Hooked on a Feeling

"Hooked on a Feeling"
Single by B. J. Thomas
from the album On My Way
Released	October 1968
Genre	Pop
Length	2:48
Label	Scepter Records
Writer(s)	Mark James
Certification	Gold (RIAA)

"Hooked on a Feeling"
Single by Blue Swede
from the album Hooked on a Feeling
B-side	"Gotta Have Your Love"
Released	1974
Format	7"
Recorded	1973
Genre	Pop
Length	2:48
Label	EMI Svenska
Writer(s)	Mark James
Certification	Gold (RIAA)
Blue Swede singles chronology
"Hooked on a Feeling" (1974) "Silly Milly" (1974)

"Hooked on a Feeling" is a 1968 pop song written by Mark James and originally performed by B. J. Thomas. Thomas's version featured the sound of the electric sitar, and reached number five in 1969 on the Billboard Hot 100.^[1] It has been recorded by many other artists, including Blue Swede, whose version reached number one in the United States in 1974.^[2] Billboard ranked the Blue Swede version as the No. 20 song for 1974.^[3]

Covers

• B. J. Thomas released his recording of "Hooked on a Feeling" in 1968.
• In 1971, English musician Jonathan King recorded a cover of the song, adding ooga chaka jungle chants. King described it as "a reggae rhythm by male voices". His version reached number 23 on the UK Singles Chart in November 1971.^[4]
• In 1974, the Swedish pop group Blue Swede, with Björn Skifs as lead singer, did a cover, which included their own version of King's "ooga chaka" introduction. Their version reached number one in the United States.^[2] The Blue Swede version of the song also tweaked the lyrics to avoid a drug reference.^[5] Their arrangement was inspired by a bootleg recordings from the unfinished album Smile by the Beach Boys.^[6]

Original lyrics	Blue Swede lyrics
"I 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…"	"Got a bug from you, girl, but I don't need no cure. I just stay a victim, if I can for sure All the good love…"

• In 1978, a cover by Canadian country music artist Carroll Baker peaked at number 1 on the RPM Country Tracks chart.^[7]
• David Hasselhoff covered the song on his album Hooked on a Feeling in 1997.^[8]
• The band The Offspring sample the Blue Swede's "ooga chaka" refrain in their song "Special Delivery", from the album, Conspiracy of One (2000).^[9]
• In 2013, B. J. Thomas included "Hooked on a Feeling" in duet with Sara Niemietz, on The Living Room Sessions. The album includes new interpretations of many of Thomas' greatest hits, with production and instrumental arrangements by Kyle Lehning, and was released on the Wrinkled Records label.^[10][11]

In popular culture

• The song has been revived from time to time as a cultural touchstone of the 1970s, such as on the Reservoir Dogs soundtrack in 1992,^[12] and as the "dancing baby" song in the Ally McBeal TV show.^[13]
• The 2014 feature film Guardians of the Galaxy,^[14] which featured the brass fanfare and title lyrics of the Blue Swede cover version prominently in its trailers and theatrical release, resulted in a significant spike in sales for the recording;^[15] the film's soundtrack reached the top of the Billboard 200 chart in August 2014.^[16]
• In 2015, the Toronto Blue Jays used the Blue Swede rendition in a commercial featuring newly acquired David Price and Troy Tulowitzki.^[17] The song is played at Rogers Centre before the bottom of the 8th inning, similar to the usage of "Sweet Caroline" at games in Boston.
• The song is also the anthem for the Northwestern University Sailing Team

References

1. "BJ Thomas". Credits. AllMusic. Retrieved 6 August 2013.
2. "Blue Swede". Hooked on a Feeling. AllMusic. 1974. Retrieved 6 August 2013.
3. Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1974
4. Bronson, Fred (May 30, 1998). "'Chaka' Can and 'Honestly' Does". Billboard (New York). Retrieved September 14, 2014.
5. Sakamoto, John (22 August 2014). "A brief history of ‘ouga chaka’". Toronto Star. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
6. Lewis, Randy (April 24, 2014). "Stagecoach 2010: B.J. Thomas, hooked on Brian Wilson". The Los Angeles Times.
7. "RPM Country Singles for December 23, 1978". RPM. Retrieved 15 March 2011.
8. "David Hasselhoff Hooked on a Feeling". AllMusic. 1999. Retrieved 6 August 2013.
9. Jonas, Liana (2000). "The Offspring Conspiracy of One". AllMusic. Retrieved 6 August 2013.
10. Lousararian, Lori (18 June 2013). "B.J. Thomas to Duet With Sara Niemietz On "Hooked On A Feeling" At The Grand Ole Opry". The Living Room Sessions. Wrinkled Records. Archived from the original on 20 July 2013. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
11. Thomas Erlewine, Stephen. "The Living Room Sessions". Review. AllMusic. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
12. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (1992). "Reservoir Dogs [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]". AllMusic. Retrieved 6 August 2013.
13. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (1998). "Songs from Ally McBeal". AllMusic. Retrieved 21 February 2014.
14. Ashurst, Sam (February 19, 2014). "Guardians Of The Galaxy: James Gunn's Trailer Breakdown: Star Lord's Walkman". Total Film. Archived from the original on February 19, 2014. Retrieved February 19, 2014.
15. Caulfield, Keith (20 February 2014). "Blue Swede's 'Hooked On a Feeling' Sales Soar Thanks To 'Guardians of the Galaxy' Trailer". Billboard.com. Retrieved 3 August 2014.
16. Wood, Mikael (August 13, 2014). "'Guardians of the Galaxy' soundtrack shoots to No. 1 on Billboard 200". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
17. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3Atho04Rs0

External links

• Song Facts