Editing Louie Louie (section)

===1960s===
====Rockin' Robin Roberts and the Wailers (1961)====
{{Infobox song
| name       = Louie Louie
| cover      = Etiquette_ET-1_Label.jpeg
| alt        =
| type       = single
| artist     = [[Rockin' Robin Roberts]]
| B-side     = Maryanne
| released   = {{Start date|1961}}
| recorded   = 1960
| writer     = Richard Berry
| studio     =
| genre      =
*[[Rhythm and blues]]
*[[rock and roll]]
| length     = {{Duration|m=2|s=40}} single, {{Duration|m=2|s=32}} album
| label      = Etiquette ET-1
| producer   =
}}
[[Rockin' Robin Roberts|Robin Roberts]] developed an interest in rock 'n' roll and [[rhythm and blues]] records as a high school student in [[Tacoma, Washington]]. Among the songs he began performing as an occasional guest singer with a local band, the Bluenotes, in 1958 were "Louie Louie", which he had "rescued from oblivion"<ref name="Marcus" /> after hearing Berry's obscure original single, and [[Bobby Day]]'s "[[Rockin' Robin (song)|Rockin' Robin]]", which gave him his stage name.<ref>{{cite web|title=Roberts, "Rockin' Robin" (1940-1967)|first=Peter|last=Blecha|author-link=Peter Blecha|url=https://www.historylink.org/File/9217|website=Historylink.org|date=November 30, 2009a<!--Do not change - year differentiator to avoid sfn template conflict from multiple 2009 sources-->|access-date=November 30, 2021}}</ref>

In 1959, Roberts left the Bluenotes and began singing with another local band, [[The Wailers (rock band)|the Wailers]], famed for their "hard-nosed R&B/rock fusion".<ref>{{cite book|title=The Pacific Region: The Greenwood Encyclopedia of American Regional Cultures|date=2004|isbn=978-0313085055|publisher=[[Greenwood Publishing Group|Greenwood Press]]|location=Westport, CT|first1=Aaron|last1=DiFranco|first2=Jan|last2=Goggins|page=364}}</ref> Known for his dynamic onstage performances, Roberts added "Louie Louie" to the band's set and, in 1960 recorded the track with the Wailers as his backing band.{{sfn|Blecha|2009|p=116}} The arrangement, devised by Roberts with the band, was "the first-ever garage version of 'Louie Louie'"{{sfn|Blecha|2009|page=116}} and included  "one of the true great moments of rock", his ad-libbed "Let's give it to 'em, RIGHT NOW!!" before the guitar solo.<ref name=Palao />

Released as a single on the band's own label, Etiquette, in early 1961, it became a huge hit locally, charting at No. 1 on Seattle's [[KJR (AM)|KJR]] and establishing "Louie Louie" as "''the'' signature riff of Northwest rock 'n' roll".{{sfn|Blecha|2009|page=119}} It also picked up play across the border in [[Vancouver, British Columbia]], appearing in the top 40 of the [[CFTE|CFUN]] chart. The popularity of the Roberts release effectively buried another "reasonably close to the Richard Berry/Ron Holden arrangement"<ref name=Palao /> version put out at about the same time by Little Bill Englehardt (Topaz T-1305).{{sfn|Blecha|2009|page=116}}

The record was then reissued and promoted by [[Liberty Records]] in Los Angeles, but it failed to chart nationally.{{sfn|Blecha|2009|page=118}} The track was included on the 1963 album ''The Wailers & Co'', the 1964 compilation album ''Tall Cool One'', the 1998 reissue of the 1962 album ''The Fabulous Wailers Live at the Castle'', and multiple later compilations.<ref>{{AllMusic|id=mn0000487012|title=The Fabulous Wailers discography}}</ref>

Roberts was killed in an automobile accident in 1967, but his "legacy would reverberate down through the ages".{{sfn|Blecha|2009|page=119}} Dave Marsh dedicated his 1993 book, "For Richard Berry, who gave birth to this unruly child, and Rockin' Robin Roberts, who first raised it to glory."{{sfn|Marsh|1993|p=v}}

====The Kingsmen (1963)====

{{Infobox song
| name          = Louie Louie
| cover         = Jerden 712 Label.jpeg
| alt           = 
| caption       = Original release
| type          = single
| artist        = [[the Kingsmen]]
| album         = [[The Kingsmen in Person]]
| B-side        = Haunted Castle
| released      = {{Start date|1963|06}} (Jerden)<br />{{Start date|1963|10}} (Wand)
| recorded      = April 6, 1963
| studio        = Northwestern Inc.
| writer        = Richard Berry
| genre         = *[[Garage rock]]<ref>{{cite magazine|first= Bonnie |last= Stiernberg |title= The 50 Best Garage Rock Songs of All Time |magazine= [[Paste (magazine)|Paste]] |url= https://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/lists/2014/08/the-50-best-garage-rock-songs-of-all-time.html?a=1 |access-date=May 15, 2016}}</ref><ref name= "RS 2004">{{cite book |chapter= Nuggets|last= Seward|first= Scott|title=[[The Rolling Stone Album Guide|The New Rolling Stone Album Guide]] |year=2004 |publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]] |edition=4th |editor1-last=Brackett |editor1-first=Nathan |editor2-last=Hoard |editor2-first=Christian |isbn=0-7432-0169-8 |pages = 918–919}}</ref>
*[[proto-punk]]<ref name="Osgerby">{{cite book |first=Bill |last=Osgerby|editor=Roger Sabin|chapter='Chewing out a rhythm on my bubble-gum': The teenage aesthetic and genealogies of American punk |title=Punk Rock: So What?: the Cultural Legacy of Punk |url=https://archive.org/details/punkrocksowhatcu00roge |url-access=registration |location=London |publisher=Routledge |date=1999 |page=157 |isbn=978-0-415-17030-7 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://thevinylfactory.com/features/proto-punk-10-records-that-paved-the-way-for-76/|title=Proto-punk: 10 records that paved the way for '76|first=Anton|last=Spice|date=August 31, 2016|website=the Vinyl Factory|access-date=December 21, 2024}}</ref>
*[[rhythm and blues]]<ref>{{AllMusic|id=mn0000773642 |first=Mark|last=Deming|title=Kingsmen Biography|access-date=December 9, 2023}}</ref>
| length        = {{Duration|m=2|s=42}} (Jerden), {{Duration|m=2|s=24}} (Wand)<ref>Time listed as 2:24 on the Wand single although 2:42 is more accurate.</ref>
| label         = [[Jerden Records|Jerden]] 712, [[Wand Records|Wand]] 143
| producer      = *Ken Chase
*Jerry Dennon
| prev_title    = 
| prev_year     = 
| next_title    = [[Money (That's What I Want)|Money]]
| next_year     = 1964
| misc          = {{Extra album cover
 | header  = Wand Re-issue
 | type    = single
 | cover   = Wand 143 Label.jpeg
 | border  = 
 | alt     = 
 | caption =  Second Wand release with "Lead vocal by Jack Ely" text
}}
}}

On 6 April 1963,{{sfnm|1a1=Peterson|1y=2005|1p=45|2a1=Blecha|2y=2009|2p=137}} [[the Kingsmen]], a rock and roll group from [[Portland, Oregon]], chose "Louie Louie" for their second recording.{{refn|The first Kingsmen recording was an unreleased acetate of "Peter Gunn Rock".<ref>{{cite book|title=Stomp and Shout: R & B and the Origins of Northwest Rock and Roll|first=Peter|last=Blecha|author-link=Peter Blecha|page=180|date=2023|location=Seattle|publisher=University of Washington Press|isbn=978-0295751252|chapter=Chapter 24: Doin' The Seaside}}</ref>}} The session took place at Northwestern Inc. Motion Pictures & Recording Studios at 411 SW 13th Avenue in Portland.{{refn|On July 2, 1993, a bronze historical marker was installed at the site by the [[Oregon Historical Society]] to commemmorate the event.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Two Louies|date=July 1993|page=7|location=Portland|title=The Oregon Historical Society Dedicates a Plaque at the Site of the Kingsmen's "Louie Louie"|editor-first=Buck|editor-last=Munger}}</ref> The marker disappeared shortly afterward. On September 5, 2013, the City of Portland dedicated a replacement plaque at the site. It was removed in 2015 after vandalism and theft attempts.<ref>{{cite book|title=PDXccentric - The Odyssey of Portland Oddities|first1=Scott|last1=Cook|first2=Aimee|last2=Wade|isbn=978-0979923272|date=2014|location=Portland|publisher=Slough Biscuit Press}}</ref>}} The one hour session, originally intended to produce an audition tape for a summer cruise ship gig, cost either $36,{{sfn|Peterson|2005|page=47}} $50,{{sfn|Blecha|2009|page=138}} or somewhere in between, and the band split the cost.{{sfn|Marsh|1993|page=98}}

The session was produced by Ken Chase, a local disc jockey on the AM rock station [[KISN (Portland)|KISN]] who also owned The Chase, the teen nightclub where the Kingsmen were the house band. The engineer for the session was the studio owner, Robert Lindahl. The Kingsmen's lead vocalist, [[Jack Ely]], based his version on the recording by Rockin' Robin Roberts with the Fabulous Wailers, but unintentionally reintroduced Berry's original [[stop-time]] rhythm as he showed the other members how to play it with a 1–2–3, 1–2, 1–2–3 beat instead of the 1–2–3–4, 1–2, 1–2–3–4 beat on the Wailers record.{{sfn|Marsh|1993|p=15}} The night before their recording session, the band played a 90-minute version of the song during a gig at a local teen club. The Kingsmen's studio version was recorded in one partial and one full take.{{sfn|Peterson|2005|pages=45-57}} They also recorded "[[Jamaica Farewell]]" and what became the B-side of the release, an original "surf instrumental"<ref>{{cite book|title=Psychedelia and Other Colours|chapter=The Savant-Garde: Surfadelica, Girl Groups and Garage Land|date=2015|first=Rob|last=Chapman|author-link=Rob Chapman (journalist)|publisher= Faber & Faber|location=London|isbn=978-0571282753}}</ref> by Ely and keyboardist Don Gallucci called "Haunted Castle".{{sfn|Marsh|1993|p=98}}

