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THE LOUIE
REPORT
DECEMBER
2002 - PART TWO
first posted by Eric Predoehl on December
14, 2002 (all rights reserved)
(spot the typos, win a prize!!)
KINGSMEN
ON TV, NEW BOX SET, and NEW ROCKABILLY COLLECTION
 The
band most people connect with LOUIE LOUIE has been extremely
busy these days. Recently, the Kingsmen appeared on
a new PBS special entitled "Red, White & Rock." Produced
by WQED Pittsburgh and Rhino Entertainment, this program
is similar to the highly successful "Doo-Wop" shows.
The Kingsmen, featuring Mike Mitchell, Dick Peterson,
and Barry Curtis are at the front of this concert program,
starting the show with a new rendition of LOUIE LOUIE.
Some of the other performers on this show include Righteous
Brothers, Connie Francis, Tommy James & the Shondells,
Dee Dee Sharp, The Chords, The Dixie Cups, and the Four
Tops to name a few. To compliment the video program,
a 3-cd box set was also assembled, using the original
recordings by these artists.
http://www.wqed.org/tv/doowop/dw53/
The Kingsmen also have
a contribution on the "Jukebox Fever" CD compilation
assembled by Blue Suede Magazine. Originally written
for an as-yet-un-produced film about a Russian rock
'n' roll band in the 1950s, "Red Hot Rock" is a catchy
little ditty written and sung by Steve Peterson, who's
been a part of the band since 1988. You can find out
more information about this song by surfing over to:
http://www.bluesuedenews.com/jukeboxfever.html
.
JONATHON
BRANDMEIER- THE CHICAGO DJ
Andy Martello wrote to
tell me about a LIVE video of legendary Chicago radio
personality Jonathon Brandmeier performing LOUIE LOUIE
at the now defunct Poplar Creek Music Theater. Apparently,
this concert was the record-setting attendance topper
for that venue, and they had a lot of name artists there-
The Who, Eric Clapton, and lots of other folks. You
can view a clip of the performance at:
http://magnetic-media.com/brandmeier/video_concerts.html
KURT
COBAIN AND LOUIE LOUIE
Recently,
there's been an onslaught of new material from the Kurt
Cobain/Nirvana estate. A new CD compilation with a previously
unreleased song was released, and some of Kurt's diaries
have been assembled for a hardback collection titled
"Journals." The entries are presented in their original
handwritten form, and they provide a fascinating portrait
of a troubled artist. One particular page had this little
nugget:
"Nirvana
has never jammed on GLORIA, or LOUIE LOUIE. Nor have
they ever had to rewrite these songs & call them their
own."
Of course,
Nirvana fans will note that the band commented on both
songs when they created their own sarcastic press release
available at the SubPop website. (http://www.subpop.com/history/nirvana/onesheets.html):
"NIRVANA
sees the underground scene as becoming stagnant and
more accessible to big league capitalist pig major
record labels. But does NIRVANA feel a moral duty
to fight this cancerous evil? NO WAY! We want to cash
in and suck up to the big wigs in hopes that we too
can GET HIGH AND F**K. GET HIGH AND F**K. GET HIGH
AND F**K. SOON we will need groupie repellant. SOON
we will be coming to your town and asking if we can
stay over at your house and use the stove. SOON we
will do encores of 'GLORIA' and 'LOUIE LOUIE' at benefit
concerts with all our celebrity friends."
There are
some that have labeled "Smells Like Teen Spirit" as
the "LOUIE LOUIE of the 1990s." Misunderstood
lyrics and a catchy 3-chord music progression can certainly
add a lot to the song's mystique. Call me crazy, but I have a sneaking suspicion that somebody up in the Northwest is hiding a rare cassette recording of Kurt Cobain mumbling a version of Richard Berry's notorious melody.
The story continues....
JOY
DIVISION AND LOUIE LOUIE
Ned Sublette
wrote to tell me of a movie that referred to Ian Curtis
(of Joy Division) and LOUIE LOUIE:
"I don't
know if you've seen '24 Hour Party People' yet. I
don't like movies much, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.
There is a LOUIE LOUIE scene in it (which in the movie
is a flashback of one of the last times, or the last
time, Ian Curtis was seen in public)."
