I wasn’t planning on posting a LOUIE of the Week this week, but today is the birthday for Bill Engelhart, as in Little Bill & the Bluenotes!
Little Bill (with the Adventurers and the Shalimars) and Rockin Robin Roberts (with the Wailers) were THE VERY FIRST MUSICIANS to release musical recordings of LOUIE LOUIE after Richard Berry released his original record in 1957. They released their versions in 1961, and two years later, the Kingsmen and Paul Revere & the Raiders released theirs.
This is a little clip I shot the last time I visited Tacoma.
Happy Birthday, Bill! May there be many more…