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Nearly 60 years ago, the FBI spent months trying to decipher its reputedly obscene lyrics. Twenty years later, it almost became Washington鈥檚 state song.

Back in 1984, a weekly program premiered on It would eventually morph into a sketch comedy show led by John Keister, but at first it was more like a Johnny Carson-style talk show with a local focus. The original host was a young comedian who grew up in Federal Way named .

Shafer says that 36 years ago, it was a simpler time, and the Puget Sound area was a quieter place 鈥� and fertile ground for local comedy.

鈥淭he community was pretty sleepy, in that for years and years and years, we knew there was going to be a traffic problem from Tacoma to Seattle,鈥� Shafer said. 鈥淎nd there was talk about the monorail stretching all the way鈥� between those two cities.

鈥淏ut that’s all it was, just talk,鈥� Shafer said. 鈥淎nd the joke for the monorail was, 鈥楾here’s only one monorail in downtown Seattle … and it goes from no place, to nowhere.’鈥�

Local media was simpler, too, and local TV stations actually spent money producing local shows beyond just the standard nightly news programs.

Even so, the weekly broadcast of 鈥淎lmost Live鈥� was a shoestring operation. It aired early on Sunday evenings, and there was no marketing budget. Ross Shafer and his friend and writer for the show Jim Sharp decided they needed a publicity stunt to get some attention to attract some viewers 鈥� and maybe some advertisers 鈥� to the show.

Their first idea? A Sonny and Cher reunion. But that fizzled when both halves of the former couple weren鈥檛 interested.

Shafer says it was Jim Sharp who then came up with the idea to try and change the state song.

Since 1959, Washington鈥檚 state-sanctioned official song had been 鈥�Washington, My Home,鈥� a little ditty composed by Helen Davis of South Bend in Pacific County.

On first inspection, it didn鈥檛 seem like 鈥淲ashington, My Home鈥� 鈥� or Helen Davis 鈥� would offer much in the way of competition.

鈥淣obody knew it,鈥� said Shafer regarding Davis鈥� song, 鈥渁nd I grew up [in Washington].鈥�

Shafer says the 鈥淎lmost Live鈥� team 鈥� including himself, Jim Sharp, and John Keister 鈥� debated which song to proffer as a replacement for 鈥淲ashington, My Home.鈥� One option was 鈥淭he Witch鈥� by The Sonics; the other was 鈥淟ouie, Louie.鈥�

鈥淚 was in a rock band in Federal Way when I was in the eighth grade. and we played 鈥楲ouie, Louie鈥� several times a night because it was so easy to play,鈥� Shafer said, telling the team, “鈥楲et’s try it. Let’s just see what happens.’鈥�

The announcement went out over the KING 5 airwaves on an otherwise unassuming Sunday evening in February 1985.

鈥淚 just announced it one week on the show,鈥� Shafer said. 鈥淎nd it was like a match striking kerosene.鈥�

鈥淟ouie, Louie鈥� was undoubtedly the right three-chord choice. It was originally written and recorded in California in 1957 by a musician named , but it didn鈥檛 really take off until a band in Seattle called covered it in 1961 and scored a regional hit.

Then, when Portland band , that record became a national hit. Other Northwest bands covered it, too, like . And it鈥檚 probably impossible to tally the number of other forgotten bands 鈥� like Ross Shafer鈥檚 eighth-grade outfit 鈥� who found the song an easy-to-play crowd-pleaser.

It鈥檚 hard to overstate the ubiquity of 鈥淟ouie, Louie鈥� in the early to mid 1960s, and it鈥檚 no joke that J. Edgar Hoover鈥檚 FBI actually trying to figure out whether or not the .

Meanwhile, back in 1985, the idea to make 鈥淟ouie, Louie鈥� the state song caught fire and things began to move pretty fast.

The campaign launch on 鈥淎lmost Live鈥� in February was followed in March by a resolution being introduced in the Washington State Senate. On March 15, 1985, Ross Shafer spoke in support of the resolution in the Senate Chamber in Olympia. On April 12, 1985, 鈥�, and an estimated 5,000 people showed up for a raucous rally on the State Capitol steps.

In those pre-internet times, the 鈥淟ouie, Louie鈥� state song campaign now feels like a graduate level class in old-school 鈥済oing viral.鈥�

鈥淲hat publicity we got,鈥� Ross Shafer said, still marveling at the massive response generated by the campaign.

鈥淚t just shot us so far ahead …聽 and we sold out every ad鈥� on the half-hour version of 鈥淎lmost Live,鈥� Shafer said, inspiring KING 5 to expand the show to a full hour to capitalize on the ad sales. And national media came calling, too.

