Louie Louie
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Featured:  Illustration: Portrait fantaisiste du marquis de Sade (1866) by H. Biberstein |
"Louie Louie" is an American rock 'n' roll song written by Richard Berry (no relation to Chuck Berry) in 1955. It has become a standard in pop and rock, with hundreds of versions recorded by different artists. The song is written in the style of a Jamaican ballad; and tells, in simple verse-chorus form, the first-person story of a Jamaican sailor returning to the island to see his lady love. The singer brags of his "fine little girl" to the Louie of the title, presumably a bartender.
A version by The Kingsmen recorded in 1963 is the best-known recording. The Kingsmen's version was also the subject of an FBI investigation about the supposed but non-existent obscenity of the lyrics, an investigation that ended without prosecution. The song is ranked #55 on the Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
