Musician Mike Mitchell passed away on Friday on what was his 77th birthday
The news was shared on Monday by a publicist for his band the Kingsmen
Mitchell served as the lead guitarist for the successful band for over 60 years
The band was best known for the hit 1963 recording of Richard Berry s song Louie Louie
It tells the story of a sailor returning to Jamaica to see his lady love
The tune went on to be covered by the Beach Boys, the Grateful Dead and R.E.M.
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RS that Mitchell âpeacefully passed away.âÂ
The Kingsmen got their start in Portland, Oregon in 1959. In 1960, Mitchell and bassist Bob Nordby joined then-drummer Lynn Easton and vocalist Jack Ely (who died in 2015). In 1963, the group recorded their famed version of Richard Berryâs 1957 track âLouie Louie.â The song rocketed up the Billboard singles chart, spending six nonconsecutive weeks at Number Two on the Hot 100.
The Kingsmenâs version of âLouie Louieâ championed the garage rock stylings gaining traction at the timeâit was far more distorted and raucous than Berryâs melodic original. Mitchellâs iconic guitar solo and Elyâs inarticulate singing intrigued listeners, and even the FBI, who famously launched an investigation to determine whether or not Elyâs lyrics were littered with obscenities. They ultimately ruled that the song was âunintelligible at any speed.â The controversy didnât hur
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