UPDATE 4--30-15: My friend Billy pointed out that the photo to the left is not the original Kingsmen. It's "Jack Ely & The Kingsmen," which Ely formed after he split from the original band. He was forced to change the name to "The Courtmen."
This Wacky Wednesday we pay tribute to Jack Ely, who, backed by his band at the time, The Kingsmen, recorded a strange little hit called "Louie Louie."
Ely died Monday at his home in Redmond, Oregon, He was 71. Here's a story in The Seattle Times.
The Kingsmen weren't the first to record "Louie Louie. That honor goes to the songwriter and L.A. R&B titan, Richard Berry. And The Kingsmen wasn't even the firt pacific Northwest Band to record it. Was it The Wailers or was it Little Bill & The Bluenotes who first put it to wax? And Paul Revere & The Raiders weren't far behind. (Here's a brief early history of the song from a website devoted to "Louie Louie." )
But The Kingsmen did the definite "Louie Louie." They had the first real hit with the song (even though Ely left the band not long after they recorded it.) They're the ones who inspired the FBI to investigate the song. (Skip to the bottom of this post for more on this shining highlight in FBI history.)
In honor of Jack Ely here's a whole stinkin' mess of "Louie," starting with Richard Berry's original.
Come on, let's give it to him RIGHT NOW!
Any excuse to post a Sonics song. They recorded it in the '60s. This is a more recent live version.
Ike & Tina Turner took a stab at it.
Iggy & The Stooges did a completely filthy version (captured on the Metallic K.O. album.) But by the early '90s, Iggy had rewritten the lyrics to make the song about the fall of the Soviet Union. Or something.
Frank Zappa teamed up with Howard Stern in the late '80s to screw around with it,
Motorhead did it:
So did The Clash.
Brave Combo turned it into a cha cha cha.
Here's an easy listening rendition by The Sandpipers IF YOU DARE!
And of course, The Kingsmen!
And to make Wacky Wednesday even wackier, here are documents from the FBI's 1964 investigation into The Kingsmen's "Louie Louie." They wanted to make certain that Ely's unique vocals weren't hiding secret obscene lyics that might harm the children. J. Edgar's boys eventually determined "Louie Louie" was "unintelligible at any speed."
Sunday, April 26, 2015 KSFR, Santa Fe, N.M. 10 p.m. to midnight Sundays Mountain Time Host: Steve Terrell Webcasting! 101.1 FM
email me during the show! terrell(at)ksfr.org
Here's the playlist below:
Livin' in Chaos by The Sonics
In the Alleyway by J.J. & The Real Jerks
The Breeze by The Banditos
Gonna Rock Tonight by Flamin' Groovies
Hazel Holly (Please Come Back) by the Boss Mustangs
Puppet Man by Jay Reatard
Rebel Stomp by Pow Wows
Sick Boys by Social Distortion
JuJu Hand by Handsome Dick Manitoba
Cheap Thrills by Ruben & The Jets
Price Tag/ All Hands on the Bad One by Sleater-Kinney
Hard-Lovin' Man by The Fleshtones
Sing This Song of Joy by Mudhoney
Emerald City by The Tossers
Dark as a Dungeon by The Tombstones
Android Robot by Acid Baby Jesus
Give Her a Great Big Kiss by New York Dolls
Funeral by Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
The Criminal Inside Me by R.L. Burnside with Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
Killing Floor by Albert King
Hide 'nor Hair by Ray Charles
Let's Get Funky by Hound Dog Taylor
Sit Down if You Can by Elwood Haywood with The Campbell Brothers
Biting Game by Sinn Sisamouth
No Sudden Moves by Dengue Fever
Broken Hearted Woman by Ros Sereysothea
Catch a Fire by Mojo JuJu & The Snake Oil Merchants
First There Was a Funeral by Johnny Dowd
The Nameless One by Jack Hardy
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis
Alright you circus clowns, welcome to the Big Top of Rock 'n' Roll, a carnival of crazy garage/punk primitive sounds to amuse and delight. Get on board. The slap sticks are crackin' and the bus is crawling with bozos, so go ahead, squeeze the old wheeze! It's a holiday for clowns.
