June
2000 (#9.4)
by Eric
Predoehl
first posted June 15, 2000;
last updated June 30, 2000 (all rights reserved)
(spot the typos, win a prize!!)
Greetings, and welcome to another edition
of the LOUIE REPORT online, the newsletter that tracks
information about the song "LOUIE LOUIE" and the upcoming documentary about
the song, THE MEANING OF LOUIE.
My name is Eric Predoehl, and I am the producer/
director of this project, as well as the writer/webmaster
for this report.
THE MEANING OF
LOUIE, the epic documentary, continues to
be produced, and is about 75% completed. Together, with
my creative partner, Mr. Jesse Block, we have
shot a lot of incredible footage that will hopefully
amaze, entertain, and enlighten all that see the completed
piece.
There's some timely news to report, so
let's give it to 'em right now, shall we?
EXPERIENCE MUSIC
PROJECT
The big news in the world of Northwest
rock and roll is the long-awaited opening of the Experience
Music Project in Seattle, Washington. Created as
a homage to the creative spirit of rock 'n' roll music,
this museum was created by Paul G. Allen, one
of the original founders of Microsoft. Just as
rock and roll broke the rules for popular music, this
new institution seeks to expand the role of a museum,
celebrating music in a grand manner unlike any other
organization. Cased in a strangely shaped building designed
by Frank Gehry, nestled closely to the landmark
Space Needle, this museum will be an ambitious showcase
combining interactive musical devices and historic displays
with an emphasis on the music of the Pacific Northwest.
On Friday, June 23rd, the doors to this
museum will be officially opened to the general public,
and there will be three days of music scattered all
around Seattle area to celebrate this grand occasion.
MTV and VH-1 will broadcast some of the
highlights of this event that will bring together James
Brown, Metallica, Bo Diddley, Ricky
Lee Jones, Beck, Big Jay McNeely,
Taj Mahal, Dave Alvin, Alanis Morissette,
the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Snoop Dogg,
Eurythmics, and a ton of other bands.
On Sunday, June 25th, there will be a
big convergence of LOUIE LOUIE
legends with a grand show at the Mural Amphitheater
featuring The Kingsmen, Paul Revere &
the Raiders, The Wailers, The Dynamics
with Jimmy Hanna, Merille Rush, and Jr.
Cadillac. As a special treat, I've been informed
that "Little Bill" Engelhart will join
the Wailers onstage for a few songs. As you may
or may not know, both "Little Bill"
and the Wailers were the first groups to ever
record "Louie Louie," years before the
Kingsmen popularized Richard Berry's classic
melody in 1963. If that wasn't enough for one day, across
town at the Memorial Stadium, members of Mudhoney
and some other Northwest bands will perform a tribute
to the Sonics, one of the greatest pre-punk garage
bands to ever emerge from the state of Washington.
I'm looking forward to seeing this new
museum. Back in 1996, I attended a special EMP
exhibit in Tacoma, showcasing a small sampling of the
EMP collection. Over the years, they've assembled
quite an assortment of music memorabilia, and I can't
wait to see how they put it all together. I've actually
provided a few things for their archives, and it'll
be fun to see what sort of goodies they'll be unveiling
at their debut opening. Of course, you can always go
to their big webpage at www.emplive.com to find more about this amazing
party!
SNAP.com- the commercials
Many people have told me about the SNAP.COM
advertisements on television. For those of you that
missed it, There's a commercial out there using the
original Kingsmen recording of LOUIE LOUIE, and
simple black and white text graphics with some rather
mumbled interpretations of the lyrics. The basic thrust
of this commercial is this....
"OK, no
one really sure what this song means
But I think
he's saying....
Global Brain
(TM) technology gives you the best sites first
every time
you search"
While I'm tickled to see that others have
embraced this song to sell their services, I disagree
with their claims. When I punched in the phrase
"LOUIE LOUIE" at the SNAP.COM
site, their choices for the "best" LOUIE
LOUIE information sites
were quite mediocre!! I would have like
to have seen my own LOUIELOUIE.NET
site pop up among the choices, or even Theo
deGrood's LOUIE LOUIE site, but then, I'm somewhat
biased. The SNAP.COM concept is a cool idea,
but the implementation needs a lot of work before I'd
ever use it on a regular basis.
