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.
got my mojo working
Richard Berry Lyrics
We have lyrics for 'got my mojo working' by these artists:
Ann Cole Got my mojo working, but it just won't work on…
Black Cat Bones I got my mojo workin' But it just don't work on…
Blues Got my mojo working, but it just won't work on…
Buddy Guy Got my mojo working, but it just don't work on…
Canned Heat Foster-Morganfield I got my mojo working but it just don'…
Chuck Berry Got my mojo working, but it just won't work on…
Daisy & Lewis 1,2,1,2,1,2 Testing 1,2,1,2 Alright, yo Listen up as I rip …
Elvis Presley Hands off of her, she belongs to me Mojo working don't…
Etta James Got my mojo working, but it just won't work on…
Howlin Wolf & Muddy Waters Got my mojo working, but it just won't work on…
Jimmy Smith I got my mojo working baby, and I'm goin' to…
John Hammond Got my mojo working but it just won't work on…
Johnny Rivers I got my mojo working, it just don't work on…
Johnny Winter & Buddy Guy I got my mojo working but it just don't work…
Johnny Winter / Muddy Waters Got my mojo working, but it just won't work on…
Long John Baldry I got my mojo working, but it just don't work…
Louis Jordan Got my mojo working, but it just won't work on…
Otis Spann Got my mojo working, but it just don′t work on…
Perkins Pinetop Got my mojo working, but it just won't work on…
Pinetop Perkins Got my mojo working, just don't work on you Got my…
Rod Stewart I got my mojo working, but it just don't work…
Rory Gallagher I got my mojo working, it just don't work on…
The James Cotton Band Got my mojo working, but it just won't work on…
The Paul Butterfield Blues Band Got my mojo working, just don't work on you Got my…
The Warren J. 5 Got my mojo working, but it just won't work on…
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
More Genres
No Artists Found
More Artists
Load All
No Albums Found
More Albums
Load All
No Tracks Found
Genre not found
Artist not found
Album not found
Search results not found
Song not found
@georgecorcoran410
This is almost 60 years old and it still smokes anything recorded today. Muddy was the greatest.
@nobodyyouknow222
One of the best harmonica performances every recorded.
@dennisreid9039
Nobody YouKnow indeed
@rajatnandi2175
+marinman39 thanks man
@psicodelico3434
Tone is E??
@monikanowak4706
You damn right
@AstorSkywalker
for us newbies,... who is playing the harmonica?
@CherrySlush1
I saw Muddy Waters do this at the first ever Blues Festival in Chicago in August of 1969. A great one day free festival. Willie Dixon, Big Mama Thornton, Koko Taylor, Junior Wells, Luther Allison, Sleepy John Estes, Little Milton and more. It was incredible. Muddy Waters ended the day with this song and had the crowd in such a frenzy, he did the song twice.
@rudysinz9769
Wow man that must of been a honor to see these gentlemen perform during a beautiful era of music. unfortunately I was cursed to be born in the 1990s when music is at its death bed.
@slavakrawchenko1788
Robert Smith great dig!