Wild Thing - Music
Wild Thing by The Troggs
The Troggs
Artist Biography For The Troggs
The Troggs Are An English Rock Band From The 1960s That Had A Number Of Hits In The UK And The US. Their Most Famous Songs Include The Chart-Topping "Wild Thing" "With A Girl Like You" And "Love Is All Around". "Wild Thing" Is Ranked #257 On The Rolling Stone Magazine's List Of 500 Greatest Songs Of All Time And Was An Influence On Garage Rock And Punk Rock. Fronted Until 2012 By Reg Presley Born June 12th 1941 As Reginald Maurice Ball Died 4 February 2013 The Troggs Formed In The Town Of Andover England. A Version Of The Band Is Continuing To Tour Featuring Original Guitarist Chris Britton Long Standing Members Pete Lucas Bass Dave Maggs Drums & Chris Allen On Lead Vocals Originally Called The Troglodytes The Troggs Formed In 1964 And Were Signed By The Manager Of The Kinks Larry Page In 1965. They Recorded On Page's Page One Records And Page Also Leased Them To CBS For Debut Single "Lost Girl". Their Most Famous Hit Was The Single "Wild Thing" Written By Chip Taylor Which With The Help Of Television Exposure On Thank Your Lucky Stars Reached Number 2 In The UK And Number 1 In The United States In June 1966. Its Combination Of A Simple Heavy Guitar Riff And Flirtatious Lyrics Helped It To Quickly Become A Garage Rock Standard. It Was Recorded In One Complete Take Take Two At Olympic Studios In London With Keith Grant Engineering. Because Of A Dispute Over US Distribution Rights "Wild Thing" Was Released Along With The First Album Of The Same Name On Two Labels Fontana And Atco. The Band's Success In The US Was Also Limited By Not Touring There Until 1968. They Also Had A Number Of Other Hits Including "With A Girl Like You" A UK Number 1 In July 1966 US Number 29 "I Can't Control Myself" A UK Number 2 In September 1966 -- This Was Also Their Second And Final Dual-Label Release In The US With Fontana Retaining The Rights To All Subsequent Releases "Anyway That You Want Me" UK Number 10 In December 1966 All At Olympic Studios "Night Of The Long Grass" UK Number 17 In May 1967 And "Love Is All Around" UK Number 5 In October 1967 And US Number 7 In February 1968 . With Chart Success Eluding The Band They Split Up In March 1969. Ronnie Bond Was The First To Release A Solo Record With The "Anything For You" Single In March 1969 Followed In April By Reg Presley With "Lucinda Lee". Chris Britton Released A Solo Album As I Am The Same Year. The Band Reformed Later That Year With Former Plastic Penny Bassist Tony Murray Replacing Staples And In 1974 After A Spell On Pye Records In An Attempt To Re-Create Their 1960s Successes The Troggs Re-United With Larry Page Now Running Penny Farthing Records. The Resulting Cover Version Of The Beach Boys Hit "Good Vibrations" Did Not Capture The Public's Imagination. A Reggae Version Of "Wild Thing" Also Failed To Chart. The Band Found A Sympathetic Ear At French Label New Rose In The 1980s The Label Releasing 1982's Black Bottom LP And 1990's AU. In 1991 The Troggs Recorded Athens Andover An Eleven-Song Collaboration Between Themselves And Three Members Of R.E.M. It Was Recorded In The American Band's Hometown Of Athens Georgia And Was Released In March 1992. The Band Attempted To Capitalize On This New Exposure With A Couple Of Bizarre Collaborations On New Versions Of "Wild Thing". In 1992 They Teamed Up With Notorious Drinkers Oliver Reed And Alex Higgins With Another Version The Following Year Featuring Wolf From The TV Show Gladiators Which Actually Reached Number 69 In The UK Singles Chart. The Band's Original Drummer Ronnie Bond Died In 1992. Dave Wright Another Founding Member Died On 10 October 2008. Legacy And Influence
