FBI Investigation into the song 'Louie Louie'

8/9/2019 FBI Investigation into the song 'Louie Louie'

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FEDERAL BUREAUOF INVESTIGATION

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION/PRIVACY ACTS SECTION

COVER SHEET

SUBJECT: LOUIE, LOUIE

_ THE 60'sSONG!_


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DESCRIPTION OF FOLLOWING FILE MATERIAL

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Memorgdum I ' Te. '»T0 IDIRECTOR, FBI , DATE! 2/17/64

ATTENTION: FBI LABORATORY

FRQM AC , TAMPA 45-New! P!

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Laboratory is requested to determine if enclosedrecord, "Louie Louie", can be considered obscene for purposes ofprosecution under ITOM statute_

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Please note Miamiincorrectly carried as office of origin, "

Tampaletter oi reference. _ _

There is nothing oi pertinent interest to Iinmi in thiscase. Miamidisregard.

ll Bureau1 -Miami Into!

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FEDERAL BUREAUJFINVESIIGATIONWASHINGTON, D.C.

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Recorded 2/24/64' FEDERAL BUREAUOF INVESTIGATION- UNITED STATES DEPARTMENTor-" JUSTICEno LAB

Laboratofy Work Sheet

FILE

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Re:UNQOWNSUBJECT; File i ' monocmpn nnconn 1_,,b_,D-443153 AV"1.oU1e>1.oU1E" DISTRIBUTED -

BY LIMAXuusxc, mrc..3 »_ ,4. ...=E -.. 92. '. . _',_ _ ;_ =.,,. .'__ .._ _Z

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Specimens submitted for examination1

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on One 81dB and _~"HAUN'1ED CAST!-ELYNN RASTOH!THE KING-$13!" on.Q1 nunRecord entitled"mournL001? RichardBerry! rm:xrlqis1'the other side, 1 4 . -. 4' .;- _ .1

ALSO SUBHITIED: Xeroxcopy of obscene vordsdto :*ecord""LOUIE IDUIEand xetoxcopy o1published lyrics to record A

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* #, = erbert J. Killer, Jr I . 8JHxBJP:1sAssistant Attorney General 97-263-0

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SUBJEQ-'Y=mn1¢ __..m.Ioi.Jn=b'1" ' J' in I i

{ f/;c/we/at/1/,Az .4>~ O~.:______l/,____,..._--Enclosedire-oopyof 0.citizencomplaint' concerningthe subject recogd. It is geqnestedthat

youax-rangean interviewc!_ _jtoverifyhisGflg, .finding that the record Jqrics an obscene.

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FEB I1954ln Robert F. Kennedy .CRwAl.H,bn9§Attorney General USAWashington,~ D.C.

DearMr. Kennedy: »

who do you turn to when your'teen age daughter buys andbrings home oornozranhic or obscene materials being soldalong withobjects directed and aimed at the teen agemarket?in everyCity, villageand Recordshop inthisNation ~ - -

My daughter brought home a record of "LOUIE LOUIE" andI, after reading that the record had been banned from ' being olayed on the air because it was obscene, proceededto try to decipher the Jumble of words,The lyrics areso filthy that I can-not enclose them inthis letter. _

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This record is on WIND label 4 143-A recorded byKINGSMEN "agwrdgggjrodpgtion by Ke ehaseand_gg;;3

ennon" and tre is an address 1650 a 0Way New York, N.Y5IA __,--Qua __

'1929292J wouldlike tosee thesepeoble, The"artists", theRecordcompany and the nromoters orosecuted to the full extent ofthe law. '

I We all know there is obscene materials available for thosewho seek it, but whenthey start sneaking_in this materialinthe guise of the latest teen age rock &roll hit recordthese morons have gone too far. .

This land of ours is headed for an extreme state of moral

degradation what withthis record, the biggest hit moviesand the sex and violence exnloited on T.V.

How can westamp out this menace? ? ? ? -

V! * ,,.._.


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la:-Li Lou-ii Oh, no. Crab her way down low.

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Q33 is just a girl across the Way-he: I take her all alone,

iiegaaz ! §his line least cleag.

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- lzttle elrl waztlng for me.

Shes never ihe ¬iTl I lay at h°me"

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ten I'll lay her againyour girl and by the way*hat chair I'll lav her there-Gnu I. _

y bone .. ah.. in her ha1r-

LShe had a rag On» I m°ved &°ve'Tt won'tbe long she'll sllp 1* Off-:-- "1 92. '- i-92c~ 1'*.5 ""18"!L3-92k5_,_0_1&6? 111 I'G§_T E.In.._»ks.-.-. um- ¢- __ A15 I olf her Irather 1"? her a51Q'

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To: 8ACa, Indianapolis lnclosuree 4!'Tampa Enclosures;_l!_

Iron: Director , I3!. _ __

Uli8UB;

RECORDED BY '1 RG8!!! ,

__EH!3_I:1.QB-APB 7. _ ER'lITl8D"MUMi'qz ~ITO!Bncloeed herewith tor intormtionoi Indianapolis

and Tampa are two copies each oi a eel!-explanatory letterreceived at the Bureau iron the De artaent wherein they

hat-mm. -n rn a letter he eroe o e rtmentinterviewedco ce ng pa

on l/30/64 indicating that he had exanined a phonographrecord that had been purchasedby his daughter entitled," Louie"andIoundsane to beobscene.Twocopiesoi-

letterto the Department are also enclosed torin orna on. '

'l'heDepartaent has requested that they be adqispdoi results of currefnt investigation being conducted inIl' ' co d w s reported as being obscene

b m-mu.rlomn."h o rd Louie LouieTanpa case entitle Uneub; Phonograp Beo

Distributedby Lina: _Iuaio, IYC, l1'Ol."_ '

Indianapolis at _and obtainanyevi

indicate the record "Louie Louie" to obscene and thereafter

present facts to local USA.to determineit he would entertainprosecution or violation of the ITO! Itatute.

Taapa expedite investigation at Sarasota, Ilorida,concerning the record 'fLouie'Louie" and aake extra eopy

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mt, SanDiego45leI! April I, 1904

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um. luau nu. |- ' ',.., Ion '-UNITED" ..s rNMENT '

Memoranaum 92

T0 : DIRECTOR, FBI DAT!-Z2 3/27/6Attn: FBI Laboratory

FROM- Ali, INDIDNAPOLISn5-335! _P!

0;/5 92/ A_SUBJECT,UNSUB; PxggosmrnRECORD ..

