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Electrophonic Tonic · 11-13-2011, 12:22 AM

Louie Louie. Yes, I know it's been covered by just about anyone with a music career. I'm pretty sure 75% of the members of this board have covered it, even if they don't realize it; much like we were all in King Crimson for some period of time between their first album in 1969 and now. But anyway... so how can I rank THE cover song of all time? By limiting my choices to the versions that came out of the northwest garage rock scene of the early and mid 60's.

The Evolution of Louie

The Original: Richard Berry & The Pharaohs

The original was recorded in 1957. It had some moderate success on the Billboard charts, but didn't sell as well as Richard Berry and his record company hoped. He sold a portion of the rights to his company for $750 in 1959. The song became a popular song for DJs in the northwest and received more airplay than anywhere else in the country. It took hold of the garage rock scene thanks to...

Cover #1: The (Fabulous) Wailers- 1959

Record by the Wailers at Spanish Castle with Rockin' Robin on vocals. I like this version because of the groove it has. It rocks pretty hard for the late 50's as well, and I have always liked that (I always prefer garage rock and proto-punk over punk). Their recording started a contest between Paul Revere & the Raiders and the Kingsmen to record their own versions and see whose would be more popular.

Cover #2: Paul Revere & the Raiders- 1963

I really do not like this version at all. This is one of those recordings that tries to straddle the line between mainstream accessibility and a underground sensibility. I think it fails at both. It really feels a cover of the Wailers' cover, rather than the Raiders' take on the Richard Berry original. I do like the sax in this version, however. It was initially more successful that the Kingsmen version in the northeast.

Cover #3: The Kingsmen- 1963

This is the version everyone knows. It was recorded in the same studio that the Raiders' used. The Kingsmen's version really a piece of shiitake. The sound quality is amateur at best, singer comes in early and has his drummer do a quick fill to cover the mistake and the drummer also yells out clearly audible 'f*ck!' when he hit his drum sticks together. Did I mention the FBI spent millions of dollars and 31 months trying to find the song's dirty hidden meaning and found absolutely nothing? Yeah. But the song was and is a hit to this day. I like it for the organ being the driving force of the song rather than the sax and because it is the antonym of the Raiders' version.

Cover #4: The Sonics- 1965

I love this version and it easily is my favorite. The Sonics take the Kingsmen's 'We don't give a fudge!' attitude and basically record a punk rock song in 1965. The Sonics are easily one of my top 5 all time favorite bands, so I'm not exactly impartial. But, it's hard to argue with the crunch and buzz of this version. I think this one even stands up to the versions done by Motorhead and Black Flag.

11-13-2011, 12:22 AM	#33 (permalink)
Electrophonic Tonic Your Ad Here Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: The Twilight Zone Posts: 876	Louie Louie. Yes, I know it's been covered by just about anyone with a music career. I'm pretty sure 75% of the members of this board have covered it, even if they don't realize it; much like we were all in King Crimson for some period of time between their first album in 1969 and now. But anyway... so how can I rank THE cover song of all time? By limiting my choices to the versions that came out of the northwest garage rock scene of the early and mid 60's. The Evolution of Louie The Original: Richard Berry & The Pharaohs The original was recorded in 1957. It had some moderate success on the Billboard charts, but didn't sell as well as Richard Berry and his record company hoped. He sold a portion of the rights to his company for $750 in 1959. The song became a popular song for DJs in the northwest and received more airplay than anywhere else in the country. It took hold of the garage rock scene thanks to... Cover #1: The (Fabulous) Wailers- 1959 Record by the Wailers at Spanish Castle with Rockin' Robin on vocals. I like this version because of the groove it has. It rocks pretty hard for the late 50's as well, and I have always liked that (I always prefer garage rock and proto-punk over punk). Their recording started a contest between Paul Revere & the Raiders and the Kingsmen to record their own versions and see whose would be more popular. Cover #2: Paul Revere & the Raiders- 1963 I really do not like this version at all. This is one of those recordings that tries to straddle the line between mainstream accessibility and a underground sensibility. I think it fails at both. It really feels a cover of the Wailers' cover, rather than the Raiders' take on the Richard Berry original. I do like the sax in this version, however. It was initially more successful that the Kingsmen version in the northeast. Cover #3: The Kingsmen- 1963 This is the version everyone knows. It was recorded in the same studio that the Raiders' used. The Kingsmen's version really a piece of shiitake. The sound quality is amateur at best, singer comes in early and has his drummer do a quick fill to cover the mistake and the drummer also yells out clearly audible 'fck!' when he hit his drum sticks together. Did I mention the FBI spent millions of dollars and 31 months trying to find the song's dirty hidden meaning and found absolutely nothing? Yeah. But the song was and is a hit to this day. I like it for the organ being the driving force of the song rather than the sax and because it is the antonym of the Raiders' version. Cover #4: The Sonics- 1965* I love this version and it easily is my favorite. The Sonics take the Kingsmen's 'We don't give a fudge!' attitude and basically record a punk rock song in 1965. The Sonics are easily one of my top 5 all time favorite bands, so I'm not exactly impartial. But, it's hard to argue with the crunch and buzz of this version. I think this one even stands up to the versions done by Motorhead and Black Flag. Last edited by Electrophonic Tonic; 11-13-2011 at 12:28 AM.