In 1963, a rock hit the airwaves that would go on to cause mass confusion, outrage and accidental comedy. That song was “Louie Louie” by The Kingsmen. Within two years of its release, the FBI was investigating it for possible “pornographic” lyrics.
According to the History Channel, The Kingsmen’s chaotic 1963 recording of the garage-rock anthem became one of the biggest hits of the decade, but it also triggered a bizarre federal investigation after parents and politicians became convinced the song’s garbled lyrics were secretly obscene.
Sixty-one years ago today—May 17, 1965—after months of analysis, the FBI laboratory officially concluded that the lyrics were simply “unintelligible.”
The investigation began after complaints flooded the U.S. Department of Justice accusing the song of containing hidden pornographic content. Concerned parents circulated supposed “real lyrics” among teenagers, while some radio stations banned the song entirely.
Even Indiana Governor Matthew E. Welsh publicly condemned the record and pushed for restrictions on airplay.
Ironically, the actual lyrics of “Louie Louie” were relatively innocent.
Originally written and recorded by Richard Berry in the 1950s, the song told the simple story of a sailor speaking to a bartender named Louie about wanting to return home to his girlfriend.
Everything changed when Portland garage band the Kingsmen recorded their now-legendary version in April 1963.
The session was famously rushed and chaotic. Lead singer Jack Ely had to stand on tiptoe and shout into a microphone hanging from the ceiling while competing with loud guitars and drums. Ely was also wearing braces during the recording, further slurring his already frantic vocals.
Rolling Stone later ranked “Louie Louie” No. 54 on its list of the “500 Greatest Songs of All Time,” describing the track as “a blast of raw guitars and half-intelligible shouting recorded for $52.” The magazine noted that the Kingsmen accidentally made the lyrics indecipherable by crowding around a single microphone during the session. “I was yelling at a mike far away,” singer Jack Ely told Rolling Stone. “I always thought the controversy was record-company hype.”
The result sounded raw, distorted and nearly impossible to understand, which only fueled the hysteria.
As rumors spread about hidden obscene lyrics, the FBI launched a formal investigation that reportedly lasted more than two years. Agents interviewed the band, analyzed recordings at different speeds and repeatedly attempted to decipher the vocals.
According to the FBI lab’s final assessment, however, the song could not be understood “at any speed.”
The controversy only made “Louie Louie” more popular.
The Kingsmen’s version climbed to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and eventually became one of the defining songs of garage rock. Over time, critics and musicians would credit the recording’s rough, unpolished energy with helping inspire punk rock and grunge decades later.
Music critic Dave Marsh later called it “the most profound and sublime expression of rock and roll’s ability to create something from nothing” in his book “The Heart of Rock & Soul.”
The song’s legacy only grew with time. “Louie Louie” became one of the most-covered songs in rock history, with versions recorded by artists ranging from Otis Redding and the Beach Boys to The Kinks and Motörhead.
Despite all the years of controversy, one small detail eventually emerged that made the story even funnier.
Decades later, drummer Lynn Easton admitted that after fumbling a drum fill during the recording, he accidentally shouted the F-word in the background of the song at around the 54-second mark, according to Marsh’s book “Louie Louie: The History and Mythology of the World’s Most Famous Rock ‘n Roll Song.”
The FBI never noticed it.