Hooked on a Feeling (song)

The song was written by Mark James, who was introduced to producer Chips Moman around 1967 by Moman's mutual friend Steve Tyrell, a singer and James' manager.^{[5]: 81–82} James was hired by early 1968^[6] to write for Moman's publishing company, which led to him writing songs for many artists, including his childhood friend B.J. Thomas.^{[5]: 81–82} One of these songs was "Hooked on a Feeling", which James wrote about the thrills of being in love, inspired by his feelings for his childhood sweetheart.^{[5]: 169 [7]} It was recorded at the American Sound Studio in Memphis, Tennessee in 1968,^[8] with musicians Tommy Cogbill (guitar) Reggie Young (guitar), Mike Leech (bass) and Gene Chrisman (drums). It was first released on October 29 of that year. Country artists Louise Mandrell and RC Bannon also recorded and released this song in 1979. The band Mercy included a version on their first album in 1968.^[9]

Quick facts Single by Blue Swede, from the album ...

"Hooked on a Feeling"
1974 US reissue of the Blue Swede recording
Single by Blue Swede
from the album Hooked on a Feeling
B-side	"Gotta Have Your Love"
Released	February 1974 （US） [15]
Genre	Pop rock[16]
Length	2:48
Label	EMI Svenska
Songwriter	Mark James
Producer	Bengt Palmers
Blue Swede singles chronology
"Hooked on a Feeling" (1974) "Silly Milly" (1973)
Vinyl video
"Hooked on a Feeling" by Blue Swede on YouTube

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In 1973, the Swedish pop rock group Blue Swede released a cover version, which included the ooga chaka introduction from a 1971 cover by Jonathan King. It's commonly claimed that King had heard Johnny Preston's "Running Bear", which was the inspiration for the ooga chaka chant, but King said, "the chant had nothing to do with Running Bear – it was my idea to use the reggae rhythm in an unusual way, that's all."^[17]

The Blue Swede version of the song also tweaked the lyrics to avoid any possible interpretation of a drug reference. The original song included the lines:

In place of that, Blue Swede sang:

^[18]

Blue Swede's version reached No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in April 1974;^[4] Billboard ranked it as the No. 20 song for 1974. There is a popular misconception in Sweden that it reached number one the same day ABBA won the Eurovision Song Contest with "Waterloo".^[19] "Hooked on a Feeling" also entered the top 10 in Australia, Canada, and New Zealand.^[20][21][22] In 1992, the song appeared on the soundtrack to the American crime film Reservoir Dogs.^[23] Following that appearance, the song charted in Iceland, reaching No. 2 in March 1993.^[24] In August 2014, the song charted in the United Kingdom for the first time, reaching No. 90.^[25]

Record World said that "the opening hook will have buyers crying for the 'oogah chugga' record."^[26]

In 1992, Blue Swede's recording was featured on the soundtrack of Quentin Tarantino's debut feature, Reservoir Dogs.^[38]

In 1998, during an episode of the legal comedy-drama series Ally McBeal, "Cro-Magnon", the main character's neurosis about being able to conceive a child before her biological clock runs out, is illustrated by her imagining a computer-generated baby dancing into her bedroom to Blue Swede's recording of "Hooked on a Feeling". A website featuring the dancing baby and the Blue Swede recording became an internet meme.^[39]

The 2014 film Guardians of the Galaxy,^[40] which featured the brass fanfare and title lyrics of Blue Swede's version prominently in its trailers and theatrical release, resulted in a significant spike in sales for the recording;^[41] the film's soundtrack topped the Billboard 200 chart in August 2014.^[42] The song was also featured in the teaser trailer for the 2017 sequel, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.^[43]

The song was performed by Blue Swede's lead vocalist Björn Skifs as the opening act of the final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 in Malmö.^[44]

• In 1971, British musician Jonathan King recorded a cover version of the song, also with ooga chaka chants.^[50] King described it as "a reggae rhythm by male voices". His version reached No. 23 on the UK Singles Chart in November 1971.^[51]