"
Louie Louie" is an American
rhythm and blues song written by
Richard Berry in 1955 and best known for the 1963 hit version by
the Kingsmen. It has become a
standard in
pop and
rock, with hundreds of versions recorded by different artists. The song was originally written and performed in the style of a
Jamaican ballad. It tells, in simple
verse–chorus form, the first-person story of a Jamaican sailor returning to the island to see his lady love.