RECORDED ,iTHE KINGSMENENTITLED 01112 LOUIE" _ _¢ -~TOM 4 " '1400: 11>J9292"" N92 I"" 4

92 ReBuairtel,3/16/61¢. //_/ _,. 4, I _r/,'39; ~-1 ' Y ' ~_ .s Enclosed for the Bureau, under obscene cover, one wand , _

;;~'; clrecord entitled "LOUIE LOUIE,"and one sheet typed lyrics ! //92" allegedly transcribed from record "LOUIE LOUIE".

daughter

92 , c rd shop in Crown Point,Q.1 Indiana.

_, , _Recordis entitled"LOUIE LOUIEandis a 45 rpmfl-Other wording on record is as follows: I 5"

. > 1__!.4-L - .,.,

1650 Broadway, New, York, N.Y.23

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_,- 50083;92 Limax Music BMI7 Time 2: 24 '

Louie Louiechard Berry!he Kingsmen

AJerden Production by KEN CHASEand JERRY DENNON._ -

Record was publicly displayed, was routinely priced,d was not suspected of being obscene when purchased.

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Chorus:

Chorus

Chorus

Chorus

louie-louie

Oh, Louie, Louie, Oh, No,Get her way down low.

Oh, Louie, Louie, Oh, Baby,Get her down low.

Afine littlegirl awaiting for meshe's Just agirl across the waywell I'll take her and park all aloneShe's never agirl I'd lay athome._

Repeat!

At night atlO I lay her againFuck you girl, Oh, allthe wayOh, my bed and I lay her thereI meet a rosein her hair.

Repeat!

Ok Letsgive itto them,right now!

She's gota rag on I'll move aboveIt won't be long she'll slip itoff 'I'll take her in my armsagainI'll tell her I'll never leave again.

Repeat! ' Get thatBroad out of herel

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WASHINGTON,D. C.

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RECORDED ' A.I;4/3/64 d » J

- 31¢. FEDERAL BUREAUor" INVESTIGATIONUNITED STATES DEPARTMENT or JUSTICE

Laboratory Work Sheetiii NO Lib F110

Re: UNSUB;PHQN%R.LPH RECORD File# /957-296]-Ƌ RECORDEDBY THE KINGSMEN Lab. # D-446412 AV

NTITLED "LOUIE LOUIE"M

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Examination requested bvr Indianapolis 45-335! Let. 3/ 27/64

xamination requested: Document Dlte received:3/30/64

Result ofExamination: Examination b" - 7c=L. 4,12». eeg»-1-M6? 1/,a~4,- yew,»5 51, / - /1.4./»..,f1/[email protected]»?»aiiia7/"fa/5 ,L2./av~42?J7 /5""-_ ' 'of air: 2-~'-l»-» ¢4Z» cilz[7-i'r!_'4.4~. -1.»0!/'1--"L414 4 /Z -A/-~t 4; urn-D1,?-we .»~-Y»~ A--.-;,- 6*

Sp cimens submitted for examination

Q V ' »Qi.' Ward record entitled "Louie Louie Richard Berry! the Kingsmen"

on one side and "Haunted Castle Lynn Baston! the Kingsmen" on other side A

ALSO SUBMI'1"1'ED:Typewritten lyrics to record "Louie Louie"

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FEDERALQJREAUOF |NVEQ.'|GAT=REPORTING OFFICE OFFICE or omsm

TA MPA TAMPA

DATE INVESTIGATIVE PERIOD

, 4/14/64 2/10/64-3/23/64

mu; or CASEUNSUB;

6 PHONOGRAPHRECORD92 _:§QQ1E LOUIE", Distributed

by Limax Music, NYC

. v. ITOM~- Y1»

CHARACTER. OF CASE

REPORT MADEBYTYPED BY

i

REFERENCES :- '-i-iii-

Tampa letter to Director, 2/17/64,",

Bureau letter to Tampa, 2/28/64. '=FBI_Laboratory report to Tampa, 3/4/64.

:9" A

ENCLOSURES:-3-

Tg2.R_P~_A.2

ATTENTIQN:FBILABORATORYOriginalzcopy of obscene words to

! Record "Louie Louie" under obscene

2 TSJ

0

my _¢D

I-|

C!

25

cover!.~1

! Reported obscene lyrics for "Eouie guie?obscene cover!.

I

ADMINISTRATIVE:

4 '

92.l

j_"§

:&.

Under Y

q*

9-A .;~

APPROVEDSPECIAL AGENT

COPIESMADE:

"92-

|N CHARGE DONOT WRITE IN SPACESBELOW

/ >/1+.19 0 /A Q RECBLI1¬8.U. E8015E ? E USA Tampa _ i _ Tamlga4s1,4l>_,¢;§/qAPR15-1954

. 3 > >7

if-_l1I131|¢;ii ___

1 _

1

DISSEMINATION nscono vATTACHEDREEORT ' 1-.-3'§:§T'°"$

AGENCY .......-- ...........-- _. __;1-nzouzwr nsco......................................... .l:; .l'ff:'. +;I;J;;;,é§' "1


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TP 145-84

The two obscene enclosures arebeing returned to

the FBI Laboratory for appropriate disposal, according toBureau instructions.

An extracopy of this report is beingfurnishedthe Bureau for dissemination to the Department of Justice,as instructed by the Bureau.p

I

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lyrics for apopular phonograph record are beingfreelydistributed among the students of his school.

AT S_§RASOTAJFLORIDA

C

his department determined that aphonograph record, recordedby the Kingsmen, and distributed byLimax Music Company,New York City, New York,is presently very popular amonglocal students. He said one side of this record, which is

. recorded at aspeed of 45 revolutions per minute, is entitled,"Louie Louie." He said this is acalypso type song andmost of the words are very hard to recognize. In fact, it

is impossible to identify some of the words in this songlistening to the record normally. _

rasota Junior High School, furnished himw ttencopy of what is he l ricsfor the"Louie Louie"record.

he found the lyrics at the Junior High c oo an ade-termined thatmany of the students have copies of these '

' 1 rics and thatall of the students know about them.

e played the record,"Louie Louieand found that these hand written lyrics appeared to bethe actual lyrics of the song,and where the words in the

record are slurred, the words in the written_lyrics are -.very obscene. .' '-' _ ~»>a. .= »*. '1'--_. . .. - ' '

ta,claims to be thew tthe Limax

" actual lyrics of the song,"Louie Louie". He said theseprinted 1yrics,furnished byLimax Music Company, arecertainly not the same as the obscene lyrics he receivedfrom the Junior High Schbol and do not appear to be thelyrics being sung in the record.