(Background Music: Bozo the World's Most Famous Clown theme)
Killer Clowns from Outer Space by The Dickies
Dan Dare by The Mekons
Get Sick by Scratch Buffalo
Rebel Stop by Pow Wows
Sleeping in Blood City by The Gun Club
Death of a Clown by T. Tex Edwards
(Background Music: The Bozo Buck Stops Here by Stephen W. Terrell)
Friday, April 24, 2015 KSFR, Santa Fe, NM Webcasting!
10 p.m. to midnight Fridays Mountain Time Host: Steve Terrell 101.1 FM
email me during the show! terrell(at)ksfr.org
Here's my playlist below:
OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens
Hillbilly Jitters by Dallas Wayne
The Whole Thing Stinks by Rico Bell
Still Sober After All These Beers by The Banditos
Self Sabotage by Jason & The Scorchers
The Horse by DM Bob & The Deficits
Wild and Blue by Hazeldine
Rear View Mirror by Paula Rhea McDonald
Do as You Are Told by Texas Martha & The House of Twang
Lightning Fried by Reno Jack
Six Days on the Road by Taj Mahal
San Juan Song by Slackeye Slim
Loup-garou by Tetu
The Devil Gets His Due by The Dirt Daubers
Blue Collar Dollar by Kevin Gordon
All American Girl by Angry Johnny & The Killbillies
Worried Mind by Eilen Jewell
Movie Magg by Carl Perkins
Honey Don't by Eugene Chadborne
Butter Face by The Beaumonts
Truck Driving Man by The Bottle Rockets
Hot Rod Lincoln by Bill Kirchen
Speedway by Alan Vega
I Seen What I Saw by 16 Horsepower
Reap the Whirlwind by Chipper Thompson
How Can I Miss You When You Won't Go Away by Dan Hicks & The Hot Licks
Rider on an Orphan Train by Tom Russell
Orphan Train by Julie Miller
Eddie Rode the Orphan Train by Jim Roll
Dover to Dunkirk by Jack Hardy
John Walker Blues by Steve Earle
CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets
A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican April 24, 2015
It’s so easy to get cynical about rock ’n’ roll in the 21st century. Insert your biggest complaints: Nobody pays for music these days, and we get what we pay for; all our favorite bands are broke while brainless pop tarts cash in; blah-blah-blah.
But at the risk of sounding like Little Mary Sunshine, let me tell you something, pal: These are the good old days. How could anyone be down about the state of rock when, in the past few weeks, two mighty bands have released powerful albums?
I’m talking about the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion’s latest assault, Freedom Tower: No Wave Dance Party 2015, and This Is the Sonics, a brand-new record from a band that’s a living blast from the past.
Both of these works are screaming testimonials to the rejuvenating power of the music — and should (but won’t) put to rest the old truism about rock ’n’ roll being some kind of youth-culture curio.
As Spencer shouts in the middle of “Bellevue Baby,” “Don’t it feel good to be alive!”
Maybe I’m prejudiced here because my ears are still ringing from seeing Spencer and his cosmic combo live in Washington, D.C., just a couple of weeks ago. Though all three band members have to be pushing fifty (Spencer first rose to glory fronting the band Pussy Galore in the ’80s), if anything, they were wilder and more energetic than they were the first time I saw JSBX live 21 years ago (at the old Sweeney Center, opening for the Breeders).
By the early part of this century, I thought the Blues Explosion was basically cooked. After its 2004 album, Damage, the group took a lengthy break. Spencer partnered up with Matt Verta-Ray and formed the rootsier Heavy Trash, which recorded three decent, if not earthshaking, albums.
Then, in late 2012, the Blues Explosion — rounded out by guitarist Judah Bauer and relentless drummer Russell Simins — reunited, as the good lord intended it to, releasing an excellent comeback album, Meat + Bone.
If anything, Freedom Tower is even stronger. “Come on, fellas, we got to pay respect!” Spencer bellows at the outset of the first song, “Funeral.” I’m not sure what corpse this funeral is for, unless it’s death itself.
