Wild Thing – PowerPop… An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture

Troggs – Wild Thing

I had an obsession with this band when I was a kid. I wanted to know everything about them, but back then, you could not search Google or find ~~many~~ any books on The Troggs. I did learn about the Trogg Tapes, which were hilarious! A friend of mine had a bootleg cassette of them in the 80s. It’s them in a session and probably breaking the record for the number and variations of f**k in a session. It probably has more than Scarface did with Pacino. It was better than many comedy albums I bought back then. “Put a Little Bit of F***ing Fairy Dust Over the Bastard!” It doesn’t get much rock and roll than that.

Some songs arrive like lightning. This song showed up like a Molotov cocktail tossed into the tea party of mid-’60s pop, three chords, one brain cell, and more raw tension than a teenage first kiss. This is pre-punk, garage rock, and sexual threat, all crammed into 2 minutes and 34 seconds of glorious slop. The opening chord staggers into the room like a drunk on a bender.

If you were in a garage band in the sixties…or now, you probably have played this song. This is the Troggs’ claim to fame in the history of Rock and Roll. They had other good songs, but nothing that had this much influence. The song is as raw as you could get at the time. It’s also a song like ‘Louie Louie’ that every garage band has played or at least tried to play once.

Reg Presley, one of rock’s unlikeliest frontmen (a former bricklayer with a sneer in his voice), had just enough voice to get him through. They were not stocked with great talent, but they sounded raw, and they had songs that were tailored for them. Instead of excellent musical chops, they had enthusiasm and just enough talent to make it exciting. And it worked.

The band combined a pop touch with a garage band style, resulting in two top ten songs and four songs in the Billboard 100. This song peaked at #1 on the Billboard 100, #2 in the UK, and #2 in Canada in 1966.

Many people will remember the Jimi Hendrix version at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967. Comedian Sam Kinison also did a version in 1989. The first version of this song was by The Wild Ones in 1965. Secondhandsongs shows 153 versions of this song.

Chip Taylor (whose real name was Chip Voight) was a singer-songwriter who wrote this song. Taylor is the brother of actor Jon Voight and the uncle of Angelina Jolie. He has made a fortune on this song because it’s been in countless movies and TV Shows. He also wrote Angel of the Morning.

Chip Taylor: “I was on the floor laughing when I was through. Wild Thing’ came out in a matter of minutes. The pauses and the hesitations are a result of not knowing what I was going to do next.”

Reg Presley: “There was a guy there (at DJM) called Dennis Berger, who had a heap of demos on his desk. The first one I picked up was Wild Thing. I took a look at the lyric sheet and read: ‘Wild Thing-you make my heart sing-you make everything groovy.’ It seemed so corny, I thought, Oh my God, what are they doing to us! Then I played Chip Taylor’s demo- just guitar and him- and it was incredible. The other boys all liked it too. Chip Taylor later told us our version was just what he wanted.”

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
So come on and hold me tight
You move me

Wild thing
You make my heart sing
You make everything groovy
Wild thing
Oh, come on, wild thing
Shake it, shake it, wild thing

Max Picks …songs from 1966

1966

This may be the best year ever in pop music. So many choices but as Ricky Nelson said “You Can’t Please Everyone…” so here it goes.

There are so many Beatles songs this year like Day Tripper, Eleanor Rigby, Paperback Writer, and more. My two favorite Beatles songs of this year would be And Your Bird Can Sing and this one…the B side to Paperback Writer…Rain. The bass in this song is incredible. The song was credited to Lennon/McCartney but it’s more of a Lennon song.

Now we have The Beatles arch-rivals…just kidding. Actually, they were friends who worked together and made sure their releases didn’t overlap each other. The Rolling Stones in Paint It Black. Personally, I like this one better than Satisfaction. Paint It Black was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.

Wild Thing…you make my heart sing. That’s all that needs to be said by this band. They were not a one-hit wonder though. I’ve been a fan of The Troggs since I bought their single as a kid in the late seventies. Their hits included Wild Thing, With a Girl Like You, and the song that has been covered many times…Love Is All Around. They were punk rock before punk rock. The song was written by Chip Taylor.

Let’s go to the American band The Lovin Spoonful who scored huge with this single. The song was written by John Sebastian, Mark Sebastian, and Steve Boone.