On February28, 1964,the Bureau advisedthat 6 the Department of Justice record "LouieLouie" from


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TP 145-84

if it was of an obscene nature. The Department advised thatthey were unable to interpret any of the wording in the recordand,therefore, could not make adecision concerning the matter

_ I . . _ _3 b .- ' =

.0n February 11, 1964,the following items iweresubmitted to the FBI Laboratory: . YL 3 - -._

Lyrics of "Louie Louie" as published by Limax Music.

Record "Louie Louie" under obscene_cover!.

Reported obscene lyrics for "Louie Louie." Underobscene cover!.

On March 4, 1964,the FBI Laboratory reported asfollows:

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dthe ,e!!, _ - ~ area" ='

a _ uie" record .no onger popular in the and apparently ___

is of no further interest to the teen=agers.§ They said "~"the obscene lyrics for this record that were distributed V.by the students at the local high_school and junior highschool are no longer being distributed_or even discussed.They added therewas never an indication that the obscene_,lyrics werebeing distributed commercially,f§: pg _ 1

'On MarchQ,1964, ASarasota Junior High School, advise eobtaine

_a hand written copy of the obscene lyrics rom one of hisstudents who came to him voluntarily, stating hehad foundthe lyrics on school property. He said his inquiry thendetermined that the obscene lyrics were "all over the school."He said he and his staff found several handwritten and typedcopies of the obscene lyrics in the possession of Junior 'high school students. However, the lyrics werenever

mimeographed or printed, or in any gay indicated they werebeing commercially distributed. * s ' " '

He said he heard from students that the obscene

lyrics originated in a college somewhere and were beingpassed verbally and by handwritten copy from friendto friend.He said there is absolutely no evidence of any commercial Sdistribution of the obscene lyrics and apparently the matteris of no further interest_of the local students, since hehas heard nothing about it, nor have any copies of the lyricsbeen found for some time. f .~ .@=_

AT TAMPA, FLORIDA _ _ _ ._

On larch 23, 1964,this matter was discusse with'5nt UnitedStates AttorneyJOE n.iuomrr bysubmncerning the bbscene lyrics,obtained ate Sarasota, Florida, Junior High School, Hr. MOUNT statedhe would decline any prosecutive action inasmuch as there is no evidence of any commercialization or interstate

transportation in connection with these obscene lyrics.

-5-


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TheLyrics,aspublished Huaiol 0'Louie Louie, He gotta go -Louie Louie, He gotta go -A fine little girl, she wait for no -He caach the ship across the sea -I sailed the ship all alone -I DGVQI £21111! I'llHERE 11. hm$0

Louie Louie, lie gotta go -

Louie Louie, He»gotta go -Threenights andday; wgsailed the 53;,,,_ _ A92r;...__,. . -1 - ¢Ne think of 311-1constantly- . T_ __

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Louie Louie, Ila gotta go 6 * _Ia_ui0Innis, He gotta go = _. K0 lee Jamaicamoonabovl - ".j._,., _ ' ,

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_ _ _y turnlehedaIndL C 45rpmrecor entitled Lou oule"Vbchheandgmbeen7 purchasedbyhisdaughterat eCrevnrungIndianab7D recordshop.Iordlngon therecorT1eastollerl:'

"1650 Broadway'New York, low York

143-A

.50083Linlx Iuslc Q1Tine 2:24

Louie Louie

Richard Berry!The KluganenA Jerden Production byKen Chase andJerry Dennea

Fla daughterhadturnedthisrecordoverto laina or earningit allegedly hadebseenelyrics.

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' t I theFBI Gndis loanedtoThisdocumentcontainsneitherrecommendationsnorconclusionsof thePHBCI.It is theproperYO


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09 :1/2/64

orQabout Iovunder Iand Label at

P i S In ass.

a. I7The record is -t1¢1.a'*roatu Louie" and is s 45

1

1010 5B1anchard's,a record shop

EPI-

She said this record wa publicly displayed, wasroutinely priced, and was sot suspected et hing obscene whenpurchased. Sosetise atterbuying the record, she heard tron

various acquaintances the record had obscene lyrics, it the"Louie Louie" side were played at a speed ed S8l/3rd insteadctthe normal as rpn. AboutJanuary 29, 1964, a co-worker gaveher a typed sheetet lyrics whichwere already transcribed resthe record when played in this sanner. She described these wordsas obsceneand furnished a typed sheet of paper bearing thesealleged words.

She said the reord was widely played is the areaand was once ranked first onthe ILSladie Chicago! Iecod

Survey.

Ibo said she played the record in the sanner described

.above and the lyrics- seesed totollow very closely the words onthe typewritten sheet. Shesaid the typed page was a transcriptionby sose unknown person in the Crown Pointarea and was not turnishedwith the record. '

A

i

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a , Dote dictated8/27164h tot the FBI and is loaned toThis documentcontains neitherrecommendations norconclusiojnn ofthf FralyItis t e properY

your uqency; 1; qnd 515 cgntentsore not to be distributed outsi e yourqe3


42/119

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- OnMarch27, 196M; the record and typenritten sheetoflyrics was forwarded to theFBI Laboratory for examination.

-. On April 17, 1964;theFBI Laboratory advisedthe recowas played atvarious speeds but noneof the speeds assisted indeterminingthe words of the song on therecord. , », ~

On May13, 19611,Assistant Unitedstates AttorneyLESTER R. IRVIN advised hewould decline prosecution in thiscase since theFBI Laboratory is unable to determine thisrecord is obscene.

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.UNIT_ED STATES 0/EQMENT

H'Mém0rana'uml' _ -'A; V '

- -

T0 :92J_92,1DIRECTOR,FBI DATE"; 4'/22' 92 u":mow Q' g sac, narnorr45-420! P!_ /si

UNSUB; 45 r.p.m. Recordingsuapacr:

%_ "Louie Louie"' 1=oss'r1mr1'1'ox 0: 1DETROIT! '

Enclosed herewith for the FBI Laboratory is _'!&-1*

,92 , I ,#7813

one 45 r.p.m. reco ing entitled "Louie Louie" I.~;!_I__QI§§,R_D__|92' RRY! sungby th_ingsmen". ThisisaWandi-!ecording"'l'abeIed 145-A500 ;on 'e _otBT-frside of the recording

sis a recording entitled "Haunted Castle" sung by the92z',,-5 "Kingsmen",labeled 143-B 50084. Also enclosed for the

L'/ lFBI Laboratory is an eyrelopemarked obscenecontaining

-V 92_. 1/

3/ IMP-In '

AEnclosed for the New YorkOffice is an envelope

marked obscene containing the words, several of which are é obscene, as believed to be heardwhen the,recording "LouieLouie" is played on 33 r.p.n.