The Troggs Are Widely Seen As A Highly Influential Band Whose Sound Was One Inspiration For Garage Rock And Punk Rock. For Example Iggy Pop Of The Stooges Has Cited Citation Needed The Troggs As Influential To Their Sound And The Early Version Of British Pop-Punk Pioneers Buzzcocks Featured I Can't Control Myself In Their Live Repertoire. The Ramones Are Also Amongst Punk Bands Who Cited The Troggs As An Influence. The MC5 Covered "I Want You" At Their Live Shows And Recorded The Song For The Album "Kick Out The Jams" Although They Renamed It "I Want You Right Now". The Jimi Hendrix Experience Famously Covered "Wild Thing" During Their Appearance At The 1967 Monterey Pop Festival Introducing It As The British/American Joint "national Anthem" And Climaxing With Hendrix Burning His Guitar. 2 In 1990 The First Hit For The Band Spiritualized Was A Cover Of "Anyway That You Want Me". This Cover Was Later Used In The Movie Me And You And Everyone We Know. "With A Girl Like You" Is Featured Uncut In A School Dance Scene From The 1991 Nicole Kidman/Noah Taylor Movie Flirting. In 1991 "Love Is All Around" Was Covered By R.E.M. During Live Performances And Was Released Later That Year As A B-Side On Their "Radio Song" Single. They Also Performed An Acoustic Version Of The Song On MTV Unplugged. In 1994 Scottish Band Wet Wet Wet's Version Of The Song Spent Fifteen Weeks At Number One In The UK After Its Inclusion In Four Weddings And A Funeral. A Modified Version Of "Love Is All Around" Was Featured In The Film Love Actually 2003 Performed By Actor Bill Nighy. An In-Studio Tape Of Reg Presley's Running Commentary On A Recording Session Filled With In-Fighting And Swearing Known As "The Troggs Tapes" Was Widely Circulated In The Music Underground And Was Included In The Archaeology Box Set. The In-Group Infighting Is Believed To Be The Inspiration For A Scene In The Comedy Film This Is Spinal Tap Where The Band Members Are Arguing. Some Of This Dialogue Was Sampled By The California Punk Band The Dwarves On Their Recording Of A Cover Version Of The Troggs Song "Strange Movies". In January 2012 After Over 40 Years Of Touring Reg Presley Retired Due To Lung Cancer Apparently Ending The Troggs. However The Remaining Members Chris Britton Guitar Pete Lucas Bass And Dave Maggs Drums Are Continuing The Troggs. They Are Joined By Special Guest Chris Allen On Lead Vocals Who Has Been In The Denny Laine Band The Commitments And Part Time With The Animals. Reg Presley Died On 4 February 2013.
Frogtoon Music - Song Info: Wild Thing
The-Troggs - Wild Thing
"Wild Thing" Is A Hit Song Written By New York City-Born Songwriter Chip Taylor And Originally Recorded By The Wild Ones In 1965. The Song Is Best Known For Its 1966 Cover By The English Band The Troggs Which Reached The Number One Spot On The Billboard Hot 100 In July 1966. The Song Charted One Position Lower In Britain Reaching #2. The Song As Sung By The Troggs Is Ranked #257 On The Rolling Stone Magazine's List Of The 500 Greatest Songs Of All Time. Composition The Song's Central Guitar Riff Is Immediately Recognizable And Frames The Central Lyric Wild Thing –
You Make My Heart Sing –
You Make Everything ... GroovyThe Music Stops For The Counter Lyric Wild Thing I Think I Love You Or You Move Me ...
But I WANNA KNOW For Sure.
