This Day in History: Today is International Louie Louie Day. April 11 was picked as International Louie Louie Day because the man who wrote the song, Matthew Barry was born on this day in 1935. There was an annual Louie Louie Parade in Philadelphia from 1985 to 1989; there was also a LouieFest in Tacoma from 2003 to 2012; there is an ongoing annual Louie Louie Street Party in Peoria; and there was an unsuccessful attempt in 1985 to make it the state song of Washington.
"By 1978, when John Belushi belted it out in Animal House, the song had been recorded in over 800 versions and translated into 20 different languages. In 1983, Rhino Records released The Best of Louie Louie, a whole record dedicated to one song (Volume 2 followed five years later). By 2000, the song had thoroughly inundated every aspect of pop culture, appearing in major motion pictures, TV shows, cartoons and commercials, in novels and nonfiction (rock critic Dave Marsh wrote an entire book about the song), and even in the work of one modern painter. There are several Louie Louie bars, cafes and restaurants around the world, as well as a mixed drink that bears the name."~Mental Floss
In 1964, an outraged parent wrote to Attorney General Bobby Kennedy, alleging that the lyrics of "Louie Louie" were obscene, and saying that "The lyrics are so filthy that I can-not enclose them in this letter." The FBI investigated the complaint, but after 31 months of investigation, they concluded that it could not be interpreted, that the song was "unintelligible at any speed," and therefore the Bureau could not find that the recording was obscene.
The Kingsmen's version of Louie Louie spent 16 weeks on the Hot 100 and almost made it to number one had it not been for the Singing Nun. Yup, it was a different time.
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