"Louie Louie" is a rhythm and blues song written and composed by American musician Richard Berry in 1955, recorded in 1956, and released in 1957. It is best known for the 1963 hit version by the Kingsmen and has become a standard in pop and rock. The song is based on the tune "El Loco Cha Cha" popularized by bandleader René Touzet and is an example of Afro-Cuban influence on American popular music.
The U.S. state of Washington has been home to many popular musicians and several major hotbeds of musical innovation throughout its history. The largest city in the state, Seattle, is known for being the birthplace of grunge as well as a major contributor to the evolution of punk rock, indie music, folk, and hip hop. Nearby Tacoma and Olympia have also been centers of influence on popular music.
The Kingsmen are a 1960s American rock band from Portland, Oregon. They are best known for their 1963 recording of R&B singer Richard Berry's "Louie Louie", which held the No. 2 spot on the Billboard charts for six weeks and has become an enduring classic.
The Sonics are an American garage rock band from Tacoma, Washington, that formed in 1960. Their aggressive, hard-edged sound has been a major influence on punk and garage music worldwide, and they have been named inspirations to the White Stripes, LCD Soundsystem, Nirvana, The Hives, and other musical artists.
Pye Records was a British record label. Its best known artists were Lonnie Donegan (1956–1969), Petula Clark (1957–1971), the Searchers (1963–1967), the Kinks (1964–1971), Sandie Shaw (1964–1971), Status Quo (1968–1971) and Brotherhood of Man (1975–1979). The label changed its name to PRT Records in 1980, before being briefly reactivated as Pye Records in 2006.
The Hudson Brothers were an American musical group formed in Portland, Oregon, consisting of brothers Bill, Brett and Mark Hudson. They were discovered by a record producer while recording music at a local studio, and offered a recording contract. After releasing several garage rock singles in the late 1960s as The New Yorkers, the group began releasing material under the names Everyday Hudson, and Hudson.
Dolton Records was a record label based in Seattle that was originally known as Dolphin Records. It was initially owned by Bob Reisdorff and Bonnie Guitar. Success for the label came early with "Come Softly to Me" by the Fleetwoods, the first single to be released on that label.
The Wailers, often known as The Fabulous Wailers, were an American rock band from Tacoma, Washington. They became popular in the Pacific Northwest from the late 1950s to the early 1960s, performing saxophone-driven R&B and Chuck Berry rock and roll. Their biggest hit was "Tall Cool One", first released in 1959, and they have been credited as being "one of the very first, if not the first, of the American garage bands."
Bonnie Buckingham, better known as Bonnie Guitar, was an American singer, musician, producer, and businesswoman. She was best known for her 1957 country-pop crossover hit "Dark Moon". She became one of the first female country music singers to have hit songs cross over from the country charts to the pop charts.
The Unbelievable Uglies are a rock and soul and rhythm and blues show band that formed in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota in 1963. The original members were Dave Hoffman on vocals and upright bass, frontman Dave Prentice on guitar, Gregory J. Paul on lead guitar, Bob Eveslage on vocals and keyboards, and Mike Shannon on drums.
David Eugene Lewis was an American rock and rhythm & blues (R&B) keyboardist, organist, and vocalist based in Seattle, Washington, US. Peter Blecha accounts his Dave Lewis Combo as "Seattle's first significant African American 1950s rock and roll band" and Lewis himself as "the singularly most significant figure on the Pacific Northwest's nascent rhythm & blues scene in the 1950s and 1960s."
KSWB is an American radio station licensed to serve Seaside, Oregon, United States. The station, which began broadcasting in 1968, is currently owned and operated by John Chapman while the broadcast license is held by KSWB Productions, LLC.
Lawrence Fewell Roberts II, known as Robin Roberts and in his music career as "Rockin' Robin" Roberts, was an American singer. He performed in the early 1960s with the Wailers, a rock and roll band based in Tacoma, Washington. His recordings include the earliest cover version of Richard Berry's "Louie Louie", recorded in 1960 and released the following year.
The Kingsmen Volume 3 is the third album by the rock band the Kingsmen, released in 1965.
The Kingsmen on Campus is the fourth album by the rock band The Kingsmen, released in 1965.
15 Great Hits is the fifth album by the rock band The Kingsmen, released in 1966.
Kearney Whitsell Barton was an American record producer active in Seattle, Washington, from the 1950s to the 2000s. Particularly known for his 1950s and 1960s-era recordings of garage rock bands, Barton recorded many Pacific Northwest musicians such as The Fleetwoods, The Ventures, The Wailers, The Sonics, The Frantics, The Kingsmen, Quincy Jones, Ann and Nancy Wilson, Bonnie Guitar, and Dave Lewis.
Don and the Goodtimes were an American garage rock band, formed in Portland, Oregon, United States, in 1964. Fronted by Don Gallucci, former keyboardist of the Kingsmen, the group made a name for itself in the Northwest rock scene performing in a similar style as their contemporaries the Wailers and the Sonics. Over time, Don and the Goodtimes honed their vocal harmonies and earned two hits on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1967, including their biggest hit "I Could Be So Good to You". The band released their album, So Good, and later experimented with psychedelia under the moniker Touch before disbanding in 1969.
Judd Douglas Hamilton is an American musician, former band leader, writer, film producer, actor, inventor. He recorded for the Dolton, Liberty, American International, United Artists and RCA Victor labels. He contributed to the music of California, and to surf music from his involvement with the T-Bones and 1960s surf groups, the Avantis and the Ventures. During the 1960s, he was part of the groups Judd Hamilton & the Furys, The Marketts and The T-Bones. As a film and television producer, he was the executive producer and co-screenwriter for the films Maniac and The Last Horror Film, and the executive producer for The 7th Annual Sci-Fi Awards, a 90-minute TV special. His brother was Dan Hamilton. He was married to English actress Caroline Munro for some years.
Peter Charles Blecha is an American historian, curator, essayist, author, musician, and director of the Seattle-based Northwest Music Archives. He is primarily known for research related to aspects of Pacific Northwest musical history. In addition to his books, essays, and album liner notes, Blecha has also served in multiple consulting and curatorial positions.
