Pacific Northewest Spotlight: The Kingsmen - Louie Louie/The Haunted Castle

Day six of our Pacific Northwest Battle of the Garage Bands finds us still kicking it around Portland, Oregon.

I could make a very strong argument that The Kingsmen's Louie Louie was both the most important and influential recording in rock history.

It was in 1963, Portland, Oregon, that the The Kingsmen paid $36 to record this number at a small radio studio with only two mics: One for the drums, one for the rest of the band, including the vocalist. The band banged it out and released it on the Seattle based Jerden Records in the Summer of 1963. From there Wand Records picked it up and released it nationally in October of that year.

The record spread like a wild fire and even launched a Justice Department investigation to determine if the lyrics were obscene (the answer was, "we can't tell") and was banned by one midwestern Governor who thought his state's impressionable teens should not undulate to the suggestive beat.

But the record persevered. This rag-tag stutter rhythm recording would soon be replicated by every garage and frat rock band in America. And when Pye Records released it in the UK in December of 1963, the Brit bands would be jumping on board as well. Bands like The Kinks, The Who, The Eyes and The Troggs would soon be pounding out their own interpretations of this rhythm and selling it back to the Americans who started it.

At the time of recording, the Kingsmen were comprised of Jack Ely on vocals, Lynn Easton on Drums, Mike Mitchell on guitar, Bob Nordby on bass and Don Gallucci on keyboards. Two notable moments to listen for in this recording. At :54, Lynn Easton yells "fuck!" (how the Justice Department missed this is beyond me) after breaking a drum stick. At 1:58, Jack Ely jumps in early and starts the next line before aborting and starting again.

Jack Ely would be forced from the band by Lynn Easton who wanted center stage. His mom trademarked the name and the Easton family began cleaning house.  That's the drummer, Easton, in the 1000 lip-synched versions you've seen on YouTube. Don Gallucci would be the next casualty with him being forced from the band as he was too young to tour.

Until next time, we'll see you On The Flip-Side!

Bunker Hill - The Girl Can't Dance

Bunker Hill was the secular stage name of one Mr. David Walker, a gospel singer from Washington, DC. Sometime around 1962 a local producer named Vernon Wray got hipped do David Walker's vocal prowess. He talked Walker into giving a shot at recording a pop record. David Walker was game but apparently worried about what his proselytizing friends might think of his turnabout. Thus Walker was rechristened as Bunker Hill. 

Vernon Wray took the newly christened Bunker Hill into Vernon's chicken shack studio in Accoceek, Maryland. He set Bunker Hill up with his two brothers and their band. That band was Link Wray and His Raymen. They laid down five tracks that fateful day. From that came three wonderful singles on the Mala Records label. The Girl Can't Dance was the final record for Bunker Hill, released in September, 1963. 

I can talk about how wild, how primal, how extremely raw Bunker Hill and Link Wray's attack are on this, but you can hear that for yourself. Just play it loud. Share it. Spread the love of this rare little 1:54 record and raise a glass (physically or metaphysically) to Bunker Hill and the Wray brothers for giving us this gem exactly 51 years ago this month.

In the first picture below, that is David Walker (aka, Bunker Hill) on the bottom right. Link, bottom left on the second photo. 

Until next time, we'll see you On The Flip-Side!