In 1963, The Kingsmen recorded a song that prompted the FBI to investigate and the governor of Indiana to declare the song banned.
The song was Louie Louie and the recording, sometimes called a prototype garage band recording, was a sloppy, one-take track with muddled lyrics and a lascivious, juicy tone. It sure sounded like it should be dangerous, and that was the thrill.
But evidently it wasn't. The Kingsmen used the same lyrics as Richard Berry when he recorded the song in 1957 and they weren't exactly bawdy.
But the kids heard something different. In particular, kids misheard the second verse, which goes: Three nights and days I sailed the sea. Me think of girl (oh) constantly.
That misheard verse provided lots of saucy commentary at record shops throughout the 1960s and 1970s. If you want to read what the kids heard, go to ratherrarerecords.com/louie-louie.