. For the information of the FBI Laboratory and tNew York Office, AUSAROBERT J.GRACE, EDI,839 FederalBuilding, Detroit, Iichigan, on 3/30/65, contacted boththe Detroit FBI Office and the Federal Communtntions

Commission, located in the Federal Building, Detroit, re¢;garding a45 r.p.n,,record entitled "Louie Louie" RICHARD

recording with the address of 1650Broadway, New York,New York. The one side of this record contains the song

"Louie Iouie'1,and theother side of the record "Haunted'Cast1e"__ l,!}{T§_iiSTON! andboth aresung bythe "Kingsmen"."Louie Louie" is nT1'in5'ered143-A 50083 and "Haunted Case"is nu ered143-B 50084 Both recordings are 1sted as ,5," bein$m%rdenProductionby KKN74 _lASEandJER§'$U,/J

:';:*;:,;"z§;mam RECZ7 /QF~4?¬I 72 _ 1;: /. _ .

'5-"X U510;to innesW 7 ____ _01/ J -. H3-

~

~the type written words believed to beheard during the

singing of"Louie Louie",when thisrecord isplayed on

BERRY! andsung bythe"Kingsnen". Thisrecord isaWand


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FEDERALBUREAUOF INVESTIGATION' WASHINGTON,O. O.

1'0; FBI, D1119 17, FBI File No. 1452961

n.= UNSUB; 45 r.p.n. Recording 1-" "°' D-478135 AV"Louie Louie"

POSSIBLE HUI

Specimens received

Q3 One IAND 45r.p.n. recordingbearingononeside the title "Louie Louie Richard Berry! IE3 IIRGSIRN A 4

ALSO BUBIIITTRD: Sheet oi paper bearing typewritten words

Result of examination:

Three additional copies of the phonograph record described above as speeinen Q3 have been subaitted to the Laboratory. Qlaof the previous records was submitted by

the Tampa Ottice with a letter dated 3/l1/64 and captioned I "UlI8U'B; Phonograph Record Louie Louie Distributed ByLimax Imsic, NYC; I108; one record was submitted by tlm San Diego Office with a letter dated 3/l7/64 and captioned "IAND, 1650Broadway, Iew York, IQI York; HUI"; and one oi the previous records was submitted by the Indianapolis Ottice with a letter dated 8/27/64 and captioned "UISUB; , ..Phonograph Record Recorded By the Iingsnen tntitled Louie Louie; ROI."-

" » Because the lyrics oi the recording "Louie Louie" could not be definitely deternined in the Laboratory examination, it was not possible to deternine whether this

recording, Q3, is obscene. "

In accordance with your request, specimen Q8 is returned herewith. The "ALSO lUBlIl'l'lB" material is retained.

'

. T E _ }.:,r_olson v~3-H Belmonxi.9;5-- '1'».MOM a H, DeLoach i 39; ~ Casper a

Colluhcni Conrada

39; - Fell--i Gcle E.Rcseni Sullivana Tove!a Trotteri Tele. Roomi

i mm.ROOM[:1 TELETYPE urm U


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.RECORDED ' .2:-! 3..-'/4/4/29/55 ' FEDERAL BUREAUoE.1NvEsT1sAu.oN

UK _ UNITED sTATEs DEPARTMENTOF JUSTICENO LAB FILE

Laboratory Work Sheet1I .

Re;UNSUB;'45r.p.m. Recording File# 145-2961/6]"Louie Louie" Lab. # D-478135 AVPOSSIBLE HUM 1-

00; Detroit A. _, _ _ _ ;_ t. _ _,-:1 - ». _,_4;_.~..:- -~._ - '..¢

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Date: 5/25/65 I Mr.Gal .. 1 M. R 2 .."._Transmit thefollowing in _ I M?in

Typeanplaintext or code! Mr Ta,»"

Belmont?

1 blr. hlohr ,"_IMr. Del-"-achIMr. Casper..IMr. _1a?=::E

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ousszmlmwnou as _ I 1' CHED zwonr NOTATIONS

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I 92 __ ___ 'r

_ /

FEDER/>.§..3UREAU O_F|N92.§:sTlGAT|ONREP RTINGOFFICE OFFICE OF ORIGIN

DETROIT

DATE INVESTIGATIVE PERIOD

e/1s/65 3/29 -6/11/65

Tn;

49 DETROIT

,UNSUB; 46I}.p.m. 92 Recording "Louie Louie"

FCASE

REPORT MADEBY Yypgp

S

c c/use C

POSSIBLE ITOH

APPROVED

B14

b71>

REFERENCES: Detroit letter tothe Breau, dated 4/22/65.Bureau letters to Detroit two!, dated 5/17/65.

Detroit letter tothe Bureau, dated 5/25/65

New York letter toDetroit, dated 5/26/65 lnterotfice!. ~

._ _ P _ .

One !as interp

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1"1 -/ sncnosuans l A_I I -Ga* _;_ " -

TO BUREAU

Louie", and one !reted by

in

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COPIESMADE:

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Bureau 45-2961! Enc.2! AID!

REC43

USA,Detroit

Federal Communications ConngunDetroit - 1

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New York 45-2338! Info!Detroit 45-420! _;

/.. i:__fi:j92'i./.-__.

° _mm°______ ___7[_%/_ ___________ _;_-____' ___________ ______________- 5r",:_{4'5;"'DHOWFW

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callfrom Fuhrmann Junior High School,Warren, Iichigan, advising him that a recording known"Loui " tains obscene language. Accordingr¢§?!92F1 gadvised that this is a 45 r.p.n. - "

recor ng, bein aed on localtroit area radio*stations. indicatedto Ir.F1 t a v en eay as a 45 r.p.n. it is unintelligible, however, when played at the speed of33 r.p.n e lan age in the record is clear and undoubtedlyobscene. advisedIr.FINNthat therecordinbeing playe as r.p.n. bylocal disc Jockeys, butyoungsters are playing the recording on a 33 r.p.m.speedso that they can discern the alleged obscehe language inthis recording.

On larch 30, 1965, AUSAROBERT J.GRACE, EasternDistrict ofIichigan, 839 Federal Building,also contacted

the Detroit Office ofthe FBI, and the Federal CommunicationsCommission, 1029 Federal Building, Detroit, Iichigan, regardingthe record entitled "Louie Louie", sung bythe "Kingsmen".

Engineer in

On larch

and Field

at his office.

Charge, Federal ion, 1029 FederalBuilding, Detroit, also Ias invitedby Ir.GRACE to appear inhis officeto listento

30, at Ir. iceconcerning the recording.

stated that they matherecord Ii t enand claimed that this record is a 45 r.p.I.recording ofthe song, "Louie Louie". Theystated that thisrecord has becomevery popular over the radio stations whichcaterto the teenage "rock and roll fansin the greaterDetroit area,and is considered to be"a best seller".