So Come On And Hold Me Tight –
I Love You Or You Move Me The Song Is In The Key Of A Major And Is Based Around The Chord Progression I - IV - V - IV Which Is The Basis For The Main Riff And The Instrumental Parts During The Chorus. However The Guitars Are Not Strictly Tuned To Middle C In The Troggs Version And The Slightly Sharp Tuning Causes The Chords To Actually Be Midway Between A And Bb. This Has Of Course Mystified Many Guitar Players Trying To Play Along With The Record. The Middle Eight Was Originally Someone Whistling But In The Troggs' Version This Was Replaced By Colin Fretcher Musical Director Playing An Ocarina. Troggs Single The Troggs Version Was Recorded In Mono In One Piece On The Second Take At Olympic Studios Which Was Then At Carton Street Off Baker Street In London By Engineer Keith Grant. Because Of A Distribution Dispute The Troggs Single Was Available On Two Competing Labels Atco And Fontana. Because Both Pressings Were Taken From The Identical Master Recording Billboard Combined The Sales For Both Releases Making It The Only Single To Simultaneously Reach #1 For Two Companies. Other Versions The Song Has Remained Popular Ever Since The Troggs' Hit Single And Has Been Covered Again Many Times — Perhaps Most Notably By Jimi Hendrix Whose Stage Performance Of The Song Was Featured In The 1967 Documentary Monterey Pop. Hendrix Recorded The Song Live And It Can Be Heard In The Compilation Album The Ultimate Experience. In 1967 The Novelty Team Of Senator Bobby Released A Version Of "Wild Thing". Sung By Comedian Bill Minkin In The Verbal Style Of Democratic Senator Bobby Kennedy While A Recording Engineer Is Heard Giving Instructions The Stammering Single Charted At #20 In The United States. The Flip Side Of The Senator Bobby 45 Featured "Senator Everett McKinley" An Impression Of Republican Senator Everett McKinley Dirksen Doing The Same Song The Initial Voiceover By The Recording Engineer Encourages Senator Bobby To Respond To His "hit Single" The Senator Everett McKinley Version Also Had Some Radio Airplay At The Time . The Songs Were Credited To The Hardly-Worthit Players And The Senator Bobby Version Was Included As A Bonus Track On Reissues Of Their 1962 Parkway LP Called The Hardly-Worthit Report The Rest Of The Album Is A Comedic Takeoff On The NBC National News Broadcast The Huntley-Brinkley Report . The British Group Fancy Recorded A Version Of The Song In 1974 Which Reached #14 On The Billboard Hot 100. The British Comedy Troupe The Goodies Recorded A Version Of The Song And Performed It During A 1976 Episode Of Their Television Series. In 1983 The Song Was Covered By The Psychobilly Band The Meteors For Their Wreckin' Crew Album And Was Also Performed By The Australian Pub Band Cold Chisel During Their Last Stand Concert. Sister Carol Did A Reggae Version In 1986. Comedian Sam Kinison Recorded A Hit Novelty Version In 1988 With A Music Video Featuring Cameos From Rodney Dangerfield As Well As Many Well-Known Rock Musicians Including Steven Tyler And Joe Perry From Aerosmith Slash Billy Idol Steve Vai Dweezil Zappa Richie Sambora And Tommy Lee And A Raunchy "roll On The Mat" Dance With Jessica Hahn. A Cover By The Los Angeles-Based Punk Band X Was Used In The 1989 Film Major League. The 1990 Cartoon Version Of The Comic Book Character Swamp Thing Had A Theme Song That Parodied The Song With The Lyrics "Swamp Thing! You Are Amazing!" Cheap Trick Recorded The Song For The Soundtrack To Encino Man In 1992 Possibly As A Tribute To Kinison Who Had Died That Year. The Troggs Recorded A New Version In 1993 Which Charted In The Lower Reaches Of The British Charts. A Cover Version Was Recorded By Hank Williams Jr. In 1995. Prince Interpolated The Chorus Of The Song Into His Cover Of Tommy James And