The 1963 Classic Dubbed the “Rosetta Stone” of Rock That Was Once the Target of FBI Investigation

FBI investigations into a song’s potential obscenity only work when the FBI can understand what the singer is saying, and in the case of the 1963 Kingsmen classic that one critic dubbed the “Rosetta Stone” of rock ‘n’ roll, the indecipherable track simply didn’t fit the bill. The same incoherence that caused parents across the country to clutch their pearls made it nearly impossible for the Federal Bureau of Investigation to definitively say one way or the other that the song was too explicit for mainstream radio. (Oh, how the masses would have shuddered at the music of today.)

Videos by American Songwriter

Nevertheless, the song’s indecipherable lyrics didn’t stop it from becoming a massive hit and one of the earliest rock ‘n’ roll standards. Richard Berry first wrote and recorded “Louie Louie” in 1956, releasing the track as a B-side the following year. After radio DJs began spinning the B-side in favor of the A-side, “Louie Louie” became even more popular, leading to a re-release that garnered greater acclaim in 1961. However, one of the most notable versions of the song (of which there are many) emerged in 1963 with The Kingsmen. Once again, radio DJs helped boost an initially poor public reception into a downright fervor. By 1964, The Kingsmen’s “Louie Louie” sold a million copies.

Among those millions of record buyers were just as many parents who were aghast at the lyrics they believed they were hearing in Jack Ely’s slurred, sloppy vocal delivery. Pieces of paper claiming to be the original, raunchy lyrics to “Louie Louie” circulating in high schools certainly didn’t help. Eventually, the potential obscenity of it all led to the song being scrutinized by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The FBI Begins (And Swiftly Ends) Investigation into 1963 Rock Classic

Some music historians have likened The Kingsmen’s version of “Louie Louie” to the Rosetta Stone, referencing its seminal influence on punk, grunge, and rock ‘n’ roll in general. Countless artists and bands have released their own version of the 1960s classic rock song, but only The Kingsmen came under investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for obscenity. The FBI’s look into the track took a whopping three months, which is a relatively astonishing amount of time considering that in most cases, a person would reasonably be able to determine if a song is obscene upon the first listen.

But thanks to Jack Ely’s unique vocal delivery—he was wearing dental braces and standing in a circle of his bandmates, all playing their instruments quite loudly—the FBI couldn’t figure out what, exactly, he was saying. For some reason, the FBI never asked Ely directly, an option that likely could have turned a three-month investigation into a two-minute one. Instead, the FBI played the record at various speeds, backward and forward, trying to deduce any mention of explicit lyrics that might violate laws pertaining to the interstate transportation of obscene material.

In the end, FBI documents stated, “The Department advised that they were unable to interpret any of the wording in the record and, therefore, could not make a decision concerning the matter.”

Thus, “Louie Louie” lived on, uncensored and unfettered by the U.S. government. As the world’s most recorded rock song, “Louie Louie” is among the most ubiquitous tracks in the early rock ‘n’ roll canon. The song influenced countless bands and subgenres in its wake, even if (or maybe because) no one really knew what the singer was saying.

Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images