Not too much
longer after I received this email, I received one from
Nigel Smith:
"I noticed
your website seems to make no mention of Joy Division,
late-seventies, Northern English gloom-mongers and
proto-goths. (Subsequently revived in a watered-down
incarnation, minus by-then-dead singer Ian Curtis,
as New Order.) Oddly for such a band, in case you
are not aware, there is a Louie connection. On their
posthumously released 'Still' double album there is
a live version of the Velvet Underground standard
(if there can be such a thing), 'Sister Ray'. In the
fade out at the end of the track Ian can be clearly
heard saying 'You should hear our version of LOUIE
LOUIE... well.' As far as I know 'Sister Ray' is the
only cover JD ever recorded, so this must be classified
as the nearest to a joke this tortured young man ever
came."
LOUIE
IN LOVE & ROCKETS COMICBOOKS
Dave Marsh
told me about a LOUIE LOUIE mention in a comic book
(aka "graphic novel") by Los Bros Hernandez:
"Vol.
II #5 pg. 19. It is revealed that in the mythic Central
American nation of Comprachico when the government
falls, they play LL 24/7. A bystander wonders whether
they play Motorhead and whether Brother Louie is included.
"
http://www.fantagraphics.com/artist/lr/losbros/losbros.html
http://www.fantagraphics.com/artist/lr/lrcomics/lrcomics.html
RHYTHM
& BLUES- THE BAND
It's hard to
keep track of all the bands that did LOUIE LOUIE. Some
bands are merely names to me, as I have no other information
on these groups. One band I knew nothing about was a
British band known as "Rhythm'n'Blues Inc." Thanks to
Ron Ellis, I now know a lot more. Here's a brief biography
of this band from England:
"Rhythm'n'Blues Inc
actually came from Southport and were the town's most
successful ever band. Although only 20 miles from
Liverpool, they played mostly out of town, being especially
popular at debutantes' dances amongst the high society
crowd of sixties swinging London. When 'Louie Louie'
hit the lower reaches of the charts, they appeared
on TV's Ready Steady Go then were flown to Southport
by helicopter where they landed in the gardens of
the Floral Hall on the Promenade and performed at
a civic reception to celebrate their success. Lead
singer Pete (now Kin) Kelly went on to form Pete Kelly's
Solution, drummer Alan Menzies has been with Beatle
soundalikes The Bootles for 30 years (they are big
in Denmark) and lead guitarist Barry Womersley had
success with Inner Sleeve who won TV's Opportunity
Knocks 4 weeks running and is still performing and
writing songs. If you check out my website (www.ronellis.co.uk)
you can hear a sample of Barry's singing. Think your
website is brilliant by the way. All that information
must have taken you a lifetime but well worth it.
All the best, Ron."
ABBA
AND LOUIE LOUIE
Stretch Riedle,
caretaker of the LOUIE audio archives shared a moment
of discovery with me, and I felt it was worth sharing
with others. Here's what he wrote:
"OK, so I'm sitting
at home drinking beers and listening to vinyl, and
I pull out a copy of THE MAGIC OF ABBA (not even sure
where it came from!!!!!!!), because I wanted to see
if any of the songs could be turned into 'surf instrumentals'
that my band could play...Anyway, has anyone ever
listened to the song 'The Name Of The Game'? You should,
because at a few places it has a chord progression
that we all say belongs in LOUIE LOUIE! Would somebody
else listen to this song and confirm or deny my discovery?
NO, I'm not drunk yet... Stretch"
If you have
any thoughts on this particular discovery, feel free
to send an email to stretch at got.net.
NOT
LOUIE, BUT WILD THING- THE RUSSIAN WEBSITE
Yuri from Russia
created a wonderful website dedicated to another great
rock anthem - "Wild Thing!" Check out his website at:
http://wild-thing.narod.ru
A
DOG NAMED LOUIE LOUIE
Ron Foos of
Paul Revere & the Raiders wanted to share some information
with folks at Louie Louie central:
"Dear Louie,
A little bit of old
rock & roll trivia: For what it is worth. Did you
know that Ron Foos of Paul Revere and the Raiders
has a male American Eskimo dog that he named Louie
Louie 14 years ago............. and his dog is still
alive! Goes to show ......Rock & Roll does keep you
alive & young! Ask my dog!
All my best to you
& keep up the good work!
Ron Foos"
Check out Ron's dog at:
http://www.paulrevereraiders.com/Ron/ron2.html
http://www.paulrevereraiders.com/
Continue
on with more LOUIE NEWS...
Read
the previous page of LOUIE NEWS
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.
Send an email to LouieLouie.Net
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