GOLDEN CREST, REISSUES,
and GREAT NORTHWEST MUSIC
One of the great things that's happening
these days is the great revival of under-acknowledged
roots music. Not too long ago, it seemed impossible
to find some of the great forgotten records of the past
without paying small fortune to some greedy curmudgeon
that had no qualms about gouging the music lover for
some rare slab of vinyl. Thanks to some quality-conscious
reissue labels, we are very fortunate to see some of
these rare records reappear on CD, often with extra
music tracks, comprehensive liner notes, and enhanced
packaging. Loving care is often spent to re-issue these
musical nuggets, giving credit to artists ignored the
first time around. With the expansion of the internet,
music lovers stuck in painfully plain strip mall towns
with generic musical selections, can now look beyond
the limited local options to order whatever obscure
music they desire, using the powers of the new information
era.
One of the great labels that emerged in
the 1950's was Golden Crest Records, based out
of the Long Island suburbs of Huntington Station, New
York. This label was founded by Clark Galehouse,
a man who had an amazing career as a musician, arranger,
businessman, and plastics inventor. Running a pressing
plant, it was a natural progression to establish his
own record label which reflected his diverse tastes
in music. In fact, it was his expertise in the field
of plastics that led to the development of the 4-cavity
press procedure that was commonly adopted in the industry.
One of the biggest sellers on that label
was the single "Tall Cool
One" by the Wailers, released
years before they recorded Richard Berry's classic hit with Rockin' Robin
for their own Etiquette label. In 1998, Ace
Records re-issued the first album by the
Wailers on CD, as well as another Golden Crest
recording, "On the Road
with Rock 'n' Roll" by Mando and
the Chilli Peppers, a landmark album by one of the
first Mexican American rock bands. This was followed
up with "Golden Crest
Instrumentals," a collection of great
songs by such musicians as The Mad Plaids, a pre-Swamp
Dog Jerry Williams, Lord Dent and the
Invaders, Gino with John Greek, and many
others, including The Wailers.
Picking up on where Ace Records
left off, Norton Records dug further into the
vault of Golden Crest, releasing a collection entitled
"Wolf Call,"
featuring some other rockin' little ditties from the
Golden Crest archives. Also worth noting is that
when Ace re-issued the first Wailers album
on CD, Norton re-issued the very same album on
vinyl, as well as some of the Etiquette recordings.
Refusing to let vinyl recordings die, Norton
continues to release records the old-fashioned way,
often in conjunction with their concurent CD releases.
The Gold Crest Records story is
a fascinating one, and John Broven who administrates
the collection along with Shelley Galehouse (Clark's
daughter), has written a fine overview of this label
for a Swedish magazine, American Music. If you
would like to obtain a copy of this magazine, I would
encourage you to send $6.50 to John Broven, Box 26,
Cold Spring Harbor, NY 11724. You can also contact John
via email at johnbroven@email.msn.com.
For those interested in the great legacy
of Northwest music, including the Wailers, the
Ventures, the Frantics, and other great musicians
from the early 1960's, Sam Carlson has revised
his The REGENTS.net
site to provide a
better overview of Northwest garage bands. At this
site, you'll be able to read about how Larry Parypa,
former guitar player with the Sonics, recently
became an official member of the Regents. My
hat is off once again to Sam for a fine service for
serious garage rock connoisseurs.
WE GOTTA GO NOW-
the book
When someone writes a book titled "We
Gotta Go Now,"
I can't help but pay attention! Self-published by author
Dennis A. Blackledge, this book is an ambitious
effort, framing the story of one obscure rock band with
the headlines of the day. At their peak during the mid-1960s,
the Mojo Hands were one of the hottest bands
in the New England area, drawing big crowds, often while
intimidating the headline bands they were hired to open
for. Acknowledging the great music that inspired them,
including the very song this website celebrates, the
book states:
"The Kingsmen
did for Rock 'n Roll in 1963 what the Sex Pistols
would do for it in 1977, and what Ike, Jackie, and
Sam did in 1951; they shook up the Music Biz status
quo in a big way. 'Louie Louie' was new, brash, trashy,
cool in its lack of slick, and best of all; it really
annoyed the adults."
The story behind "We Gotta Go Now"
is a fascinating read, providing a honest account of
a band like so many other bands. Simply stated in the
introduction, "The Mojo
Hands were an American garage band caught up in
an American Dream gone bad. This is the story of the
Golden Age of Garage Bands and the greatest undiscovered
rock 'n roll band of them all."