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They statedthat when this record is played on 33 r.p.m.speed, obscene and suggestive words canbe interpreted inthis song. They made available a copyof the words tothissong asthey interpreted the song after listening to itplayed numerous times on the 33 r.p.n. speed. Ihenthisrecord wasplayed in theOffice ofAUSA GRACE on larch 30,1965, theaforementioned individuals listened toit being

pla ednumerous timesboth 45 d yon a r .n. spee and a 33r.p.m.speed. Ir.GRACEandédvisw theywerenotable to discern any of theo cene language andfoundthe record playedon bothspeeds asbeing quite unintelligible.

anlarch31.1965.9John C. Fuhrmann Junior Highchool, 5155 14 Iile Road,Warren, Michigan, telephonicallycontacted the Detroit FBIOffice to advise that he hadfound a sheet ofpaper on astudent at thisschool which containedobscene words to the

song,"Louie Louie". He statedhe questioned the studentand the student told his that this is a popular song, and whenplayed on a 33 r.p.n. speed, theobscene and suggestive wads

can befairly interpreted in the song "Louie Louie". Hestated that hefound out that nany teenagers in the Iarren,Michigan area arebuying this record and playing it on the33 r.p.m. speed.

Hr.GRACE advisedon larch 30, 1965,contacted the Dearborn, Iichigan Radio Stationcaters to teenagers and plays nostly"rock andThe station manager advised Ir.GRACE hewould

that he

IKNR,whichroll" records.telegraph A

therecord company in IevYork Ctyto obtain the lyrics to"Loui Lou "io Station IKNR received a telegramfromepter Records,NewYorkCity, NewYork, g v ng the correct copyrighted lyrics to "Loui§_Loui§fand they are as follows:

"LOUIS LOUIS OH YEA AIAY IE GO A

YEA YEA YEA YEA YEA LOUIS LOUIS OH BABY AIAY FINE LITTLE

SHE IAITS FOR IE I! CATCH THE SHIPACROSS TH SHIP SEA I

SAILED THE SHIP ALL ALONE I NEVER THINK ILL IAKE IT HOIB

IDUIS IDUIS AIAY IEGO THREE NIGHTS AND DAYS IE SAIL THE

SEA IE THINK OF GIRL CONSTANTLY ON THE SHIP DREAM SHE

THERE I SHELL THE BOSE IN HER HAIR IOUIS LOUIS OH BABYAIAY IE GO IE SEE JAIAICA IOON ABOVE IT IONT BE LONG IE

SEE EB LOVE IE TAKE HR IN ARES AND THN I TELL HEB INEVER LEAVE AGAIN LOUIS IDUIS OH YEA AIAY IE GO"

_ 3 _

GIR


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92o7¢The record that made

available to the Detroit FBI Office isa 45 r.p.m. recordingentitled, "Louie Louie", RICHARD BERRY!, sung by th K1ngSmen". This is a Iand recording labeled 143-A Q

50083;onthe other side ofthe record is a recording entitled,"Haunted Castle" LYNN BASTON!, sung by the "Kingsmen",labeled 143-B 50084. The address on the record for the

land Management Corporation is 1650 Broadway, New York, ~New York.The songs "Louie Louie" and "Haunted Castle" arebothsung by the "Kingsmen"._ Both recordings are listedasbeing a Jerden Production by KEN CHASE and JERRY DENNON.

The Detroit FBI Office submittedtthe record to

the FBI Laboratory, Iashington, D. C.. The FBI Laboratoryin a communication to the Detroit FBI dated lay 17, 1965,advised thatthree additional copies of the phonograph recordhave been submitted tothe Laboratory. One oftherecords was submitted by the Tampa FBI Office, andrecording was distributed by Linax Iusic, New YorkNew York. Another record was subitted by the SanOffice, produced by Iand, 1650 Broadway, New York,The third record was submitted by the Indianapolis

previousthisCity,DiegoFBINew York.

FBI

Office, which was recorded by the "Kingsmen" entitled"Louie Louie".

I

The FBI Laboratory advised thatbecause thelyrics of the recording "Louie Louie" could notbe

to determine whether the recording isobscene.

The New York FBI Office by communication

definitelydetermined inthe Laboratory examination, itwas not possible

dated

lay 26 9ice that on lay l9,1965, land ManagementCorpora ion, Iest54th Street, New York City, New York,made available to the New York Office one 45 r.p.n. recording

entitled "Louie Louie", RICHARD BERRY!, sung by the"Kingsnen, Iand recording 143-A 50083; reverse side "Haunted

recordingCastle" LYNN BASTON! sung by the "Kingsmen", Iand143-B 50084.

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"vblated the federal statute which prohibits the broadcastof obscene, indecent or profane language. .

"The staff has conducted an inquiry into these com-plaints. Before terminating its inquiry the Commission wouldappreciate receiving, as promptly as possible, your commentson this matter, including any information in your possessionwhich might throw lightupon either the source or the validityof allegations that thelyrics as sungby the Kingsmen were inany way obscene. Ie also should appreciate Your comment onwhether, eventhough unobjectionable lyrics,were used in re-cording the song, there was improper motivation on the part ofthe singers or anyone associated with the production of therecord in making the recorded lyrics so unintelligible as togive rise to reports that they were obscene.

- "Very truly yours,

- /s/Ben I. Iaple

"Ben F. Iaple"Secretary"

I

The letterfro to _ F d1m e eraCommunications Commission, Iashington, D. C., dated February14, 1964, is set forth as follows: T

. _ 4

lederal QmunicationsCommissionIashington, D. C.

"Dw-N

"RE: 8300

In reference to our telephone conversation today, Iamenclosing two copies of the lyrics, and also two recordsof Louie Louie. we are sure that upon listening tothe record and comparing it to the enclosed lyrics youwill findthem one and the same.

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"Scepter Music I this master finished re-cording! fromCraig Corporation 1021East Pine Street, Sea t e,ashington. Ie understand thatthese fiveyoung maleperformers arestudents atthe_ , l;University of Iashington, information concerning them is 'available from C The Publisher or the so o

uld be responsible for the lyrics is Lima: Iusic,.

B6l_8 Bidgely Drive,Los Angeles,California. _;."All the people connected with the making and the sales ofthis record are highly reputable business people who are . Aas vitally concerned with this matter asyou are and wish Y to bring to justice anyone connected with the disseminationof libelous information. ' '

Iwill appreciate your comparing the enclosed record withany record you may have received, This is the only recordwe havedistributed for sale, and our sale figures do notindicate any infringement by any outside source.

