Richard Berry, "It's All Right" c/w "Walk Right In," Warner Brothers 5164 (rel. 8/1960)

To remember Richard Berry only for “Louie Louie” is like canonizing The Beatles for “yeah, yeah, yeah.” Both were defining moments but not definitive of their creators. “Louie Louie,” perhaps more than “She Loves You,” is a song that will outlive us all and become a folk song for the future. The multi-talented Berry came from Monroe, Louisiana, although his family moved to Los Angeles during his infancy. He attended LA’s Jefferson High School, where he met other black youths who shared his growing passion for rhythm and blues. Hallway acapella performances led to professional work, as Berry worked his way through a progression of LA vocal groups, including The Penguins, The Cadets (who made the classic “Stranded in the Jungle”), The Five Hearts and as the guiding hand of a pioneering girl group, The Dreamers.

With The Flairs, Berry met songwriters-producers Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. He guest-vocalized on their early masterpiece, “Riot in Cell Block #9” by The Robins in 1954. Because Berry was under contract to indie label Modern Records, he couldn’t take credit for his legendary lead performance. He performed similar chores on several records by Etta James, including the major hit “The Wallflower,” BKA “Dance with Me, Henry.”

Inspired by another famous Berry, Richard combined his impressions of Chuck Berry’s “Havana Moon” and the general fusion of Latin and R&B music in LA into the three-chord wonder of “Louie Louie.” As legend has it, Berry scrawled the lyrics on toilet paper backstage at a performance. Sung with a Jamaican patois in his original version, it was issued in the spring of 1957 as the B-side of an R&B revival of Jimmie Davis’ “You Are My Sunshine.” “Louie” made such noise in the market that Flip Records flipped the songs and made “Louie” the A-side. Thus, it entered the repertoire of countless rock and R&B bands. It was easy to play, containing one of the primal riffs in 20^th century music. Though most white performers garbled the lyrics, it was dynamite for dance-halls and teen rec centers.

Northwestern frat-rockers The Kingsmen covered it and immortalized the song, although their recording is a shambles. I love the moment when the singer comes in two bars early—and that the record label released it that way!

We won’t be hearing “Louie Louie” today—been there, done that. We join Richard Berry in 1960, when he teamed up with eccentric record-maker Gary Paxton, who’s best known for his novelty classic “Alley Oop.” Paxton tended towards the kooky, but he was a solid producer and he serves this talented singer-songwriter with a pair of New Orleans-inspired arrangements. Both songs share their names with hits by other people: The Impressions got a pop smash with Curtis Mayfield's "It's All Right" in 1963, while white folk-pop group The Rooftop Singers' version of "Walk Right In," a late 1920s song by Cannon's Jug Stompers, went to #1 earlier in '63. 

Neither of today's fine songs got anything close to the success of those two classics, but when did success matter on this website? Hah!

“It’s All Right” has the chunky sound often heard in LA r&b records of the day. Heavy brass and woodwinds dominate this side. Berry plays an electric piano and his voice is joined by other males—perhaps a latter-day version of The Pharoahs. Vaudeville-style chord changes run through this song, as Berry’s narrator dismissed an iffy relationship with a general “whatever.”

A sax threatens to break out into a solo but stops after a few bars; at record’s tail end, Berry noodles on the electric piano. Too bad we don’t get a little bit more of that. Ah, well.

Cash Box undersold the power of the B-side. Both decks are excellent.

“Walk Right In” is a stellar example of Richard Berry’s ballad style. This side reminds of some early Motown recordings, but it’s quintessential LA Black vocal group music, with a relaxed vibe that is hypnotizing. The electric piano is front and center on this sparse, seductive B-side.

The Pharoahs croon behind Berry’s mellow voice—both in a most soulful manner. There’s no competing instruments, and it’s a pleasure to hear these voices join in song. One pictures a young Frank Zappa—known devotee of Black vocal group sounds—studying this recording with respect and enjoyment. It’s hard to elaborate on a work that has no flaws, so have a listen and enjoy!

So, “Louie Louie” made Richard Berry a millionaire—right? Nope. He sold the rights to it for $750.00 to fund his wedding. This was common in the music biz. No one thought these songs would be remembered even a year after they were hits. As Berry said in a 1993 interview, without acrimony:  "Everybody sold their songs in those days. I never was bitter with the record companies. They provided a vehicle for five young black dudes to make a record."

Berry thus reaped nada from The Kingsmen’s chart-topping version, nor the over 1,000 other cover records, until a booze company wanted to use the song in a TV commercial. By this time, in the mid-1980s, Berry was broke and subsisting on welfare. The commercial’s producers learned that Berry’s signature was needed to broker the deal. This opened the can of worms about who really owned “Louie Louie.” With the aid of a lawyer, Berry got an out-of-court settlement from the song’s current rights holder. Then he became a millionaire, in one of the rare happy-ending stories for songwriters of rock ‘n’ roll’s senior class.

Berry’s health went into decline in the late 1990s, having sired six children and seen his life’s work revered by music historians and fans around the world. He left behind a large and fascinating catalogue of songs and performances, scattered across at least a dozen groups and as a solo artist.

Tomorrow: young Tony Orlando delivers two delightful slices of Brill Building pop, including an obscure Carole King/Gerry Goffin song, on a 1961 Epic single. One side breaks the fourth wall!