"Louie Louie" Files (Excerpts)

[Page 3] DATE: 2/17/64 TO: DIRECTOR, FBI ATTENTION: FBI LABORATORY SUBJECT: UNKNOWN SUBJECT PHONOGRAPH RECORD "LOUIE LOUIE" DISTRIBUTED BY LIMAX MUSIC, NYC, N.Y. ITOM (60: MIAMI TAMPA) Transmitted herewith are the following items for examination by the FBI Laboratory: Lyrics of "Louie Louie" as published by Limax Music Record of "Louie Louie." (Under obscene cover). On 2/10/64, [REDACTED] advised SA [REDACTED] his department received complaint from [REDACTED] Sarasota High School, advising that captioned record is very popular with high school students, and has been furnished lyrics for the song, which are very obscene. [REDACTED] he determined that this record is very popular, is a best seller in the area, and is played by the local radio stations. He said the record is a calypso-type song, and the words are hard to recognize. However, with a copy of the obscene words to refer to, it sounds like the lyrics are identical with the enclosed obscene lyrics. [REDACTED] said [REDACTED] Radio Station WKXY, furnished what Limax Music Company claims to be the actual lyrics of the song, which is Enclosure #1. However, [REDACTED] said the lyrics of the song do not seem to be the same. Enclosures were furnished to SA [REDACTED] by [REDACTED]. ______________________ [Page 7] WPI-132 (RECORD) WASHINGTON -- THE GOVERNMENT HAS DROPPED INVESTIGATIONS IT HAD BEEN CONDUCTING INTO COMPLAINTS THAT A POPULAR ROCK AND ROLL RECORD HAD OBSCENE LYRICS. THE COMPLAINTS CHARGED THAT THE RECORD "LOUIE LOUIE" AS RECORDED ON THE WANE LABEL BY THE KINGSMEN, HAD OFF-COLOR LYRICS WHICH COULD BE DETECTED WHEN THE 45 R.P.M. PLATTER WAS PLAYED AT 33 1/3 RPM. INVESTIGATIONS OF THE RECORD WERE STARTED BY THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (FCC), THE POST OFFICE AND JUSTICE DEPARTMENTS AFTER COMPLAINTS WERE RECEIVED FROM ABOUT HALF A DOZEN PERSONS, INCLUDING INDIANA GOVERNOR MATTHEW E. WELSH. ALL THREE GOVERNMENTAL AGENCIES DROPPED THEIR INVESTIGATIONS BECAUSE THEY WERE UNABLE TO DETERMINE WHAT THE LYRICS OF THE SONG WERE, EVEN AFTER LISTENING TO THE RECORDS AT SPEEDS RANGING FROM 16 RPM TO 78 RPM. NOT RECORDED MARCH 4, 1964 WASHINGTON CAPITAL NEWS SERVICE ____________________ [Page 13] January 30, 1964 Mr. Robert F. Kennedy Attorney General USA Washington, D.C. Dear Mr. Kennedy: Who do you turn to when your teen age daughter buys and brings home pornographic or obscene materials being sold along with objects being directed and aimed at the 'teen age market' in every City, Village, and Record Shop in this Nation? My daughter brought home a record of "LOUIE LOUIE" and I, after reading that the record had been banned from being played on the air because it was obscene, proceeded to try to decipher the jumble of words. The lyrics are so filthy that I can-not include them in this letter. This record is on the WAND label # 143-A and recorded by The KINGSMEN "a Jordan Production by Ken Chase and Jerry Dennon" and there is an address 1650 Broadway New York, N.Y. I would like to see these people, The "artists", the Record company and the promoters prosecuted to the full extent of the law. We all know there is obscene materials available for those who seek it, but when they start sneaking in this material in the guise of the latest 'teen age rock & roll hit record these morons have gone too far. This land of ours is headed for an extreme state of moral degradation what with this record, the biggest hit movies and the sex and violence exploited on T.V. How can we stamp out this menace? ? ? ? Yours very truly, [REDACTED] ______________________ [Page 14] Lou-Ai Lou-Ai Oh, no. Grab her way down low. (Repeat) This line least clear. There is a fine little girl waiting for me. She is just a girl across the way. Then I take her all alone, She's never the girl I lay at home.. (Chorus) Tonight at ten I'll lay her again We'll fuck your girl and by the way And...on that chair I'll lay her there. I felt my bone..ah..in her hair. (Chorus) She had a rag on, I moved above. It won't be long she'll slip it off. I held her in my arms and then. And I told her I'd rather lay her again. Chorus. _____________ [Page 22] louie-louie Chorus: Oh, Louie, Louie, Oh, No, Get her way down low. Oh, Louie, Louie, Oh, Baby, Get her down low. A fine little girl awaiting for me she's just a girl across the way Well I'll take her and park all alone She's never a girl I'd lay at home (Chorus Repeat) At night at 10 I lay her again Fuck you girl, Oh, all the way Oh, my bed and I lay her there I meet a rose in her hair. (Chorus Repeat) Ok Lets give it to them, right now! She's got a rag on I'll move above It won't be long she'll slip it off I'll take her in my arms again I'll tell her I'll never leave again. (Chorus Repeat) Get that Broad out of here! ______________________ [Pages 32-33] TP 145-84 On March 2, 1964 [REDACTED] advised SA [REDACTED] the "Louie Louie" record is no longer popular in the Sarasota area and apparently is of no further interest to the teen-agers. They said the obscene lyrics for this record that were distributed by the students at the local high school and junior high school are no longer being distributed or even discussed. They added there was never an indication that the obscene lyrics were being distributed commercially. On March 4, 1964, [REDACTED] Sarasota Junion High School, advised SA [REDACTED] he obtained a