Richard Berry (born in Extension, Louisiana on 11 April 1935; died 23 Janua… Read Full Bio ↴Richard Berry (born in Extension, Louisiana on 11 April 1935; died 23 January 1997) was an American singer and songwriter, best known as the composer and original performer of the rock standard "Louie Louie" (released in 1957 by Richard Berry & The Pharaohs).
Berry moved with his family to Los Angeles as a baby. He began singing and playing in local doo-wop groups, recording with several of them including The Penguins, The Cadets and The Chimes, before joining The Flairs (who also recorded as The Debonaires and The Flamingoes) in 1953.
The Flairs’ record "She Wants To Rock", on Modern Records, featured Berry’s bass vocals, and was an early production by Leiber and Stoller. When, a few months later, that pair needed a bass voice for their production of The Robins’ "Riot In Cell Block #9" on Spark Records, they recruited Berry to provide the menacing introduction to the song – uncredited, as he was contracted to Modern. Berry’s voice was also used at Modern, again uncredited, as the counterpoint to Etta James on her first record and big hit, "The Wallflower (Roll With Me, Henry)", and several of its less successful follow-ups. Berry also recorded with several other groups on the Modern and Flair labels, including The Crowns, and girl group The Dreamers (who later became The Blossoms).
By the end of 1954, he left the Flairs to form his own group, the Pharaohs (see Richard Berry & The Pharaohs), while also continuing to work with other groups as a singer and songwriter. One of these was a Latin and R&B group, Rick Rillera and The Rhythm Rockers. In 1955, Berry was inspired to write a new calypso-style song, "Louie Louie", based on The Rhythm Rockers version of René Touzet's "El Loco Cha Cha", and also influenced by Chuck Berry's "Havana Moon". Richard Berry & the Pharaohs recorded and released the song on Flip Records in 1957, originally as a B-side. It became a minor regional hit, and, when the group toured the Pacific Northwest, several local R&B bands began to adopt the song and established its popularity. "Louie Louie" finally became a major hit when The Kingsmen's raucous version – with little trace of its calypso-like origins other than in its lyrics - became a national and international hit in 1963. The nearly unintelligible (and innocuous) lyrics were widely misinterpreted as obscene, and the song was banned by radio stations and even investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The song has been recorded over 1,000 times, but, because Berry sold its copyright cheaply in 1959, he received little financial reward for its success for many years.
Berry continued to record in the late 1950s, but with little commercial success, and also continued as a performer. His other songs included "Crazy Lover", recorded on their 1987 debut album by the Rollins Band.
During the 1980s, "Louie Louie" received a number of unprecedented accolades, with hundreds of cover versions being issued on CD compilations and played on radio marathons. In 1986 and again in 1993, Berry finally received substantial financial benefits for writing the song. In February 1996, he performed for the final time, reuniting with The Pharaohs and The Dreamers for a benefit concert in Long Beach. However, his health declined, and he died of heart failure in 1997. He was interred in the Inglewood Park Cemetery in Inglewood, California.
Berry moved with his family to Los Angeles as a baby. He began singing and playing in local doo-wop groups, recording with several of them including The Penguins, The Cadets and The Chimes, before joining The Flairs (who also recorded as The Debonaires and The Flamingoes) in 1953.
The Flairs’ record "She Wants To Rock", on Modern Records, featured Berry’s bass vocals, and was an early production by Leiber and Stoller. When, a few months later, that pair needed a bass voice for their production of The Robins’ "Riot In Cell Block #9" on Spark Records, they recruited Berry to provide the menacing introduction to the song – uncredited, as he was contracted to Modern. Berry’s voice was also used at Modern, again uncredited, as the counterpoint to Etta James on her first record and big hit, "The Wallflower (Roll With Me, Henry)", and several of its less successful follow-ups. Berry also recorded with several other groups on the Modern and Flair labels, including The Crowns, and girl group The Dreamers (who later became The Blossoms).
By the end of 1954, he left the Flairs to form his own group, the Pharaohs (see Richard Berry & The Pharaohs), while also continuing to work with other groups as a singer and songwriter. One of these was a Latin and R&B group, Rick Rillera and The Rhythm Rockers. In 1955, Berry was inspired to write a new calypso-style song, "Louie Louie", based on The Rhythm Rockers version of René Touzet's "El Loco Cha Cha", and also influenced by Chuck Berry's "Havana Moon". Richard Berry & the Pharaohs recorded and released the song on Flip Records in 1957, originally as a B-side. It became a minor regional hit, and, when the group toured the Pacific Northwest, several local R&B bands began to adopt the song and established its popularity. "Louie Louie" finally became a major hit when The Kingsmen's raucous version – with little trace of its calypso-like origins other than in its lyrics - became a national and international hit in 1963. The nearly unintelligible (and innocuous) lyrics were widely misinterpreted as obscene, and the song was banned by radio stations and even investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The song has been recorded over 1,000 times, but, because Berry sold its copyright cheaply in 1959, he received little financial reward for its success for many years.
