Louie Louie singer Jack Ely dead at 71

The Kingsmen co-founder Jack Ely, who sang rock’n’roll classic Louie Louie has died aged 71.

He died at home in Oregon after a long illness, his family say in a statement.

Ely co-founded the band in 1959 with childhood friend Lynn Easton and they soon added Mike Mitchell, Bob Nordby and Don Gallucci to the lineup. Their breakthrough came in 1963 when they covered Richard Berry’s Louie Louie.

They went on to have two further hits with Money and The Jolly Green Giant, but Ely left the group shortly after to be a horse trainer.

His son Sean tells AP: “Right out of his mouth, my father would say, ‘We were initially just going to record the song as an instrumental – and at the last minute I decided I’d sing it.’

“He wanted to pursue other endeavours in the music industry but I think when it was all done, he was pretty happy that he did Louie Louie.”

The track has also been covered by artists including Otis Redding, the Beach Boys, the Troggs, the Beatles, Motorhead and Joan Jett And The Blackhearts.

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