continental Kids as Herby and the Heartbeats in
American Graffiti (1973 soundtrack album and 1984 home video release). •
Line Renaud, French singer, actress, and AIDS activist, as a 1973 single (MGM K14500); also included on the 2007 compilation
100 Chansons. •
New York Dolls, live in the early 1970s; their song "Private World" has been termed a "Louie Louie" update. •
Flamin' Groovies, on their 1971 album
Teenage Head and included on their 1976 compilation
Still Shakin'. Live versions appeared on
Bucketful of Brains (1983),
Slow Death Live (France, 1983) and ''Studio '70'' (France, 1984). • Heavy Cruiser, a Canadian group led by
Neil Merryweather and
Lynn Carey, on a 1972 single and eponymous album. •
Lyres, recorded mid-1970s, released on their 1987 album
Live at Cantones. •
Goddo, a "Kinks-styled version" on their initial 1975 single (A&M 398) that reached No. 75 on the Canadian
RPM chart. •
The Clash, on the 1977
Louie is a Punkrocker vinyl bootleg from the
Sandinista! outtakes. One writer characterized it as "a raw and unusable jam". •
The Dictators, live at Popeye's Spinach Factory in 1977. • Warsaw (later
Joy Division), included in early setlists and live in Liverpool in 1977. •
The Fall, on the
Live 1977 album. •
The Pop Group, in early 1977 setlists because it was "easy to play". •
Spider Stacy and the New Bastards (later with
The Pogues), live at Whitefields School in 1977. • The Studs, "punk-spoof supergroup" (
Cabaret Voltaire members
Stephen Mallinder,
Richard H. Kirk, and
Chris Watson, plus
Ian Craig Marsh,
Adi Newton,
Glenn Gregory,
Martyn Ware, and
Haydn Boyes-Weston), live in Sheffield, UK in June 1977. •
Lou Reed, live at
the Bottom Line May 21, 1978. •
Blondie, live on the European Tour (December 1979-January 1980); released on the 1979
Wet Lips, Shapely Hips bootleg album. •
R. Stevie Moore, on his 1976 album
Stevie Moore Returns.
1980s Black Flag (1981) The
Hermosa Beach, California,
hardcore punk band
Black Flag released a "raw", "rubbished", "brilliant, demented" version of "Louie Louie" as a single in 1981 on
Posh Boy Records. It was the band's first release with
Dez Cadena as singer, replacing
Ron Reyes. Cadena would go on to sing on the
Six Pack EP before switching to rhythm guitar and being replaced on vocals by
Henry Rollins. Bryan Carroll of
AllMusic gave the single four out of five stars, saying, "Of the more than 1,500 commitments of Richard Berry's 'Louie Louie' to wax ... Black Flag's volatile take on the song is incomparable. No strangers to controversy themselves, the band pummel the song with their trademark pre-Henry Rollins era guitar sludge, while singer Dez Cadena spits out his nihilistic rewording of the most misunderstood lyrics in rock history." ''You know the pain that's in my heartIt just shows I'm not very smartWho needs love when you've got a gun?Who needs love to have any fun?'' The single also included an early version of "Damaged I", which would be re-recorded with Rollins for the band's debut album,
Damaged, later that year. The front cover art shows the main verse of the lyrics to "Louie Louie" over a photograph by
Edward Colver featuring Black Flag's third singer Dez Cadena. Both tracks from the single were included on the 1983 compilation album
The First Four Years, and "Louie Louie" was also included on 1987's
Wasted...Again. A live version of "Louie Louie", recorded by the band's 1985 lineup, was released on ''
Who's Got the 10½?'', with Rollins improvising his own lyrics. Continued touring, line-up changes, and occasional reunions resulted in multiple recorded live versions with
various lead singers Keith Morris, Ron Reyes, Dez Cadena, Henry Rollins, and
Mike Vallely.
