STEP INTO THE LIGHT
He’s the Gold Coaster behind riffs synonymous with big names like Lionel Richie and The Jackson Five — and now he’s going to be his own frontman
IT’S an unassuming house in Robina. It blends in so well with its suburban backdrop that there’s a hole in the front fence where someone drove a car straight through, seemingly not noticing the brick abode behind.
But that is not the home’s only distinguishing feature.
Just shy of the front door is a separate entry leading to something much more than your average man cave … it’s an Aladdin’s den for musicians.
The technical gear alone would have the eyes of any artist popping, but what’s really priceless is the wall of gold. Gold records, that is. Lionel Richie, Boz Scaggs, Simon & Garfunkel, Kenny Rogers … and that’s only the gilt edge of Louie Shelton’s golden rock ’n’ roll history. Louie who? His name may not be known, but his work most definitely is.
From The Monkees’ Last Train to Clarksville to The Jackson Five’s I Want You Back to Lionel Richie’s Hello … all that guitar work is part of an original Louie masterpiece.
Born in Arkansas and hitting his career high in Los Angeles, it’s the Gold Coast that Louie calls home now.
And after 60 years hiding in the spotlight, he’s happy to be relaxing – if not retired – in Robina.
Despite the AC/DC adage that it’s a long way to the top if you want to rock ’n’ roll, for Louis it’s instead been a long time at the top of rock ’n’ roll.
But the 74-year-old says while hard work and raw talent gave him his start in the cutthroat music industry, his success has always been a matter of aligning the stars – both celestial and celebrity.
Indeed, once he lined up the right person at the right time in the right place, he found he’d just written a riff for a No.1 hit.
“I was in LA and started getting some demo sessions with up-and- coming writers, including two guys by the name of Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart,” he says.
“One day they called me and said they got the job to write and produce all of the music for a new television series called The Monkees.
“They described the kind of song they needed for The Monkees’ first record. I said what about this … and started playing the opening riff to Last Train To Clarksville.
“Both guys flipped out and said, ‘That’s ****ing it!’”
The song became the band’s first hit record and Louie immediately became the most sought-after session guitarist in town.
Every record producer in LA wanted to know who played the guitar on the track and Louie’s phone never stopped ringing.
When Motown Records relocated from Detroit to LA, Louie’s guitar helped to create the new West Coast Motown sound. He began recording with Diana Ross, Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gay, Gladys Knight and Stevie Wonder.
Louie says he especially recalls his first session with a new boy band – and its littlest member.
“I worked on the Jackson Five’s first three albums, including the singles ABC, I Want You Back and I’ll Be There.
“Michael was only 11 years old at the time, but man what a talent. I was totally knocked out by him.”
After a lifetime of being one of the world’s most in-demand session guitarists, earning a spot in the Musician’s Hall of Fame, Louie is stepping out on stage under his own name now.
He’ll be a headliner in his hometown at last when he joins the Broadbeach Jazz Festival next month.
Louie and his band will play the Mall stage free on August 15 in what will be his first public crowd gig as frontman.
But despite tending to shy away from the limelight, it’s not like he’s ever slowed down since first picking up a guitar aged nine.
“I pretty much learned to play overnight,” he says.
“By the time I was 12 I was doing a radio show out of Little Rock five days a week and then I started doing a TV show as well that same year.
“When I was 14 I started playing the clubs and then at 17 I started working my way west playing with different bands.”
Louie says while playing came naturally, it was at school that he heard his true calling.
“We had this guy come in and play guitar at our junior high school auditorium. His name was Elvis,” Louie says.
“I can still remember it like yesterday. No one knew who he was but he sang and gyrated his way through his songs and I was just blown away.
“I fell in love with rock ’n’ roll.
“I remember the day my wife called out to me that she’s just heard Elvis had died. I just could not believe it. It seemed like only yesterday he was in such good shape and then he was gone forever.”
While his celebrity career saw plenty of personal highs, Louie says he witnessed too many lows like Elvis’, and the key to his longevity has been sticking to the straight and narrow.