Jack Ely, 71, lead singer on 'Louie Louie' (video)

The Kingsmen, without Ely, lip-synch on "Hollywood A Go Go" in January 1966.

Jack Ely co-founded the Portland garage band the Kingsmen in 1959 and was the lead singer when the band recorded its cover of "Louie Louie" in 1963. Theirs became the classic version of the rock standard written and originally recorded by Los Angeles R&B musician Richard Berry in 1957 — and now possibly the most recorded rock song ever.

Ely left the Kingsmen in a dispute with the other members shortly after they recorded "Louie Louie" in Portland. Ely, who died Tuesday at 71, had explained previously (many, many times no doubt) that the lyrics sounded unintelligible only because of the recording conditions.

From the Associated Press obituary:

Ely discovered the sound engineer had raised the studio's only microphone several feet above his head. Then he placed Ely in the middle of his fellow musicians, all in an effort to create a better "live feel" for the recording.

The result, Ely would say over the years, was that he had to stand on his toes, lean his head back and shout as loudly as he could just to be heard over the drums and guitars.

It might not have helped, either, that the 20-year-old musician was wearing braces at the time, although Ely maintained that the real problem was trying to sing with his head tilted back at a 45-degree angle.

In any case, the end result was that about the only words anyone could clearly understand were contained in the song's first two lines: "Louie Louie. Oh no. We gotta go."

But the driving, three-chord instrumental progression was maddeningly memorable, as were the song's opening lines, delivered with just the right amount of rebellious if slurry snarl.

The FBI famously investigated the gibberish lyrics, apparently suspecting something obscene or sexual, and produced a 455-page report, says Rolling Stone. Yes, your FBI used to waste time on such things. Other covers include versions by The Beatles, the Beach Boys, Black Flag, Motorhead, the Clash and many more. Rhino Records released two albums of covers, including one by the Rice University Marching Owl Band, AP says.

In the YouTube video above, Ely has already left the band. But you get the idea. The clip, from syndicated TV show "Hollywood A Go Go" on January 22, 1966, was filmed a week earlier at the old KHJ studios in Hollywood and features the show's Gazzarri Dancers. June Fairchild, who died in February, dances in front of the band at stage right. The core Gazzarri Dancers Dawn Michaels, Jacqui Landrum, Mimi Machu, Maria Pogee and DeAnn Mollner are fanned out around the band, pretty much in that order.

Audio bonus: The original take on Louie Louie by Richard Berry and the Pharaohs, with some random but amusing dance footage.

Lyrics bonus — for the record:

Louie, Louie, oh, oh, me gotta go
Louie, Louie, oh, oh, me gotta go

Louie, Louie...