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In an article for Snopes.com writer Jordan Liles investigates the story of Kinks drummer Lynn Easton dropping the “F-bomb” in the released version of the Kinks “Louie Louie” and the story behind it.
On Nov. 6, a popular TikTok video claimed that Lynn Easton, the drummer for The Kingsmen, yelled “F@#k!” during the band’s classic recording of “Louie Louie.”
Jordan writes “for our research, we turned to author Dave Marsh’s 1993 book. It had quite the lengthy title: “The History and Mythology of the World’s Most Famous Rock ‘n Roll Song; Including the Full Details of Its Torture and Persecution at the Hands of the Kingsmen, J. Edgar Hoover’s FBI, and a Cast of Millions; and Introducing for the First Time Anywhere, the Actual Dirty Lyrics.”
According to page 97 in the book, it’s true that drummer Lynn Easton yelled “F@#k!” during what is widely considered to be the definitive recording of “Louie Louie.” While listeners might find it difficult to make out that specific word, we found that Marsh’s book was well researched. He even interviewed Jack Ely, the singer and guitarist who belted out the lyrics for the hit song.
The moment in question can be heard at the 0:54 mark in the song in this YouTube video.”
Watch the video below:
In Marsh’s book, he published details about the moment when Easton yelled “F@#k!” during “Louie Louie”:
The band was nervous; this may have been a rinky-dink setup, but it was their shot. Ely yawped like Donald Duck in a rage on “Okay, let’s give it to ’em, right now!” The others’ nerves showed, too: Just before the vocal came back in, Lynn Easton clacked his sticks together and cussed, “F@#k!” Although Lynn was off mike, he said it loud enough to register slightly on the tape, and he never quite recovered the beat, stuttering and stumbling throughout the rest of the take. The version that the band thought was a rehearsal ended up being the recording that’s been heard around the world for decades.
In Peter Blecha’s 2009 book, “Sonic Boom!: The History of Northwest Rock, from Louie, Louie to Smells Like Teen Spirit,” he wrote that Eastman “allegedly dropped a drumstick during the second chorus,” prompting him to yell “F@#k!” during “Louie Louie.” This was slightly different than Marsh’s account that Easton “clacked his sticks together.” He also referred to the studio as Northwestern, Inc., not Northwest Recorders. We were unable to track down the studio’s official name.
It’s unclear what exactly happened with Easton’s sticks while he was drumming that caused him to yell “F@#k!” during “Louie Louie.” However, what is clear is that two books about the song’s history both mentioned that the obscenity happened during the 1963 recording made by The Kingsmen, whether listeners can make the word out or not.
Read the FULL article: HERE