Blue Swede
Cosmo Topper, Jr.
I know this is weird, but so am I.
I've been bedeviled lately by the memory of an inane song
from the mid 70s. All I can remember is that it was by a
band called (I believe) Blue Swede from Sweden, and the
chorus was some deep male voices chanting "ooga-chaga,
ooga-chaga, ooga ooga ooga-chaga".
I imagine they were called something else in their native
land and it was changed for the US market. Other than that,
you're on your own.
Erland, Eerte, are you guys out there?
Marty
--
Your pal, Marty Stevens + mar...@sco.COM + ...!{uunet,ucscc}!sco!martyst
"It all starts with beans." -- television advertisement
Torkel Franzen
>I know this is weird, but so am I.
>I've been bedeviled lately by the memory of an inane song
>from the mid 70s. All I can remember is that it was by a
>band called (I believe) Blue Swede from Sweden, and the
>chorus was some deep male voices chanting "ooga-chaga,
>ooga-chaga, ooga ooga ooga-chaga".
>I imagine they were called something else in their native
>land and it was changed for the US market. Other than that,
>you're on your own.
The song: "Hooked on a feeling". The performer was Bjorn Skifs, a singer
(sometimes actor) who has remained popular in Sweden since the sixties. "Blue
Swede" was just a name invented for Skifs and the musicians backing him up.
I believe the Blue Swede version of "Hooked on a feeling" was really a cover,
and no doubt somebody knows who first recorded it. The Blue Swede version
made no 1 in the US, and was I believe the first Swedish production to do so.
The "ooga-chaga" hook made the song.
---"I'm hooked on a feeling, high on believing that you're in love with me.."
Chet Chin
>from the mid 70s. All I can remember is that it was by a
>band called (I believe) Blue Swede from Sweden, and the
>chorus was some deep male voices chanting "ooga-chaga,
>ooga-chaga, ooga ooga ooga-chaga".
>
"ooga-chaga..." was not the chorus, but the intro chant. And the name of the
song is "Hooked on a Feeling". BJ Thomas (he of the "Raindrops Keep Falling
on my Head" fame) also did a version of this song, but minus the intro chant.
Chet Chin
UC San Diego
*Just putting in my two cents' worth*
David B. Thomas
>I know this is weird, but so am I.
>I've been bedeviled lately by the memory of an inane song
>from the mid 70s. All I can remember is that it was by a
>band called (I believe) Blue Swede from Sweden, and the
>chorus was some deep male voices chanting "ooga-chaga,
>ooga-chaga, ooga ooga ooga-chaga".
Right...that's "Hooked on a feeling". Someone will probably add that there is
another version of "Hooked". I don't know which came first, but the ooga chaka
one is certainly the most memorable.
As an amusing aside, Wilson Bryan Key, in his book "Media Sexploitation",
claims that this song has a subliminal message in it. Partway through the
'ooga chaka's, one of the voices is supposed to switch briefly to 'who
got sucked off'.
I listened to the channels L, R, L+R and L-R carefully, many times, on an
original 1974 (or whenever it was) record, and heard nothing like that.
I did hear 'ooga shakta' once. That ought to count, since that is eskimo
for 'have you a waterbuffalo'. (-:
David
Jerome Peirick
Yep, the vaunted Blue Swede (who spoke little English other than this song)
pummeled an innocuous B.J. Thomas song into submission once upon a time. The
title is "Hooked on a Feelin'" and so far as I know the band did little
else of note in the States.
Jerome Peirick | peir...@wums.bitnet | Baseball has the great
Dept. of Cardiology | | advantage over cricket
Wash. U. Med School | | of being sooner ended.
St. Louis, MO 63110 | 314-362-8112 | -George Bernard Shaw
Erland Sommarskog
>I've been bedeviled lately by the memory of an inane song
>from the mid 70s. All I can remember is that it was by a
>band called (I believe) Blue Swede from Sweden, and the
>chorus was some deep male voices chanting "ooga-chaga,
>ooga-chaga, ooga ooga ooga-chaga".
>
Sure. The song was called "Hooked on a Feeling" and was written
by God knows who (Eli, are you out there?) in the 1960's or so.
It has been covered a million times. The "ooka-chacka" was
introduced by Jonathan King an English bubble-gum pop do-it-all-
yourself hero. I think his version was the one that immediately
preceded Blue Swede's.
"Hooked on a Feeling" was a hit in Sweden, but not an extremely
huge one. It almost forgotten here, although it is remembered
as one of the few Swedish singles to hit #1 in the US. (Well,
thanks to Roxette it has started to get common recently.) Those
Billboard statistics fans out there can surely confirm or deny
that it was actually the first Swedish single to do so.
>I imagine they were called something else in their native
>land and it was changed for the US market. Other than that,
>you're on your own.
That's right. Behind Blue Swede is Bj|rn Skifs. ("|" is a dotted
"o". Pronounce it as Byirn Shiffs and you're quite close.) Skifs
has been around a long time on the Swedish scene and still is.
His international career never really made it, despite the #1 hit
in the US and two apperances in the Eurovision Song Contest in the
end of the seventies.
Before I delude anyone I should immediately add that Skifs in
no way is a one-man band. He usually only sings, although in one
of Eurovision apperances he sat behind a piano. (And messed up
the lyrics.) Don't know about "Hooked on a Feeling", but I would
assume it was produced by Bengt Palmers.
--
Erland Sommarskog - ENEA Data, Stockholm - som...@enea.se
Adrie van Hoogstraten
>
>I've been bedeviled lately by the memory of an inane song
>from the mid 70s. All I can remember is that it was by a
>band called (I believe) Blue Swede from Sweden, and the
>chorus was some deep male voices chanting "ooga-chaga,
>ooga-chaga, ooga ooga ooga-chaga".
The band was indeed called Blue Swede.
The name of the song is 'Hooked on a Feeling'.
I've got the single at home.
I know there are at least two other bands who did the same song in the
seventies. I'm not sure which one had the biggest hit with it.
If you like I'll have a look in my 'Hitdossier' at home.
regards,
Adrie van Hoogstraten
email: ahoogs...@encore.nl
Mark Smith
> from the mid 70s. All I can remember is that it was by a
> band called (I believe) Blue Swede from Sweden, and the
> chorus was some deep male voices chanting "ooga-chaga,
> ooga-chaga, ooga ooga ooga-chaga".
I'm hooked on a feeling
High on believing
That you're in love with me...
Awesone stuff. Almost as good as Sausolito Summer Nights
by Diesel. Ma Belle Ami by The Tee Set. Didn't the Jimmy
Castor Bunch use that ooga-chucka in Troglodyte as well?
You will never forget it now. Never.
=========================================================================
Mark Smith sm...@canon.co.uk
Canon Research Centre Europe ..ukc!uos-ee!canon!smith