70’s Pick of the Week
“Hooked on a Feeling” by Blue Swede (1973)
This B.J. Thomas song was good, but it was missing something important – the caveman chant at the beginning! That’s what did it for me on this one.
Written by Mark James this song went to number 5 with B.J. Thomas 1969 version, complete with electronic sitar. Jonathan King, a singer/author/record producer got a hold of it and decided it needed something at the beginning. He decides that “ooga chaka” was the way to go. He said it was kind of “a reggae rhythm by male voices". I like to think of it as more primal – cavemen. His song did reasonably well going to number 23 on the U.K. charts.
Anyway... Björn Skifs the Swedish born vocalist formed his first group in 1963 and called it “Slam Creepers”. I love the band name – it was way ahead of its time! It would seem they did mostly covers and had a modest hit with the Association’s “We Are Happy People”.