The Kingsmen's version with its "ragged",<ref>{{cite book|title=Electric Wizards: A Tapestry of Heavy Music, 1968 to the Present|first=JR|last=Moores|location=London|publisher=[[Reaktion Books]]|isbn=978-1789144499|date=2022}}</ref> "sloppy",<ref>{{cite book|title=The Tombstone Tourist|chapter=The Legends|page=31|first=Scott|last=Stanton|date=2003|isbn=978-0743463300|location=New York|publisher=Gallery Books}}</ref> "chaotic",<ref>{{cite book|title=Kick It: A Social History of the Drum Kit|first=Matt|last=Brennan|page=190|location=London|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0190683863|date=2020}}</ref> "shambolic, lumbering style",{{sfn|Doggett|2015|p=332}} complete with "manic lead guitar solo, insane cymbal crashes, generally slurred and unintelligible lyrics",<ref name="Rock Royalty">{{cite web|first=Peter|last=Blecha|author-link=Peter Blecha|date=1988|url=http://nwmusicarchives.com/artist/kingsmen-the-portland-or/|title=The Kingsmen: Portland's Rock Royalty|website=Northwest Music Archives|access-date=February 8, 2022}}</ref> transformed the earlier Rockin' Robin Roberts version on which it was based into a "bumbling, bear-in-a-china-shop",<ref>{{cite book|first=Bob|last=Stanley|date=2014|title=Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!:The Story of Pop Music from Bill Haley to Beyoncé|chapter=America Strikes Back: The Birds and Folk Rock|publisher=[[W. W. Norton & Company]]|isbn=978-0393242706|location=New York}}</ref> "gloriously incoherent",<ref>{{cite book|first=Peter|last=Doggett|author-link=Peter Doggett|title=Electric Shock: From the Gramophone to the iPhone – 125 Years of Pop Music|page=282|date=2015|publisher=Random House|isbn=9781448130313|location=London}}</ref> "raw and raucous"<ref name="McLucas"/> "stomping garage-rocker"<ref>{{cite book|title=Music USA: The Rough Guide|chapter=Seattle Rock in the 1960s|page=447|first1=Richie|last1=Unterberger|author-link1=Richie Unterberger|first2=Samb|last2=Hicks|editor=Jennifer Dempsey|date=1999|location=London|publisher=[[Rough Guides]]|isbn=978-1858284217}}</ref> "so wrong it's right".<ref>{{cite web|first=Brett|last=Milano|date=March 16, 2023|website=uDiscovermusic|title=The Greatest Debut 45 Records In History|url=https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/debut-singles/|access-date=March 21, 2023}}</ref> Ely had to stand on tiptoe to sing into a boom mike, and his braces further impeded his "sinew-stretching",<ref name="Independent 042015">{{cite news|work=The Independent|location=London|title=Jack Ely: Singer whose sinew-stretching rendition of "Louie Louie" helped make it the second-most covered song in pop music|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/jack-ely-singer-whose-sinewstretching-rendition-of-louie-louie-helped-make-it-the-secondmost-covered-song-in-pop-music-10213725.html|date=April 20, 2015|access-date=November 15, 2023}}</ref> "giraffe-neck gabble"{{sfn|Marsh|1993|p=136}} singing. The result was a "raw and unsanitized, unmanaged and unscrubbed"<ref name="Rubinoos">{{cite AV media|title=I Love Louie Louie|author=[[The Rubinoos]]|type=lyrics|date=2014|publisher=Pynotic Productions|location=Berkeley, CA}}</ref> effort that the group hated but manager Ken Chase loved. Jerry Dennon's local Jerden label was contracted to press 1,000 vinyl 45s.{{sfn|Marsh|1993|page=99}}

The guitar break is triggered by a shout, "Okay, let's give it to 'em right now!", both lifted from the Roberts version.{{sfn|Marsh|1993|p=67}} Critic [[Dave Marsh]] suggests it is this moment that gives the recording greatness:{{sfn|Marsh|1999|p=14}} <blockquote>''[Ely] went for it so avidly you'd have thought he'd spotted the jugular of a lifelong enemy, so crudely that, at that instant, Ely sounds like Donald Duck on helium. And it's that faintly ridiculous air that makes the Kingsmen's record the classic that it is ....''</blockquote> [[Thurston Moore]] of [[Sonic Youth]], whose "passion for music was ignited by the Kingsmen's 'Louie Louie'",<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]]|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/style/photos/our-20-favorite-books-of-2023|access-date=December 13, 2023|first=Keziah|last=Weir|title=Our 20 Favorite Books of 2023|date=December 12, 2023}}</ref> termed it a "totem of magic",<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Esquire (magazine)|Esquire]]|url=https://www.esquire.com/style/mens-fashion/a62297839/thurston-moore-sonic-youth-five-fits-with/|title=Five Fits With: Rock Legend and Founding Member of Sonic Youth Thurston Moore|first=Christopher|last=Fenimore|date=September 20, 2024|access-date=September 23, 2024}}</ref> and recalled that "the lead singer's [Ely] voice had the air of a boy smoking a cigarette with one hand while banging a tambourine in the other, an insolent distance to his delivery, a vision of being at once boss and bored."<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The New York Times|title=Thurston Moore Revisits His Sonic Youth|first=Dwight|last=Garner|author-link=Dwight Garner|date=October 23, 2023|access-date=October 24, 2023|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/23/books/review/thurston-moore-sonic-life.html}}</ref>

Marsh ranked the song as No. 11 out of the 1001 greatest singles ever made, describing it as "the most profound and sublime expression of rock and roll's ability to create something from nothing".{{sfn|Marsh|1999|p=12}} [[The Independent]] in Britain noted that it reinforced "a growing suspicion that enthusiasm was more important to rock 'n' roll than technical competence or literal meaning",<ref name=Independent /> and [[Jarvis Cocker]] added that "you can't tell a word of what the singer is singing and ''it doesn't matter''".<ref>{{cite book|first=Jarvis|last=Cocker|author-link=Jarvis Cocker|title=Mother, Brother, Lover: Selected Lyrics|date=2011|chapter=Introduction|page=1|isbn=978-0571281923|publisher=[[Faber & Faber]]|location=London}}</ref>

Music producer and historian [[Alec Palao]] wrote,<ref name=Palao />

<blockquote>''This is truly the quintessential garage band moment, an [[Cinéma vérité|audio-vérité]] snapshot that communicates directly what red-blooded grass roots American rock 'n' roll is all about ... the Kingsmen's "Louie Louie" spills forth with a rush of teenage hormones: raw, untutored, yet seemingly ready to take on the world.''</blockquote>

Albin J. Zak in ''The Poetics of Rock'' commented,<ref>{{cite book|title=The Poetics of Rock: Cutting Tracks, Making Records|publisher=[[University of California Press]]|first=Albin J.|last=Zak III|date=2001|page=43|location=Berkeley|isbn=978-0520232242}}</ref>

<blockquote>''What makes the Kingsmen's "Louie Louie" a good record? Neither lyrics nor melodic design, harmonic motion, rhythmic groove, or instrumental arrangement — all of which can be represented in some fashion apart from the record (though the lyrics would be at best an approximation) — hold the key to the answer. The record's power is in its sound, which represents multiple elements, processes, and voices — song, arrangement, sounds, techniques of sound recording and processing, musical performances, and all the particular ephemeral nuances that attend the moment of inscription. What is, from a certain perspective, mind-numbingly simple is in fact a complex network of phenomenal elements that we perceive as a whole.''</blockquote>

A significant error on the Kingsmen version occurred just after the lead guitar break. As the group was going by the Wailers version, which had a restatement of the riff twice over before the lead vocalist came back in, it would be expected that Ely would do the same. Ely, however, missed his mark, coming in too soon before the second restatement of the riff. He realized his mistake and stopped the verse short, but the band did not realize that he had done so. As a quick fix, drummer Lynn Easton covered the pause with a [[Fill (music)|drum fill]]. The error "imbued the Kingsmen recording with a touching humility and humanity"<ref name=Palao /> and is now so well known that multiple versions by other groups duplicate it.<ref name="McLucas">{{cite book|title=The Musical Ear: Oral Tradition in the USA|first=Anne Dhu|last=McLucas|date=2010|publisher=Ashgate|isbn=978-0754663966|page=57|chapter=Oral Tradition in American Popular Music}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|website=[[Reverb.com]]|title=10 Times Studio Mistakes Created Music Magic|first=Emily|last=Harris|date=September 25, 2020|access-date=May 6, 2020|url=https://reverb.com/news/when-studio-mistakes-created-music-magic}}</ref>

First released in May 1963, the single was initially issued by the small [[Jerden Records|Jerden]] label, before being picked up by the larger [[Wand Records]] in October 1963. Wand president [[Florence Greenberg]] said, "... it was forced down my throat by friends. I was ashamed to put it out."<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=[[San Francisco Examiner]]|first=Phyllis|last=Battelle|author-link=Phyllis Battelle|date=September 25, 1970|title=Spinning Grandma|page=39}}</ref> [[Herb Alpert]] and  [[A&M Records]] passed on the distribution opportunity,<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[American Songwriter]]|url=https://americansongwriter.com/herb-alpert-talks-passing-on-the-kingsmen-loving-the-beatles-and-recording-his-new-lp/|title=Herb Alpert Talks Passing on the Kingsmen, Loving the Beatles, and Recording His New LP|first=Jacob|last=Uitti|date=August 2021}}</ref> deeming it "too long" and "out of tune".<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=St. Pete Catalyst|first=Bill|last=DeYoung|date=November 28, 2022|url=https://stpetecatalyst.com/the-catalyst-interview-herb-alpert/|title=The Catalyst interview: Herb Alpert}}</ref>

Sales of the Kingsmen record were initially so low (reportedly 600) that the group considered disbanding. Things changed when Boston's biggest DJ, [[Arnie Ginsburg]], was given the record by a pitchman. Amused by its slapdash sound, he played it on his program as "The Worst Record of the Week". Despite the slam, listener response was swift and positive.<ref>{{Cite web|date=August 8, 2015 |first=Dave |last=Lifton |title=How the Kingsmen Stirred Up Controversy With 'Louie Louie' |url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/kingsmen-louie-louie/ |access-date=2020-12-26 |website=Ultimate Classic Rock |language=en}}</ref>

By the end of October, it was listed in ''Billboard'' as a regional breakout and a "bubbling under" entry for the national chart. Meanwhile, the Raiders version, with far stronger promotion, was becoming a hit in California and was also listed as "bubbling under" one week after the Kingsmen debuted on the chart. For a few weeks, the two singles appeared destined to battle each other, but demand for the Kingsmen single, backed by national promotion from Wand, acquired momentum and by the end of 1963, [[Columbia Records]] had stopped promoting the Raiders version.

