Today we're literally giving you three chords and the truth with a song that has left an indelible mark on rock history... Wild Thing by the TROGGS... Written and recorded under the gun, The songwriter Chip Taylor had to write the song and record a demo in just a few hours to hit a deadline. Otherwise, he might miss his date with destiny. After he finished recording it. it was so corny he fell on the floor laughing! He had written the song as a joke as a code word for Sex. Turns out, the song completely flopped the first time around. And then feeling embarrassed by the track's sexual undertones, this writer tried to hide it from his publisher. But someone found it and it was picked up by today's famous group, The Troggs. Piggybacking on someone else's recording session, the band laid it down in something like 20 minutes. But as fast as it took to record, this song was no flash in the pan. The song was all a big joke and it made its writer so rich he was gambling 10 grand a day in Vegas... The story is up next on Professor of Rock.
The original version of the classic song "Wild Thing", later made famous by The Troggs and Jimi Hendrix. This was released on November 1, 1965, about six months before The Troggs recorded their remake, which would would go to #1 on the US charts and sell millions of copies around the world.
The song was written by Chip Taylor, who also wrote the hit ballad "Angel Of The Morning"
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Declared by many to be the "first British punk band", today's featured musicians gave us a surefire classic... and the original writer laughed the entire time he wrote it. thinking it was all a huge joke. Little did he know that Joke would bring in a lot of money. It's the Troggs with Wild Thing. The Troggs, short for Troglodytes, aka "cave men" were a garage rock band that originated in Andover, England. In 1964 Reginald Maurice Ball, later famously known as Reg Presley, was working as a bricklayer while at the same time playing in the first lineup of The Troggs... When that formation disbanded, Reg and drummer Ronnie Bond joined up with guitarist Chris Britton and bassist Pete Staples... members of a rival Andover band named Ten Feet Five.
By 1965, Reg took on lead vocalist duties, and the guys were soon discovered by up-and-coming producer Larry Page. Page had struck gold with one of the most influential rock bands of the 60s, first called the Ravens and later renamed the Kinks. These guys scored big time with their breakout #1 UK hit You Really Got Me. Following this burst of success, Larry Page signed the Troggs and in 1966, the band recorded a one-off single for CBS Records called 'Lost Girl'. It wasn't a hit.
However, their next single would be. Famously becoming an essential entry into the story of rock and roll. The song was of course Wild Thing! Although popularized by the Troggs, Wild Thing wasn't actually written by the band. Rather it originated with a songwriter named Chip Taylor. Throughout his career, Taylor was a prolific writer, composing songs for Willie Nelson, the Hollies, Linda Ronstadt, Janis Joplin, and Jackie DeShannon.Song was SO BAD... Singer Couldn't Stop LAUGHING When He Recorded It... Became a Smash!--Professor of Rock | 18:30 | Professor of Rock | 944K subscribers | 380,560 views | January 27, 2024
