16. Hoover’s FBI attempted to decipher the lyrics to the song “Louie, Louie”
The song Louie, Louie, first recorded in 1955 and released to become a hit by The Kingsmen in 1963, has long been the subject of discussion regarding its lyrics, incomprehensible in the 1963 version for the most part. Still, it is just a song, seemingly a harmless one, and it has been interpreted by countless thousands of garage and basement bands since. In 1964, reasoning that lyrics which cannot be clearly understood must be obscured for a reason, and that reason must be because they are obscene, the FBI opened an investigation into the song. From February to May of 1964 the full might of the Federal Bureau of Investigation analyzed the song and questioned the writers and musicians associated with its release, diligently protecting the American people from immorality, as its long-standing director had ensured the taxpayers it would.
The FBI file, heavily redacted of course, presumably for reasons of national security, can be read online. Its cover page acknowledges that the words as recorded are largely indecipherable, but when listened to with a copy of the obscene lyrics kept handy for reference, it “sounds like the lyrics are identical with the enclosed obscene lyrics”. Louie, Louie became one of the earliest records said to contain hidden messages when played at altered speeds – in its case obscene lyrics – but after a diligent and thorough investigation Hoover’s FBI ensured the American people, “they were unable to determine what the lyrics of the song were, even after listening to the records at speeds ranging from 16 to 78 rpm”. The investigation had been triggered by a letter to the Attorney General, Robert F. Kennedy, in which the letter writer pointed out, “This land of ours is headed for an extreme state of moral degradation”, to which the record of Louie, Louie clearly contributed, and was thus a matter for the FBI.