"Our record was made from atwo track recording. Ie willbe happy to play the vocal track for any of your representa-tiveswho would call on us,and this should clear any mis-

understanding as to the lyrics on our record. They will findthem to be exactly as on the enclosed lyric sheet.

"Hay I express our appreciation to you for your fair handl- .ing of this aatter. _ = 5, . _ ' ' -

. ' = 7 K- A

M6 " vThe letter from the National Association of

Broadcasters Code Authority, Iashington, D. C., datedJanuary 28, 1964,is set forth as follows:

"mun, mun" -

"NAB's CodeAuthority has received anumber of inquiries andcomplaints from member stations on the recording Louie, Louiebeing circulated with aIIND label. ~ -.,- .;~ ~"

- 3 _


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"Here are the facts as we understand them: _L__ _

"The Code staff has listened to the record on all standard

RPM's andhas found nothing objectionable in it.In the Codestaff's opinion, the lines,delivered in rock and roll andCalypso style,would be unintelligible to the average listener.

"NAB has received from the music publishers copies of thelyrics and has found nothing objectionable inthem. However,it also has received from another source a purported set oflyrics which are unfitfor broadcast.

"The phonetic qualities of this recording are such that a listener possessing the phony lyrics could imagine them tobe genuine." I

On June ll, 1965, AUSAGRACE, Eastern District ofMichigan, Federal Bulding, Detro; stated he woulddeferhis prosecutive opinion in this case regarding the recording"Louie Louie" until he receives an opinion inthis case fromthe United States Department of Justice, Iashington, D. C.

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Ktherecord "LouieLouie". Sheexplained thatfor approx

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mom, Q AC,DETROIT 45-420!P!UNSUB; 45QmRecording ouie Louie"POSSIBLE ITOM

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.Re Detroit letter to the Bureau dated 5/25/65,and New York letter to Detroit dated 5/26/65 interoffice!,

On 6/ll/65, Assistant United States AttorneyROBERT J. GRACE, Eastern District of Michigan, 839 FederalBuilding, Detroit, Michigan, advised that he will defer hisprosecutive opinion in this case pending advice of theDepartment of Justice,

Assistant United States Attorney GRACE was advisedof the investigation conducted by the New York Office containedin referenced New York letter to Detroit.

For the informatio e 1v' l ' 1°I92692Y.rkletter disclosedthatWand Management Corporation, 54West 54th Street, ew York,

NewYork, made available words to the song called "LouieLouie" and 2 letter to the'President of Wand Records dated

2/13/64, from the Federal Communications Commission, Washington,D.C., concerning complaints received by the Federal CommuniqationsCommission concerningdthe broadcasting of the record "LouieLouie", '

I

e New York orfmethat the _-"FCC, Washington, D. C., subsequently granted a clearance to

two years her company has been receiving unfounded complaintsconcerning the recording. She advised that, to the best ofher knowledge, the trouble was started by an unidentified collegestudent who made up a series of obscene verses for this recordingand sold them to fellow students. She further stated that

it was her opinion that a person can take any 45rpm recordingand reduce its speed to 33 rpm and imagine obscene words,

eendin u on the ima ination of the iste erY P g RM5//i5=a1_2az.- /pi922 - Detroit

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Detroit will maintain contact with Assistant United

ates Attorney GRACE and ascertain what advise his office39; receives from the Department of Justice inthis matter.

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Hr. J. Edgar Hoover

Federal Bureau of InvestigationVashington, D. C.

Dear Hr. Hoover: '

Having admired your work and your life for so many years, it iswith trepi-dation thatI write to you. But being a mother and a teacher, I have been

disturbed by the alarming increase in pornography and abjectly implore youradvice.

As amember of the General Federationof Women's Clubs,dedicated in the

fight against pornography, this is how we --specifically the Flint JuniorWoman's Club--became involved in a war of legal semantics. it all began

this winter when a group of vocalists called the Kingsmen" appeared at a localhall. They plugged their million dollar record§D"Louie, Louie."_ ina matter of weeks the record was selling like hot cakes and rising on the"Top #0 Show.He became aware of the dual set of lyrics and that withouta doubt, someone had masterminded an auditory illusion.Our prosecutingattorney with who we consulted said, in his opinion, therewas nothing_ legally that can be done since he believed you cannot prove which set of"lyrics they are singing. This Seemed rather irrelevant since they were,capitalizing onits obscenity, and when every teenager in the county "heard"the obscene not the copywritten lyric. "

Our attempts to have something don¬'aboutthe record were met with frustra-

tion. But that is all prologue. He realize the damage is done and the__ "Louie, Louie" purveyors are getting away with setting a new precedenceq AThat along with the movies, the magazines, the paperbacks -- our kids willnow be hit with a fourth front --records.

Detroit, and he informed us that your bureau was investigating the recordin question. Hewasn't too explicit, however. Can you tellus what isbeing done? !hat can we do to help? Hr. Hoover, do you think more of

x92Ue havealsobeenin contactwith Hr.Lawrence GuU. S.Attorne

92,-l

these type records areinevitable? isthere perhaps a subliminal type ofperversion involved?

In Hr. Gubow's answerto us, he stated that in order for matter to bedeclared obscene, it must be objectively obscene." I am confused. Howcan anything be objectively obscene? Obscenity is not indifferent -- buthas definite goals. it isnot impersonal and unemotional --how can itpossibly be? By it;,very nature, obscenity ls SUBJECTIVE.

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Hr. J. EdgarHoover - 2 -June I8, I965

Vhat arethe groundrulesinthisridiculouslegal gamethat benefitsthe pornographers? When does obscenity become pornography? And pornography --

perversion?

He do not conclude thatcurtailment of Freedom of the Press or that stronglegislation is the only alternative. But how do you begin to reverse thistrend? Can itever be done? ls the Miller Bill S.l73a good one? ls itworth petitioning for? A

Our club would like to do something positive. Do you think a questionnaireto high school students would be of value? Finding out what a cross-sectionof students reads -buys - thinks about the flood of obscene materials? Do

you think such answers could be valuable or would it be superfluous? If youdo think it has some merit, would you be willing to help us to construct such

a questionnaire?

Perhaps I have asked all too many impertinent questions, but they are as agenuine as is our concern at the alarming rise in venereal disease, perver-sion, promiscuity and illegitimate births inthe teen groups. ls there a .correlation to the alarming rise in the access to obscene materials by this

same group?

Please, Hr. Hoover, let us know if and when we should take what course of

action. We would appreciate any help and information you can give us.