The packaging on this book is quite generic,
with a cover consisting of a plain yellow wrap-around,
and a title design reminiscent of a college term paper.
Regardless of such simple wrappings, this book is a virtual powerhouse loaded with the type of writing
that any true connoisseur of garage rock would appreciate.
You can order this book directly from the author by
contacting Dennis A. Blackledge at THEMOJOS@aol.com,
accessing his website at WeGottaGoNow.com
(previously http://home.swbell.net/bonfires)
, calling the tolling number 1-888-549-3909, or sending
$19.95 plus $5.00 (in the USA) to Windholme Press, PO
Box 236, Alexandria, VA 22313.
THE MUSIC OF PATRICK
GREEN
I normally don't plug music on this site
that doesn't include a rendition of LOUIE LOUIE, but
this time, I'll make an exception. Patrick Green
really wanted me to hear his music after he enjoyed
reading my article about Frank Zappa and LOUIE
LOUIE, and sent me a complimentary copy of his latest
CD, entitled "Tailor-
Made = Straightjacket." Back in high
school, I went through a phase where I was devouring
all sorts of progressive hippie music- Joe Byrd and
the Field Hippies, Genesis (w/ Peter Gabriel),
Focus, Steeleye Span, and King Crimson,
among others, and this CD reminded me of that particular
period in my life. The sounds are diverse, the production
values are top-notch, and the music is a fun mix of
melody and mirth. With absolutely no support from any
major record labels, this effort is stricly a DIY production.
I have no idea what Patrick is charging for this CD,
but you can find out by contacting him at patrickgreen@webtv.net
or visiting his website at: http://community.webtv.net/patrickgreen/AQUARIUS
LOUIE LETTERS OF
THE MONTH
With each new LOUIE LOUIE REPORT, I try
to provide some interesting letters from the e-mail
letter bag. With this in mind, I'm happy to present
some of my favorite LOUIE LOUIE letters, starting with
something I received on March 4th (ok,
so it takes me awhile...) from Kenny
Mazzanti:
"I don't
like to pass on news like this, but thought you'd
like to know. There was a great loss recently in the
entertainment world. Larry LaPrise, a Detroit
native who wrote the song "Hokey Pokey",
died last week at the age of 83. They had an especially
difficult time trying to keep him in the casket. They'd
put his left leg in and ........well, you know the
rest. I, sincerely hope that at my passing from this
life someone can be so clever as to make people smile,
rather than be sad."
You've got to love obituaries like that!
Our second letter came from Bernadette
Lewis:
"My husband,
Wayne Lewis died in 1991 and I will never know
the real truth, but Wayne told me he was Louie. When
I met Wayne in 1971, he had stopped playing the sax.
He said it was a rough life and he had settled down.
He told me a story about playing as backup sax for
the Kingsmen and traveling with them. He always
met a woman and when the band would be ready to leave
on their bus the next morning, they had to find him.
He said one day they started this song about him and
they called him Louie. I believe my husband's story
but if it is not true - it really will not matter
to me at all. If it is true, someone owes me a ton
of money in royalties. Wayne has a living brother
who might know, but I have no idea where he might
be. What do you think?"
That was a cool story, and I thank Bernadette
for sharing it, but there are a few details that need
to be known:
1) Richard
Berry wrote the song in 1955, and recorded it
on the FLIP record label two years later. The Kingsmen
recorded it in 1963. If the song was about Wayne, Richard
Berry would be the only one that would know, but
in all my conversations with Richard, there was never
a "Wayne" mentioned. Richard left the identity
of LOUIE open to interpretation, as there was no specific
person he was referring to when he wrote the song.
2) The
Kingsmen did NOT use a saxophone on their original
1963 recording of LOUIE LOUIE. Both The Wailers
(with Rockin Robin) and Paul Revere &
the Raiders created popular versions of the song
that utilized the saxophone. When Jack Ely, the
original vocalist for the Kingsmen, left the
band, and Paul Revere & the Raiders' version
was the popular version being played on the local airwaves
of Portland, Oregon, the Kingsmen did at one
point, try to emulate to a certain degree, Revere's
version. Lynn Easton, the leader of the Kingsmen,
moved away from the drum kit, assumed the lead vocals,
and picked up the saxophone for a brief period, following
the lead of Revere's lead singer, Mark Lindsay.
