There’s a few new things a LOUIE collector will want to pick up as they can…
The first item is the latest UGLY THINGS magazine. Don Gallucci, the original keyboardist for the Kingsmen is interviewed in this magazine. In addition to playing piano for this iconic recording, Don was also the leader of Don & the Goodtimes, a progressive rock band known as Touch, and produced the second (Iggy Pop and the) Stooges album “Fun House.” He’s also been an A&R guy for Elektra Records, and did a lot of interesting things in his career. I interviewed him quite a few years ago in the early part of my documentary production, and found him to be a fascinating character.
Long may you run, Don. I hope this article brings more attention to your musical talents!
The second item is the June 2007 issue of Mojo Magazine, which has the cover story of “100 Records That Changed the World.” LOUIE LOUIE is rated as track #70, with an introductory phrase “Then: a slurred lurch of white teen R&B, deemed obscene by the FBI. Now: the lingua franca of rock.” Spider Webb of the band The Horrors, contributes a paragraph about this iconic song.
And what song would be considered the #1 most influential record according to MOJO? “Tutti Frutti” by Little Richard, followed by “I Want To Hold Your Hand” by the Beatles. Strangely, I saw no mention of “Rock Around the Clock” by Bill Haley and the Comets. Of course, all of this stuff is completely subjective, and absolutely open for debate. I’m sure if MOJO does another article like this next year, it’ll be an entirely different list.
As usual, MOJO assembled another exclusive CD compilation of rare recordings for this magazine, featuring some tasty recordings. There’s no LOUIE on this CD, but Al Green does a killer job of covering “I Want To Hold Your Hand.”
Lastly, the third item is the latest album by the Dave Matthews Band. Thanks to Chuck Rubin of Artists Rights Enforcement (the company that helped Richard Berry recover partial ownership of LOUIE LOUIE), I found out that the latest Dave Matthews release, “The Best of Whats Around Vol.1” a best-of 2-CD collection includes a song entitled “Warehouse” that has a few phrases of LOUIE LOUIE, as noted in the official liner notes. This live recording was a from a show at the Alpine Valley Music Theatre, East Troy, WI on June 2, 2006. While this particular collection is available on iTunes, you can’t buy this individual track, unfortunately.
Right now, I’ve only got one of these three items, so I’ll have to pick up the other two as I get around to it….
ADDENDUM: As it turns out, the Don Gallucci-produced Stooges LP “Fun House” is listed as Mojo’s #36 most influential record, beating out the Kingsmen‘s LOUIE LOUIE! Imagine that!