School board bans performance of "Louie Louie"

[Guy Berger]

Detroit Free Press:

Benton Harbor Superintendent Paula Dawning cited the song's allegedly raunchy lyrics in ordering the McCord Middle School band not to perform it in Saturday's Grand Floral Parade, held as part of the Blossomtime Festival.

In a letter sent home with McCord students, Dawning said "Louie Louie" was not appropriate for Benton Harbor students to play while representing the district -- even though the marching band wasn't going to sing it.

Band members and parents complained to the Board of Education at its Tuesday meeting that it was too late to learn another song, The Herald-Palladium of St. Joseph reported.

"It's very stressful for us to try to come up with new songs for the band," eighth-grader Laurice Martin told the board. "We're trying to learn the songs from last year, but some of us weren't in the band last year."

And of course, this bit of pop culture trivia is always worth knowing:

"Louie Louie," written by Richard Berry in 1956, is one of the most recorded songs in history. The best-known, most notorious version was a hit in 1963 for the Kingsmen; the FBI spent two years investigating the lyrics before declaring they not only were not obscene but also were "unintelligible at any speed."

And, finally, go to louielouie.net.

Edited May 5, 2005 by Guy Berger

[7/4]

We should be reaching the '50's any day now.

[Jazz Kat]

Don't tell anyone, Sunshine of Your Love is about a hooker. Let's ban it!

[7/4]

Don't tell anyone, Sunshine of Your Love is about a hooker. Let's ban it!

Don't think so. Sounds like a love song to me.

It’s getting near dawn,

When lights close their tired eyes.

I’ll soon be with you my love,

To give you my dawn surprise.

I’ll be with you darling soon,

I’ll be with you when the stars start falling.

I’ve been waiting so long

To be where I’m going

In the sunshine of your love.

I’m with you my love,

The light’s shining through on you.

Yes, I’m with you my love,

It’s the morning and just we two.

I’ll stay with you darling now,

I’ll stay with you till my seas are dried up.

Chorus

Second verse

I’ve been waiting so long

I’ve been waiting so long

I’ve been waiting so long

To be where I’m going

In the sunshine of your love.

[ghost of miles]

We should be reaching the '50's any day now.

[Michael Fitzgerald]

My favorite exchange on the subject:

Q: "I'd like to direct this question to messrs. Lennon and McCartney. In a recent article, 'Time' magazine put down Pop music. And they referred to 'Day Tripper' as being about a prostitute..."

PAUL: (nodding jokingly) "Oh yeah."

Q: "...and 'Norwegian Wood' as being about a lesbian."

PAUL: (nodding) "Oh yeah."

Q: "I just wanted to know what your intent was when you wrote it, and what your feeling is about the 'Time' magazine criticism of the music that is being written today."

PAUL: "We were just trying to write songs about prostitutes and lesbians, that's all."

Mike

[Jim Alfredson]

My favorite exchange on the subject:

Q: "I'd like to direct this question to messrs. Lennon and McCartney. In a recent article, 'Time' magazine put down Pop music. And they referred to 'Day Tripper' as being about a prostitute..."

PAUL: (nodding jokingly) "Oh yeah."

Q: "...and 'Norwegian Wood' as being about a lesbian."

PAUL: (nodding) "Oh yeah."

Q: "I just wanted to know what your intent was when you wrote it, and what your feeling is about the 'Time' magazine criticism of the music that is being written today."

PAUL: "We were just trying to write songs about prostitutes and lesbians, that's all."

Mike

[Michael Fitzgerald]

As a music educator, I have serious issues with any school music program that can't get their act together to give a single performance - why are they trying to learn the songs from last year? Are the goddamn three notes of Louie, Louie really all that difficult? I mean, if they couldn't afford any printed music and learned of the performance that morning, it would take 10 minutes to come up with a head arrangement of Louie, Louie that would suffice.

Now, there is pretty much no merit in any school music program including Louie, Louie in the first place. It isn't aesthetically appropriate for the ensemble; it is basically devoid of musical value; and when one considers all the other possibilities, that's one lame decision on somebody's part.

So I guess what I'm saying is I agree with the school board's decision, but not with their reasoning. They should have just said it was on the basis of the music, not the lyrics.

Mike

Edited May 6, 2005 by Michael Fitzgerald

[Jim Alfredson]

Since it's a parade, I assume it's a marching band. "Louie Louie" has been a staple of high school marching bands for a long time.

