LIST 27

6 Bands That Are the Subjects of FBI Files

1. The Doors

2. The Grateful Dead

3. The Jefferson Airplane

4. The Kingsmen

Somewhat famously, the FBI was obsessed with the Kingsmen's version of “Louie, Louie,” which they turned into a garage rock classic with nearly unintelligible lyrics. Hoover's boys were convinced that it was a filthy song subverting America's youth. In fact, the FBI Laboratory was tasked with deciphering the words, never mind the unimportant stuff like solving murders and kidnappings. They never were able to break the code, but they took several hilarious stabs at it. In every instance, they thought the second line of the second verse contained the phrase “fuck you girl” or “fuck your girl.” The actual line is, “Me think of girl constantly.” The FBI's finest minds also heard lines like, “She's never a girl I'd lay at home,” “She had a rag on, I moved above,” “Every night and day I play with my thing,” and, “Hey, you bitch.” (That last line is really, “Me see Jamaica.”)

Here in reality, “Louie Louie”—written and originally performed by rhythm and bluesman Richard Berry is sung from the point of view of a Jamaican guy telling a bartender named Louie how he wants to get back to his girl. It's so tame that you could literally play it to a five-year-old without worrying. Whether or not the Kingsmen added their own off-color lyrics is debatable, but listening closely to their version while reading the original lyrics indicates that they were faithful to Berry's creation.

5. Kiss

6. The Monkees