#807: Louisiana by Mike Kennedy
Peak Month: April 1972
7 weeks on CKVN chart
Peak position in Vancouver ~ #2
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #62
YouTube: “Louisiana”
Lyrics: “Louisiana”
Michael Volker Kogel was born in Berlin, Germany, in 1944. His father acted in cabaret and hardly spent anytime with the family. His mother struggled and ended up taking her life when she was 65. Kogel grew up with his grandmother who was a Jehovah’s Witness. In the late 50s, Kogel was an apprentice to become a brewmaster. He got captivated with rock ‘n roll played at the American military base in Cologne. He started singing songs by Elvis Presley, Eddie Cochran, Pat Boone, and Ricky Nelson, in local clubs. In 1962, he released a pop single in West Germany titled “Ein Mädchen Nach Maß”. It was credited to ‘Michael.’ In 1964 he was fronting a beat band named Mike and the Firebirds. They had a single in West Germany titled “Der Knüller Mausi Müller”. A second release was a cover of the Zombies’ “She’s Not There” titled “Lass Sie Gehn”. Sometime in 1965, Michael Kogel became the lead singer for Mike Rat and the Runaways. They released a cover of the Major Lance tune “Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um”. Next up, Kogel became the lead singer for Los Bravos. The band had an international Top Ten hit in 1966 titled “Black Is Black”.