Berry continued to record in the late 1950s, but with little commercial success, and also continued as a performer. His other songs included "Crazy Lover", recorded on their 1987 debut album by the Rollins Band.
During the 1980s, "Louie Louie" received a number of unprecedented accolades, with hundreds of cover versions being issued on CD compilations and played on radio marathons. In 1986 and again in 1993, Berry finally received substantial financial benefits for writing the song. In February 1996, he performed for the final time, reuniting with The Pharaohs and The Dreamers for a benefit concert in Long Beach. However, his health declined, and he died of heart failure in 1997. He was interred in the Inglewood Park Cemetery in Inglewood, California.
My Friend Bobby
Richard Berry Lyrics
We have lyrics for these tracks by Richard Berry:
A Love People making lists, buying special gifts Taking time to be …
At Last At last, my love has come along my lonely days are…
Have Love Will Travel Wow, Have love Whoa baby will travel Uh huh, uh huh, have…
Hey Henry You couldn't dance at all But now you're over ball The way…
Louie, Louie Louie, Louie, oh, oh, me gotta go Louie, Louie, oh, oh,…
The Wallflower (Hey Baby, What do I have to do,) (To make you…
Visiteur La première fois d'sa vie qu'un homme a le bonheur D'entrer…
The lyrics are frequently found in the comments by searching or by filtering for lyric videos
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@avicciaveda5062
Busted flat in Baton Rouge, waitin' for a train
When I's feelin' near as faded as my jeans
Bobby thumbed a diesel down just before it rained
And rode us all the way into New Orleans
I pulled my harpoon out of my dirty red bandana
I's playin' soft while Bobby sang the blues
Windshield wipers slappin' time
I's holdin' Bobby's hand in mine
We sang every song that driver knew
Freedom's just another word for nothin' left to lose
Nothin', it ain't nothin' honey, if it ain't free
And feelin' good was easy, Lord, when he sang the blues
You know feelin' good was good enough for me
Good enough for me and my Bobby McGee
From the Kentucky coal mines to the California sun
Yeah, Bobby shared the secrets of my soul
Through all kinds of weather, through everything we done
Yeah, Bobby baby kept me from the cold
One day up near Salinas, Lord, I let him slip away
He's lookin' for that home and I hope he finds it
Well, I'd trade all my tomorrows for one single yesterday
To be holdin' Bobby's body next to mine
Freedom's just another word for nothin' left to lose
Nothin', and that's all that Bobby left me
Well, feelin' good was easy, Lord, when he sang the blues
And feelin' good was good enough for me
Good enough for me and my Bobby McGee, yeah
La da da, la da daa, la da daa da daa da daa
La da da da daa dadada Bobby McGee-ah
La li daa da daa daa, la da daa da daa
La la laa la daada Bobby McGee-ah yeah
La di da, ladida la dida la di daa, ladida la dida la di daa
Hey now Bobby now now Bobby McGee yeah
Lo lo lo lolo lo lo laa, lololo lo lolo lo lolo lo lolo lo la laa
Hey now Bobby now now Bobby McGee yeah
Lord, I called him my lover, I called him my man
I said I called him my lover, did the best I can
C'mon, hey now Bobby now, hey now Bobby McGee, yeah
Lo lo Lord, a Lord, a Lord, a Lord, a Lord, a Lord, a Lord, oh
Hey, hey, hey, Bobby McGee, Lord
@britneyspears1932
R.I.P JANIS💖💖🙏🙏💝💝 YOU WILL NEVER BE REPLACED OR FORGOTTEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
@Pot_o_Tee
I agree whole heartily ❤❤
@andersjc01
"I'd trade all my tomorrows for a single yesterday" Wow that's a beautiful line
@durjoyjtbdo
Why not the other way round?
@SteelValyrian
@@durjoyjtbdoBecause we don't know tomorrow. We'd rather have what we know and the real love that is lost. For the record, I wouldn't trade my tomorrows, but I'd like to think I haven't had my best yesterday yet. Many don't think this way it seems ; _ ;
Never lose your Bobby McGee, but don't try to find them either.
@durjoyjtbdo
@@SteelValyrianI won't, buddy. I always look for new and upcoming ones, but I rarely get much. Perhaps sedimentation takes time. You are welcome to recommend. I'll be obliged to try.
@SteelValyrian
@@durjoyjtbdo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5If816MhoU
Sorry just thought I'd be clever. But honest I got to this song (listening again after a loooong time) relatively organically in my night. Hope you like it. Honest though she already sounded like raging fire consuming itself very early in her "career."
@MarcKelly-yp5yw
😅😅😅😅😅😅
@johndehaven8694
That woman still gives me goosebumps every time I hear her sing. There will never be another Janis
@SUGAR_XYLER
Too bad more people didn't appreciate her, like her hometown ignored her during her high school reunion. Sad