Jack Ely (second from left) with The Kingsmen was 19 when he sang
the Portland, Oregon garage-band classic version, “Louie, Louie”.

Based on outcry from parents who bought into what may have started as an
idle rumor, the FBI launched a formal investigation in 1964 into the supposedly pornographic lyrics of the song “Louie, Louie.” That investigation finally
neared its conclusion on this day in 1965, when the FBI Laboratory declared
the lyrics of “Louie Louie” to be officially unintelligible.

No one will ever know who started the rumor that “Louie Louie” was dirty. As written by Richard Berry in 1955, the lyrics revolve around a sailor from the Caribbean lamenting to a bartender named Louie about missing his far-away
love. As recorded in poor conditions and in a single take by The Kingsmen
in 1963.
(This Day In History)

Jack Brown Ely (September 11, 1943 – April 28, 2015)