The Shondells' "Crimson And Clover". Bruce Springsteen And The E Street Band Performed The Song During Their Working On A Dream Tour At The April 24 2009 Show At The XL Center In Hartford. Use In Sports Television And Film The 1989 Baseball Film Major League Used "Wild Thing" Recorded By L.A. Punk Band X As The Theme Song For Rick Vaughn The Team's Erratic Relief Pitcher. Life Soon Imitated Art When The Philadelphia Phillies Closer Mitch Williams Adopted The Song For His Entrances From The Bullpen Including In The 1993 World Series. During The Late 2000s The Song Is Played At Fenway Park Whenever Boston Red Sox Closer Jonathan Papelbon Comes In From The Bullpen Followed By "I'm Shipping Up To Boston" By The Dropkick Murphy's. In 1992 The Troggs' Version Was Used In The Film D2 The Mighty Ducks. That Same Year A Version By Cheap Trick Was Used For The Film Encino Man. In 2003 Aerosmith Recorded A Version Of The Song With A Video Which Was Used For Commercials And Teasers Advertising ABC's Coverage Of The NFL Wild Card Playoffs. In The UK The Song Was Used Heavily By Television Programme "You've Been Framed" For Clips Generally Involving Animals. Japanese Pro Wrestler Atsushi Onita Used The X Cover Of The Song As His Entrance Theme. The Song Was Featured In A Prominent Scene In The 1997 Miniseries Painted Lady Featuring Helen Mirren.
In The Full House Episode "Just Say No Way " Jesse Katsopalis Plays This Song With The Marching Band At DJ's School Dance Replacing Dogface A Popular High School Band Who Broke Up Hours Beforehand . An Inversion Of This Song's Title Became The Title Of Something Wild 1986 Film . The Film Features A Scene Where The Hero & Heroine Pick Up Some Hitch-Hikers In Their Connvertible And The Party Then Sing "Wild Thing". Regrettably This Cover Is Not Included On The Soundtrack CD Nor Are The Two Songs Played At The High-School Reunion By The Band The Feelies The Monkees' I'm A Believer And Fame David Bowie Song .
50 Similar Tracks:
The Troggs - With A Girl Like You The Kinks - All Day And All Of The Night The Kinks - You Really Got Me The Kingsmen - Louie Louie The Lovin' Spoonful - Daydream The Animals - Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood The Box Tops - The Letter The Who - My Generation The Spencer Davis Group - Gimme Some Lovin' The Yardbirds - For Your Love The Animals - We've Gotta Get Out Of This Place The Byrds - Mr. Tambourine Man The Easybeats - Friday On My Mind The Byrds - Turn! Turn! Turn! To Everything There Is A Season The Zombies - She's Not There The Monkees - I'm A Believer Herman's Hermits - No Milk Today Joe Cocker - With A Little Help From My Friends Buffalo Springfield - For What It's Worth The Guess Who - American Woman Barry McGuire - Eve Of Destruction Cream - Sunshine Of Your Love The Rolling Stones - I Can't Get No Satisfaction Sonny & Cher - I Got You Babe The Monkees - Daydream Believer The Rolling Stones - I Can't Get No Satisfaction Mono Version Norman Greenbaum - Spirit In The Sky The Turtles - Elenore Status Quo - Pictures Of Matchstick Men The Zombies - Time Of The Season The Hollies - Bus Stop Creedence Clearwater Revival - Bad Moon Rising Procol Harum - A Whiter Shade Of Pale Steppenwolf - Born To Be Wild The Lovin' Spoonful - Summer In The City The Yardbirds - Heart Full Of Soul ? And The Mysterians - 96 Tears Manfred Mann - Do Wah Diddy Diddy Cream - White Room The Turtles - Happy Together Free - All Right Now Creedence Clearwater Revival - Proud Mary Donovan - Sunshine Superman The Moody Blues - Nights In White Satin The Troggs - Love Is All Around Jefferson Airplane - Somebody To Love Steppenwolf - Magic Carpet Ride The Mamas & The Papas - Monday, Monday Scott McKenzie - San Francisco Be Sure To Wear Flowers In Your Hair Petula Clark - Downtown