Stanley Clarke and George Duke (1981) A duo of "
jazz rock fusioneers", bassist
Stanley Clarke and keyboardist
George Duke, included a "killer version" "funk cover" on
The Clarke/Duke Project, a 1981 album of eight original compositions and one cover. The song's combination of narration and singing within a storytelling structure elicited a variety of reactions ranging from "appealing" and "imaginative adaptation" to "probably the funkiest version of 'Louie Louie' ever recorded". One Allmusic reviewer called it "a truly bizarre rendition" while another lamented that the Clarke/Duke version "criminally, never made it onto any of the various artists collections that showcased the legendary Richard Berry tune" The album was nominated for a 1982
Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.
Barry White (1981) Disco king
Barry White created Richard Berry's "all-time favorite" version as he "reworked and revamped" the original to create a "Latin-tinged" rendition that "took the song from pure rock 'n' roll to pure moan 'n' groan". Not all reaction was positive, however, as
CD Review dismissed it as "blasphemy" and "disco-fied". White commented,''I'm gonna sing just like Richard Berry. I'm gonna do this song that this black guy wrote. Everybody thinks that these white guys recorded it, but a black guy did this.'' Dave Marsh summarized Berry's reaction,''In White's arrangement, "Louie Louie" emerges as an up-tempo Latin groove, driven by timbales and congas and punctuated by brilliant trumpet riffs, while White supplements the chorus with the plaintive interpolation "Comin' home, Jamaaaica!" Richard Berry loved it because White's version finally brought to life his original vision of "all the timbales and congas going, and me singing 'Louie Louie'." "Barry White did it exactly the way I wanted to do it," Berry enthused, "I loved it."'' In the
Beware! liner notes, White wrote,
I would like to take this opportunity to emphasize and give an acknowledgement of credit. The song "Louie Louie" was originally written and created by a man who, I feel, was one of the true pioneers of my time. All my respect, highest admiration and love goes to Mr. Richard Berry. The track was released on White's 1981
Beware! album, and also as 12" and a 7" single (shortened from 7:14 to 3:35). White also performed it on
Soul Train on September 19, 1981, and on
American Bandstand on August 8, 1981.
The Fat Boys (1988) The Fat Boys with producers
Latin Rascals brought "Louie Louie" up to date in 1988 with a
hip hop version which reached No. 89 on the
Billboard Hot 100 chart and No. 46 on the
UK Top 100. Their rap, with rewritten lyrics, "chronicled a pursuit of the song's real words". Dave Marsh in 1993 called their version "the last great 'Louie Louie' to date". The Fat Boys version was released on the
Coming Back Hard Again album on the Tin Pan Apple label, and also on a 12" single (5:42 and 3:50 edits) and a 7" single (3:50 edit). The 2009 compilation album
Fat Boys On Rewind included it as well. Notable live performances in 1988 included
Club MTV and the
MTV Video Music Awards. The music video, directed by
Scott Kalvert, was a parody of
Animal House with food fights, dancing girls, and togas.
Other 1980s versions • The
Grateful Dead, multiple live versions in the 1980s with
Brent Mydland on vocals. •
Pete Townshend, in a 1980 encore performance with
The Clash at Brighton's
Top Rank club. •
Half Japanese, on their 1981 album
Our Solar System. Described by
Robert Christgau as "lots to laugh at". •
Charlie Harper, on his 1981 album
Stolen Property. •
Magazine 60 (France), on their eponymous 1981 album. •
39 Clocks (Germany), recorded as "Psychotic Louie Louie", on their 1982 album
Subnarcotic. •
Moe Tucker, on her 1982 album ''
Playin' Possum''. •
Yo La Tengo, on an unreleased 1982 studio recording. •
Johnny Thunders, on his 1982 album
In Cold Blood. A second version was released on the 2008 ''Who's Been Talking?'' compilation. •
Rory Gallagher, live at the
Olympia Hall Paris in 1982; released on the 2022 album
A Burning Fever. •
The Last, on the 1983 various artists album
The Best of Louie Louie, also released on
Painting Smiles on a Dead Man (France, 1983). •
Flo & Eddie, on the 1983 album
The History of Flo & Eddie & the Turtles; also live in 1980s concerts as
the Turtles. •
Australian Crawl, on their 1983 album
Phalanx and as a single; another version was included on the 1986 album
The Final Wave as "(The Last) Louie Louie". •
David Surkamp on a 1984 single (Butt Records MGLS003). •
Television Personalities, live in Germany in 1984; included on the 1993 reissue of their 1985 album
Chocolate-Art. •
Royal Crescent Mob, live in 1985 in Louisville, KY; a 45-minute version as "Louisville Louisville". •
Howard Stern (vocals, piano) and
Frank Zappa (guitar), live on
The Howard Stern Show in 1985. The show was rebroadcast on
Sirius Satellite Radio in 2006 and the track was included on the
Under The Covers compilation album in 2019. •
The Bangles, in 1985 on MTV's
The Cutting Edge with comment, "Does anybody know the words?" •
Kevin Dunn, on his 1985 album
Tanzfeld. Described as "disjointed and slightly dissonant" and "wickedly satirical", his version was also released on the 2010 anthology
No Great Lost: Songs, 1979–1985.
