Richard Berry

1935–1997 · American singer and songwriter

Richard Berry (1935–1997) was an American singer and songwriter who both wrote ‘Louie Louie’ and recorded it first, in 1957 for Flip Records. He sold his rights to the song for $750 to fund his wedding, and for decades watched it become one of the most-recorded songs in rock while his own name faded from public memory. In the mid-1980s a licensing deal reopened his claim and a settlement finally made him a millionaire — late vindication for the man who invented the thing everyone else got credit for.

Who recorded it

Songs Richard Berry recorded first

Louie Louie

Recorded it first — now often credited to The Kingsmen

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