Until I hear from you, I remain, ,

Most Humbly yours,

b7¢

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-- . .;.;.- _.-, - .»_-=.=.::.;.;;= 1.. .:_-:._- _; ; ; =1-_;,-3- ~ ---§ ~»~-c;-. =-'.:.--_. .,.-: ~"~ma".. _: . _.. , _. -. .'' -' _ ...= .='~.&~,.-1-.;~I'¢,.~._ _-,W,-. -.-:i.~h-'=_.q-"_.. _: ._»._.3 z _z_._..=, "1-Q.;_e'_';_.-, .,-.*.~;;./.§-.-.;.~._..,_-1-4:4.'-..;._.-.;.' ;; .~,_'.r.--'. _ _'r=_ ;_ =- ».~_~_.:_-,.- 35 - --92-~_:*.~. _vi- :~-_.1.. '..-::- ~-"'. . _ ..

e _ - e be e 1_Tourinterest lniritingineu very much appreciated,and

_ l share the concern yon feel in the alarming increase in pornography. I A2; 1-; strongly believe that the'easyaccessibility cl euch _materia1'ennnothelp I but divert the minds of young people ehannelennd negatethe

t 4;! wholesome training they have already beenatiorded by their parents. with4reference to the yoneecribed, Iam_nnnble to mnke ¢,°mment -

concerning currentinvestigations beingconducted bythe I81. Yon maybeA assured, however,that this Bureau every effort to4 l diechnrgeltereeponelbitieeIi&ihehkheTlle¢reeol:oronghneeeend=

I amenclosing publication which eet iorth this Bureau; _ a

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NOTE: Cdrrespondentis not identifiablein Bufiles. The record"Louie, Louie, " is subject of investigation under character of InterstateTransportation of Obscene Matter. Bufiles 145-2961 and -

»circulated, whcallegedly can detected when the45 r pm platter

including tl1eéQgtgg;,t_.§g,ga,and Detroitairtel ,5-25-65advisesjthat the1'AUSAin Detrh_isp'rosecutive opinioninthis caseuntcompletionby theNew _YerkOffice,islocated. §§$,;'¬tE§;'_[§mpa,Florida,-and Hamm%a,declined pro§ééYiti6n"ai1dwhen'presented to", 'eQepa_r§.m- in early1964,the Departmenta 'sedthat theyinterpret _ any o_fthe allegedobscenewordi in the record. *-__-1.; _ _-_..» {.1 p- ~- .. . _.. -- _ -. 1-...'~. . .. .- __ .. ...-,"A .4 11 -'.=e_e,1 .>92_==.-_~!_%.»..;-=~_ . .::'jl"_.92.> -" -.92=¢ -. : >_ -=~: ,_. _ _, .'-' :1:e. 92~ . =J...1} , _ v _, , ~-rr ~~-~1-.. ,-A. '~- _ _".. _..92 '; . < ".:- g ,' ;¢* - . '~- ~* __ ~-- 1-. we: '" ~ ..'

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_AT DETROIT, IICHIGAK

Iillreport resultsof above investigation conductedby Los Angeles, New York and Seattle Offices to Assistant UnitedStates Attorney ROBERTJ.GRACE, Eastern District of Iichigan,839 Federal Bilding, Detroit. .

ADIIHISTRATIVE

One copyof this report is being furnished the FederalCommunications Commission, 1029Federal Building, Detroit, lichigan

inasmuch as this recording of the song "Louie Louie" was playedover local radio stations inthe Detroit area, and the FederalCommunications Commission FCC! authorities at Detroit had receiveda complaint regarding this record.

For the information of all offices conducting investi-gation in this case, according to the letter received by theUnited States Attorney's Office iron the Office of the AssistantAttorney General, Iashington, D.C.,the following course ofaction was recommended by the Office of the Assistant AttorneyGeneral:

Tints: request of the Office of the Assistant Attorney

General is basically intended to accomplish a definitive investi-gation on which the Department of Justice can satisfactorily closethis case and neet anticipated coaplaints and inquiries. -This .perspective willchange if theseleads set out above! indicate'a basis to consider prosechtion. The Department of Justicerecoaended aaxiaun discreetness should be exercised by FBIinvestigators both to nininize any appearances of an intendedfull-scale criminal action and to avoid any public notoriety orattention as to the perforners and their related businesses.

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SAoms. IDetroit IichizlnI7/so/as B7C .145-420 Bufile: 145-2961

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RepeoDdea

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ummom SUBJECT; -

45 r.p.a. Recording"Louie Louie"

Title:

Cberoden POSSIBLE ITOI '

AUBAROBERT J. GRACE, EDI, Federal Building,Detroit, Iich., advised U.8. Dept.of Justice,Iashington,-D.C., requested additional inves-tigation regarding lyrics to song "Louie Louie"as sung by "The Kingsnen", a vocal singing teamin order to fornulate prosecutive decision in

this latter. .

QPQ

synopsis:

!

DETAILS: ,

At Detroit, lichigan _

On July 12, 1965, Assistant United States Attorney ABBA!ROBERT J. GRACE, Eastern Districtof Iichigan, 839 FederalBuilding,Detroit, Iichigan, advised that the United States DepartmentofJustice,Office of the Assistant Attorney General, Criainal Division,

Iashington, D.C., requested the United Btates Attorney'sOffice,Eastern Districtof Iichigan, to conduct additional investigation.

Ir. GRACE advised that hisoffice received a letter datedJuly 2, 1965, tronFRED I. VIISGI, JB.,,Assistant AttorneyGeneral, Criainal Division, United States Departaentof Justice,Iashington, D.C., which disclosed the following:

After a study of investigation conducted by the Detroit Federal Bureauof Investigation FBI!Office regarding the record-ing "Louie Louie" by "The Ringsnen", that additional investigationshouldbeconductedinorder tobringthecaseto a logicalcon-c us on.

Til:docvnenfconfnlnsnellberrecommendation:nor concludes:ofanyHnd.If lsfbeproperlyoftheFBI,andho loantoyouregenryl- ll end/orlit confenhon no!lobedhfrlbufedovhldeyouragency. 10-14::-1 we


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According to the Office of the Assistant Attorney General,citizen complaints have been frequent from several geographic areasconcerning the recording "Louie Louie" by "The Kingsnen" and thatthese complaints will probably reoccur due to the apparent popularityof this song among younsters.

- Also, more congressional inquiries are likely and other'United States AttorneysOffices may become involved in the complaints.

The Office of the 1

Division, recomendedthat /1]IandIanagenent Corporation, 254Iest 54th Street, ew or , ew York, bereinterviewed toascertain ifshe willmake available b7the vocal track recording of the land record to the FBI for referralto theFBI Laboratoryfor examinationin comparisonwith thefinishedrecording. The purpose of doing this is to confirm that the vocal 'track recording is consistent Iith the vocal sounds of the finished

product.

