Richard Berry

Biography

Richard Berry Jr. (April 11, 1935 – January 23, 1997) was an 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 became a hit for the Kingsmen and others, and it is one of the most recorded songs of all time. Although Berry had signed away his rights to the song in 1957, he was able to renegotiate substantial financial benefit for his authorship in the 1980s. He also wrote and released "Have Love, Will Travel" which has been recorded by many other artists.

Bio from Wikipedia