|
?:reviewBody
|
-
On Nov. 6, a popular TikTok video claimed that Lynn Easton, the drummer for The Kingsmen, yelled Fuck! during the band's classic recording of Louie Louie. Before The Kingsmen recorded the song in 1963, it was written and first performed by Richard Berry, according to The Indianapolis Star. Berry composed it in 1955 and released it in 1957 under the band name Richard Berry and The Pharaohs. (He had no relation to Chuck Berry.) For our research, we turned to author Dave Marsh's 1993 book. It had quite the lengthy title: The History and Mythology of the World's Most Famous Rock 'n Roll Song; Including the Full Details of Its Torture and Persecution at the Hands of the Kingsmen, J. Edgar Hoover's FBI, and a Cast of Millions; and Introducing for the First Time Anywhere, the Actual Dirty Lyrics. According to page 97 in the book, it's true that drummer Lynn Easton yelled Fuck! during what is widely considered to be the definitive recording of Louie Louie. While listeners might find it difficult to make out that specific word, we found that Marsh's book was well researched. He even interviewed Jack Ely, the singer and guitarist who belted out the lyrics for the hit song. The moment in question can be heard at the 0:54 mark in the song in this YouTube video. According to Marsh's book, The Kingsmen recorded the song at the primitive Northwest Recorders in Portland, Oregon. The band arrived at the studio for their scheduled time at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, April 6, 1963. Several challenges led to the recording of Louie Louie that the world is best familiar with today. First, Marsh published that Ely was forced to stand on tiptoe because of the fact that the microphones were hung from a large boom stand. It also didn't help that he had braces on his teeth, nor was it perhaps usual for a rock 'n' roll band to be up so early in the morning, as Marsh noted. On top of all of that, a rumor even stated that the band had recently performed a marathon session of music at a club for teenagers, perhaps straining Ely's voice. In Marsh's book, he published details about the moment when Easton yelled Fuck! during Louie Louie: The version that the band thought was a rehearsal ended up being the recording that's been heard around the world for decades. In Peter Blecha's 2009 book, Sonic Boom!: The History of Northwest Rock, from Louie, Louie to Smells Like Teen Spirit, he wrote that Eastman allegedly dropped a drumstick during the second chorus, prompting him to yell Fuck! during Louie Louie. This was slightly different than Marsh's account that Easton clacked his sticks together. He also referred to the studio as Northwestern, Inc., not Northwest Recorders. We were unable to track down the studio's official name. On page 137 of Blecha's book, he mentioned that the Raiders, also known as Paul Revere & the Raiders, performed at the Vancouver, Washington Trapadero Teen Club on March 30, 1963. It's unclear if The Kingsmen also performed at the club on the night before their April 6 recording, or if the bands were confused for one another when listeners told the story of Eastman's expletive moment. In sum, it's unclear what exactly happened with Easton's sticks while he was drumming that caused him to yell Fuck! during Louie Louie. However, what is clear is that two books about the song's history both mentioned that the obscenity happened during the 1963 recording made by The Kingsmen, whether listeners can make the word out or not. We previously reported on the completely separate saga regarding the controversy and FBI investigation that ensued about the song's lyrics after it became popular.
(en)
|
![[This page as RDF]](http://data.gesis.org/claimskg/static/rdf-icon.gif){kind=icon}