Richard Berry Video | Celebrity Interview and Paparazzi

Richard Berry (April 11, 1935 – January 23, 1997) was an African American singer, songwriter and musician, who performed with many Los Angeles doo-wop and close harmony groups in the 1950s, including The Flairs and The Robins. He is best known as the composer and original performer of the rock standard "Louie Louie". The song went on to be a hit for The Kingsmen becoming one of the most recorded songs of all time, however Berry received little financial benefit for writing it until the 1980s, having signed away his rights to the song in 1959. Berry was born in Extension, south of Monroe,... MORE

Richard Berry (April 11, 1935 – January 23, 1997) was an African American singer, songwriter and musician, who performed with many Los Angeles doo-wop and close harmony groups in the 1950s, including The Flairs and The Robins. He is best known as the composer and original performer of the rock standard "Louie Louie". The song went on to be a hit for The Kingsmen becoming one of the most recorded songs of all time, however Berry received little financial benefit for writing it until the 1980s, having signed away his rights to the song in 1959. Berry was born in Extension, south of Monroe, Louisiana, and moved with his family to Los Angeles as a baby. As a child he suffered a hip injury and had to walk on crutches until he was six. His first instrument was the ukelele, which he learnt while attending a summer camp for crippled children. Berry attended Jefferson High School in Los Angeles, and along with many other pupils practised singing vocal harmonies in the corridors. He began singing and playing in local doo-wop groups, recording with a number of them including The Penguins, The Cadets and the Chimes, the Crowns, the Five Hearts, the Hunters, the Rams, the Whips, and the LESS