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Biography - The Troggs
The Troggs Are An English Rock Band From The 1960s That Had A Number Of Hits In The UK And The US. Their Most Famous Songs Include The Chart-Topping "Wild Thing" "With A Girl Like You" And "Love Is All Around". "Wild Thing" Is Ranked #257 On The Rolling Stone Magazine's List Of 500 Greatest Songs Of All Time And Was An Influence On Garage Rock And Punk Rock. Fronted Until 2012 By Reg Presley Born June 12th 1941 As Reginald Maurice Ball Died 4 February 2013 The Troggs Formed In The Town Of Andover England. A Version Of The Band Is Continuing To Tour Featuring Original Guitarist Chris Britton Long Standing Members Pete Lucas Bass Dave Maggs Drums & Chris Allen On Lead Vocals Originally Called The Troglodytes The Troggs Formed In 1964 And Were Signed By The Manager Of The Kinks Larry Page In 1965. They Recorded On Page's Page One Records And Page Also Leased Them To CBS For Debut Single "Lost Girl". Their Most Famous Hit Was The Single "Wild Thing" Written By Chip Taylor Which With The Help Of Television Exposure On Thank Your Lucky Stars Reached Number 2 In The UK And Number 1 In The United States In June 1966. Its Combination Of A Simple Heavy Guitar Riff And Flirtatious Lyrics Helped It To Quickly Become A Garage Rock Standard. It Was Recorded In One Complete Take Take Two At Olympic Studios In London With Keith Grant Engineering. Because Of A Dispute Over US Distribution Rights "Wild Thing" Was Released Along With The First Album Of The Same Name On Two Labels Fontana And Atco. The Band's Success In The US Was Also Limited By Not Touring There Until 1968. They Also Had A Number Of Other Hits Including "With A Girl Like You" A UK Number 1 In July 1966 US Number 29 "I Can't Control Myself" A UK Number 2 In September 1966 -- This Was Also Their Second And Final Dual-Label Release In The US With Fontana Retaining The Rights To All Subsequent Releases "Anyway That You Want Me" UK Number 10 In December 1966 All At Olympic Studios "Night Of The Long Grass" UK Number 17 In May 1967 And "Love Is All Around" UK Number 5 In October 1967 And US Number 7 In February 1968 . With Chart Success Eluding The Band They Split Up In March 1969. Ronnie Bond Was The First To Release A Solo Record With The "Anything For You" Single In March 1969 Followed In April By Reg Presley With "Lucinda Lee". Chris Britton Released A Solo Album As I Am The Same Year. The Band Reformed Later That Year With Former Plastic Penny Bassist Tony Murray Replacing Staples And In 1974 After A Spell On Pye Records In An Attempt To Re-Create Their 1960s Successes The Troggs Re-United With Larry Page Now Running Penny Farthing Records. The Resulting Cover Version Of The Beach Boys Hit "Good Vibrations" Did Not Capture The Public's Imagination. A Reggae Version Of "Wild Thing" Also Failed To Chart. The Band Found A Sympathetic Ear At French Label New Rose In The 1980s The Label Releasing 1982's Black Bottom LP And 1990's AU. In 1991 The Troggs Recorded Athens Andover An Eleven-Song Collaboration Between Themselves And Three Members Of R.E.M. It Was Recorded In The American Band's Hometown Of Athens Georgia And Was Released In March 1992. The Band Attempted To Capitalize On This New Exposure With A Couple Of Bizarre Collaborations On New Versions Of "Wild Thing". In 1992 They Teamed Up With Notorious Drinkers Oliver Reed And Alex Higgins With Another Version The Following Year Featuring Wolf From The TV Show Gladiators Which Actually Reached Number 69 In The UK Singles Chart. The Band's Original Drummer Ronnie Bond Died In 1992. Dave Wright Another Founding Member Died On 10 October 2008. Legacy And Influence
