THE TROGGS: (Singing) Come on, hold me tight. TAYLOR: Now this is where I think the magic of the song is. THE TROGGS: (Singing) Wild thing, I think I love you. And so he did, and I sang whatever came to me, and there it was, "Wild Thing." And as soon as I sit down, have the microphone ready. The deadline was near, so he called his engineer Ron Johnson. SIMON: At the time, he was best known for country songs, but he got a call from a record producer who wanted some rock 'n' roll. Back in 1964, somewhere around there, I wrote a song called "Wild Thing." THE TROGGS: (Singing) You make everything groovy.ĬHIP TAYLOR: My name is Chip Taylor, originally James Wesley Voight. SIMON: Although most people these days consider the classic version to be the 1966 recording by The Troggs. UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: (As Kermit the Frog, singing) Wild thing, bum, bow, bom. HANK WILLIAMS, JR.: (Singing) You make my heart sing. Originally performed by a New York band called The Wild Ones, the song's publisher has issued 7,500 licenses for recordings. "Wild Thing" was released 50 years ago this month. SIMON: You were expecting another anniversary of the Magna Carta?
The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.We now observe an important historical milestone. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at for further information. THE TROGGS: (Singing) You make my heart sing, you make everything groovy, wild thing, come on, come on, wild thing, shake it, shake it, wild thing.Ĭopyright © 2015 NPR. Our theme music was written by our wild thing, B.J. SIMON: Chip Taylor, talking about "Wild Thing," released 50 years ago by The Wild Ones. When everybody shouts out, I want to know for sure, it's a nice - it's a nice feeling, you know? I think the Lord will let me skate with that one for that feeling. TAYLOR: I was sitting on the banks of Lake Maggiore in Italy and saw two little kids with their mothers, and I just started playing a little bit of "Wild Thing." And they left their mothers and came over to me and just started moving and feeling good. But "Wild Thing" holds a special place in his heart. He wrote the million-selling, 1981 Juice Newton single, "Angel In The Morning" and other tunes for Willie Nelson, Bobby Bare and Emmylou Harris. SIMON: Chip Taylor was no one-hit wonder. TAYLOR: And everybody who heard that demo thought it was an ocarina and so did The Troggs. So we overdubbed his whistle with his hands. I said, if I hum you something, can you try to match that? And he said, yeah, I can try. And Ron started doing something with his hands, but he did this little whistling sound. TAYLOR: It was a little open section I had, and I wasn't sure what to put in it. SIMON: But the original demo - that fluty sound - came from a man's bare hands, Ron Johnson's hands. (SOUNDBITE OF THE TROGGS SONG, "WILD THING") SIMON: The Troggs version of "Wild Thing" features what is undoubtedly the most famous ocarina solo in rock history.
TAYLOR: After I say, come on, hold me tight.
We now observe an important historical milestone.
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