Robert Christgau's album review characterized his rewritten "Louie Louie" lyrics as "inspirational verse". •
Bob Dylan and
Tom Petty during rehearsals for
Farm Aid 1985; released on the 2005 DVD
So Many Directions Home Vol.2. Live versions by
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were released on
Live in Edinburgh 1982, Live at the Fillmore 1997, and other albums. • The Kingsmen, in an audience performance at the end of
Bud Clark's Inaugural Ball beginning his term as Mayor of Portland, Oregon in 1985. •
Girl Trouble, on the 1990 album
Stomp And Shout And Work It On Out !!!! (recorded 1985). •
R.E.M., in multiple 1985 concert encores on the
Pre-Construction and Reconstruction tours. A 1984 concert version was released on a 1987 Italian promotional double LP,
The Pop Dream. •
The Sisters of Mercy, on the 1985 bootleg
Brimstone & Treacle EP. Various live versions appeared on bootleg albums
Possession,
Half Moon Over Amsterdam,
The Lights Shine Clear Through The Sodium Haze,
A Fire In The Hull,
At The Blind Parade,
Cryptic Flowers,
Live In Maastricht,
Tune In... Turn Off... Burn Out..., and
The Quality Of Mercy. •
The Cult, on the 1986 ''
Lil' Devil'' EP as "Wild Thing/Louie Louie (Live)". •
Hüsker Dü,
Meat Puppets,
Minutemen,
Saccharine Trust, and
SWA, on the 1986 VHS release
The Tour. •
Meat Loaf, in multiple concerts in Germany, Switzerland, and the UK on the 20/20 World Tour in 1987. •
Jimmy Buffett, live in 1987 at the
Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre. •
ShowBiz Pizza debuted an animatronic version by Rock-afire Explosion in December 1987. •
The Purple Helmets (
The Stranglers), on their 1988 album
Ride Again and in multiple 1988 and 1989 live shows. •
Tiger Moon, three mixes on a 1988 12" single (Vision Records VR 1205). •
Paul Shaffer, on the 1989 album
Coast to Coast. •
Deniz Tek, on his 1989 album
Orphan Tracks. •
John Stamos with
Scott Baio and cast members, on
Full House S3E9 (November 24, 1989). •
Young & Restless, on their 1990 album
Something to Get You Hyped.