It entered the top ten on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] chart for December 7, and peaked at No. 2 the following week, a spot which it held for six non-consecutive weeks; it would remain in the top 10 throughout December 1963 and January 1964 before dropping off in early February.<ref>{{Cite book| author = Whitburn, Joel | title = Joel Whitburn Presents Billboard Top 10 Singles Charts | year = 2001 | location = Menomonee Falls, WI| publisher = Record Research, Inc. | pages = 69–72 | isbn = 0-89820-146-2 | author-link = Joel Whitburn}}</ref> In total, the Kingsmen's version spent 16 weeks on the Hot 100, selling a million copies by April 1964.<ref>{{cite book|first=Joseph|last=Murrells|year=1978|title=The Book of Golden Discs|edition=2nd, illustrated|publisher=Barrie & Jenkins|location=London|page=131|isbn=0-214-20480-4|url=https://archive.org/details/bookofgoldendisc00murr|url-access=registration}}</ref> [[The Singing Nun]]'s "[[Dominique]]" and [[Bobby Vinton]]'s "[[There! I've Said It Again]]" prevented the single from reaching No. 1 (although Marsh asserts that it "far outsold" the other records, but was denied ''Billboard's'' top spot due to lack of "proper decorum".){{sfn|Marsh|1993|page=123}} "Louie Louie" did reach No. 1 on the ''[[Cashbox (magazine)|Cash Box]]'' and ''[[Record World|Music Vendor/Record World]]'' pop charts, as well as No. 1 on the ''Cash Box'' R&B chart.<ref>{{Cite book|title= Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942–2004|last=Whitburn |first=Joel |author-link=Joel Whitburn |date=2004 |publisher=Record Research |page=328|location=Menomonee Falls, WI}}</ref><ref>Billboard R&B chart not published from November 30, 1963, to January 23, 1965.</ref> In [[CHUM Chart|Canada]] it was No. 1 for three weeks beginning December 30, 1963.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://chumtribute.com/63-12-30-chart.jpg| title=CHUM Hit Parade - December 30, 1963}}</ref>  It was the last No. 1 on ''Cash Box'' before [[Beatlemania]] hit the United States with "[[I Want to Hold Your Hand]]".<ref>{{cite book| first= Frank| last= Hoffmann| date=1983| title= The Cash Box Singles Charts, 1950-1981| publisher= The Scarecrow Press, Inc| location= Metuchen, NJ & London| page= 835}}</ref> The Kingsmen version quickly became a standard at teen parties in the U.S. during the 1960s and, reaching No. 26 on the [[UK Singles Chart]],{{sfn|Betts|2005|p=439}} was the preferred tune for a popular British dance called "[[The Shake (dance)|The Shake]]".<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Music Week]]|date=November 29, 1986|title=Why Louie Louie won't lie down|first=Barry|last=Lazell|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-UK/Music/Archive-Music-Week-IDX/IDX/1986/Music-Week-1986-11-29-IDX-20.pdf|access-date=December 24, 2021}}</ref> The first album, ''[[The Kingsmen in Person]]'', peaked at No. 20 in 1964 and remained on the charts for over two years (131 weeks total) until 1966.<ref name="Top Pop Albums">{{cite book| first= Joel| last= Whitburn| date=1996| title= Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Albums| publisher= Record Research Inc.| location= Menomonee Falls, WI| isbn= 0-89820-117-9| url-access= registration| url= https://archive.org/details/joelwhitburnstopp00whit}}</ref>

Due to the lyrics controversy and supported by the band's heavy touring schedule, the single continued to sell throughout 1965 and, after being reissued in 1966 as "Louie Louie 64-65-66", briefly reappeared on the charts, reaching No. 65 in ''Cash Box'', No. 76 in ''Record World'', No. 97 in ''Billboard''<ref name="Whitburn Comparison">{{cite book| last = Whitburn| first = Joel| title = The Comparison Book Billboard/Cash Box/Record World 1954-1982| location=Ann Arbor |publisher = Sheridan Books| year = 2015| isbn = 978-0-89820-213-7}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Cash Box|date=April 30, 1966|title=Louie, Louie Returns Again|page=52|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/60s/1966/CB-1966-04-30.pdf}}</ref> and cracking the Top 40 in the Washington market.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Billboard|title=Top Sellers in Top Markets|date=May 14, 1966|page=52}}</ref> Total sales estimates for the single range from 10 million<ref name="Rhino notes" /> to over 12 million with cover versions accounting for another 300 million.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=Los Angeles Daily News/Lewiston Journal|first=Lewis|last=Beale|date=September 5, 1986|title=After 23 years, 'Louie Louie' cooler than ever|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1899&dat=19860905&id=guJJAAAAIBAJ&sjid=8B0NAAAAIBAJ&pg=6190,518467}}</ref>

Another factor in the success of the record may have been the rumour that the vocals were intentionally slurred by the Kingsmen to cover up lyrics that were allegedly laced with profanity, graphically depicting sex between the sailor and his lady. Crumpled pieces of paper professing to be "the real lyrics" to "Louie Louie" circulated among teens. The song was banned on many radio stations and in many places in the United States, including Indiana, where a ban was requested by Governor [[Matthew E. Welsh|Matthew Welsh]].<ref>{{cite magazine |first=Gil|last=Faggen|page=3|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/60s/1964/Billboard%201964-02-01.pdf|title=Indiana Gov. Puts Down 'Pornographic' Wand Tune |magazine=Billboard magazine |date=February 1, 1964|access-date=May 15, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=Peter|last=Blecha|author-link=Peter Blecha|url=http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=5206 |title=Louie Louie – the Saga of a Pacific Northwest Hit Song |website=[[HistoryLink]] |date=February 15, 2003|access-date=March 5, 2016}}</ref><ref name="Stylus">{{cite magazine|last=Macdonald|first=Cameron|title=Seconds: Phil Milstein: Louie|magazine=[[Stylus Magazine]]|date=June 28, 2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Higgins|first=Will|title=That time Indiana teens ratted out dirty 'Louie Louie' lyrics, and the FBI got involved|url=https://www.indystar.com/story/entertainment/2019/01/02/kingsmen-louie-louie-richard-berry-song-lyrics-dirty-version-fbi-investigation-indiana-teens/2240339002/|access-date=March 2, 2019|newspaper=[[Indianapolis Star]]|date=January 2, 2019}}</ref> These actions were taken despite the fact that practically no one could distinguish the actual lyrics. Denials of chicanery by Kingsmen and Ely did not stop the controversy. The FBI started a 31-month investigation into the matter and concluded they were "unable to interpret any of the wording in the record."<ref name="TSG"/> However, drummer Lynn Easton later admitted that he yelled "Fuck" after fumbling a drum fill at 0:54 on the record.{{sfnm|1a1=Blecha|1y=2009|1p=138|2a1=Marsh|2y=1993|2p=97}}<ref>{{cite news|last=Attig|first=Rick|title=Ex-Kingsman brings act to C.O.|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=4EZTAAAAIBAJ&pg=6174,3247956&dq=jack+ely+kingsmen&hl=en|access-date=March 11, 2013|newspaper=[[The Bend Bulletin]]|date=August 4, 1987}}</ref><ref>{{snopes|link=https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/louie-louie-fuck/|title=Did ‘Louie Louie’ Drummer Yell ‘F*ck’ During Recording?}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The Mind of the Censor and the Eye of the Beholder: The First Amendment and the Censor's Dilemma|first=Robert|last=Corn-Revere|author-link=Robert Corn-Revere|date=2021|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1107129948|page=143|chapter=Ya Got Trouble: Censorship and Popular Music}}</ref>

By the time the Kingsmen version had achieved national popularity, the band had split. Two rival editions—one featuring lead singer Jack Ely, the other with Lynn Easton who held the rights to the band's name—were competing for live audiences across the country. A settlement was reached later in 1964 giving Easton the right to the Kingsmen name but requiring all future pressings of the original version of "Louie Louie" to display "Lead vocal by Jack Ely" on the label.{{sfn|Blecha|2009|p=156}} Ely released "Love That Louie" (as Jack E. Lee and the Squires) in 1964 and "Louie Louie '66" and "[[Louie Go Home]]" (as Jack Ely and the Courtmen) in 1966 without chart success.  He re-recorded "Louie Louie" in 1976 and again in 1980, and these versions appear on multiple 60s hit compilations credited to "Jack Ely (formerly of the Kingsmen)" or "re-recordings by the original artists".

Subsequent Kingsmen "Louie Louie" versions with either Lynn Easton or Dick Peterson as lead vocalist appeared on ''Live & Unreleased'' (recorded 1963, released 1992), ''Live at the Castle'' (recorded 1964, released 2011), ''Shindig! Presents Frat Party'' (VHS, recorded 1965, released 1991), ''60s Dance Party'' (1982), ''California Cooler Presents Cooler Hits'' (recorded 1986, released 1987),<ref>{{cite book|first=Greil|last=Marcus|author-link=Greil Marcus|title=Real Life Rock: The Complete Top Ten Columns, 1986-2014|date=2015|publisher=Yale University Press|location=New Haven|isbn=9780300196641|chapter=The Village Voice, 1986-1990|page=10}}</ref> ''The Louie Louie Collection'' (as the Mystery Band, 1994),  ''Red, White & Rock'' (2002), ''Garage Sale'' (recorded 2002, released 2003), and ''My Music: '60s Pop, Rock & Soul'' (DVD, 2011).<ref>{{cite web|first=Clay|last=Stabler|url=https://louielouie.org/discography/|website=The Kingsmen Official Site|title=Kingsmen Discography|access-date=August 25, 2021}}</ref> A solo version by Peterson was also included on the 1999 ''Circle of Friends, Volume 1'' CD.<ref>{{cite AV media|location=Hollywood|title=Circle of Friends, Volume 1|date=1999|publisher=MainStreet Entertainment 60153CD}}</ref>

On 9 November 1998, after a protracted lawsuit that lasted five years and cost $1.3 million, the Kingsmen were awarded ownership of all their recordings released on [[Wand Records]] from [[Gusto Records]], including "Louie Louie". They had not been paid royalties on the songs since the 1960s.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Kingsmen reign - High court grants royalties, tapes of 'Louie'|url=https://variety.com/1998/music/news/kingsmen-reign-1117488295/|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=November 9, 1998|first=Christopher|last=Stern}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.louielouie.org/modules.php?name=Lawsuit_Info|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130312073206/http://www.louielouie.org/modules.php?name=Lawsuit_Info|title=Lawsuit info at Louielouie.org|archive-date=March 12, 2013}}</ref>

When Jack Ely died on April 28, 2015, his son reported that "my father would say, 'We were initially just going to record the song as an instrumental, and at the last minute I decided I'd sing it.{{'"}}<ref name="LATobit">{{cite news|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|title=Jack Ely dies at 71; vocalist on the Kingsmen's 'Louie Louie'|date=April 30, 2015|access-date=February 28, 2022|url=https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-jack-ely-20150430-story.html}}</ref> When it came time to do that, however, Ely discovered the sound engineer had raised the studio's only microphone several feet above his head. Then he placed Ely in the middle of his fellow musicians, all in an effort to create a better "live feel" for the recording. The result, Ely would say over the years, was that he had to stand on his toes, lean his head back and shout as loudly as he could just to be heard over the drums and guitars.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Dubois |first1=Steven |last2=Rogers |first2=John |title='Louie Louie' Singer Jack Ely Dies in Oregon at 71 |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/28/louie-louie-jack-ely-dies_n_7165492.html |website=[[Huffington Post]] |agency=[[Associated Press]] |access-date=March 5, 2016 |date=April 28, 2015}}</ref>

