Jack Ely died last week at the tender age of 71. He was the lead singer in The Kingsman – a one-hit-wonder group second only to Norman Greenbaum (Spirit in the Sky). Jack and the boys were the house band in a Portland, Oregon teen club and played “Louie, Louie” every night – but it sounded nothing like the original version.
The song was actually written in 1955 as a Jamaican ballad in which a sailor laments being so far away from his lady love. He’s telling his bartender (whose name was Louie, by the way) how he wants to sail across the sea to the island where she awaits his return. Sweet, huh? But then Jack Ely comes along in 1963, completely changes the style, and – in the worst recording session ever – cuts the song in one take and sells millions of records. And not to forget the word “F**k” screamed by the drummer when he hits his metal rim 57 seconds into the recording. Amazing they let that go.
The sequence I’m giving you is a more modern version but will work decently in any venue (click the play button above). It’s listed under Pop/Rock and the lead lines are on tracks 4 and 9 (take ’em out if you’re going to sing it). Download to your keyboard and perform ‘Louie, Louie” on your next gig – just one more time for Jack.
Oh, yeah… the lyrics aren’t really obscene (too bad). A source named ibji on YouTube has translated the words and now they make perfect sense. Unfortunately, the song isn’t anywhere near as interesting as you thought. Click below:
Stageworthy Backing Tracks by Dave Zobrist 