[Big Wheel]

Are the goddamn three notes of Louie, Louie really all that difficult? I mean, if they couldn't afford any printed music and learned of the performance that morning, it would take 10 minutes to come up with a head arrangement of Louie, Louie that would suffice.

We're talking about the marching band here.

[Jazz Kat]

Since it's a parade, I assume it's a marching band. "Louie Louie" has been a staple of high school marching bands for a long time.

I played it in 7th grade.

[Michael Fitzgerald]

I don't care one whit whether it's a staple of high school marching bands. So's that godawful "Y'all ready for this" piece of crap. That "all the cool kids are doing it" doesn't make it right, and this trend ought to be changed. This is a school, an educational institution. The English classes should be reading great literature and the musical groups should be playing great repertoire.

You really don't want to get me started on the subject of marching band.

Mike

[Jim Alfredson]

I don't care one whit whether it's a staple of high school marching bands. So's that godawful "Y'all ready for this" piece of crap. That "all the cool kids are doing it" doesn't make it right, and this trend ought to be changed. This is a school, an educational institution. The English classes should be reading great literature and the musical groups should be playing great repertoire.

You really don't want to get me started on the subject of marching band.

Mike

From your comments in the Stevie Wonder thread, you're probably right.

[Dave James]

I live in the Louie, Louie capital of the world, Portland, Oregon, home of The Kingsmen. These guys were part of a burgeoning club scene that involved bands like The Red Coats, The Epics, The Tikis and the Fabulons, Don and the Goodtimes and, yes, on occasion, Paul Revere and The Raiders. The Kingsmen weren't any better or any worse than any bar band you've ever seen in your own home town.

The story behind their recording of Louie, Louie is simple. They cut the record in a ramshackle studio with a single vocal mike that was hung from the ceiling. Their lead singer, it was either Jack Ely or Lynn Easton, had to crane his neck and tip his head back to get the mike close enough for him to record. That's why the vocal sounds so strange and garbled, and why its been subject to such widespread interpretation ever since. When I was in high school, the line we all thought we could hear really clearly was "she's got a rag on, uh huh, uh huh, it won't be long for she slip it off." Yeah, right.

The most remarkable thing about this tune is that it became a national hit. There's no doubt that some of its popularity was fueled by the supposably off color lyric.

Up over and out.

Edited May 6, 2005 by Dave James

[danasgoodstuff]

School board has no more business banning Louie for its supposed musical short-comings than it does for its imagined lyrics. Micro-managing the marching band simply isn't their job. And since when can you determine a piece of muic's value by simply counting the notes, chords, whatever? For what it's worth, I drove Richard Berry around Portland one day when he was playing here, nice guy, dug "Impressions". "Louie Louie, me gotta go"

[king ubu]

• Looweeloowhy ono sadday we gowgow
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Ayfain liyelkurwl away onee

eektatsh ahip oconstalee

ale wine shit wine all alowe

eenever acow aamay gitome

• Aloowee loowhy nanananana heywegowgow
  Oh no addeeloowee loowhy oh bebay heddeweegoddegow
  
  

Wenite andayo afaildefee

kaykogorld ocontoflee

a on ay shit awayteedair

agul ayrow mowinherrair

• Aloowee loowhy oh no heddewegowgow
  ya ya ya ya ya sadday loowee loowhy oh bebay heddeweegowgow
  
  OWKAYLITSGITITOOWERITENEOW
  
  

teey.... teteeynow ingamymoowabow

theymuppeelow they peepeealow

theypayinarhear my artegen

aymebber ay mebbelayergen

• Looweeloowhy ono sadday we gowgow
  yeh yeh yeh yeh yeh sadday looweeloowhy oh bebay sadday we gowgow
  Ayseddewegoddegownow
  Beybeeconnoweekot
  Etco!
  
  

I like that!

Edited May 6, 2005 by king ubu

[JSngry]

Has Dave Marsh heard about this?

[Alexander]

The English classes should be reading great literature and the musical groups should be playing great repertoire.

I have my English students read comic books in addition to great literature. Surely there's a place for a fun song like "Louie, Louie" along with Beethoven and Ellington, isn't there?

[BruceH]

Sure! Along with Bartok, Schoenberg, Ruggles, and "Bird is the Word" by the Trashmen. But not rap. Rap sucks.