When Mike Mitchell died on April 16, 2021, he was the only remaining member of the Kingsmen's original lineup who still performed with the band.<ref name="RSobit">{{cite magazine |last1=Kreps |first1=Daniel |title=Mike Mitchell, Guitarist on the Kingsmen's 'Louie Louie,' Dead at 77 |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/mike-mitchell-guitarist-the-kingsmen-louie-louie-dead-obit-1157393/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=18 April 2021 |date=18 April 2021}}</ref> His "Louie Louie" guitar break has been called "iconic",<ref>{{cite web|website=Guitar.com|date=April 19, 2021|first=David|last=Seah|url=https://guitar.com/news/music-news/mike-mitchell-kingsmen-louie-louie-dies/|title=Mike Mitchell, Co-Founder of Kingsmen and Guitarist on Louie Louie, Dies at 77|access-date=February 28, 2022}}</ref> "blistering",<ref>{{cite web|website=Guitar World|title=Mike Mitchell, The Kingsmen co-founder and Louie Louie guitarist, dies aged 77|url=https://www.guitarworld.com/news/mike-mitchell-the-kingsmen-co-founder-and-louie-louie-guitarist-dies-aged-77|first=Matt|last=Owen|date=April 19, 2021|access-date=February 28, 2022}}</ref> and "one of the most famous guitar solos of all time".<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/apr/19/mike-mitchell-guitarist-on-the-kingsmens-louie-louie-dies-aged-77|date=April 19, 2021|title=Mike Mitchell, guitarist on the Kingsmen's Louie Louie, dies aged 77|first=Ben|last=Beaumont-Thomas|access-date=February 28, 2022}}</ref> ''[[Guitar Player]]'' magazine noted, "Raw, lightning-fast, and loud, the solo's unbridled energy helped make the song a No. 2 pop hit, but also helped set the template for garage-rock – and later hard-rock – guitar."<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Guitar Player|first=Jackson|last=Maxwell|date=April 19, 2021|url=https://www.guitarplayer.com/news/mike-mitchell-guitarist-and-co-founder-of-the-kingsmen-dead-at-77|title=Mike Mitchell, Guitarist and Co-Founder of The Kingsmen, Dead at 77|access-date=February 28, 2022}}</ref>

Citing it as “the only piece of pop music I can remember from my youth”, British writer [[Peter Ackroyd]] selected the Kingsmen's "Louie Louie", along with works by [[Beethoven]], [[Bach]], and [[Prokofiev]] as music selections on the [[BBC Radio 4]] show, ''[[Desert Island Discs]]''.<ref>{{Cite AV media|type=radio interview|interviewer=Kirsty Young|interviewer-link=Kirsty Young|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/b01hw633|title=Desert Island Discs - Peter Ackroyd - BBC Sounds|date=May 20, 2012|website=BBC.co.uk|access-date=November 19, 2023}}</ref> British newspaper ''[[The Independent]]'' in 2015 declared it the "party anthem of the universe".<ref name="Independent 042015" />

=====Certifications=====
{{Certification Table Top}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=New Zealand|type=single|title=Louie Louie|artist=Kingsmen|award=Gold|access-date=December 15, 2024|relyear=1963|certyear=2024|source=radioscope}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|type=single|title=Louie Louie|artist=Kingsmen|award=Silver|access-date=December 18, 2024|relyear=2006|certyear=2023|id=19176-6438-1}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true|noshipments=true|streaming=true}}

==== Paul Revere & the Raiders (1963)====

{{Infobox song
| name       = Louie Louie
| cover      = Raiders Sande 45.jpg
| caption    = Original release
| alt        =
| type       = single
| artist     = [[Paul Revere & the Raiders]]
| album      = Here They Come!
| B-side     = [[Night Train (Jimmy Forrest composition)|Night Train]]
| released   = {{Start date|1963|05}} (Sandē)<br />{{Start date|1963|06}} (Columbia)
| recorded   = April 1963
| studio     = Northwestern Inc.
| genre      =
| length     = {{Duration|m=2|s=38}}
| label      = Sandē 101, [[Columbia Records|Columbia]] 4-42814
| writer     = Richard Berry
| producer   = Roger Hart
| prev_title = So Fine
| prev_year  = 1963
| next_title = [[Louie, Louie Go Home|Louie Go Home]]
| next_year  = 1963
| misc          = {{Extra album cover
 | header  = National release
 | type    = single
 | cover   = Raiders_Louie_Louie_single_label.png
 | border  = 
 | alt     = 
 | caption =  
}}
}}

Shortly after the Kingsmen, [[Paul Revere & the Raiders]] recorded a "cleaner, more accomplished"<ref name=Palao /> "soulful version"<ref>{{cite AV media|type=CD notes|work=Paul Revere & the Raiders Greatest Hits|first=Billy|title=Some History|last=Altman|date=1999|publisher=Columbia Records}}</ref> of "Louie Louie" in the same Portland studio. Sources concur that the Kingsmen session was first, but differ on the Raiders recording date.{{refn|Timing of the Raiders session date varies from one day after the Kingsmen,{{sfn|Gillett|1996|p=314}} two days (Mark Lindsay, 2011),<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=[[Austin Chronicle]]|title=Good Thing: Q&A with Mark Lindsay|first=Jim|last=Caligiuri|date=April 13, 2011|access-date=January 13, 2025|url=https://www.austinchronicle.com/daily/music/2011-04-13/good-thing/}}</ref> three days (Mark Lindsay, 2015),<ref>{{cite web|website=x.com|first=Mark|last=Lindsay|url=https://x.com/MarkLindsay/status/593174479372685314|date=April 28, 2015|title="To settle it once and for all: Jack Ely/The Kingsmen recorded Louie Louie 3 days BEFORE the Raiders."|access-date=January 13, 2025}}</ref> five days,<ref>{{cite web|title=On This Day in 1963 Roger Hart Produced Louie Louie-Raiders Version!|date=April 11, 2011|publisher=Stumptown Blogger|url=https://www.stumptownblogger.com/2011/04/on-this-day-in-1963-roger-hart-produced-louie-louie-raiders-version.html}}</ref> and seven  days.{{sfn|Blecha|2009|p=139}} Steve West's 2020 biography gives April 29th as the Raiders recording date based on "CBS archives", but the CBS receipt date was likely much later than the recording date.<ref name=West />}}

Personnel included [[Mark Lindsay]] (sax, vocals), Steve West (guitar), and [[Mike "Smitty" Smith|Mike Smith]] (drums) with Paul Revere subbing on bass.<ref>{{cite web|website=Northwest Music Archives Discography & Labelography|title=Louie Louie/Night Train|url= https://nwmusicarchives.com/record/louie-louie-night-train-2/|access-date=December 23, 2024}}</ref><ref name=West>{{cite book|title=The Lost Raider: The True Story of the Original 1963 Recording of "Louie Louie"|author1=Steve West|author2=Linda West|author3=Malachi Mata|date=2020|isbn=979-8372889415}}</ref> The recording was paid for and produced by [[KISN (Portland)|KISN]] radio personality Roger Hart, who soon became personal manager for the band.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Vintage Guitar|first=Dan|last=Forte|title=Steve West: Life Since "Louie, Louie"|url=https://www.vintageguitar.com/24687/steve-west/|date=September 2015|page=24}}</ref> Released on Hart's Sandē label and plugged on his radio show,{{sfn|Blecha|2009|p=139}} their version was more successful locally. [[Columbia Records]] issued the single nationally in June 1963 and it went to No. 1 in the West and Hawaii, but only reached No. 103 on the ''Billboard'' [[Bubbling Under Hot 100]] chart. The quick success of "Louie Louie" faltered, however, due to lack of support from Columbia and its [[A&R]] man [[Mitch Miller]],<ref>{{cite web|website=Sundazed|title=The Tall Cool Tale of Paul Revere & the Raiders: A Conversation with Mark Lindsay and Paul Revere|first=Domenic|last=Priore|author-link=Domenic Priore|date=March 24, 2011|url=https://sundazed.com/a-conversation-with-mark-lindsay.aspx|access-date=April 4, 2023}}</ref> a former bandleader (''[[Sing Along With Mitch]]'') with "retrogressive taste"<ref>{{cite book|title=America's Songs III: Rock!|first=Bruce|last=Pollock|date=2017|isbn=978-1317269649|publisher=Taylor & Francis|page=59|chapter=1961-1964}}</ref> who disliked the "musical illiteracy" of rock and roll.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Los Angeles Times|title=Obituaries: Mitch Miller dies at 99; musical innovator and host of 'Sing Along With Mitch'|date=March 10, 2014|first=Dennis|last=McLellan|url=https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-mitch-miller-20100803-story.html|access-date=October 16, 2023}}</ref>

The Raiders version opened with Lindsay's saxophone intro followed by Smitty's exhortation to "Grab yo woman, it's-a 'Louie Louie' time!".{{sfn|Marsh|1993|p=96}} Another signature phrase was "Stomp and shout and work it on out". Lyrically, only the first verse was used with Lindsay improvising the remaining vocals. The original version also contains a scarcely audible "dirty lyric" when Lindsay says, "Do she fuck? That psyches me up!" behind the guitar solo.<ref>{{cite AV media notes |title=Paul Revere & the Raiders - The Essential Ride '63-'67 |date=2019 |first=Al |last=Quaglieri |page=6 |type=CD sleeve notes |publisher=[[Columbia Records]] |location=New York City}}</ref>

Robert Lindahl, president and chief engineer of NWI and sound engineer on both the Kingsmen and Raiders recordings, stated that the Raiders version was not known for "garbled lyrics" or an amateurish recording technique, but, as one author noted, their "more competent but uptight take on the song" was less exciting than the Kingsmen's version.<ref>{{cite book|title=Five Years Ahead of My Time: Garage Rock from the 1950s to the Present|first=Seth|last=Bovey|date=2019|publisher=Reaktion Books|isbn=978-1789140941|location=London|page=40}}</ref>

Live versions were included on ''[[Here They Come!]]'' (1965), ''Paul Revere Rides Again!'' (1983), ''The Last Madman of Rock and Roll'' (1986, DVD), and ''Mojo Workout!'' (2000). Later releases featured different lead vocalists on ''Special Edition'' (1982, [[Michael Bradley (singer)|Michael Bradley]]), ''Generic Rock & Roll'' (1993, Carlo Driggs), ''Flower Power'' (2011, Darren Dowler), and ''The Revolutionary Hits of Paul Revere & the Raiders'' (2019, David Huizenga).