1990s Coupe de Ville (1990) Written by
Mike Binder and directed by
Joe Roth,
Coupe de Ville featured an extended scene discussing possible interpretations of the "Louie Louie" lyrics and a closing credit montage of multiple versions. Hearing the Kingsmen version on a car radio sparks an extended debate among the three Libner brothers (
Patrick Dempsey,
Arye Gross,
Daniel Stern) about the lyrics and whether it is a "hump song", a "dance song", or a "
sea chanty" with the eldest and most worldly brother arguing for the last interpretation. As the
Los Angeles Times noted, "Joe Roth obviously knows the importance of the "Louie Louie" lyric controversy". Multiple versions played during the closing credits: Richard Berry, the
Rice University Marching Owl Band,
the Sandpipers, Les Dantz and his Orchestra, the Kingsmen, and
Young MC's "Louie Louie House Mix" (a remix of the Kingsmen version with samples from Richard Berry and the Rice University MOB). The movie trailer also used the Richard Berry and Kingsmen versions. The soundtrack album, released by
Cypress Records on vinyl, CD and cassette, included the Kingsmen and Young MC versions. A 12" EP (Cypress Records V-74500) was released with four tracks: "Louie Rap", "Louie Vocal Attack", "Louie Louie House Mix", and "Louie DePalma Mix" (all "featuring
Maestro Fresh Wes" and "produced by Young MC"). A music video of "Louie Louie House Mix", credited to "Various Artists (featuring Young MC)", was concurrently released and included appearances by
Robert Townsend ("It's a hump song!"),
Kareem Abdul Jabbar ("It's a dance song!"),
Martin Short, Young MC, and others. The inclusion of the Kingsmen's "Louie Louie" is a bit of an
anachronism in that the film takes place on a trip from Detroit to Florida during the summer of 1963. The initial release of the Kingsmen version on the regional Jerden label was in May 1963, but no significant national radio airplay and chart activity (or lyrics controversy) occurred until October and its national chart debut was not until early November.
The Three Amigos (1999) The first release by
the Three Amigos (Dylan Amlot, Milroy Nadarajah, and Marc Williams) was their multi-version cover of "Louie Louie". The 12" EP, titled
Louie Louie, included "Original Mix", "Da Digglar Mix", "
Wiseguys Remix", and "
Touché's Bonus Beats". The CD tracks were different: "Louie Louie (Original Radio Mix)", "We Rock", and "Louie Louie Wiseguys Remix". Released in July 1999 as a CD single, "Original Mix" featured heavy sampling of the Kingsmen intro and chorus. It reached No. 15 on the
UK Singles Chart (higher than the Kingsmen's No. 26 in 1964), leading to a February 7, 1999 appearance on
Top of the Pops.
Other 1990s versions •
Johnny Winter, on the 1990 album
A Lone Star Kind of Day. •
Guru Josh, on his 1990
acid house album
Infinity that reached No. 41 on the UK chart. But "when critics spotted a cover of "Louie Louie" on his debut album, the game was definitely up". •
Ry Cooder, live in 1990 at a
Village Music function with
Richard Berry,
Tim Drummond,
Scott Mathews,
Steve Douglas, and
Johnnie Johnson. •
Eric Burdon, live in 1990 at a Ventura Beach concert; Burdon also included the Kingsmen's version in his curated list of 13 tracks as host of Rolling Stone's
Guest D. J. program #105 on March 26, 1984. •
Dave Stewart and
Barbara Gaskin, on their 1991 album
Spin as a medley with "
Cast Your Fate to the Wind". • The
Dave Matthews Band, in some of their early 1990s setlists. A version was included on the 2000 album ''The Best Of What's Around Vol. 1''. •
John Stamos and
David Coulier, on
Full House S7E3 (September 28, 1993) with
Dylan & Blake Tuomy-Wilhoit. •
The Queers, on a bonus 7" record included with the 1994
Shout at the Queers album. •
Neil Diamond, live at the 1995 NYU commencement ceremony. • At the 1997 opening of the
Experience Music Project, an encore version was performed by the Kingsmen joined by
Paul Allen,
the Presidents of the United States of America, and
Steve Turner of
Mudhoney. The other members of Mudhoney declined to participate, calling it "kind of lame". •
Warren Zevon, live with the
Rock Bottom Remainders in Bangor, Maine in 1998. Horror author
Stephen King sang lead, and music critic
Joel Selvin performed an extended "scream solo".
2000s •
The Guess Who, at their 2000 reunion concert in Winnipeg. The early group was known for their "most wondrous" "Louie Louie" medley imitating the Kingsmen, Kinks, Beach Boys, and Raiders.
