Forming in the wake of the early-'60s success of local favorites the Kingsmen and the Wailers (whose Etiquette label they recorded for), the Sonics combined classic Northwest-area teen band raunch with early English band grit (particularly influenced by the Kinks), relentless rhythmic drive, and unabashed '50s-style blues shouting for a combination that still makes their brand of rock & roll perhaps the raunchiest ever captured on wax.
Lead singer Gerry Roslie was no less than a white Little Richard, whose harrowing soul-screams were startling even to the Northwest teen audience, who liked their music powerful and driving with little regard to commercial subtleties. With hit after hit on the local charts (and influencing every local band that ever took the stage), the band inexplicably was never able to break out nationally, leaving its sound largely undiluted for mass consumption. Breaking up between 1966 and 1968 (after one ill-fated album attempt to water down their style for national attention), the Sonics continue today to be revered by '60s collectors the world over for their unique brand of rock & roll raunch.
In 2007, The Sonics reunited again, this time for the Cavestomp garage rock festival in Brooklyn (November 2-4, 2007). The line up featured original members Gerry Roslie on vocals/keyboards, Larry Parypa on guitar and Rob Lind on tenor sax; with Ricky Lynn Johnson (of The Wailers) on drums and Don Wilhelm (of The Daily Flash) on bass and vocals.
In 2008, The Sonics recorded a live session for Mark Lamarr's BBC Radio 2 show God's Jukebox on March 22. They played their first ever shows in London on Friday March 21 and Sunday March 23.
Since then, they have played the Primavera Festival in Barcelona, followed by Bilbao, then Belgium, Norway, and the Azkena Rock Festival in Vitoria in the Basque Country.
Their first show in their home region since their last Seattle reunion in 1972 was on Halloween 31 October 2008 at the Paramount Theatre in Seattle, where they were introduced and joined onstage for a couple numbers by Steven Van Zandt. Kent Morrill (front man of the Wailers) made a surprise appearance to help sing his signature song "Dirty Robber". Bob Bennett was also present to sit in on drums albeit only for a few songs and only while Ricky Lynn Johnson played in unison.
Louie Louie
The Sonics Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Louie Louie, me gotta go now
A fine girl, she wait for me.
Me catch the ship across the sea.
Then sailed me ship all alone.
Never think I'll make it home.
Louie Louie, me gotta go now.
Three nights and days we sailed the sea.
Me think of girl constantly.
And on the ship, I dream she' there.
I smell the rose in her hair.
Louie Louie, me gotta go now
Louie Louie, me gotta go now
Louie Louie, me gotta go now
Louie Louie, me gotta go now
Me see Jamaican moon above.
It won't be long me see me love.
Me take her in my arms again
I tell that I dream her there.
Louie Louie, me gotta go
now.
Louie Louie, me gotta go now.
The lyrics to the song “Louie Louie” by The Sonics are about a man who is traveling by ship across the sea to meet a girl that he loves. He is eager to see her and has been thinking about her constantly during his three-night journey. The man is filled with anticipation, as he smells the roses in her hair and dreams of holding her in his arms. Despite the long and treacherous journey, he knows that he must go to be with the girl he loves. The repetition of “Louie Louie, me gotta go now” adds to the urgency and increases the dramatic effect of the situation.
Line by Line Meaning
Louie Louie, me gotta go now
I need to leave now, Louie Louie.
Louie Louie, me gotta go now
I really have to go now, Louie Louie.
A fine girl, she wait for me.
There is a wonderful girl waiting for me.
Me catch the ship across the sea.
I will take a ship across the sea.
Then sailed me ship all alone.
I sailed the ship all alone.
Never think I'll make it home.
I doubt I will return home.
Three nights and days we sailed the sea.
We sailed the sea for three nights and days.
Me think of girl constantly.
I think about the girl all the time.
And on the ship, I dream she' there.
On the ship, I dream that she is with me.
I smell the rose in her hair.
I can smell the rose in her hair.
Me see Jamaican moon above.
I see the Jamaican moon above.
It won't be long me see me love.
It won't be long before I see my love.
Me take her in my arms again.
I will hold her in my arms again.
I tell that I dream her there.
I will tell her that I dreamt of her there.
Louie Louie, me gotta go.
I have to leave, Louie Louie.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Richard Berry
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
saemikneu
The Sonics.. inventor of punk! straight, aggressive, repetetitive riffs!
Hungry Hubby
1966. Back then I was a 14 year old guitar loving kid in Vancouver WA when I first heard this. I felt like I was hearing rock n roll as it was meant to be played. I still feel that way. The Sonics did it like no other NW band.
Fire Striker
That be the kinks
Fire Striker
@Hungry Hubby Nah. The Kinks did it like the Sonics did and so did the Barbarians
Fire Striker
Not repetitive
Hungry Hubby
@Fire Striker I love the Kinks but there is no comparison really. They sound more like the Kingsmen's version which is exactly what Sonics did not want, and they don't. It has a raw, hard sound that is totally missing in the Kinks version. And to the best of my knowledge the Kinks are not a NW rock band, which was my point.
bobrulz
Amazing that a song this crunching and heavy could be released in 1965.
Hungry Hubby
I was there in WA state when this hit the airwaves. It was wild. Nothing like it anywhere in the country at that time.
Peter Mclaughlin
Pre Skinhead Hard Mod pre oiboy classic
dave Dalton
Are these guys the most underrated rock group ever, or what? Put simply, they kick ass!