The Troggs Are Widely Seen As A Highly Influential Band Whose Sound Was One Inspiration For Garage Rock And Punk Rock. For Example Iggy Pop Of The Stooges Has Cited Citation Needed The Troggs As Influential To Their Sound And The Early Version Of British Pop-Punk Pioneers Buzzcocks Featured I Can't Control Myself In Their Live Repertoire. The Ramones Are Also Amongst Punk Bands Who Cited The Troggs As An Influence. The MC5 Covered "I Want You" At Their Live Shows And Recorded The Song For The Album "Kick Out The Jams" Although They Renamed It "I Want You Right Now". The Jimi Hendrix Experience Famously Covered "Wild Thing" During Their Appearance At The 1967 Monterey Pop Festival Introducing It As The British/American Joint "national Anthem" And Climaxing With Hendrix Burning His Guitar. 2 In 1990 The First Hit For The Band Spiritualized Was A Cover Of "Anyway That You Want Me". This Cover Was Later Used In The Movie Me And You And Everyone We Know. "With A Girl Like You" Is Featured Uncut In A School Dance Scene From The 1991 Nicole Kidman/Noah Taylor Movie Flirting. In 1991 "Love Is All Around" Was Covered By R.E.M. During Live Performances And Was Released Later That Year As A B-Side On Their "Radio Song" Single. They Also Performed An Acoustic Version Of The Song On MTV Unplugged. In 1994 Scottish Band Wet Wet Wet's Version Of The Song Spent Fifteen Weeks At Number One In The UK After Its Inclusion In Four Weddings And A Funeral. A Modified Version Of "Love Is All Around" Was Featured In The Film Love Actually 2003 Performed By Actor Bill Nighy. An In-Studio Tape Of Reg Presley's Running Commentary On A Recording Session Filled With In-Fighting And Swearing Known As "The Troggs Tapes" Was Widely Circulated In The Music Underground And Was Included In The Archaeology Box Set. The In-Group Infighting Is Believed To Be The Inspiration For A Scene In The Comedy Film This Is Spinal Tap Where The Band Members Are Arguing. Some Of This Dialogue Was Sampled By The California Punk Band The Dwarves On Their Recording Of A Cover Version Of The Troggs Song "Strange Movies". In January 2012 After Over 40 Years Of Touring Reg Presley Retired Due To Lung Cancer Apparently Ending The Troggs. However The Remaining Members Chris Britton Guitar Pete Lucas Bass And Dave Maggs Drums Are Continuing The Troggs. They Are Joined By Special Guest Chris Allen On Lead Vocals Who Has Been In The Denny Laine Band The Commitments And Part Time With The Animals. Reg Presley Died On 4 February 2013. read less
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The Troggs Are Widely Seen As A Highly Influential Band Whose Sound Was One Inspiration For Garage Rock And Punk Rock. For Example Iggy Pop Of The Stooges Has Cited Citation Needed The Troggs As Influential To Their Sound And The Early Version Of British Pop-Punk Pioneers Buzzcocks Featured I Can't Control Myself In Their Live Repertoire. The Ramones Are Also Amongst Punk Bands Who Cited The Troggs As An Influence. The MC5 Covered "I Want You" At Their Live Shows And Recorded The Song For The Album "Kick Out The Jams" Although They Renamed It "I Want You Right Now". The Jimi Hendrix Experience Famously Covered "Wild Thing" During Their Appearance At The 1967 Monterey Pop Festival Introducing It As The British/American Joint "national Anthem" And Climaxing With Hendrix Burning His Guitar. 