The Raiders also recorded Richard Berry's "[[Have Love, Will Travel]]", a "'Louie Louie' rewrite",{{sfn|Marsh|1993|p=39}} and "[[Louie, Go Home]]", an [[answer song]] penned by Lindsay and Revere after Berry declined their request to write a "Louie Louie" follow-up,{{sfn|Marsh|1993|p=174}} as well as "[[Just Like Me (Paul Revere & the Raiders song)|Just Like Me]]", a "first cousin to 'Louie Louie'".<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|first=Michael|last=Hann|date=October 6, 2014|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2014/oct/06/paul-revere-five-great-songs-america-60s-rock-legend|title=Paul Revere – five great songs from one of America's 60s rock legends|access-date=March 21, 2023}}</ref>

====The Beach Boys (1964)====
[[Surf music]] icons [[the Beach Boys]] released their version on the 1964 album ''[[Shut Down Volume 2]]'' with lead vocals shared by [[Carl Wilson]] and [[Mike Love]]. Their effort was unusual in that it was rendered "in a version so faithful to Berry's Angeleno-revered original"{{sfn|Marsh|1993|p=144}} instead of the more common garage rock style as they "[paid] tribute to the two most important earlier recordings of 'Louie Louie' — the 1957 original by Richard Berry and the Pharaohs, and the infamously unintelligible 1963 cover by the Kingsmen".{{sfn|Doll|2017|page=266}} Other surf music versions included the Chan-Dells in 1963,  [[the Pyramids (band)|the Pyramids]] and [[the Surfaris]] in 1964, [[the Trashmen]], [[the Invictas]], and [[Jan and Dean]] in 1965, [[the Challengers (band)|the Challengers]] in 1966, the Ripp Tides in 1981, and the Shockwaves in 1988.{{sfn|Marsh|1993|pp=208-238}}

====Otis Redding (1964)====
[[Otis Redding]]'s "spunky ... free-associating",<ref name=Palao /> "rich soul take"<ref name="FarOut5">{{cite magazine|magazine=Far Out|title=The five best covers of 'Louie, Louie'|date=November 8, 2024|first=Ben|last=Forrest|url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/five-best-covers-louie-louie/|access-date=November 12, 2024}}</ref>  version was released on his 1964 album ''[[Pain in My Heart]]''. Dave Marsh called it "the best of the era" and noted that he "rearranged it to suit his style" by adding a full horn section and  "garble[d] the lyrics so completely that it seems likely he made up the verses on the spot" as he "sang a story that made sense in his life" (including making Louie a female).{{sfn|Marsh|1993|p=145}}

Other versions by R&B artists included Bobby Jay and the Hawks in 1964, [[Ike & Tina Turner]], [[the Tams]], and Nat & John in 1968, [[Wilbert Harrison]] in 1969, the Topics in 1970, and [[Barry White]] in 1981.{{sfn|Marsh|1993|pp=208-238}}

====The Angels (1964)====
With a version on their 1964 album ''A Halo to You'', [[The Angels (American group)|the Angels]] were the first [[girl group]] to cover "Louie Louie".{{sfn|Marsh|1993|p=144}} Their "unlikely stab at [the] frat rock staple"<ref>{{cite web|first=Mick|title=Girl Zone!|last=Patrick|date=2015|website=Ace Records|url=https://acerecords.co.uk/girl-zone|access-date=February 3, 2024}}</ref> was also one of the first to deliberately duplicate the Jack Ely early vocal re-entry mistake after the bridge. ''The Best of Louie Louie, Volume 2'' included their rendition.<ref name=bestof2/>

A Minnesota girl group, the Shaggs, released a version as a 1965 single (Concert 1-78-65), and [[Honey Ltd.]] covered the song on a 1968 album and as a single ([[LHI Records|LHI]] 1216); however, the distinction of first girl group participation on a version of "Louie Louie" would go to the Shalimars, an [[Olympia, Washington|Olympia]] girl group who provided overdubbed backing vocals in 1960 for a recording by Little Bill (Englehardt) released as a single in 1961 (Topaz 1305).{{sfn|Blecha|2009|page=116}}

Female solo artist versions in the 1960s included Italian singer Maddalena in 1967 as a single titled "Lui Lui", [[Ike and Tina Turner]] in 1968 (released in 1988 on ''Ike & Tina Turner's Greatest Hits, Volume 2)'', and [[Julie London]] on her 1969 album ''[[Yummy, Yummy, Yummy]]''.{{sfn|Marsh|1993|pp=208-238}}

===={{Anchor|The Kinks}} The Kinks (1964)====

{{Infobox song
| name       = Louie Louie
| cover      = 
| alt        =
| type       = song
| artist     = [[the Kinks]]
| EP = [[Kinksize Session]]
| released   = {{Start date|1964|11|27}}
| recorded   = {{Start date|1964|10|18}}
| studio     = [[Pye Records|Pye]], London
| genre      = [[Rhythm and blues]]
| length     = {{Duration|m=2|s=57}}
| label      = [[Pye Records|Pye]] NEP 24200
| writer     = Richard Berry
| producer   = [[Shel Talmy]]
}}

[[The Kinks]] recorded "Louie Louie" on October 18, 1964. It was released in November 1964 in the UK on the ''[[Kinksize Session]]'' EP, reaching [[List of number-one EPs in the United Kingdom|No. 1]] on the ''[[Record Retailer]]'' EP chart.<ref name="Virgin">{{cite book|title=[[The Virgin Book of British Hit Singles]]|volume=2|chapter=EP Listings by Artist|page=527|first1=Dave|last1=McAleer|author-link=Dave McAleer|first2=Andy|last2=Gregory|first3=Matthew|last3=White|date=2010|publisher=Virgin Books|isbn=978-0-7535-2245-5}}</ref>  It was also released in 1965 on two US-only albums, ''[[Kinks-Size]]'' and ''[[Kinkdom]]'', and on a French album, ''A Well Respected Man''. Live 1960s versions were released on bootlegs ''The Kinks in Germany'' (1965), ''Kinky Paris'' (1965), ''Live in San Francisco'' (1969), ''Kriminal Kinks'' (1972), and ''The Kinks at the BBC'' (2012).<ref>{{cite AV media|title=The Kinks Discography|website=Discogs.com|url=https://www.discogs.com/artist/94078-The-Kinks}}</ref>

The Kinks version re-entered the charts in 2015, reaching No. 19 on the [[UK singles chart]] based on sales, downloads and streaming. [[The Kast Off Kinks]] continue to perform it live, occasionally joined by original Kinks members.<ref>{{cite web|website=KastOffKinks|title=Kast Off Guests|url=http://kastoffkinks.co.uk/html/kast_off_guests.html|access-date=October 15, 2023}}</ref>

Sources vary on the impact of "Louie Louie" on the writing of "[[You Really Got Me]]" and "[[All Day and All of the Night]]". One writer called the two songs "sparse representations of a 'Louie Louie' mentality",<ref>{{cite book|title=Rock And Roll: A Social History|page=315|first=Paul|last=Friedlander|date=2018|isbn=978-0813343068|publisher=[[Avalon Publishing]]|location=New York}}</ref> while another succinctly called the former "a rewrite of the Kingsmen's 'Louie Louie'".<ref>{{cite book|first=Steve|last=Sullivan|title=Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings Volume 1|publisher=Scarecrow Press|date=2013|page=858|isbn=978-0810882959}}</ref> A 1965 letter to London's [[Record Mirror]] opined, "Besides completely copying the Kingsmen's vocal and instrumental style, The Kinks rose to fame with two watery twists of this classic...."<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Record Mirror]]|location=London|title=Louie – A Pop Yardstick!|page=2|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-UK/Music/Archive-Record-Mirror-IDX/IDX/60s/Record-Mirror-1965-01-23-S-OCR-IDX-2.pdf|date=January 23, 1965|first=Alex|last=Donald|access-date=December 24, 2021}}</ref> An opposing opinion was voiced by a different author who noted that the "You Really Got Me" riff is "unquestionably a guitar-based piece, [that] fundamentally differs from "Louie Louie" and other earlier riff pieces with which it sometimes is compared".<ref>{{cite book|first=James E.|last=Perone|title=Mods, Rockers, and the Music of the British Invasion|publisher=ABC-CLIO|date=2009|page=107|isbn=978-0275998608}}</ref>

Dave Marsh asserted that the Kinks "blatantly based their best early hits" on the "Louie Louie" riff.{{sfn|Marsh|1993|p=143}} Other sources stated that Davies wrote "You Really Got Me" while trying to work out the chords of "Louie Louie" at the suggestion of the group's manager, [[Larry Page (singer)|Larry Page]].<ref>{{cite book|title=You Really Got Me: The Story of the Kinks|last=Hasted|first=Nick|date=2011|page=28|publisher=Omnibus Press|location=London|isbn=978-1849386609}}</ref> According to biographer Thomas M. Kitts, Davies confirmed that Page suggested that "he write a song like 'Louie Louie'", but denied any direct influence.<ref>{{cite book|title=Ray Davies: Not Like Everyone Else|first=Thomas M.|last=Kitts|date=2008|page=41|isbn=978-0415977692|publisher=Routledge|location=London}}</ref>

Biographer Johnny Rogan noted no "Louie Louie" influence, writing that Davies adapted an earlier piano riff to the jazz blues style of [[Mose Allison]], and that he was further influenced by seeing [[Chuck Berry]] and [[Gerry Mulligan]] in ''[[Jazz on a Summer's Day]]'', a 1958 film about the [[Newport Jazz Festival]]. Rogan also cited brother Dave Davies' distorted power chords as "the sonic contribution that transformed the composition" into a hit song.<ref>{{cite book|title=Ray Davies: A Complicated Life|first=Johnny|last=Rogan|date=2015|location=New York|publisher=Random House|page=137|isbn=978-0099554080}}</ref>

Whether directly or indirectly, the Kingsmen version influenced the musical style of the early Kinks. They were huge fans of the Kingsmen's "Louie Louie" and Dave Davies remembered the song inspiring Ray's singing, saying in an interview:{{sfn|Hasted|2011|page=28}}<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Mojo Magazine|first=Johnny|last=Black|date=September 2000|title=The Kinks: Hellfire Club|issue=82}}</ref>

<blockquote>''We played that record over and over. And Ray copied a lot of his vocal style from that guy [Jack Ely]. I was always trying to get Ray to sing, because I thought he had a great voice, but he was very shy. Then we heard The Kingsmen and he had that lazy, throwaway, laid-back drawl in his voice, and it was magic.''</blockquote>

[[Alec Palao]] in the ''Love That Louie'' CD liner notes highlighted Davies' "supremely lecherous, almost drunken vocal" and suggested that "Davies drew from 'Louie' the urchin persona that populated so much of the Kinks' early work".<ref name=Palao />