Burton Cummings regularly performs live versions at his concerts. •
Chuck E. Cheese featured a cartoon version by Munch's Make Believe Band in its pizza parlor shows in 2001. •
Al Copley, a "fresh arrangement" on his 2003 album
Jump On It. • In a 2003
Rolling Stone interview,
Lindsey Buckingham declared, "God, I wish I had written 'Louie Louie'." In an earlier interview, he ranked it as one of his three favorite songs based on his love of "stupid, sloppy rock and roll". His live acoustic version was released on the
Rare and Alive, Volume Two and
What Love Is For bootleg albums. •
Steve Jordan, released an innovative, "blatantly personal"
Tejano conjunto version on his 2005 album
25 Golden Hits. •
Mike Huckabee and Capitol Offense, live at HuckPAC 2008. •
Lisa Simpson and the Springfield Children's Band, on the 2005 episode of
The Simpsons (Episode 367: "We're on the Road to D'ohwhere"). •
Joe McPhee,
Cato Salsa Experience, and
The Thing, on the 2007 album
Two Bands And A Legend; "a raggedly energetic cover that combines the best elements of The Kingsmen and The Sonics' versions" and turns the song "inside out". •
Eddie Angel and
Johnny Rabb with
The Trashmen, live at the Turf Club in St. Paul, MN on November 22, 2008. •
The Hives, live with
The Sonics November 27, 2009 at Debaser Medis, Stockholm, Sweden. •
The Smashing Pumpkins, on their 2008
Live Smashing Pumpkins album series. •
Detroit7 (Japan), on two 2009 albums,
Detroit7 and
Black & White. •
James Williamson with Careless Hearts, on their eponymous 2009 album.
2010s •
Mark Lindsay, live on the 2011 Happy Together: 25th Anniversary Tour. •
Baby It's You!, a 2011 Broadway
jukebox musical, featured a production of "Louie Louie" by cast members as the Kingsmen,
the Shirelles and
Chuck Jackson (not included on original cast soundtrack album). •
Shellie Morris and
Ross Wilson, on the 2013
Rockwiz Duets Volume IV album; reviewed as "corny", "mid-tempo tripe". •
Dick Dale, live at
The Middle East in
Cambridge in 2014. •
The Most (Sweden), on their 2015 album
Invasion Completed; a "fabulously executed" cover. •
Billy Joel, live at the
Moda Center in
Portland on December 8, 2017.
2020s • The September 2021 issue of
Rolling Stone magazine published a revised list of
Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time that ranked "Louie Louie" No. 156, down from No. 55 and No. 54 in the 2004 and 2010 rankings, respectively. •
My Morning Jacket with
Karina Rykman, live at the 2024 Rose on the River festival in Chicago. •
Jack White,
Patrick Keeler, Dominic Davis, and Bobby Emmett live at Boston's
Roadrunner in February 2025. •
The Limiñanas (France), a "chic reimagining" on their 2025 album
Faded. •
Dirty Three, a live "impromptu reading" at the Leeds Irish Centre in 2025. •
The Lemonheads, a "barely recognizable version" live at The Gov in Adelaide in 2025.
Summary of charting versions Singles ;Table notes
EPs ;Table notes
Albums Not listed: •
Motörhead —
Overkill (UK #24); version included on the 1996 CD reissue but not on the original 1979 release. •
Joan Jett & the Blackhearts — ''
I Love Rock 'n Roll'' (US #2, UK #25); version included on the 1992 CD reissue but not on the original 1981 release. ;Table notes
"Louie Louie" compilations • In 1983,
Rhino Records released ''The Best of Louie, Louie: The Greatest Renditions of Rock's #1 All Time Song'' in conjunction with
KFJC's "Maximum Louie Louie" event. The album featured a re-recorded
Richard Berry version, influential versions by
Rockin' Robin Roberts, the
Sonics and the
Kingsmen,
Black Flag's version, and several other versions, some bizarre. These included an "outlandish" • In 1994,
Jerden Records released
The Louie Louie Collection by the Best of the Northwest, a Pacific Northwest-oriented compilation featuring versions by the
Kingsmen,
Paul Revere and the Raiders,
Don and the Goodtimes, Little Bill & the Adventurers, the Feelies,
Ian Whitcomb, the
