The Legendary “Louie Louie” FBI Investigation

When the Kingsmen released “Louie Louie” in 1963, no one could make out the words.  That’s because the band had no money and could only afford three mics for their $50 recording session.  This meant that singer Joe Ely had to tilt his head all the way back and sing up into an overhead microphone.  The fact that he was wearing heavy braces on his teeth didn’t help with his diction, either.

But because the words were difficult to decipher, many hysterical anti-rock people believed that the words must be obscene.  After much compaining and protesting, the authorities had to step in–and that included the FBI who launched a two year investigation into the song.

Yes, I said two years.  

If you’ve never heard the story of the great “Louie Louie” controversy, best read all about it here at The Smithsosian.