Louie Louie

In the week ending December 7, 1963, Portland, Oregon-based band The Kingsmen made a major move up Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart as their first charting single, “Louie Louie,” rose from number 23 to number 4.  The next week “Louie Louie” continued its upward journey, rising to number 2.  The song, though, would get no higher, spending a total of six weeks at number 2 over the course of a seven-week interval while being held out of the top spot by Bobby Vinton’s “There! I’ve Said It Again,” the song that momentarily knocked “Louie Louie” down to number 3 for a week in the week ending December 28, 1963.  Exactly 50 years ago, “Louie Louie” was spending its last week at number 2 before falling to number 6 the following week as the Beatles ascended to the top for the first of their many number one hits.

“Louie Louie” was originally written, recorded, and released as a single by Chuck Berry, though his version of the song did not hit the Hot 100.  The Kingsmen’s version became the song for which they are most remembered, though they did hit the Top 5 one more time, as “The Jolly Green Giant” rose to number 4 in 1965.  In between those two songs, the band also hit number 16 with “Money,” their follow-up to “Louie Louie.”