University of Washington Husky Marching Band, and others. (The UW Husky Marching Band has been playing "Louie Louie" for over 40 years.) • In 1997,
The First Louie Louie Spanish Compilation was released by Louie Records featuring 11 versions by the
Flaming Sideburns, the
Navahodads,
Luxury Liner, and others. • In 2002,
Ace Records released
Love That Louie: The Louie Louie Files, a comprehensive overview of the origins, impact and legacy of "the cultural phenomenon known as 'Louie Louie'." Featuring detailed sleeve notes by
Alec Palao, the CD contained 24 tracks divided into eight sections titled "The Original Louie", "Inspirational Louie", "Northwest Louie", "Louie As A Way Of Life", "Transatlantic Louie", "Louie: The Rewrite", "Louie: The Sequel" and "Louie Goes Home". The first CD reissue of
Richard Berry's original version was included along with multiple historically important versions. • A 2024 compilation released by Dublin’s Diet of Worms label,
Hunger Is Violence, featured 14 "diverse reinterpretations" of "Louie Louie" by some of Ireland's "most singular experimental and avant-garde talents" with proceeds benefiting the
Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign. The liner notes by
Kevin Barry spotlighted "the song that invented viral" with its "single propulsive riff from deep in the vaults of time". • In 2025, Diet of Worms released a second "Louie Louie" compilation,
The Sky Was A Mouth Again, with 22 "noise, free improvisation, post-punk, minimal electronics, and fractured folk" versions representing "a whole spectrum of personal, political and sonic explorations". Artists including
Charles Hayward,
Valentina Magaletti,
Elias Rønnenfelt,
Billy Childish,
Lizzi Bougatsos,
Junior Brother,
Maarja Nuut,
Richard Dawson, and
White Magic participated in "reframing and reimagining it [Louie Louie] as a sprawling, unstable architecture of sound and resistance". Sales proceeds benefited
Medical Aid for Palestinians and
UNRWA.
Foreign language versions Shortly after the Kingsmen's version charted in late 1963, the first international covers appeared. Since the original lyrics were notoriously difficult to discern, the translations were often inaccurate or adapted to a different storyline. Early foreign language versions included: •
Los Apson (Mexico), as "Ya No Lo Hagas", on a 1963 single (Peerless 1263) and a 1964 album
Atrás De La Raya • Joske Harry's and the King Creoles (Belgium), on a 1963 single (Arsa 107) • Les Players (France), as "Si C'Etait Elle", on a 1964 single (Polydor 1879) and a 1964 EP (Polydor 27 129) • Los Supersónicos (El Salvador), on a 1965 single (DCA 1082) and eponymous album • Pedrito Ramirez con Los Yogis (US), on a 1965 single (Angelo 518) • I Trappers (Italy), as "Lui Lui Non Ha", on a 1965 single (CGD 9606) • Los Corbs (Spain), as "Loui Loui", on a 1966 EP (Marfer M.622) • Les Zèniths (Canada), on a 1966 single (Première 825) • Maddalena (Italy), as "Lui Lui" on a 1967 single (RCA Italiana 3413) • Los Yetis (Colombia), on a 1968 album
Olvidate In 1966
the Sandpipers, a US group, released a slower tempo Spanish language version that reached No. 30 on the
Billboard Hot 100 and was covered that same year in German by
Die Rosy-Singers. The 1983 compilation
The Best of Louie, Louie featured a "goofy" and
Desperados (Spain), on a 1997 album
Por Un Puñado De Temas. In 1988,
Michael Doucet released a "great vocal treatment" of "Louie Louie" in
Cajun French on the
Michael Doucet and Cajun Brew album.
CD Review characterized his version as "oddly appropriate". More recent non-English efforts included: •
Elektricni Orgazam (Serbia), as "Lui Lui", on a 1986 album
Distorzija •
Irha (Italy), as "Lui Luisa", on a 1989 EP
Beati I Primi (Attack Punk Records - APR 12) •
Eläkeläiset (Finland), as "Tilulilulei", on a 1994 album
Joulumanteli •
The Dizzy Brains (Madagascar), as "Hiala Aho Zao", on a 2014 album
Môla Kely • Dynasis (Greece), as "Loui Loui" on a 2019 digital single ==Historical significance==