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.
She's My Baby
Richard Berry Lyrics
We have lyrics for 'She's My Baby' by these artists:
Agents This girl is smooth as day old whiskey As tough as…
B.B. King I've got a right to love my baby Oh, she treats…
Claude King I can wait for the train to come in sight…
Dee Dee Bad lor bitch I know, but ya not in my…
Faithless Mmm, come to papa I see you working, Through the beat…
Fats Domino Yes she's my baby, my baby, when I'm feeling blue Well…
Jaill As the night fell down on skinned knees At the park…
Johnny O'Keefe Short black hair makes her look so sweet My baby's pretty…
Jost; Palmer I feel so lucky loving her Tell me what else is…
Maxi Jazz I see you workin' through the bead curtain In you…
Mazzy Star She's my baby She belongs to me Yesterday she walked home al…
Palmer & Jost I feel so lucky loving her Tell me what else is…
Paul McCartney My baby, she comes out at night She's takin' me by…
Paul McCartney & Wings My baby, she comes out at night She's taking me by…
R&B Caravan I seen my baby, she was walking out the door I…
R.j. Mischo She’s my baby and I love her so That’s why I cried…
Ral Donner Well I got a little baby, she's always on my…
Sonny Boy Williamson Yeah I'm checking on my baby Find out what she's puttin' dow…
Tennessee Ernie Ford She called me baby baby all night long used to…
Terence Trent D'Arby Baby let me share my love Baby let me share my…
Terence Trent D’Arby She juggles time with her hand in a sling Wears a…
The Delltones Short black hair makes her look so sweet My baby's pretty…
The Mojo Men My bad news baby She's always on my mind She's nobody model …
The Rocket Summer Work's been rough Hear too much stuff like "they don't get i…
Tom Petty & The Traveling Wilburys She's got a pudding in the oven And it's gonna be…
Traveling Wilburys (the) She's got her pudding in the oven And it's gonna be…
Van Morrison Well I'm so blue I'm thinking about you I'm feeling so blue …
various artists Copacetic, calm my frenetic, she's the s**t y'all Highly-rat…
Wayne Hancock Well I got a little gal about five feet tall One…
Wings My baby, she comes out at night She's taking me by…
Wings / Paul McCartney My baby, she comes out at night She's takin' me by…
YAMP KOLT 緑色の縁の額の中に 入れっ放しの写真 そんなに離れて暮らしちゃないのに 会えなきゃ夜は長すぎる 今どき廃れた時間の駕篭(…
Zucchero Another sun as the day is leaving Will set in my…
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, me gotta…
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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hebneh
I love how YouTube has so much good music that you never heard before - and now you can discover it.
hotrodgs
IT'S
A GOLD MINE !!
411Soulman1
Lots of Dreamers jams - thanks for the posts