hand written copy of the obscene lyrics from one of his students who came to him voluntarily, stating he had found the lyrics on school property. He said his inquiry then determined that the obscene lyrics were "all over the school." He said he and his staff found several handwritten and typed copies of the obscene lyrics in the possession of junior high school students. However, the lyrics were never mimeographed or printed, or in any way indicated they were being commercially distributed. He said he heard from students that the obscene lyrics originated in a college somewhere and were being passed verbally and by handwritten copy from friend to friend. He said there is absolutely no evidence of any commercial distribution of the obscene lyrics and apparently the matter is of no further interest of the local students, since he has heard nothing about it, nor have any copies of the lyrics been found for some time. AT TAMPA, FLORIDA On March 23, 1964 this matter was discussed with Assistant United States District Attorney JOE H. MOUNT by SA [REDACTED]. Concerning the obscene lyrics, obtained by the Sarasota, Florida, Junior High School, Mr. MOUNT stated he would decline any prosecutive action inasmuch as there is no evidence of any commercialization or interstate transportation in connection with these obscene lyrics. He further advised that inasmuch as no one had been able to decipher the complete lyrics on the record "Louie Louie," he is stating no opinion as pertains to the record itself. ____________________ [Page 35] LOUIE LOUIE Fine little girl waits for me to get your thrills across the way girl I dream about is all alone she could never get away from home Every night and day I play with my thing I fuck your girl all kinds of ways. In all night now meet me there I feel her low I give her hell Hey yes bitch. Hey lovemaker now bald my bone, it won't take long so leave it alone Hey Senorita I'm hot as hell I told her I'd never lay here again. ____________________ [Page 37] The lyrics, as published by Limax Music: Louie Louie, Me gotta go - Louie Louie, Me gotta go - A fine little girl, she wait for me - Me catch the ship across the sea - I sailed the ship all alone - I never think I'll make it home. Louie Louie, Me gotta go - Louie Louie, Me gotta go - Three nights and days we sailed the sea - Me think of girl constantly - On the ship I dream she there - I smell the rose in her hair. Louie Louie, Me gotta go - Louie Louie, Me gotta go - Me see Jamaica moon above - It won't be long me see me love - Me take her in my arms and then - I tell her I never leave again. Louie Louie, Me gotta go - Louie Louie, Me gotta go - Louie Louie, Me gotta go - _________________________ [Pages 58-9 (excerpt)] ...The letter from the National Association of Broadcasters Code Authority, Washington, D.C., dated January 28, 1964, is set forth as follows: "LOUIE, LOUIE" "NAB's Code Authority has received a number of inquiries and complaints from member stations on the recording 'Louie, Louie' being circulated with a WAND label. "Here are the facts as we understand them: "The Code staff has listened to the record on all standard RPM's and has found nothing objectionable in it. In the Code staff's opinion, the lines, delivered in rock and roll and Calypso style, would be unintelligible to the average listener. "NAB has received from the music publishers copies of the lyrics and has found nothing objectionable in them. However, it also has received from another source a purported set of lyrics which are unfit for broadcast. "The phonetic qualities of this recording are such that a listener possessing the 'phony' lyrics could imagine them to be genuine."... __________________ [Page 92] Date: 9/22/65 [REDACTED] Jerden Music Inc., 2227 Fifth Avenue, Seattle, Washington. He advised as follows: RICHARD BERRY was the original writer and artist of the song, "Louie Louie." It was originally recorded under the Flip record label in 1956 in Los Angeles, California. However, it was not successful. In 1961 a Seattle group known as the Wailers made a recording under the Etiquette record label. This recording became the #1 hit in the Seattle area. It was distributed nationally, but it was not a hit on the national level. In 1963 the Wailer's record was being played a great deal by station KGON in Portland, Oregon. The competing station, KISN, was not authorized to play it. KISN prevailed upon the Kingsmen to make a recording of "Louie Louie" which they did. KEN CHASE, the Program Director of KISN sent the tape of the Kingsmen's recording [REDACTED] and in 1963 this record became the #1 hit in the nation. [REDACTED] aware of the charges that the Kingsmen's record was obscene if played at different speeds. He stated the record is not obscene. He pointed out that the Kingsmen did not know all of the lyrics and in some instances their recording technique was poor from a professional standpoint. However, he stated definitively that it is not obscene. He stated that possibly the rumor that the record was obscene contributed to its sales record; however, he pointed out that if this were true, it was entirely unintentional. He was advised by the Seattle "Post Intelligence" that the Governor of Indiana had banned the record, and he heard that the management of the Kingsmen were planning a law suit against the state of Michigan because of its being banned.