A song with several new-leases-on-life over the years, after the jump ….
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In reading of the death late last month of B.J. Thomas— rather than some other tunes he was famous for — I immediately thought of his break-out hit Hooked On a Feeling. Its driving rhythm underneath stood out to me when I was in junior high school, and in researching it: the back-story was more substantial than I imagined.
Born as Billie Joe Thomas in Oklahoma in 1942, his family moved to Houston where he befriended a budding songwriter named Mark James (the focus of my musical profile last week) and years later in 1967, Thomas persuaded James to follow him to Memphis, where Thomas found an early niche at Scepter Records.
Mark James had married, yet still had feelings for his childhood sweetheart (Karen Taylor) back in Texas. A year later, he expressed these feelings more dramatically (i.e., “caught in a trap”) in Suspicious Minds— which became a comeback hit for Elvis Presley in 1969. A bit earlier, Mark James wrote about that same woman …. in something of an unrequited love style.
Hooked on a Feeling was recorded in 1968 at the Memphis studio of record producer Lincoln “Chips” Moman, and had in its intro … the use of an electric sitar by guitarist Reggie Young (who had used it on The Box Tops’ song “Cry Like A Baby”). Hooked on a Feeling reached #5 on the Billboard charts by early 1969.
B.J. Thomas shortly after had a #1 hit with Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head in 1969, then another #1 with 1974’s Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song and also sang the theme song to the 1985 television show Growing Pains… before going on to a career in country music and Gospel. B.J. Thomas died late last month at the age of seventy-eight.
Six years later came the most famous cover version of the song … yet with some uncertainty of its origins.
In 1959, a song originally written by J.P. Richardson (the “Big Bopper”, who died that year in the plane crash that also took the lives of Buddy Holly and Richie Valens) was recorded by a rockabilly singer named Johnny Preston. Running Bear features a chant that sounds like “Oomba Ooga” as a background sound, uncommon for its time — and which reached #1 on the pop charts in early 1960. Yet is wholly separate from the Mark James song, as you can hear at this link.
One of the first covers of Hooked on a Feeling came from a Englishman, Jonathan King— whose 1971 cover of Hooked reached the Top Thirty in the UK. He has stated that he never heard the Johnny Preston song, and that he had in mind “six guys grunting like a gorilla” in utilizing an “Ooga Chaka” — just listen at this link.
That same year, the Twinkle Brothers— a reggae band from Jamaica — used a subdued “Ooga Chaka” and very pronounced reggae beat … just listen at this link.
Three years later, Jonathan King heard from a band from a different country: asking if he minded that they record Hooked, based upon his arrangement? As he had not written the song anyway, he didn’t mind … yet he later said about their version (which made it big internationally):
“I felt theirs added nothing to my original. I’d have liked to have made some money out of my ‘Ooga Chaka’ concept, but that’s life and copyright laws. You can’t copyright an arrangement!”
Although you may not recall the band’s name: if you are of a certain age, you may well know the cover version of Hooked made by Blue Swede— with a truly pronounced “Ooga Chaka” — that reached #1 in the charts in 1974. They were the first Swedish band to reach #1 in the USA (before ABBA came along) and their name was partly a pun on “blue suede”.
This was a band that sang entirely in English, with some covers of other well-known songs (reaching the Top Ten with the Association’s “Never My Love”). Lead singer Björn Skifs sang what seemed like a blend of all of the previous versions of Hooked. Blue Swede broke up in 1975, when Skifs left to pursue a solo career.
One interesting note: by 1974, there was enough fear in the recording industry that the Nixon administration’s FCC would crack-down on lyrics referencing drugs … that this happened.
| "I got it bad for you, girl, but I don't need a cure I'll just stay addicted and hope I can endure | "Got a bug from you, girl, but I don't need no cure I just stay a victim if I can for sure |
Hooked on a Feeling has been recorded by a number of other performers, ranging from Louise Mandrell to Vonda Shepard to …… David “The Hoff” Hasselhoff. It was used in episodes of the TV show Ally McBeal (with a dancing baby) and was used for the 2014 film Guardians in the Galaxy.
All-in-all, quite a legacy for a song of unrequited love …. although not forever: Mark James eventually divorced his first wife and later married his childhood sweetheart Karen Taylor … and they remain together to this day. Let’s close with the two most famous versions: my old favorite and from Blue Swede.
I can't stop this feeling Deep inside of me Girl, you just don't realize what you do to meWhen you hold me In your arms so tight You let me know Everything's all right
Your lips are sweet as candy The taste stays on my mind Girl, you keep me thirsty for Another cup of wine
I've got it bad for you, girl But I don't need a cure I'll just stay addicted and hope I can endure
All the good love When we're all alone Keep it up, girl Yeah, you turn me on
I'm hooked on a feeling High on believing That you're in love with me
Nothing from the field this evening
And from Ed Tracey, your faithful correspondent this evening ........
In the diary by Proginoskes on the appointment of Cindy McCain to be the US Ambassador to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture: daddybunny lists some reasons why — beyond a “thank you” for supporting the Biden/Harris ticket — she may be well-suited for this post.
And in the front-page story about the wide disparity in vaccination rates in the state of Missouri— Ozarkblue offers-up an analysis as to the back-story in the southwestern part of the state.
Next - enjoy jotter's wonderful (and now eternal) *PictureQuilt™* below. Just click on the picture and it will magically take you to the comment featuring that photo.
TOP PHOTOSJune 23rd, 2021 (NOTE: Any missing images in the Quilt were removed because (a) they were from an unapproved source that somehow snuck through in the comments, or (b) it was an image from the DailyKos Image Library which didn't have permissions set to allow others to use it.)
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And lastly: yesterday's Top Mojo - mega-mojo to the intrepid mik ...... who rescued this feature from oblivion:
2) I really appreciated this … by Denise Oliver Velez +2387) your partner nailed it. … by esquimaux +10110) Culture. … by FishOutofWater +9512) Worst. Frat. Party. Ever. by OwossoHarpist +9013) I disagree. … by Tortmaster +82