2 In 1990 The First Hit For The Band Spiritualized Was A Cover Of "Anyway That You Want Me". This Cover Was Later Used In The Movie Me And You And Everyone We Know. "With A Girl Like You" Is Featured Uncut In A School Dance Scene From The 1991 Nicole Kidman/Noah Taylor Movie Flirting. In 1991 "Love Is All Around" Was Covered By R.E.M. During Live Performances And Was Released Later That Year As A B-Side On Their "Radio Song" Single. They Also Performed An Acoustic Version Of The Song On MTV Unplugged. In 1994 Scottish Band Wet Wet Wet's Version Of The Song Spent Fifteen Weeks At Number One In The UK After Its Inclusion In Four Weddings And A Funeral. A Modified Version Of "Love Is All Around" Was Featured In The Film Love Actually 2003 Performed By Actor Bill Nighy. An In-Studio Tape Of Reg Presley's Running Commentary On A Recording Session Filled With In-Fighting And Swearing Known As "The Troggs Tapes" Was Widely Circulated In The Music Underground And Was Included In The Archaeology Box Set. The In-Group Infighting Is Believed To Be The Inspiration For A Scene In The Comedy Film This Is Spinal Tap Where The Band Members Are Arguing. Some Of This Dialogue Was Sampled By The California Punk Band The Dwarves On Their Recording Of A Cover Version Of The Troggs Song "Strange Movies". In January 2012 After Over 40 Years Of Touring Reg Presley Retired Due To Lung Cancer Apparently Ending The Troggs. However The Remaining Members Chris Britton Guitar Pete Lucas Bass And Dave Maggs Drums Are Continuing The Troggs. They Are Joined By Special Guest Chris Allen On Lead Vocals Who Has Been In The Denny Laine Band The Commitments And Part Time With The Animals. Reg Presley Died On 4 February 2013. read less
16 Similar Artists To The Troggs - Frogtoon Music
Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich Small Faces Manfred Mann The Tremeloes The Easybeats The Spencer Davis Group The Searchers The Hollies Them Herman's Hermits The Lovin' Spoonful The Move Paul Revere & The Raiders Tommy James & The Shondells The Seeds The Yardbirds.
"Wild Thing" is a hit song written by New York City-born songwriter Chip Taylor and originally recorded by The Wild Ones in 1965. The song is best known for its 1966 cover by the English band The Troggs, which reached the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 in July 1966. The song charted one position lower in Britain, reaching #2.
The song as sung by The Troggs is ranked #257 on the Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
Composition
The song's central guitar riff is immediately recognizable and frames the central lyric:
Wild thing –
You make my heart sing –
You make everything ... groovyThe music stops for the counter lyric:
Wild thing, I think I love you (or you move me) ...
But I WANNA KNOW for sure.
So come on, and hold me tight –
I love you (or you move me)
The song is in the key of A major, and is based around the chord progression (I - IV - V - IV), which is the basis for the main riff, and the instrumental parts during the chorus. However, the guitars are not strictly tuned to middle C in the Troggs version and the slightly sharp tuning causes the chords to actually be midway between A and Bb. This has, of course, mystified many guitar players trying to play along with the record. The middle eight was originally someone whistling, but in the Troggs' version this was replaced by Colin Fretcher, musical director, playing an ocarina.
Troggs single
The Troggs version was recorded in mono in one piece on the second take at Olympic Studios which was then at Carton Street, off Baker Street in London, by engineer Keith Grant.
Because of a distribution dispute, the Troggs single was available on two competing labels: Atco and Fontana. Because both pressings were taken from the identical master recording, Billboard combined the sales for both releases, making it the only single to simultaneously reach #1 for two companies.
Other versions
The song has remained popular ever since The Troggs' hit single, and has been covered again many times — perhaps most notably by Jimi Hendrix, whose stage performance of the song was featured in the 1967 documentary Monterey Pop. Hendrix recorded the song live and it can be heard in the compilation album The Ultimate Experience.
