Photo: Press
Co-founder of The Kingsmen and the legendary voice behind the iconic 'Louie Louie' has died, aged 71.
Having formed The Kingsmen in 1959, they found fame with what was mostly a string of cover songs, but it was their cover of Richard Berry's 'Louie Louie' that saw them hit the big time - with their version becoming one of the most influential of the era, and one of the most memorable of the century.
Now, his son Sean has confirmed to AP that Jack died on Tuesday 28 April, of reasons that were left unknown due to his religious beliefs.
"Right out of his mouth, my father would say, 'We were initially just going to record the song as an instrumental, and at the last minute I decided I'd sing it," Sean told AP of Jack's recording of 'Louie Louie'. The lyrics to Ely's rendition were famed for being largely unintelligible. As a result, the FBI launched an investigation into the song, in the belief contained pornographic messages.
The result was a 455 page report, a fact Ely's son said his father got “quite the kick” out of.
Listen to 'Louie Louie' by The Kingsmen below
Ely parted ways with The Kingsmen in a dispute with other band members shortly after recording 'Louie Louie', going on to train horses in Central Oregon. According to son Sean, he was comfortable as a 'one hit wonder'.
"He wanted to try on different occasions to pursue other endeavors in the music industry, but I think when it was all done and said he was pretty happy that he did 'Louie Louie'," said Sean.
The slapdash fun nature of the song made it influential in the pop era, often being performed by the likes of Iggy Pop and others.
Watch Iggy Pop performing 'Louie Louie' below
