WASHINGTON — It’s been called the ultimate party song, so it’s hard to imagine it was once the subject of an FBI investigation.
Jack Ely, who died Tuesday at the age of 71, got “quite a kick” out of the FBI’s two-year, 455-page obscenity investigation into The Kingsmen’s “Louie Louie,” says his son, Sean.
The song, which held the No. 2 spot on the Billboard charts for six weeks in 1963, was initially intended as an instrumental, but at the last minute his father decided to sing it, Sean says.
The low-budget hit is known for both its simple chord progression and largely unintelligible lyrics.