In 1967, the novelty team of Senator Bobby released a version of "Wild Thing". Sung by comedian Bill Minkin in the verbal style of Democratic Senator Bobby Kennedy while a recording engineer is heard giving instructions, the stammering single charted at #20 in the United States. The flip side of the Senator Bobby 45 featured "Senator Everett McKinley" (an impression of Republican Senator Everett McKinley Dirksen) doing the same song; the initial voiceover by the recording engineer encourages Senator Bobby to respond to his "hit single" (the Senator Everett McKinley version also had some radio airplay at the time). The songs were credited to The Hardly-Worthit Players, and the Senator Bobby version was included as a bonus track on reissues of their 1962 Parkway LP called The Hardly-Worthit Report (the rest of the album is a comedic takeoff on the NBC national news broadcast The Huntley-Brinkley Report).
The British group Fancy recorded a version of the song in 1974, which reached #14 on the Billboard Hot 100. The British comedy troupe The Goodies recorded a version of the song, and performed it during a 1976 episode of their television series. In 1983 the song was covered by the psychobilly band The Meteors for their Wreckin' Crew album, and was also performed by the Australian pub band Cold Chisel during their Last Stand concert. Sister Carol did a reggae version in 1986.
Comedian Sam Kinison recorded a hit novelty version in 1988, with a music video featuring cameos from Rodney Dangerfield as well as many well-known rock musicians including Steven Tyler and Joe Perry from Aerosmith, Slash, Billy Idol, Steve Vai, Dweezil Zappa, Richie Sambora, and Tommy Lee, and a raunchy "roll on the mat" dance with Jessica Hahn. A cover by the Los Angeles-based punk band X was used in the 1989 film Major League. The 1990 cartoon version of the comic book character Swamp Thing had a theme song that parodied the song, with the lyrics "Swamp Thing! You are amazing!" Cheap Trick recorded the song for the soundtrack to Encino Man in 1992, possibly as a tribute to Kinison who had died that year. The Troggs recorded a new version in 1993, which charted in the lower reaches of the British charts. A cover version was recorded by Hank Williams, Jr. in 1995.
Prince interpolated the chorus of the song into his cover of Tommy James and the Shondells' "Crimson and Clover".
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band performed the song during their Working on a Dream Tour at the April 24, 2009 show at the XL Center in Hartford.
Use in sports, television and film
The 1989 baseball film Major League used "Wild Thing" recorded by L.A. punk band X as the theme song for Rick Vaughn, the team's erratic relief pitcher. Life soon imitated art, when the Philadelphia Phillies closer Mitch Williams adopted the song for his entrances from the bullpen, including in the 1993 World Series. During the late 2000s, the song is played at Fenway Park whenever Boston Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon comes in from the bullpen, followed by "I'm Shipping Up to Boston" by the Dropkick Murphy's.
In 1992, the Troggs' version was used in the film D2: The Mighty Ducks. That same year a version by Cheap Trick was used for the film Encino Man. In 2003, Aerosmith recorded a version of the song with a video, which was used for commercials and teasers advertising ABC's coverage of the NFL Wild Card playoffs.
In the UK the song was used heavily by television programme "You've Been Framed", for clips generally involving animals.
Japanese Pro Wrestler Atsushi Onita used the X cover of the song as his entrance theme.
The song was featured in a prominent scene in the 1997 miniseries Painted Lady featuring Helen Mirren.
In the Full House episode, "Just Say No Way," Jesse Katsopalis plays this song with the marching band at DJ's school dance (replacing Dogface, a popular high school band, who broke up hours beforehand).
An inversion of this song's title became the title of Something Wild (1986 film). The film features a scene where the hero & heroine pick up some hitch-hikers in their connvertible; and the party then sing "Wild Thing". Regrettably, this cover is not included on the soundtrack CD; nor are the two songs played at the high-school reunion by the band, The Feelies, (The Monkees' I'm a Believer, and Fame (David Bowie song)).
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