First,
today is Barbershop Quartet Day.
Back
in the “good old days,” the barbershop was a place where people
hung out, gossiped, and clowned around with one another. Sometimes
African American men would sing while they waited their turn in the
barber's chair...messing around with harmonies as they belted out
familiar spirituals, folk songs, and popular tunes. Of course, they
always sang a cappella,
which means without the accompaniment of any musical instrument.
Without
a guitar or piano providing a rich sound, these singing sessions at
the barbershop started to follow a pattern of four-part harmony. One
man would sing “lead”—that is, he would sing the actual
tune—and three other men would sing harmonies above (tenor) and
below (baritone and bass).
The
practice of singing at the barbershop caught on, and the a
cappella
four-part-harmony style caught on even more, spreading to minstrel
singers, women singers, and even church choirs. Nowadays, barbershop
quartets don't generally sing at a barbershop, but they sing without
accompaniment from any musical instruments, and they sing with tight
four-part harmonies.
By
the way, women quartets also call the four parts lead, tenor,
baritone, and bass. In most contexts, these terms mean a particular
vocal range—the actor Dan Stevens, for example, has a baritone
voice, and Christina Aguilera is considered a soprano—but in
barbershop singing, the terms just refer to a particular part to be
learned and sung: the tune, high, low, and lowest.
 |
| Richard Berry |
“Louie,
Louie” is a song written in 1955 by a Los Angeles man named Richard
Berry. It's about a Jamaican sailor who misses his lady love and is
returning to the island to see her. The lyrics are inspired by
Jamaican English, which has different rules than other dialects of
English.
The
song has been recorded many different times by many different groups,
but the most famous version is the 1963 recording by the Kingsmen.
According
to Snopes, the Kingsmen thought they were just rehearsing when they
taped the song. The boom microphone wasn't set up properly for the
lead singer, plus he had strained his voice the day before AND had
braces on his teeth. At any rate, it turned out that this “rehearsal”
ended up being THE recording—and the one and only big hit for the
Kingsmen!
 |
| An actual letter sent to Kennedy. |
The FBI got involved. According to Snopes, investigators took TWO AND A HALF YEARS listening to the song at various speeds, trying to hear the obscene lyrics. They interrogated the songwriter and the various people who had recorded the song over the years—but not the lead singer who had actually sung the specific recording being investigated! Crazy, huh?
The
FBI ended up ruling that the lyrics were unintelligible at any speed.
In other words, they couldn't understand the lyrics. And probably the
moms and dads who had complained couldn't, either. And no doubt most
of the kids listening to the song couldn't. The vocal track just
isn't all that clear.
In
case you are interested, here are the lyrics:
Louie,
Louie, me gotta go.
Louie,
Louie, me gotta go.
 |
| Apparently more than one album has been pressed made up entirely of different versions of this iconic song! |
A
fine little girl, she wait for me;
Me
catch a ship across the sea.
I
sailed the ship all alone;
I
never think I'll make it home.
Three
nights and days we sailed the sea;
Me
think of girl constantly.
On
the ship, I dream she there;
I
smell the rose in her hair.
Me
see Jamaica moon above;
It
won't be long me see me love.
Me
take her in my arms and then
I
tell her I never leave again.
Also
on this date:
