Jack Ely: Singer whose sinew-stretching rendition of "Louie Louie" helped make it the second-most covered song in pop music

Ely's religious beliefs prevented his family from releasing of any information about his illness

Ely and the Kingsmen: they fell out as the record rose up the charts, and a legal battle ensued (Getty)

Stretching every sinew to make himself heard over the racket made by his Kingsmen bandmates, the vocalist Jack Ely transformed "Louie Louie", the infectious rhythm and blues composition first cut by the pianist Richard Berry, into one of the most irresistible records of the 1960s, or any decade, the so-called "party anthem of the universe". "It was more yelling than singing because I was trying to be heard over all the instruments," Ely recalled about its recording during an hour-long session which cost $50 and took place at Northwestern Inc Studio in Portland, Oregon, in April 1963.

The previous year, the Kingsmen had come across a version of "Louie Louie" by the Seattle based-musician Rockin' Robin Roberts, a juke-box favourite with teenagers that they quickly added to their repertoire, as did another Oregon beat group, Paul Revere and the Raiders, on the hunt for a follow-up to their introductory hit, the instrumental "Like, Long Hair". Indeed, by spring 1963 the Kingsmen and the Raiders were managed by rival disc jockeys at the AM radio station KISN as they attempted to capitalise on the dance craze inspired by "Louie Louie" and recorded competing versions on consecutive days at the same studio.

The debut release on the local, short-lived independent Jerden, subsequently picked up by Wand for national distribution, the Kingsmen's take on "Louie Louie" looked to have lost out to their rivals, who were by then signed to the major Columbia Records. Yet while the Raiders stalled at 103 in the US charts, the Kingsmen's definitive rendition eventually made it to No 2 in the US by the end of the year.

Issued on Pye International the following January, it reached the UK Top 30 and became the pliable template for myriad further covers by the Kinks, the Sonics, the Flamin' Groovies, Iggy Pop & the Stooges, Toots & the Maytals, Motörhead, Joan Jett, Black Flag, The Fat Boys and every self-respecting garage band. There are several best-of "Louie Louie" albums and kazoo and marching band versions, while John Belushi introduced the frat party anthem to another generation of cinema-goers when he belched and belted it out in the 1978 film National Lampoon's Animal House.

Several factors contributed to the eventual overwhelming and long-lasting triumph of the Kingsmen's rough-and-ready, proto-garage-band version. The group had performed a marathon 90-minute version at a local dance the previous day; more by happenstance than by design, Ely introduced a tempo change that added to the excitement. "I showed the others how to play it with a 1–2–3, 1–2, 1–2–3, 1-2 beat, ... instead of the 1–2–3–4, 1–2, 1–2–3–4 beat that is on the Berry record," he said of what became a slight but important adaptation. The shift eventually caused a mistake after the guitar solo but this only added a further frisson to what was a single-take recording captured during a session which also yielded the instrumental B-side "Haunted Castle".

An FBI investigation into the allegedly lewd lyrics lasted two years – covered in painstaking detail in a 455-page report, including testimonies by Berry and Ely – contributed to the single's notoriety. Ely always maintained that his diction was affected by the fact that he was wearing a brace and struggling to reach up to the microphone positioned way above his head. "I was yelling at a mic far away," he said. "I always thought the controversy was record-company hype." Federal investigators played the single at 16, 33 and 78rpm and concluded that the lyrics were "unintelligible at any speed."

Born in Portland in 1943, he grew up in a musically rich environment and began playing piano aged seven. By his teens he had become adept at improvising chord sequences based on the classical pieces his teacher put in front of him. Like many US teenagers of his generation, he first caught Elvis Presley on television in January 1956 and soon took up the guitar, mostly playing by ear after a few lessons.

His versatility enabled him to join the Young Oregonians, a travelling vaudeville show with whom he gained experience as a singer and instrumentalist. In 1959 he teamed up with the drummer and vocalist Lynn Easton to form the Kingsmen, a party band whose line-up grew to include guitarist Mike Mitchell, bassist Bob Nordby and keyboard-player Don Gallucci.

Following the recording of "Louie Louie", Easton's mother registered the Kingsmen name and installed her son as the new frontman, prompting both Ely and Nordby, who had also missed out on a writing credit for "Haunted Castle", to quit and sue their former bandmates once the single began moving up the charts. Prevented from using the Kingsmen moniker, he lead Jack E Lee and the Squires, with whom he recorded "Love That Louie" in 1964, and Jack Ely and the Courtmen, with whom he cut "Louie Louie '66" and "Ride Ride Baby".

Legal matters were eventually resolved when Ely received a one-off payment of $6,000 and was given an undertaking that all further copies of "Louie Louie" would be credited to the Kingsmen, "Lead Vocal by Jack Ely". Easton also agreed not to lip-sync to Ely's vocals for TV appearances.

Ely supported the Performance Rights Act, a proposal for US music publishers, who have traditionally concentrated on recompensing songwriters, to also pay royalties to performers. "There are a lot of one-hit wonders out there just like me who deserve compensation when their recorded performances are played and stations get ad revenue from it," he said.

Richard Berry, the author of "Louie Louie", sold the copyright for a few hundred dollars to pay for his wedding in 1959. He only regained the rights (and a $2m windfall) to the second-most recorded song of all time (just behind the Beatles' "Yesterday") in 1986.

Conscripted into the army between 1966 and 1968, Ely struggled to return to music-making and became dependent on drugs and alcohol. As he cleaned up his act his faith grew and he turned to gospel music. He bred horses on a farm in Oregon. His religious beliefs prevented his family from releasing of any information about his illness.

PIERRE PERRONE

Jack Ely, singer, guitarist, songwriter and horse breeder: born Portland, Oregon 11 September 1943; twice married (two children); died Terrebonne, Oregon 27 April 2015.