1/31/2024 0 Comments Popkey everyday louieHis fear was unfounded because sales of "Louie Louie" only soared with the controversy. The girl's father feared a lawsuit from the Kingsmen, she recalled the other day. as our son, a young minister there, is trying hard to make the city a cleaner place for youth."īut the Frankfort teens who'd started it all were not basking in victory. Furious."īut he got just as many letters of support, like this one: "Dear Governor: I realize that your action will be questioned by some but it will be appreciated by a host of people who still believe in moral principles and Christian dignity."Īnd this: "Honorable Sir: We are glad the protest about the record came from Frankfort, Ind. Several dozen letters, also archived, were harsh, like this one: "Welsh: Are you out of your mind? There is nothing wrong with Louie Louie. I doubt that this could be possible when the public must surely realize that you too are interested in protecting we young people from a flood of obscene records." The female teen, in her junior year, wrote: "I hope the publicity does not harm you personally in any way. However, most people don't realize that if the morals are declining, and I doubt if they are, it is because of 'smut' such as this record, put out by adults whose only concern is in making a fast buck." The lad then defended youth: "Much is written about the declining morals of the American teen-ager. "You should be given a round of applause for your strong stand against this record," wrote the male, a senior. (The governor saved them they're in the archives.) Welsh swung into action, both Frankfort teens sent follow-up letters to the governor, thanking him for getting on the "Louie Louie" case with such decisiveness. Why rat out two people who 55 years ago had, in good faith, tried to save the nation from moral degradation?ĭays after Gov. They seemed embarrassed, and who wouldn't be? What an uncool thing they did. They've never spoken publicly about "Louie Louie." They've never been asked about it. The Frankfort teens are now in their 70s. Academics sometimes find governors' old letters handy in unwinding weighty matters of historical importance.īut what is unwound here is not something weighty but rather an absurd misunderstanding that led to parental panic and nanny-state overreach at a time when many adults were alarmed at the growing rebelliousness of youth culture. Governors hang on to their mail when they leave office and turn it over to the Indiana State Archives. We found the Frankfort teens - we located Ground Zero of a nationwide controversy - via Gov. They've never been identified, let alone interviewed - until now. Welsh, D - Ind.Īnd the two Frankfort teenagers who started it all? The recording was their cover of " Louie Louie," about a mariner who pines for a girl. The musicians were the Kingsmen, out of Portland, Ore. Nothing would come of this legendary goof-up, not a single conviction, not even an arrest. This sounds like an uplifting after-school special on TV ( empowered youth!) but in fact was the start of one of the dumbest battles in the history of America's culture wars. Justice Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Within days the recording would be under investigation by the FCC, the U.S. 23, 1964 Indianapolis News story that described the governor's swift reaction to a letter of complaint from "a Frankfort resident." The letter, we know now, was sent by two Frankfort residents, friends acting jointly. "Record held naughty, air ban asked" read the headline on a Jan. Convinced the record might indeed be dirty, he alerted the Federal Communications Commission. He contacted the Indiana Broadcasters Association and requested that member radio stations remove the song from their rotation. He sat down and listened to it - at several different speeds. He sent an aide to a record store to buy the record. The governor read the letter, and he did something about it. Two small-town Indiana teenagers got upset with the obscene lyrics they heard in a new rock 'n roll song on the radio, so they did something about it.
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