OLD ROCKER: Drifters star, Louie Louie singer die

Two singers who gained fame during the early 1960s have gone to Rock ‘n’ Roll Heaven.

Ben E. King, former lead singer of The Drifters and later a solo star, died on April 30 at age 76 of natural causes at Hackensack University Medical Center in Hackensack, N.J.. Jack Ely, 71, the lead singer of the Kingsmen, who had the iconic smash hit “Louie Louie” in 1963, died on April 28 at his home in Redmond, Ore.

Born in 1938 in Henderson, N.C., King joined the Doo-Wop group the Five Crowns in 1958. When the Drifters’ manager fired all of the group’s original members over a monetary dispute, he signed the Five Crowns to become the new Drifters.

The Drifters broke through in 1959 when King, as the group’s lead singer, reached No. 2 with “There Goes My Baby,” a song he co-wrote. The song solidified the group’s flair for smooth, romantic ballads.

King scored with several other hits with the Drifters including “I Count the Tears,” Some Kind of Wonderful” and their signature No. 1 hit “Save the Last Dance for Me.”

Unhappy because the group’s manager was paying them a paltry $100 a week, King requested a raise and it was promptly rejected.

At that juncture, King decided to leave the Drifters and go solo.

“Spanish Harlem,” his first single, reached No. 10 in 1960. He had his benchmark single, “Stand By Me,” rise to No. 4 in 1961.

He had several other Top 40 hits including “Amore” in 1961, “Don’t Play That Song” in 1962 and “I Who Have Nothing” in 1963 before his popularity waned because of the British Invasion.

King’s popularity was revived in 1986 when “Stand By Me” served as the theme song for Rob Reiner’s movie by the same name. Because of the film’s immense popularity, the song was re-released and again reached the Top 10. The 25 years between appearances in the Top 10 is a record.

Ely was 19 when the Kingsmen recorded “Louie Louie” in one take at a Portland, Ore., studio.

In later interviews, Ely admitted that the braces on his teeth has recently been tightened and was howling to be heard over the band. With his head tilted at a 45-degree angle at a microphone dangling from the ceiling to simulate a live concert.

The song was written on a napkin and recorded by Richard Berry in 1957 as a calypso tune. Five years later, Ely heard the version by Rockin’ Robin Roberts and the Wailers. Ely loved the song and then convinced his band mates to record it.

“It was more yelling than singing because I wanted to be heard over the instruments,” Ely said in multiple interviews.

Arnie Ginsburg, a Boston DJ, played the song twice, calling it the worst record of the week. The song became a smash in Beantown and reached No. 2 nationally in 1963.

Because some considered the lyrics obscene, an Indiana parent sent a letter to Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy in 1964 asking that the FBI investigate the lyrics. After two years, the FBI issued a 455-page report stating it could not discern any obscene lyrics in the song.

Ely’s music career virtually ended with “Louie Louie” because Lynn Easton, the group’s drummer, wanted to become the lead singer and Ely was bounced from the Kingsmen.

“Louie Louie” sold millions of copies and has been covered more than 1,000 times.

Barry Levine is an entertainment writer for The Albany Herald. He can be reached at [email protected].