Russell Simins and Spencer in DC a couple of weeks ago
The new album is a loving song cycle about the Blues Explosion’s hometown, New York City. In some tunes, such as “Betty vs. the NYPD” and “Tales of Old New York: The Rock Box” (where Spencer talks about sneaking into CBGB through the back alley), the band indulges in a little well-earned nostalgia about the sleazy, crime-ridden era of the ’70s and ’80s, those gritty days when punk rock, hip-hop, and, yes, “No Wave” were born.
Ah, good old No Wave. I heard echoes of that during JSBX’s live show, and you can hear traces of it on this album as well. For the uninitiated, No Wave is a post-punk, anti-commercial blending of loud punk, avant-garde noise, free-form jazz, performance art, and more. No Wave “stars” included bands like Suicide, James Chance & the Contortions, and Teenage Jesus and the Jerks. Sonic Youth rose from New York’s No Wave scene. And Spencer’s Pussy Galore was inspired by the craziness of it all, though, as I’ve said before, that band was more fartsy than artsy — and that goes triple for the Blues Explosion.
As Spencer proclaims in “Down and Out” on the new album, “This is America, baby: We ain’t got no class!”
The subtitle of Spencer’s new album is spot on. Spencer’s real genius is bringing the No Wave noise — but with the Blues Explosion’s distorted blues/soul/garage guitar riff to make it funky and even danceable, in a goony tribal-stomp kind of way.
It’s a trademark of JSBX for Spencer to shout “Blues Explosion!” for no apparent reason, and he does so intermittently on this album. It’s as if just the thought of playing again with Bauer and Simins fills him with uncontrollable joy. And, in fact, fans of the Blues Explosion will feel the same way when they listen to Freedom Tower.
Here’s yet more good news for New Mexico fans: The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion is scheduled to play Launchpad in Albuquerque on May 21. Tickets are a mere $15 — which is $5 less than what I paid in D.C. Sorry, kids, you have to be twenty-one.
As for the Sonics, the new album by that crazy little group from Tacoma is a true marvel. The core members — keyboardist Gerry Roslie, guitarist Larry Parypa, and sax player Rob Lind — are pushing seventy.
Their original heyday was in the mid-1960s, when they shook the Pacific Northwest with songs like “Psycho,” “The Witch,” “Strychnine,” and “He’s Waitin’ ” — a song about Satan.
During their first incarnation, they didn’t really gain fame beyond their native region. But through the years, the Sonics sound inspired new generations of punks and garage rockers.
I always liked the Sonics, but I never really drank the strychnine until I saw them live in New Orleans at a quasi-annual music gathering called the Ponderosa Stomp.
The Sonics, rompin' at the Stomp
New Orleans 2013
This Is the Sonics shows that the band’s amazing live show is no fluke. Produced by Jim Diamond, a Detroit native who used to be a member of the Dirtbombs, the album can stand proudly by the Sonics’ old material.
There are a handful of original tunes, the best being “Bad Betty” and “Livin’ in Chaos,” sung by “new” member Freddie Dennis, a Sonic since 2009 who was with the Kingsmen in the ’70s and ’80s.
And, like the Sonics albums of yore, there’s a plethora of supercharged cover songs, including “I Don’t Need No Doctor” (famously recorded by Ray Charles), Bo Diddley’s “You Can’t Judge a Book by the Cover,” and, my favorite in the lineup, “Leaving Here,” an early Motown song with lyrics by Eddie Holland. Though all these tunes are recognizable, they nonetheless bear the stamp of the Sonics.
I just hope they keep going into their eighties.
Enjoy some videos:
Here's another cool video of a song from Freedom Tower. This one features comedian/singer Bridget Everett.
I think The Blues Explosion had nearly as much with these videos as they did the music on Freedom Tower,
Here's The Sonics' "Bad Betty"!
Here's that Bo Diddley song I mentioned
And this footage is from that Ponderosa Stomp show feature a bunch of classic Sonics tunes
