Early Garage Rock - Louie Louie and Liar Liar

Might as well start at the start! Here are 2 songs from the early/mid 60s that greatly influenced many Garage Rock songs that came out in 1966.

Louie Louie

Back in the 50s, there was a song called Louie Louie, sung by Richard Berry. It featured horns and Jamaican style dialog. The song is about a guy out at sea who misses his girl.

In the early 60s, other groups were covering it, including the hugely popular 60s group, Paul Revere and The Raiders. At about the same time, The Kingsmen went into the studio and cut the definitive version of Louie Louie, in one take. Singer Jack Ely had just gotten braces, so the story goes, and couldn't adjust the mic, which was too high for him. So he had to shout into the mic and hope for the best. The lyrics were barely understandable, which led to an investigation by the FBI because of rumored sexual words being sung, after the song became a smash hit, reaching number 2 on the charts.

I think some of you will recognize this song. It was popular, and it was used in the movie Animal House, in the 80s. Enjoy the guitars, organ, and lyrical stylings of the very young band, The Kingsmen! Also enjoy the dance 60s steps featured in the video!

Liar Liar

The Castaways were another very young band who played school parties and came up with an original song in 1965.

Liar liar, pants on fire! Your nose is longer than a telephone wire!

They took this kids saying and turned it into a major hit! The band was recruited to appear in the last of the American International Pictures Beach movie series called, It's a Bikini World. Franky and Annette were not in this one, but Carolyn Brandt was. She is the girl in the red bikini, doing her Go Go dance in front of the band inside the shark's mouth, in this clip from the movie. She was about to pop out of her bikini top once or twice!

If you're into hip hop, you may recognize this song as the main sample in the hit Dom Lomp and Famous, by The Opposites from the Netherlands. The lyrics are in Dutch but the cursing is in English, so don't listen if you don't like that kind of thing!

But do enjoy the original, featuring guitars and organ, and the falsetto vocals of Robert Folschow, as performed in the movie, It's a Bikini World. It's almost time for swimware up here in the Northern hemisphere, so put yours on and jump around to this song, and Louie Louie above. Dance!