A beautiful mess.

The KIngsmen in Person Vintage Vinyl

The story of rock attributes the british for embracing the sounds of Chuck Berry and Little Richard, playing them like only white boys can and bringing the sound back to the US. For the most part this is true, but before the Beatles and the Stones, there were pale Americans in garages attempting to decipher Tutti Frutti.

The Kingsmen were part a cluster of bands out of the Portland and surrounding areas. Yup Portland’s been cool for a while now. The Wailers, Paul Revere and the Raiders and the KIngsmen were bastardizing black music at least two years before the Beatles landed. Just take The KIngsmen in Person and more particularly its centrepiece, Louie, Louie. Released in 1963, it’s a beautiful mess. Louie, Louie doesn’t swing as much as it chugs along. Kind of like a white boy strut. Jack Ely gargles the lyrics more than sings. They even got the name wrong on the cover. Richard Berry pointed out years later that the title of the song he wrote was Louie Louie, no comma. Not completely wrong, but off? This song and much of the garage rock of the 60s created a template for great rock ‘n’ roll. Laid down in one take, of what the band thought was a rehearsal, Louie, Louie is a spirited sloppy three-chords-and-a-dream anthem.

We found this vintage copy of The Kingsmen Louie Louie viny on esty.com When we pushed publish there was one available.

RIP Jack Ely. The original member of The Kingsmen and singer of Louie, Louie passed away at the age of 71 this past on July 28.