====The Sandpipers (1966)====
{{Infobox song
| name       = Louie Louie
| cover      = 
| alt        =
| type       = song
| artist     = [[The Sandpipers]]
| album = [[Guantanamera (The Sandpipers album)|Guantanamera]]
| released   = October 1966
| recorded   = 1966
| studio     = [[A&M Studios|A&M]], [[Hollywood, Los Angeles|Hollywood]]
| genre      = [[Easy listening]]
| length     = {{Duration|m=2|s=45}} (single), {{Duration|m=2|s=47}} (album)
| label      = [[A&M Records]] 819
| writer     = Richard Berry
| producer   = Tommy LiPuma
}}
After their No. 1 hit "[[Guantanamera]]", [[the Sandpipers]], with producer [[Tommy LiPuma]] and arranger Nick DeCaro, "cleverly revived"<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Billboard|date=October 8, 1966|page=16|title=Spotlight Singles - Top 60}}</ref> the same [[soft rock]], smooth ballad, Spanish language approach with a "quiet, yet majestic",<ref name=Palao /> "sweet interpretation"<ref>{{cite book|title=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music|first=Richard|last=Swift|editor=[[Colin Larkin]]|chapter=Volume 7: Rich, Young and Pretty|page=248|publisher=[[Muze]]|date=2006|isbn=978-0195313734|location=New York}}</ref> of "Louie Louie", reaching No. 30 and No. 35 on the Billboard and Cashbox charts, respectively (the highest charting U.S. version after the Kingsmen). The success of their "smoky version"<ref>{{cite book|title=Elevator Music: A Surreal History of Muzak, Easy-Listening, and Other Moodsong|first1=Joseph|last1=Lanza|date=2004|edition=Revised and Expanded|publisher=University of Michigan Press|location=Ann Arbor|page=118|isbn=978-0472089420}}</ref> heralded the entry of the ever adaptable "Louie Louie" into the [[Middle of the road (music)|MOR]] and [[easy listening]] categories and many followed: [[David McCallum]] and J.J. Jones (1967), [[Honey Ltd.]] (1968), [[Julie London]] (1969), [[Sounds Orchestral]] (1970), [[Line Renaud]] (1973), [[Dave Stewart (musician, born 1950)|Dave Stewart]] and [[Barbara Gaskin]] (1991), and others released singles and albums featuring slower and mellower versions of what had previously been an up tempo pop and rock standard.{{sfn|Marsh|1993|pp=147, 208-238}}

====Travis Wammack (1966)====
With the only instrumental version to make the charts, [[Travis Wammack]] reached No. 128 on the [[Bubbling Under Hot 100]] in April 1966.<ref name="Bubbling Under">{{cite book| first= Joel| last= Whitburn| author-link=Joel Whitburn|date=1992| title= Joel Whitburn's Bubbling Under the Top 100 1959-1985| publisher= Record Research Inc.| location= Menomonee Falls, WI| isbn= 0-89820-082-2}}</ref>  An early guitar innovator and "precursor to guitar-hero shredding", his distinctive sound on "Louie Louie" was "liberally laced with fuzztone"<ref name=Palao /> created by playing through an overdriven drive-in movie speaker.<ref>{{cite web|website=AL.com|title=Meet the unsung Muscle Shoals guitarist who's also a snake hunter|first=Matt|last=Wake|url=https://www.al.com/entertainment/2018/07/muscle_shoals_music_travis_wam.html|date=July 3, 2018|access-date=March 7, 2023}}</ref>

Released as a single (Atlantic 2322), the track was not included on Wammack's first album in 1972 or any thereafter.  It appeared on a 1967 French release (''Formidable Rhythm And Blues (Vol. 3)''), but not again until two Wammack compilations, ''That Scratchy Guitar From Memphis'' (1987) and ''Scr-Scr-Scratchy!'' (1989). It was also included on two later various artists compilations, ''Love That Louie: The Louie Louie Files'' (2002) and ''Boom Boom A Go-Go!'' (2014).

Other notable 1960s instrumental versions included [[the Ventures]], [[Ian Whitcomb]], and [[Sandy Nelson]] in 1965, [[Ace Cannon]] and [[Pete Fountain]] in 1966, [[Floyd Cramer]] 1967, and [[Willie Mitchell (musician)|Willie Mitchell]] in 1969.{{sfn|Marsh|1993|pp=208-238}}

====The Sonics (1966)====
[[The Sonics]] released their "blistering makeover ... definitive punk arrangement"<ref name=Palao /> as a 1965 single (Etiquette ET-23) and on the 1966 album ''[[Boom (The Sonics album)|Boom]]''. Later versions appeared on ''Sinderella'' (1980) and ''Live at Easy Street'' (2016).

Described as a major influence on punk and garage music worldwide,<ref>{{cite news|first=Dave|last=Good|title=The Sonics invented punk|newspaper=The San Diego Reader|date=August 13, 2014|access-date=September 22, 2021|url=https://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2014/aug/13/note-sonics-invented-punk/}}</ref> the group's characteristic hard-edged, fuzz-drenched sound and "abrasive, all-out approach"{{sfn|Bovey|2019|page=34}} "took the Northwest garage sound to its most primitive extreme"{{sfn|Bovey|2019|page=32}} and made their "Louie Louie" version ahead of its time. They also made it more "fierce and threatening"{{sfn|Blecha|2009|page=184}} by altering the traditional 1-4-5-4 chord pattern to the "darker, more sinister" 1-3b-4-3b.<ref name=Palao />

====Mongo Santamaria (1966)====
Cuban percussionist and bandleader [[Mongo Santamaria]]'s version, a "cousin of '[[Watermelon Man (composition)|Watermelon Man]]'",<ref name="Tribune">{{cite news|newspaper=[[The Chicago Tribune]]|date=November 24, 1989|title='Louie Louie' Meets Ike and Tina, the Angels and Mongo|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1989/11/24/louie-louie-meets-ike-and-tina-the-angels-and-mongo/|access-date=February 27, 2024}}</ref> returned "Louie Louie" to its Afro-Cuban roots, echoing Rene Touzet's "El Loco Cha Cha" with his [[conga]]- and trumpet-driven Latin jazz version. Originally released on the 1966 album ''Hey! Let's Party'', it was also included on the 1983 compilation ''The Best of Louie Louie, Volume 2''.<ref name=bestof2/> Other early Latin-flavored versions were released by Pedrito Ramirez con los Yogis (Angelo 518, 1965), Pete Terrace (''El Nuevo Pete Terrace'', 1966), [[Eddie Cano]] (''Brought Back Live from P.J.'s'', 1967), Mario Allison (''De Fiesta'', 1967), and Rey Davila (''On His Own'', 1971).

Latin American jazz/rock innovator [[Carlos Santana]] compared [[Tito Puente]]'s 1962 "[[Oye Como Va]]" to "Louie Louie" saying, "... how close the feel was to 'Louie Louie' and some Latin jazz tunes"<ref>{{cite book|title=The Universal Tone: Bringing My Story to Light|date=2014|first1=Carlos|last1=Santana|author-link1=Carlos Santana|first2=Ashley|last2=Kahn|author-link2=Ashley Kahn|first3=Hal|last3=Miller|page=237|publisher=Little, Brown & Co.|location=New York|isbn=978-0316244916}}</ref> and "... this is a song like 'Louie Louie' or 'Guantanamera'. This is a song that when you play it, people are going to get up and dance, and that's it."<ref>{{cite book|title=Carlos Santana: A Biography|page=36|date=2009|author=Weinstein, Norman|publisher=Greenwood Press|location=Santa Barbara|isbn=978-0313354205}}</ref>

====Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention (1967)====
"Louie Louie" occurred repeatedly as an "[[idée fixe (psychology)|idée fixe]]" in the musical lexicon of [[Frank Zappa]] in the 1960s with the Soul Giants<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Far Out Magazine|first=Tom|last=Taylor|date=December 4, 2023|title=A Confederacy of Weirdos: How Frank Zappa assembled The Mothers of Invention|url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/how-frank-zappa-assembled-the-mothers-of-invention/|access-date=December 5, 2023}}</ref> and [[the Mothers of Invention]]. He categorized the riff as one of several "Archetypal American Musical Icons ... [whose] presence in an arrangement puts a spin on any lyric in their vicinity"<ref name="Zappa2">{{cite journal|last=Borders|first=James|title=Frank Zappa's 'The Black Page': A Case of Musical Conceptual Continuity|journal=Expression in Pop-Rock Music: Critical and Analytical Essays 2nd Ed.|editor-first=Walter|editor-last=Everett|pages=51–75, 155|location=New York|publisher=Routledge|date=2008}}</ref> and used it initially "to make fun of the old-fashioned rock 'n' roll they had transcended".<ref name=Marcus/> Although he characterized the Kingsmen version as a "mutilation"<ref name=Farren /> and an "''Animal House'' joke",<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Society Pages|first1=Denn|last1=Simms|first2=Eric|last2=Buxton|first3=Rob|last3=Samler|title=Frank Zappa Interview December 22, 1989|date=April 1990|page=24|issue=1}}</ref> he had a higher opinion of Richard Berry, calling him "one of the most important figures in the West Coast rhythm-and-blues scene of the Fifties"<ref name="Farren">{{cite magazine|magazine=[[New Musical Express]]|date=April 26, 1975|title=Call Francis Vincent Zappa!: A Mother Goes A-courting|first=Mick|last=Farren|author-link=Mick Farren|page=28}}</ref> and saying, "No one may not underestimate {{sic}} the impact of 'Louie Louie', the original Richard Berry version."<ref>{{cite book|title=Songwriters on Songwriting|chapter=Frank Zappa|first=Paul|last=Zollo|author-link=Paul Zollo|date=1991|page=121|isbn=978-0306812651|publisher=Da Capo Press|location=Boston}}</ref>

His original compositions "[[Plastic People]]" and "Ruthie-Ruthie" (from [[You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 1]]) were set to the melody of "Louie Louie" and included "Music by Richard Berry" credits.<ref>{{AllMusic|id=mw0000194897 |title=Frank Zappa - You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore, Vol. 1 - Review|first=Francois|last=Couture}}</ref> Zappa said that he fired guitarist [[Alice Stuart]] from the Mothers of Invention because she couldn't play "Louie Louie", although this comment was obviously intended as a joke.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.historylink.org/File/20799 |publisher=HistoryLink.org |first=Peter|last=Blecha|author-link=Peter Blecha|title=Alice Stuart Biography|date=June 20, 2019}}</ref>

