`Louie, Louie' Writer Dies In L.A.; Legacy Is State's `Official Rock Song'
Dave Birkland, Patrick Macdonald
Richard Berry, the singer-songwriter who wrote "Louie Louie," state, has died.
Mr. Berry died in his sleep at his South-Central Los Angeles home yesterday, possibly of complications from a previous aneurysm, said John Kim, a filmmaker who collaborated with Mr. Berry on a Mr.
Berry was about 60. Washington state's link to Mr. Berry's "Louie, Louie" goes back A dozen years ago, there was an abortive attempt to adopt it as the official state song, replacing "Washington, My Home.
" Although Berry originally recorded the song in 1956, it was not until Northwest bands - first the Frantics, then the Wailers, followed by The most famous version, by the Kingsmen, was recorded in 1963 The lyrics, written to mimic Jamaican slang, is about a Louie, Louie, me gotta go. ..
. A fine little girl, she wait for me, Me catch the ship across the sea, I sailed the ship all alone, But when then-Gov. Booth Gardner was asked to make it the state song, Mr.
Berry amended some of the lyrics to include: I get a call from Washington, To the Northwest I must come, To sing the song everybody knows, Louie, Louie, me gotta go, Louie, Louie, me gotta go . . .
All day and night I ride the train, Through the snow and, Through the rain, The days are short, The nights are long, Hurry train, to Washington. Whatcom County Council in early 1985. Gardner never acted on the heard neither "Washington, My Home," nor "Louie Louie.
" song, it was eventually proclaimed the state's official rock song. The various versions have sold millions of copies. The song has been recorded innumerable times, said Jeff "Stretch" Riedle, who has collected about 1,000 versions.
Asked what the song's appeal is, Riedle said: "Everybody can play it, basically. It's three-chord rock 'n' roll. It defined what garage rock 'n' roll was about.
" With its inscrutable lyrics, the Kingsmen's version caused a contained obscene words. The FBI even investigated, playing the at any speed," Riedle said. Mr.
Berry sold the song for $500 in 1956. An artists' rights Nonetheless, Mr. Berry chose to continue living in South-Central "He lived down there because that was his home, that's where he grew up," Kim said.
"He was not one of those people who leaves a place just because he made good." Kim said he is also working with Mr. Berry's ex-wife on an and a full-length movie project based on Kim's short film, "The Coast," in which Mr.
Berry's music was featured. Copyright (c) 1997 Seattle Times Company, All Rights Reserved.
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