The Ultimate Northwest Road Trip Playlist
By Nancy Mueller Okanogan, Washington
F
rom folk music to jazz, classical, gr unge, and alter native rock, the Northwest music scene offers plenty of tunes worth a spot on “The Ultimate Northwest Road Trip Playlist.” With a focus on Northwest artists and songs that have come to define the region, here’s a short selection of those that made my cut.
Louie Louie—The Kingsman All Northwest road trips begin and end with the iconic “Louie Louie.”
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“Louie Louie, oh no, me gotta go, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, baby, Louie Louie, oh baby, me gotta go.” Count yourself among the cognoscenti if you actually know the rest of the song lyrics or even that the song is about a lovelorn Jamaican sailor longing for his girl b a c k h o m e . Wr i t t e n a n d originally performed by Richard Berry, and later popularized by Ta co m a ’s T h e W h a l e r s a n d Yakima’s The Kingsmen in 1963, the song experienced an implausible revival in the ‘80s,
thanks to Whatcom County’s campaign to have the music designated Washington’s official state song. Sadly, the resolution failed to pass the legislative House, relinquishing “Louie Louie” to a mere footnote in Washington State history. But not without first proclaiming April 12, 1985, ‘Louie Louie Day.’ Yeah! For more information about the song’s illustrious past, listen to the Lost Notes podcast, which will take you further down the rabbit hole of “Louie Louie” than
Photos: North Cascades Highway; The Okanagan, B.C.