At a 1967 concert at the [[Royal Albert Hall]] in London, Mothers of Invention keyboardist [[Don Preston]] climbed up to the venue's famous [[Royal Albert Hall Organ|pipe organ]], usually used for classical works, and played the signature riff (included on the 1969 album ''[[Uncle Meat]]''). Quick interpolations of "Louie Louie" also frequently turn up in other Zappa works.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ulrich |first=Charles |date=May 13, 2018 |title=The Big Note: A Guide to the Recordings of Frank Zappa |location=Vancouver |publisher=[[New Star Books]] |isbn=978-1-554201-46-4}}</ref>

====Other 1960s versions====
*Little Bill with the Adventurers and the Shalimars, on a 1961 single (Topaz T-1305).{{sfn|Blecha|2009|page=116}}
*[[The Jordan Brothers]], live in 1963.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=[[Republican Herald]]|location=[[Pottsville, PA]]|first=Ron|last=Devlin|title=Central PA Music Hall of Fame inducts Jordan Brothers|url=https://www.republicanherald.com/2025/03/08/the-jordan-brothers-frackvilles-fab-four-inducted-into-central-pa-music-hall-of-fame/|access-date=March 10, 2025|date=March 8, 2025}}</ref>
*[[Terry Kath]], on a 1963 demo with his first group, The Mystics.<ref>{{cite web|first=Tim|last=Wood|date=1998|website=terrykath.com|title=The Mystics - Terry Kath's first rock band|url=http://www.terrykath.com/news/2021/12/11/the-mystics-terry-kaths-first-rock-band|access-date=4 March 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite AV media|title=The Mystics - Louis|date=1963|url=https://www.45cat.com/record/nc946066us |publisher=Balkan Recording Studio|location=Berwyn, IL|website=45cat.com|type=45 single}}</ref>
*[[The Swamp Rats]], on a 1964 single (St. Clair MF69). Also released on their 1979 album ''Disco Sucks''.{{sfn|Marsh|1993|pp=208-238}}
*[[The Pyramids (band)|The Pyramids]], on their 1964 album ''The Pyramids Play The Original Penetration!''{{sfn|Marsh|1993|pp=208-238}}
*[[The Standells]], on a 1964 album ''The Standells in Person at P.J.s.''{{sfn|Marsh|1993|pp=208-238}}
*[[Leon Russell]], "pumping chords all the way through" as a session player on ''The Top-40 Song Book'', a 1964 singalong album by arranger [[H. B. Barnum]] and producer [[David Axelrod (musician)|David Axelrod]].<ref>{{cite book|first=William|last=Sargent|title=Superstar in a Masquerade|chapter=Chapter 14: The Output of Contributions: H. B. Barnum|date=2021|publisher=Page Publishing|isbn=978-1662431159}}</ref>
*[[The Sentinals (band)|The Sentinals]], on their 1964 album ''Vegas Go Go''.{{sfn|Marsh|1993|pp=208-238}}
*[[Pat Metheny]], in the 1960s with his first group, The Beat Bombs.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=[[The San Diego Union-Tribune]]|date=September 24, 2021|first=George|last=Varga|access-date=February 20, 2022|title=Pat Metheny, a 20-time Grammy-winner, looks forward and back with new band Side-Eye: 'Music is the carrot'|url=https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/entertainment/music/story/2021-09-24/pat-metheny-side-eye}}</ref>
*[[John Fogerty]], live in 1964 with the [[Creedence Clearwater Revival#Vision and The Golliwogs (1964–1967)|Golliwogs]]<ref>{{cite book|title=Fortunate Son: My Life, My Music|first=John|last=Fogerty|author-link=John Fogerty|date=2015|publisher=Little, Brown|location=New York|isbn=9780316244565|chapter=The... Golliwogs?}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Up Around The Bend|first=Craig|last=Werner|page=37|date=1998|publisher=Avon Books|location=New York|isbn=0-380-80153-1|chapter=Golliwogs}}</ref>
* [[Allen Collins]], with his first group, The Mods, in 1964<ref>{{cite book|page=48|title=Guitar Greats of Jacksonville|first=Michael Ray|last=FitzGerald|date=2023|chapter=The Biggest Thing Since the Ventures|publisher=The History Press|location=Charleston, SC|isbn=978-1467153416}}</ref>
*[[The Bobby Fuller Four]], recorded 1964, released on a French bootleg LP ''I Fought The Law'' in 1983 and on ''El Paso Rock: Early Recordings, Vol. 1'' in 1996.{{sfn|Marsh|1993|pp=208-238}}
*[[Jan and Dean]], live on their 1965 ''Command Performance'' album backed by the Fantastic Baggys;{{sfn|Marsh|1993|pp=208-238}} considered by some the "best track on the album".<ref>{{cite book|title=The Jan & Dean Record: A Chronology of Studio Sessions, Live Performances and Chart Positions|first=Mark A.|last=Moore|date=March 14, 2016 |publisher=[[McFarland & Company]]|location=Jefferson, NC|isbn=978-1476622903|page=215}}</ref>
* [[Steven Tyler]], with his group [[Chain Reaction (band)|The Strangeurs]] in 1965.<ref>{{cite book|title=Walk This Way: The Autobiography of Aerosmith|chapter=Quest for Immortality|page=33|isbn=978-0062188151|date=2012|location=New York|publisher=[[HarperCollins]]|author1=[[Aerosmith]]|first2=Stephen|last2=Davis|author-link2=Stephen Davis (music journalist)}}</ref>
*A [[Millbrook School]] 1965 single featuring the Moongazers with "new singing sensation" Gino Wertz.<ref>{{cite AV media|type=LP liner notes|title=Millbrook School - The Moongazers|date=1965|url=https://www.discogs.com/release/28843054-Various-Music-From-Millbrook|access-date=July 2, 2024|first=Jack|last=Nichols}}</ref>
*[[Sandy Nelson]], an instrumental version on his 1965 album ''Boss Beat'';{{sfn|Marsh|1993|pp=208-238}} also included on the 2005 compilation ''Sandy Nelson's Big Sixties Beat Party''.
*[[Marshall Crenshaw]], with his first group in Detroit in the mid-1960s.<ref>{{cite web|website=Local Spins|first=John|last=Sinkevics|date=March 16, 2024|title=Rocker Marshall Crenshaw 'still connected' to Michigan as 40th anniversary tour comes home|access-date=March 17, 2024|url=https://localspins.com/rocker-marshall-crenshaw-still-connected-to-michigan-as-40th-anniversary-tour-comes-home-local-spins/}}</ref>
* [[The Invictas]], on their 1965 album ''The Invictas À Go-Go''; re-released in 1983.{{sfn|Marsh|1993|pp=208-238}}
*[[The Pink Finks]] (Australia), on a 1965 charting single (Mojo MO-001)<ref>{{cite book|title=Wild about You!: The Sixties Beat Explosion in Australia and New Zealand|author1=Marks, Ian D.|author2=McIntyre, Iain|date=2010|chapter=Top 100 Beat 'n' Garage Tracks|page=323|publisher=Verse Chorus Press|location=Portland|isbn=978-1891241284|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IH0R2srt8osC}}</ref> with [[Ross Wilson (musician)|Ross Wilson]] singing "whatever sounded right to him".<ref>{{cite book|title=Wild about You! The Sixties Beat Explosion in Australia and New Zealand|chapter=The Pink Finks|page=139|date=2011|isbn=978-1891241284|location=Melbourne|publisher=Verse Chorus Press|first1=Ian D.|last1=Marks|first2=Iain|last2=McIntyre}}</ref>
*[[The Outcasts (Texas band)#Other bands named the Outcasts|The Outcasts (New York)]], recorded 1960s, released in 1987 on ''The Battle Of The Bands Live!''{{sfn|Marsh|1993|pp=208-238}}
*[[The Ventures]], an instrumental version on their 1965 album ''[[The Ventures a Go-Go]]''.{{sfn|Marsh|1993|pp=208-238}}
*[[Ian Whitcomb]], an instrumental piano version on a 1965 single ([[Tower Records (record label)|Tower]] 216).{{sfn|Marsh|1993|pp=208-238}}
*[[The Castaways]], live in 1965 at the [[Cow Palace]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Everybody's Heard about the Bird: The True Story of 1960s Rock 'n' Roll in Minnesota|chapter=Liar, Liar|first=Rick|last=Shefchik|date=2015|isbn=978-1452949741|publisher=University of Minnesota Press}}</ref>
*[[Jim Morrison]]'s first vocal performance on stage was "Louie Louie" in 1965 with Rick and the Ravens (with [[Ray Manzarek]]) at the Turkey Joint West in [[Santa Monica]],<ref>{{cite book|last=Manzarek|first=Ray|author-link=Ray Manzarek|title=Light My Fire – My Life with The Doors|date=1998|publisher=Berkley Boulevard Books|location=New York City|page=86|isbn=0-425-17045-4}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The Doors: The Illustrated History|page=17|first=Gillian G.|last=Gaar|date=2015|isbn=978-1627887052|publisher=Voyageur Press|chapter=1966 The Ceremony Is About to Begin}}</ref> and the newly formed [[The Doors|Doors]] initially used it as their opening number.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Doors: A Lifetime of Listening to Five Mean Years|first=Greil|last=Marcus|author-link=Greil Marcus|date=2011|isbn=978-1586489458|publisher=PublicAffairs|chapter=Soul Kitchen|location=New York}}</ref>
*[[Todd Rundgren]], in 1965 with his first group, Money. He described "Louie Louie" as "a song that changed my life"<ref>{{cite podcast|first=Jesse|last=Thorn|author-link=Jesse Thorn|title=Bullseye: Todd Rundgren on the song that changed his life|website=NPR.org|publisher=[[NPR]]|date=17 February 2023|url=https://www.npr.org/2023/02/16/1157743525/todd-rundgren-on-the-song-that-changed-his-life|access-date=25 February 2023}}</ref> and said, "You hear it for the first time, you don't understand the words or what the song is about, but you never forget it."<ref>{{cite web|website=Far Out Magazine|url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/song-that-changed-todd-rundgren-life/|title=The song that changed Todd Rundgren's life|date=December 25, 2023|first=Ben|last=Forrest|access-date=December 27, 2023}}</ref>
*[[Don and the Goodtimes]], backing Jim "Harpo" Valley on the 1966 album ''Harpo: Jim Valley with Don and the Goodtimes''. The "extended raunch fest" that combined "elements of both the Raiders' and Kingsmen's arrangements"<ref name=Palao /> was also included on the various artists albums ''The Hitmakers'' (1966), ''Northwest Battle of the Bands, Volume 2'' (2001), and ''Love That Louie'' (2002).{{sfn|Marsh|1993|pp=208-238}}
