Hooked On A Feeling Blue Swede

Hooked On A Feeling

1974

Blue Swede

If you were a teenager in the US in 1974, you'll know this one just from the very first note...OK,very first chant...of the intro. You'll probably be chanting right along with it with it a couple of seconds to...ready for it?

OOGA CHAKA OOOGA OOOGA OOOGA CHAKA.....

That's right...Swedish group Blue Swede's version of 'Hooked On A Feeling', originally recorded and sung by B.J. Thomas. The Blue Swede version made it to # 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on the week of April 6^th, 1974 and stayed there for a week between two powerhouse hits (Sunshine On My Shoulders by John Denver, and Benny and The Jets by Elton John) and marked the only time the group cracked the charts in The US. They can thank a lady in Cincinnati who owned a record store for that top spot.  She managed to get hold of one of the few copies of the single that made it's way across The Pond to the US and played it in her record store.  A local DJ heard and liked it, it ended up getting some local airplay and the kids loved it...and it started spreading like wild fire.

The 'OOGA CHAKA's were a jungle chant first added by British singer Jonathon King to his version of the song, which made it to #23 over in the U.K. (And never even appeared over here). Jonathon King, in turn, was inspired by similar chants in Johnny Preston's 1959 hit 'Running Bear'. Blue Swede then grabbed the ball and ran with it, adding the jungle chant and making it more aggressive when they recorded their own version which hit#1 in their own country...and then that hand full of records made it over here, and it became their only US hit.

This version of the song has a pretty interesting legacy, too. It was used in the movie 'Reservoir Dogs' in 1992 and was the song that Ally McBeals Dancing Baby danced to in 1998.

Another obscure little Swedish group called 'ABBA' kicked Blue Swede's collective butts when it came to hits in The U.S with 14 top 40 hits compared to Blue Swede's one, but Blue Swede returned the favor by out-hitting Abba on their home turf. Trust me on this, though...Blue Swede's version of 'Hooked On A Feeling was a HUGE hit in the US. Those jungle chants could be heard constantly on Richmond's Q-94 back in 1974, and I can remember a trio of my better looking friends...best friends themselves...regularly breaking into that rhythmic chant between classes at Thomas Dale High during the last two months of my Junior year at The Home of The Knights.

You can still hear it fairly regularly on both Richmond's 107.3, 106.9 out of Newport News, and probably every other Oldies station in the land...HMMMM...wonder of those three gals still sound as good singing together now as they did then?

So enjoy!

Hooked On A Feeling by Blue Swede