This man would change rock guitar forever and some still consider him the best. Hey Joe was released in December of 1966. The Jimi Hendrix Experience was making its debut. The song’s songwriting credits have been disputed. Here is what Wiki said: Public Domain (1st pressing), Dino Valenti a.k.a. Chet Powers (2nd & 3rd pressings), and Billy Roberts (copyrighted)

The Troggs

Today I want to give a salute to The Troggs.

In the late seventies, I borrowed a single from a friend…that was Wild Thing by the Troggs. I loved the raw sound. If there was ever a garage band that hit the big time…it was the Troggs. Wild Thing (1966) was a massive hit that sold over 1 million copies. Their other big hits were With A Girl Like You (1966) and Love Is All Around (1967). The B side to the single I had at the time was With A Girl Like You and I liked it better than Wild Thing.

The Troggs influenced a lot of Punk and Garage bands. Their songs could be played with a little practice. Almost every band starting out will play the 3 chord Wild Thing at least a few times.

Their songs have been covered by a countless number of unknown bands. Three more well-known artists have been Jimi Hendrix playing Wild Thing at Monterey and REM and Wet, Wet, Wet covered Love Is All Around.

The original members were Reg Presley, Ronnie Bond, Chris Britton, and Pete Staples. Reg Presley was the lead singer and wrote Love Is All Around which went to #7 and With A Girl Like You which went to #29.

The band is probably more known for a failed recording session which was leaked out more than they were for their hits. They are swearing and fighting with each other.

It is funny. If you are put off by swearing don’t listen but when you hear “Oh, we’ll put some fairy dust over it. I’ll piss over the tape”….it’s hard to resist. It was recorded in 1970 and leaked out in the early seventies on bootlegs called The Troggs Tapes...this became the inspiration for a few Spinal Tap scenes. I have some of it below in the videos.

After Love Is All Around in 1967 the band’s fame waned. They released some more singles but nothing approached their three big hits. REM made an album with the Troggs in 1992 called Athens Andover.

Reg Presley passed away in 2013. Chris Britton still plays some gigs with the Troggs today as the only original member left.

Wild Thing… like Louie, Louie was an important song in the history of Rock and Roll. It was much more important than the band that brought it to us…but you have to tip your hat to the Troggs. A garage band that is still being talked about in 2022.

This group was not one of the super British bands of the sixties, not even close. They will never be on anyone’s top ten, twenty, or higher best band list…but they left a few memorable songs, a large one, some influence, and a hilarious bitch session on tape for posterity…

The Troggs

In the late seventies, I borrowed a single from a friend and that was Wild Thing by the Troggs. I loved the raw sound. If there was ever a garage band that hit the big time…it was the Troggs. Wild Thing (1966) was a massive hit that sold over 1 million copies. Their other big hits were With A Girl Like You (1966) and Love Is All Around (1967).

The Troggs influenced a lot of Punk and Garage bands. Their songs could be played with a little practice. Almost every band starting out will play the 3 chord Wild Thing at least a few times.

Their songs have been covered by a countless number of unknown bands. Three more known artists have been Jimi Hendrix playing Wild Thing at Monterey and REM and Wet, Wet, Wet covered Love Is All Around.

The original members were Reg Presley, Ronnie Bond, Chris Britton and Pete Staples. Reg Presley was the lead singer and wrote Love Is All Around which went to #7 and With A Girl Like You that went to #29.

The band is probably more known for a failed recording session which was leaked out more than they were for their hits. They are swearing and fighting with each other. It is funny…if you are put off by swearing don’t listen but when you hear “Oh, we’ll put some fairy dust over it. I’ll piss over the tape”….it’s hard to resist. It was recorded in 1970 and leaked out in the early seventies on bootlegs called The Troggs Tapes…this became the inspiration for a few Spinal Tap scenes.

After Love Is All Around in 1967 the band’s fame waned. They released some more singles but nothing approached their three big hits. REM made an album with the Troggs in 1992 called Athens Andover.

Reg Presley passed away in 2013. Chris Britton still plays some gigs with the Troggs today as the only original member left.

Wild Thing like Louie, Louie was an important song in the history of Rock and Roll. It was much more important than the band that brought it to us…

This group was not one of the super British bands of the sixties, not even close. They will never be on anyone’s top ten, twenty, or higher best band list…but they left a few small memorable songs, a large one and some influence …and a hilarious bitch session on tape for posterity…