Ultimately, as the Kingsmen's own version picked
up popularity, they reverted back to their original
sound, minus their original lead vocalist.
(A side note: The
last time I saw Paul Revere & the Raiders
perform, they did NOT use a saxophone, and the arrangement
sounded more like the Kingsmen's original version
than their own original rendition. Go figure!)
I asked Barry Curtis of the
Kingsmen if he knew of Wayne Lewis, and this
is what he wrote:
"This is
a new one. We've heard from several people who claimed
they or their spouses were 'Kingsmen.' As you
know, the information provided on our site was included
to address just that. I have never heard of Wayne
Lewis. Kingsmen have never had a 'backup
sax.'"
If you would like to see who has been
a member of the Kingsmen over the years, go to their
official website band roster page at:
http://www.louielouie.org/bandinfo.html
STATE OF THE RECORDING
INDUSTRY (NOT GOOD)
Last, I'd like to address an issue which
affects all musicians that release music for a record
label not owned by the actual artist. Recently, the
U.S. Congress enacted a law that would redefine
sound recordings as "works for hire."
Wedged discretely into a 1700-page appropriations bill
titled the "Satellite Home Viewing Act of 1999"
was a three-line item redefining copyright laws to give
recording companies the upper hand of the law, allowing
them to retain ownership of the recordings, rather than
the artist. Prior to this law, the artist/creator of
audio recordings had the ability to obtain the copyright
of their recordings after a certain period. With this
new law, ownership of these recordings are reaffirmed
by the record label, who maintain that these creations
were merely "works for hire" owned
by the record companies.
As an artist typically receives 5% of
record sales, after production costs, advertising, promotion,
music videos, and all the other expenses, they often
end up owing the record companies money!! Thanks
to the secret lobbying efforts of RIAA, the record
labels are assured the lion's share of the deal, limiting
the ability of the artist to assert ownership of their
own creations. Is it any wonder that more artists
are avoiding the major record labels entirely?
It's an absurd situation that exists today
in the music business. While some folks bitch and
scream about all the piracy that goes on with Napster,
MP3, and all the other new-fangled digital media, the
real theft occurs legally, right under our noses, by
the major labels. It was a rare exception that the
Kingsmen received ownership of their original recordings
after fighting an extensive lawsuit involving lack of
royalties, and if things were slightly different (like
if they received some royalties), they
wouldn't have been so successful with their lawsuit.
They now own their own recordings, but did not receive
royalties for some twenty-plus years, when sales were
at a highpoint!
I encourage anyone
that cares about the music business to contact members
of the US Ccngress and the RIAA to complain about the
recent turn of events.
If you'd like to read more about these latest developments,
I hope you'll check out these websites:
"Courtney
Love Does the Math" an intelligent essay
by Ms. Love, courtesy of Salon.com:
http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2000/06/14/love/index.html
"In the
Still of the Night" by Dave Marsh
for Riffage.com:
http://www.riffage.com/Features/Marsh/Column12/0,4351,0,00.html
You can read the official opinion of the
RIAA by accessing their website at:
http://www.riaa.com
If you'd like to read about the Kingsmen's
lawsuit, how they received their original masters back,
after receiving absolutely no royalties from their record
label, and their response to the victory, check out
the official Kingsmen website article:
http://www.louielouie.org/lawsuit.htm
The best website I found to monitor the
activities of U.S. Congress has been the Thomas-
U.S. Congress website at:
http://thomas.loc.gov/
That's the LOUIE LOUIE news for
now. I'll try to write up another report in the near
future.
My thanks to
everyone that's ever written to me with LOUIE LOUIE
information. I wish I could acknowledge everyone
that's ever provided me with some wonderful tidbits,
but unfortunately, if I were to do so, this webpage
would be a full-time job. I do appreciate all sincere
comments, and words of support.
Keep those emails coming!
me gotta go now.....
ERIC PREDOEHL
All images & words copyright 1999-2003 OCTALOUIE,
LLC, except as noted. All rights reserved. The term
"LOUIE LOUIE" is a registered trademark of
RMB, Inc, a company owned by The Kingsmen, the band recognized for turning
the song into the monster icon heard all over the world.
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