♫ Wild Thing ♫ (Redux)

Posted on by under Bits 'n Pieces, music, music history

A couple of nights ago I was visiting Fandango’s blog, “This, That, and the Other”, when he did a post about “Wild Things” and in the course of the post, mentioned this song.  Well, I didn’t think I had heard or thought of this one in ages, so I determined to do a music post on it, but … much to my own surprise, I did one in April 2020, nearly 4 years ago!!!  So, why re-invent the wheel, eh?

Interestingly, I remember this song quite well, but did not remember the name of the band, The Troggs.  Released in 1966, this song went to #2 in the UK and #1 in the U.S.

This song was written by a songwriter named Chip Taylor, who has made tons of money from it because it has been recorded by many artists and is constantly being used in movies and TV shows. Taylor used a lot of this money to gamble – for years he bet about $10,000 a day and was kicked out of every casino in Las Vegas for card counting. He also wrote Angel Of The Morning, which was a hit for Merrilee Rush in 1968. Taylor is the brother of actor Jon Voight and the uncle of Angelina Jolie.

The style of music exemplified in this song became known as “Caveman Rock.” The Troggs is short for “troglodyte” (meaning “cave dweller”), which helped bolster this image. Over the next few years, The Troggs moved away from this Neanderthal sound and had a big hit in 1968 the much more evolved Love Is All Around.

Five years after The Troggs recorded this, Jimi Hendrix released his version. It was one the few songs Hendrix recorded that he did not write, and it gave the song new life on rock radio stations, as Jimi worked it over in his legendary guitar style. This is the song Hendrix is playing in the Monterey Pop Festival footage where he sets his guitar on fire.  I listened to the Hendrix version and decided not to include it here.

This was released simultaneously on Atco and Fontana Records. The Troggs were from England, and sent their manager to the US to make a distribution deal as Fontana (their British label) was initially hesitant to release it in North America. Fontana changed its mind and shortly afterwards, the manager returned with a signed distribution contract with Atco. Because both singles used the same master recording, the compilers of the Billboard Hot 100 decided to combine the two singles (which had different B-sides) into one chart position. It is the only single to hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 while being offered on two different labels simultaneously.

That crazy whistling instrument in the break is an ocarina, which is an Eastern instrument that dates back thousands of years. The original version of the song recorded by Jordan Christopher & The Wild Ones had whistling in the break, but The Troggs identified the ocarina from the demo they heard of the song and got one to record it. This gave the song a very distinctive sound and was a great talking point for the band.

Wild Thing
The Troggs

Wild thing, you make my heart sing
You make everything groovy, wild thing
Wild thing, I think I love you
But I wanna know for sure
Come on and hold me tight
I love you

Wild thing, you make my heart sing
You make everything groovy, wild thing
Wild thing, I think you move me
But I wanna know for sure
Come on and hold me tight
You move me

Wild thing, you make my heart sing
You make everything groovy, wild thing
Wild thing, you make my heart sing

Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Chip Taylor
Wild Thing lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

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28 thoughts on “♫ Wild Thing ♫ (Redux)”

    • I’m so glad you’re enjoying the music posts, Scottie! Sometimes it is a bit of work, but I’m really enjoying doing them and learning things about the background to songs I’ve known and loved for decades! Yes, I got you email … stay tuned! (I’ll respond tomorrow … I took some time off today as I wasn’t feeling quite well). Hugs

      Liked by 2 people

  5. Pingback: ♫ Wild Thing ♫ (Redux) | Filosofa’s Word | Ned Hamson's Second Line View of the News

  7. I had to review the Monterey performance first. I saw you everywhere in the crowd. 😁Attempts to describe the 60’s always end in “You had to be there”.

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  8. Jill, I can no longer think of this song without also thinking of the movie “Major League” where Charlie Sheen’s character was called Wild Thing and his entering the game as a relief pitcher was greeted by the crowd singing this song. The famously funny announcer Bob Uecker would subtlety call Wild Thing’s wild pitches as “just a bit outside” even when it missed the strike zone by a wide distance.

    Keith

    Liked by 4 people

    • You mentioned that movie last time I played this several years ago, and I added the movie to my TBW list, but still haven’t watched it! I think I watch about 2 movies a year! Glad you enjoyed the music, though!

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      • PS – My wife and I just rewatched one of my favorite movies “Four weddings and a funeral.” At the end, they played a cover of The Troggs’ “Love is all around” which is a great wedding dance song for the new couple. Same group that did “Wild Thing” did this sweet love song. Keith

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  9. The Troggs had a number of hits in North America. Here is one if them:

    As much as I would love to offer the Hendtix version of Wild Thing for your psychedelic audience, I will defer to your silence. But Hendtix did the song his way, and I love it.

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  10. The Troggs had a huge hit here with that song. The leader of that band, Reg Presley, also wrote ‘Love Is All Around’, which was a worldwide hit after being on the soundtrack of the film ‘Four Weddings And A Funeral’. It made Reg a LOT of money! £1,000,000 in royalties just from the film use and soundtrack sales.
    His real name was Reginald Ball, and he died in 2017.
    Best wishes, Pete.

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