*[[Jack Ely]] and the Courtmen, on a 1966 single (Bang B-520) as "Louie Louie '66";{{sfn|Marsh|1993|pp=208-238}} a version that "ploughs the same basic furrow as the original" with "a slightly harsher edge."<ref name=Palao />
*[[The Troggs]], on their 1966 UK album ''[[From Nowhere]]''. Their 1966 hit single "[[Wild Thing (The Troggs song)|Wild Thing]]" used the same chord progression as "fundamentally a 'Louie Louie' rewrite".<ref>{{cite book|title=Electric Wizards: A Tapestry of Heavy Music – 1968 to the Present|first=JR|last=Moores|date=2022|isbn=978-1789144499|publisher=[[Reaktion Books]]|location=London|page=36}}</ref> James Marshall of [[Spin Magazine]] said of the Troggs, "All you need to make a great rock 'n' roll record are the chords to 'Louie Louie' and a bad attitude."<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]|first=James|last=Marshall|title=Blue Light Special: The Troggs|date=February 1993|volume=8|number=11|page=82}}</ref> A rerecorded version was released on the 2013 album ''This Is The Troggs''.{{sfn|Marsh|1993|pp=208-238}}
*[[The Challengers (band)|The Challengers]], on their 1966 album ''California Kicks''.{{sfn|Marsh|1993|pp=208-238}}
* [[psychedelic music|Psychedelic]] versions by [[the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band]] in 1966 on their debut album ''[[Volume One (The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band album)|Volume One]]'', [[Mike Deasy|Friar Tuck]] on his 1967 album ''Friar Tuck and His Psychedelic Guitar'', [[Neighb'rhood Childr'n]] on their 1997 album (recorded 1967) ''Long Years in Space'', and the Underground All-Stars on their 1968 album ''Extremely Heavy!''.{{sfn|Marsh|1993|pp=208-238}}
*[[The Beau Brummels]], on a 1966 album [[Beau Brummels '66]] and a second version on the 1968 compilation ''The Best of the Beau Brummels, Vol. 44''.{{sfn|Marsh|1993|pp=208-238}}
*[[Ace Cannon]], an instrumental saxophone version on his 1966 album ''Sweet & Tough''.{{sfn|Marsh|1993|pp=208-238}}
*[[Pete Fountain]], an instrumental clarinet version on his 1966 album ''I've Got You Under My Skin'';{{sfn|Marsh|1993|pp=208-238}} also included on the 1983 compilation ''The Best of Louie Louie, Volume 2''.<ref name=bestof2/> 
*[[The Swingin' Medallions]], on their 1966 album ''Double Shot (Of My Baby's Love)''.{{sfn|Marsh|1993|pp=208-238}}
*The [[Syndicate of Sound]], a live version from 1966 released in 1991 by ''Cream Puff War'' magazine.<ref>{{cite magazine|first=Alec|last=Palao|author-link=Alec Palao|magazine=Cream Puff War|title=Syndicate of Sound - "Louie Louie"|issue=2|date=1993|publisher=Palao-Cost|location=Santa Clara, CA}}</ref>
* [[Pink Floyd]], in an earlier incarnation as The Pink Floyd Sound, regularly performed psychedelic versions with "wild improvised interludes"<ref name="Palacios">{{cite book|title=Syd Barrett & Pink Floyd: Dark Globe|first=Julian|last=Palacios|date=2015|publisher=Plexus Publishing Limited|isbn=978-0859658829}}</ref> and "echo-laced discordant jams"<ref>{{cite book|title=Portobello Road: Lives of a Neighbourhood|chapter=Pink Floyd Go into Interstellar Overdrive|first=Julian|last=Mash|publisher=[[Frances Lincoln]]|location=London|date=2014|isbn=978-1781011522}}</ref> in the mid-1960s.<ref>{{cite book|last=Miles|first=Barry|author-link=Barry Miles|title=In The Sixties|date=2002|publisher=[[Jonathan Cape]]|location=London|page=104|isbn=0-224-06240-9}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Mason|first=Nick|author-link=Nick Mason|title=Inside Out: A Personal History of Pink Floyd|date=2004|publisher=Chronicle Books|location=San Francisco|page=36|isbn=1-452-16641-2}}</ref> However, after an October 1966 ''[[Melody Maker]]'' concert review criticized their "dated R&B things" and said "Psychedelic versions of 'Louie Louie' won't come off", the song was dropped from future setlists.<ref name=Palacios /><ref>{{cite book|title=London Live – From the Yardbirds to Pink Floyd to the Sex Pistols: The Inside Story of Live Bands in the Capital's Trail-blazing Music Clubs|first=Tony|last=Bacon|date=1999|isbn=978-0879305727|publisher=Miller Freeman Books|location=London|page=81}}</ref>
*[[Eddie Cano]] and his Quintet, on his 1967 ''Brought Back Live from P.J.'s'' album.{{sfn|Marsh|1993|pp=208-238}}
*[[Floyd Cramer]], an instrumental piano version on his 1967 album ''Here's What's Happening!''{{sfn|Marsh|1993|pp=208-238}}
*[[David McCallum]], on his 1967 ''It's Happening Now!'' album;{{sfn|Marsh|1993|pp=208-238}} described by [[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] as "exceptional as it builds slowly".<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Billboard|date=January 21, 1967|title=Album Reviews: Music – It's Happening Now!|page=45}}</ref>
*[[The Robbs]], on a 1968 EP ''W'R-IT In Milwaukee Radio!''{{sfn|Marsh|1993|pp=208-238}}
*[[The Tams]], on their 1968 album ''A Little More Soul''.{{sfn|Marsh|1993|pp=208-238}}
*The [[Dick Crest]] Orchestra, on a 1968 album ''Would You Believe''.{{sfn|Marsh|1993|pp=208-238}}
*[[The Alley Cats (1960s group)|Africa]], in a medley with "[[Ode to Billie Joe]]" on their 1968 album ''Music From "Lil Brown"''; described as "surprisingly ripe for lysergic interpretation."<ref>{{AllMusic|id=mw0000939664 |title=Music from "Lil Brown" - Review|first=Jason|last=Ankeny}}</ref>
*[[Ike and Tina Turner]] recorded "a sultry, little known rendition"<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=May 26, 2023|access-date=June 26, 2023|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/26/arts/music/amplifier-newsletter-tina-turner-cover-songs.html|title=Tina Turner, a Queen of Rock 'n' Roll Covers|url-access=subscription}}</ref> in 1968 sung from "his avaricious girlfriend's point of view" with "the forlorn sailor owning a yacht".{{sfn|Marsh|1993|page=145}} Their "soul romp"<ref name="Tribune" /> version was released on ''Ike and Tina Turner's Greatest Hits, Volume 2'' in 1988 and also on ''The Best of Louie Louie, Volume Two'' in 1989.<ref name=bestof2/> 
* [[Honey Ltd.]], on their eponymous 1968 album and as a single (LHI 1216).{{sfn|Marsh|1993|pp=208-238}} A "slow-tempo, brass and funk rendition ... replete with cries of "Sock it to me, Louie!", it was produced by [[Jack Nitzsche]] and featured [[Ry Cooder]] on guitar.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Perfect Sound Forever|date=March 2005|url=http://www.furious.com/perfect/honeyltd.html|title=Loud Harmonic Transcendence - The Honey Ltd. Story|first=Jonathan|last=Ward|access-date=April 2, 2023}}</ref> One writer characterized it as "slow, vague, and really drawn out"<ref>{{cite book|title=Re/Search #14: Incredibly Strange Music, Volume 1|date=1993|publisher=[[RE/Search Publications]]|location=San Francisco|page=183|first1=V.|last1=Vale|author-link=V. Vale|first2=Andrea|last2=Juno}}</ref> and group member Joan Sliwin said, "I never understood ... why 'Louie, Louie'?"<ref>{{cite news|title=Honey Ltd. Discuss Key Tracks From Their Long-Lost Lee Hazlewood Sessions|url=https://www.self-titledmag.com/honey-ltd-discuss-key-tracks-from-their-long-lost-lee-hazlewood-sessions/|access-date=February 10, 2015|newspaper=self-titled Magazine|date=September 10, 2013}}</ref>
* [[Wilbert Harrison]], on his 1969 album ''Let's Work Together'' and as a single (Juggernaut 70SUG405). Noted for "imparting his own personal stamp" and "unique vocal delivery" on his version.<ref>{{cite book|first=Bill|last=Dahl|title=[[AllMusic#The All Music Guide series|All Music Guide to Soul: The Definitive Guide to R&B and Soul]]|page=298|chapter=Wilbert Harrison|date=2003|publisher=[[Backbeat Books]]|location=San Francisco|isbn=978-0879307448|editor-first1=Vladimir|editor-last1=Bogdanov|editor-link1=Vladimir Bogdanov (editor)|editor-first2=John|editor-last2=Bush|editor-first3=Chris|editor-last3=Woodstra|editor-first4=Stephen Thomas|editor-last4=Erlewine|editor-link4=Stephen Thomas Erlewine}}</ref>
*[[Willie Mitchell (musician)|Willie Mitchell]], an instrumental trumpet version on his 1969 album ''On Top''.{{sfn|Marsh|1993|pp=208-238}}
*[[Jefferson Airplane]] and [[Grateful Dead]] ([[Joey Covington]] (vocals), [[Jerry Garcia]], [[Jorma Kaukonen]], [[Gary Duncan]], [[Jack Casady]], [[Mike Shrieve]], others), live at the Family Dog at Great Highway, San Francisco on September 7, 1969.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/gd69-09-07.sbd.dfinney.5808.sbeok.shnf|website=Archive.org|title=Grateful Dead Live at Family Dog at the Great Highway on 1969-09-07|date=April 23, 2004|access-date=September 12, 2021}}</ref>
* [[The Beatles]], from the [[The Beatles' recording sessions#Get Back album sessions|''Get Back/Let It Be'' sessions]] in 1969; released on the 1995 ''Jamming With Heather'' bootleg CD.
* A "sexiest-of-all version by smokey-voiced diva [[Julie London]]"<ref>{{cite book|title=Rock'n'Roll's Strangest Moments: Extraordinary But True Tales from 45 Years of Rock & Roll History|first=Mike|last=Evans|date=2006|isbn=978-1849941815|publisher=Portico Books|location=London|chapter=The Strange Story of 'Louie Louie'}}</ref> released as a 1969 single ([[Liberty Records|Liberty]] 56085) and included on her final album ''[[Yummy, Yummy, Yummy (album)|Yummy, Yummy, Yummy]]'', which also featured other contemporary rock songs.
*[[George Strait]], in the late 1960s with his high school group, The Stoics.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|first=Ray|last=Waddell|date=August 16, 2013|title=George Strait: The Billboard Cover Story Q&A|url=https://www.billboard.com/music/country/george-strait-the-billboard-cover-story-qa-5657700/|access-date=February 1, 2024}}</ref>
*[[Michael and the Messengers|The Messengers]], on their eponymous 1969 album and a 1970 single, both on the [[Rare Earth Records|Rare Earth]] label.{{sfn|Marsh|1993|pp=208-238}}