Music History Today: May 14, 2020

May 14, 1966: The Kingsmen's "Louie Louie" entered the Billboard Hot 100 for the ninth time. 

The legend of the Kingsmen’s “Louie Louie” has been told almost as many times as the song itself has been covered. 

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First released in May of 1963, and then re-released that October, the Kingsmen’s version climbed to No. 2 on the Billboard singles chart. 

Read more:   The New Yorker

May 14. 1968: The Rascals recorded "People Got To Be Free." 

When The Rascals’ “People Got to Be Free” held down the top Billboard spot for five weeks in the fall of 1968, it gained fame as a tribute to both Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Bobby Kennedy. King had been murdered that April, and the future classic was recorded afterward but before Kennedy’s assassination that June. 

Read more: Senior Life

May 14, 1977: Leo Sayer hit Number 1 on the US singles chart "When I Need You."

Before he found fame as a pop singer and literal clown, Leo Sayer was a songwriter. His first impact on the US charts was in 1974, when Three Dog Night covered his UK hit “The Show Must Go On."

Read more:  Stereogum

May 14, 1983: "She Blinded Me with Science" by Thomas Dolby peaked at Number 5 on the U.S. Billboard charts. 

“She Blinded Me With Science” was a smash hit off of British musician, Thomas Dolby’s debut album The Golden Age of Wireless. It peaked at #5 on the U.S. Billboard charts on May 14, 1983. In 2006, VH1 placed it at #76 on their list of “Greatest Songs of the ’80s.” 

Read more:  Return to the 80s

Louie Louie
The Kingsmen