- Also if refuses to releasethe vocalItrack specimen, FBI Agents should seek her agreement to permit _ them to make a recording of it or, at least, listen to it themselvesand report what they perceive according to the letter issued by the

Officeof the Assistant Attorney General.'tment of Justice had received information whereby

stated that Scepter rated, hadurchased he nshed recordi from Crai Cor or-P t R8 8 P ation, Seattle,n.sn1ngtn. Q; 4.15

Also, thatPstated Lima: Iusic of1.¢s]b7cAngeles,-California, s t epublisher o he so "Louie Louie"and responsiblefor the lyrics and that rwho ever b has knowledge of "Louie Louieat Lima: Ius c,'sou d be interviewed iffor all information obtainable on the lyrics of the song.

on July 12, 1965,AUSA Grace requestedthe Detroit rs:Officethat after additional investigation has been conducted, thathis office be advised accordingly so that the Office of theAssistant Attorney General, Iashington, D.C., can be fully apprisedof the facts in this case to effect a prosecutive opinion.

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I Mr.

Mr.

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GaRoSuTavel.__.Trotteni

Tele. RoomiMiss HolmesiMiss Gandyi

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Mr.J. Edgar HooverFederalBureauof Investigation //7Washington, D. C. .

Dear Mr. Hoover: _ -

Thank you so much for your reply to_my letter of June I8.

After reading your two enclosed publications "Combating Merchants of'Filth," and "Poison For Our Youth"!, lfeel more enlightened. Thefrustratlons.which you must encounter daily, make the ones which wehave met seem rudimentary. If it ls possible, may we have fifty eachof the aforementioned publications for distribution to the members of

ourclub? _0 upGetting back to our mutual friend - Louie 'Louie," Ican realize thatyou areunable tocomment onyour currentinves?T§5Yions. Butdaunt-less we are, and we now have in our possession arecording that was

made directly from the Hand release of the Kingsmen's "Louie,Louie."The #5 RPM "Louie" was played at 78 RPM, taped at twicethe regular .speed and then slowed down so that it now plays somewhere between#5and 33% RPM. At this speed the 6bscene articulation is clearer.

The second part of our tape was made from the Kingsmen's recentper- i sonal appearanceon Shlndlg" on Nationwide TV on June 23, 1965, whenthey sang "Louie, Louie" -- the copywritten lyric -- intelligibly.The comparison is quite.interesting since by no stretch of the imagi-nation is the obscene lyric audible.

In your reply you didn'tégomment onthe value of a high school ques-tionnaire. Could you please let usknow your thoughts um thisl=

, _ _ _.

Sincerely yours,T' . _ Q,- =

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andI readyour letterof July14th uponmyreturnto

the cityand want to thank youfor your thoughtfulness in writing.

In response to your request, I am forwarding,under separate cover, 25 copieseach of the publications pa

ALL desire. I regret,however, thatbudgetary limitationsprecludeiurnishing the number for which youasked. _

, tionnaire, I have always refrained, as a matter of long-standingpolicy, from commenting as you suggested. I regret I cannot beofhelp inthis instance but trust you understand.

' _~ 1

MMED 11 Sincerely yours,JUL 2Y1965 .. 1 ___ ., tCOMM-FBI IL ' 92j4/V/"

1- Detr 192-1368! 5 ''Reurczirtel7-24-65$1 #.>?///R0 4724 s tdirt!1- - om en ecUSC Material - 25 copies each of

Combating Merchants ofFilth: The Role of the FBIPoison for our Youth - -

lg, 1%Tolsonn

3:'l"T°m¬NOTE:Bufiles containnothing aerbg§:l>ry°¢63ééi£i£gcorrespondenAfield checl];=bjghel Petxzqitaézficedetermined thereis noinformationpreclude n-nishingthe'rep intmaterial sherequested. _

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7 Auv nu: wmou ' _ _ _ _-cu muus cmm-11.4 .- 1 /i "

1 92 .5,- {mm-11> STATES,1-IRNMENT ' Memorandum ' I "

TO = DIRECTOR, FBI 115-2961! mm: L8/23/65 _ A'IIN: FBILABORATORY!

,=,%,¢,}%9-V=sAc, NEWYORK 115-23385931531; uNSUIB;>. 1&5rpm Recording #86786__-_ Louie Louie" - "

POSSIBLE ITOM .

i 0: DETROIT! 57¢A .

Rerep ofSA at Detroit, 'r/3/..65- a I

==.j There is enclosed herewith for the FBI Lab a cop of 5;y~;51 K }a tape recordingof thesong "LouieLouie" by"The Kinsmen". purpose of doing this 5

is to confirm that the vocal recording furnished herewith is ~sistent with the 1_. . voca. soundsof the finished product. i>._ Vk_,,

Sz: previously furnished to the FBI Lab. The

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Lab retain the enc1osed_ ML !/5-ecordin __unti_l th_e__concof t _ i _ _-- W I liisicase, after_JnhicO o t be returne V 11,70 e@ent 182.12

..____.. .

3 g+. on 8/23/65§hwand ,Management Corp., 2 W, th St., NYC, declined to make _ ,available to th FBe I Lab, withouta court order, thesound trac5

from which the Wand record, "Louie Iouie" was recorded. _ v - _;: on 8/23/65.had no._-objection to ng a. copy o e or g na reco ingfrom which the record "Louie Louie" 1113-A wasmade and the enclosedrecording was made in the studios ofW. C,inthe presenceo

A d technicians o e a ove1 co orat on. e available a mimeographed

copy of the words o Louie u e so that o be ollowwhen listeninge enc-osed recording. / r- i,- , ,Q0 _jf?___1_F 5 Q Q4 BureauE cl.

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xplained that she hadbeen mistakewhen she advis d" "a 'e that the record Louie Louiehad been madefrom a two track recording. She stated it hadnot been made from a two track recording but_from a one trackmonaural recording. Subsequently;-her sound engineers had r 92

simulated astereo version and this had led her-to believe 'that she had atwo track recording of the original "Louie Louie _ I

tated that thereis-no separatevoicetrack recording or erecord "Louie Louie" and that theenclosed sound track is a copy of the sound recording from which the Wand record "Louie Louie? 1&3-A was made.'She furtherexplained that to aid the listener in listening to this soundtrack, her sound engineers had made the enclosed recording withthe intent of bringing out the voice sounds to the best of theirability. "

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Laboratory WorkSheetNQ LAB FIE

Rm uwsus;usrpm Recording 'Fei 1A5-2961""~/ "Louie Louie" _ L


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FBI Investigation into the song 'Louie Louie'

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Transcript of FBI Investigation into the song 'Louie Louie'