鈥淚 went on Dick Clark鈥檚 鈥楤loopers and Practical Jokes鈥� show and talked about it,鈥� Shafer said. 鈥淓d McMahon, Johnny Carson鈥檚 sidekick, had a 鈥楲ouie, Louie鈥� sweatshirt he showed on The Tonight Show. And George Miller, a local comedian, went on Letterman wearing his 鈥楲ouie, Louie鈥� shirt.鈥�

Esquire Magazine also gave the campaign one of their 鈥淒ubious Achievement Awards鈥� that year.

Back home in the Evergreen State in the summer of 1985, Ross Shafer says that Helen Davis, the composer of 鈥淲ashington, My Home,鈥� was a perfect foil.

鈥淪he didn’t want to have her song displaced,鈥� Shafer said. 鈥淪o we had a villain. It was perfect.鈥�

Shafer said they tried to contact Davis, to ask her, 鈥淐an we convince you in some way? Have you heard 鈥楲ouie Louie鈥�?鈥� Davis also figured prominently in one of the jokes Shafer developed for all the public speaking engagements he did in support of the campaign.

鈥淪he told The Spokesman Review, the Spokane paper,鈥� Shafer said, switching into a classic 鈥渓ittle old lady鈥� impersonation voice, 鈥�’Ross Shafer wants to change the state song to 鈥楲ouie, Louie.鈥� He should change the state flower to marijuana.’鈥�

鈥淚t’s just silly,鈥� Shafer said, looking back at the 鈥楲ouie, Louie鈥� antics aimed at Helen Davis 35 years ago. 鈥淲e were just young guys poking fun at this elderly woman who for years and years, maybe decades, had had this song logged in the books鈥� as the state鈥檚 official theme.

The legislative effort eventually stalled 鈥� maybe because when it came right down to it, no one really wanted to hurt poor Helen Davis鈥� feelings. At one point, there was a bill introduced in the Senate to make 鈥淟ouie, Louie鈥� the official state rock song, but that effort didn鈥檛 go anywhere in the House and ultimately also stalled. Thus, legally speaking, 鈥淲ashington, My Home鈥� remains the state song, while Woody Guthrie鈥檚 鈥淩oll On, Columbia鈥� became the state folk song in 1987.

Ross Shafer isn鈥檛 bothered by the campaign鈥檚 lack of success in changing the state song. He says the whole 鈥淟ouie, Louie鈥� saga was always more about the journey than the destination. There was something universally appealing, Shafer says, about the 鈥淒avid and Goliath鈥� battle of a little TV show versus the huge and ancient institution of the Washington State Legislature.

Shafer鈥檚 journey after 鈥淟ouie, Louie鈥� and his stint at KING 5 took him to years of work on national TV. After that, he reinvented himself as a business consultant, author, and motivational speaker based in Colorado. He鈥檚 published nine books, and before COVID-19, traveled the world for speaking engagements.

The legacy of the effort here in Washington is hard to measure, but credit the 鈥淟ouie, Louie鈥� campaign for inspiring lawmakers in the Buckeye State to adopt 鈥�,鈥澛燽y native sons The McCoys, as the official state rock song.

Looking back, it seems now that what Shafer, Jim Sharp, John Keister and the others at 鈥淎lmost Live鈥� were doing with 鈥淟ouie, Louie鈥� was more than just a publicity stunt.

Aside from drawing attention to their own TV show, they were also honoring the achievements of some aging guys from past-their-peak local bands. Maybe those guys hadn鈥檛 gotten all the credit they deserved the first time around for putting out some pretty cool records and bringing people of a certain age a lot of joy.

鈥淭here鈥檚 something interesting about music and how it鈥檚 a timestamp for all of us,鈥� Shafer said.

The 鈥淟ouie, Louie鈥� campaign, Shafer says, 鈥渆levated The Kingsmen, who weren’t red-hot [in 1985], Paul Revere and The Raiders, who weren’t red hot then either … but we were honoring how they made us feel at some point in our lives.鈥�

When we hear music from certain points in our life 鈥渨e kind of go back in this time machine,鈥� Shafer said.

鈥淢aybe that’s also what was happening to the citizens of Washington state with 鈥楲ouie, Louie,鈥欌�� he added.

And for that, maybe we should all be thankful for Sonny and Cher.

鈥淎 year after they told us 鈥榥o,鈥欌�� Shafer said, 鈥渢hey reunited on Letterman.鈥�

You can hear Feliks every Wednesday and Friday morning on Seattle鈥檚 Morning News and read more from him聽here. If you have a story idea, please email Feliks聽here.