Garage Rock

The song “Wild Thing” was written by Chip Taylor, the country singer and songwriter who is the brother of actor Jon Voight and the uncle to Angelina Jolie. The American group The Wild Ones first recorded the song in 1965, but it was an international mega-hit for the British band The Troggs. Their cover went to #1 in the U.S., Canada, New Zealand, and Australia. It was #2 in the U.K., #5 in The Netherlands and #7 in Germany. In the original recording by The Wild Ones, the instrumental in the middle was whistled. In the version by The Troggs, it is Colin Fletcher, their music director, playing on an ocarina. Another bit of trivia, is that there had a legal dispute regarding distribution, so their single was released from one master on two competing labels, which were Atco and Fontana. In doing their chart calculations, Billboard combined the sales for both labels, and it became the only single to simultaneously achieve #1 for two companies. The performance by The Troggs is on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of “The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.” The song some more than one million copies and earned an RIAA gold record.

The Troggs formed in 1964 in Andover, Hampshire, England, playing their style of rock and roll, garage rock, and a sort of protopunk. The original members were Reg Presley (lead vocals), Chris Britton (lead guitar), Pete Staples (bass guitar), and Ronnie Bond (drums). They also had bit hits wit “Love is All Around” and “With a Girl Like You.” A version of The Troggs band continues to tour and perform.

Here are the lyrics for “Wild Thing” by 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
So come on and hold me tight
You move me

Wild thing
You make my heart sing
You make everything groovy
Wild thing

Come on, come on, wild thing
Shake it, shake it, wild thing”

For another song by The Troggs: “Love is All Around.”

Check Out The Groove Pad for More 1960s Music

The Pass the Paisley Groove Pad is a resting stop, a place to chill out and listen to the featured song on the stereo. If the mood strikes you, click on the juke box to access and listen to the 50+ commercial free online songs there. The TV has several channels, with selections updated twice a week. Every now and then, Pass the Paisley hosts an all-request of 1960s and 1970s songs for a Be-In at the juke box in the Groove Pad. Keep on truckin’. Hope you enjoyed “Wild Thing” by The Troggs.