Wild Thing (Tone Lōc song)

"Wild Thing"
Single by Tone Lōc
from the album Lōc-ed After Dark
Released January 1989
Recorded 1988
Genre Rap rock
Length 4:23
Label Delicious Vinyl
Writer(s) Young MC, Van Halen
Producer(s) Matt Dike, Michael Ross
Tone Lōc singles chronology
"Wild Thing"
(1989)		 "Funky Cold Medina"
(1989)

"Wild Thing" is a single by American rapper Tone Lōc from his 1989 album Lōc-ed After Dark. The title is a reference to the phrase "doin' the wild thing," a euphemism for sex, unlike The Troggs' hit song, "Wild Thing", (later covered by Jimi Hendrix) in which the "wild thing" was a girl. According to producer Mario Caldato, Jr., who engineered and mixed the song, producer Matt Dike was inspired by an utterance of "wild thing" in Spike Lee's She's Gotta Have It, and asked Young MC to write the lyrics.[1]

Tone Lōc's song peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 in February 1989, only behind "Straight Up" by Paula Abdul,[2] and it spawned at least two parodies (by "Weird Al" Yankovic, called "Isle Thing", about Gilligan's Island and was Yankovic's first rap parody, and by Christian band ApologetiX, called "Child King"). It eventually sold over two million copies. It also peaked at number 21 on the UK Singles Chart.

Sampling controversy

The song uses an uncredited sample of Van Halen's "Jamie's Cryin'". Van Halen's management at the time asked for a flat fee (credited in some reports to be US$5,000) as payment to have the song sampled by Tone Lōc. Apparently, this decision was taken without consulting the band's original members (credited as co-authors of the song), who in turn did not expect "Wild Thing" to become the major hit it became. A subsequent civil lawsuit was settled out of court, with the band receiving US$180,000 as settlement payment. Alex Van Halen has gone on record saying that he had heard the song over the radio halfway and not realizing it had been sampled until he recognized his (by now famous) tom-tom break at least a few times. Concerning the settlement, he said: "Well, at least we got something. Tone Lōc and his people made millions out of it..."

Music video

A music video directed by Tamra Davis was made for the song at a reported cost of only $500, copying the style of Robert Palmer's "Addicted to Love" with mini-skirted women playing guitars next to Tone Lōc, which went into heavy rotation on MTV. The leading lady in the video is played by actress Tracy Camilla Johns.

Peaches remix

"Wild Thing (Peaches Remix)"
Single by Tone Lōc featuring Peaches
Format CD single
Genre Techno, electroclash
Producer(s) Peaches
Peaches singles chronology
"Boys Wanna Be Her"
(2006)		 "Wild Thing (Peaches Remix)"
(2007)		 "Talk to Me"
(2009)
Music video
"Wild Thing (Peaches remix)" on YouTube

"Wild Thing (Peaches Remix)" is a version of Tone Lōc's "Wild Thing". The song features vocals by Tone Lōc and Peaches herself. This remix was made to celebrate Delicious Vinyl's 20th anniversary. It peaked at #4 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Singles Sales.[3]

Music video

The music video for "Wild Thing Remix" shows Peaches and Tone Lōc performing live at Avalon during the celebration of the 20th anniversary of Delicious Vinyl.

The song is heard, in much-edited form, in the 2016 film The Angry Birds Movie.

In 2012 Bob Sinclar and Snoop Dogg made an electro house cover.[4]

Charts

Charts (1988-1989) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[5] 15
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[6] 18
Germany (Official German Charts)[7] 18
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[8] 4
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[9] 1
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[10] 23
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[11] 21
US Billboard Hot 100[3] 2
US Billboard Hot Black Singles[3] 3
US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play[3] 1
US Billboard Hot Rap Singles[3] 2
Chart (2008) Peak
position
US Billboard Hot Dance Singles Sales[3] 4
Preceded by
"Good Life" by Inner City		 Billboard Hot Dance Club Play number-one single
(Tone Lōc version)
February 4, 1989 		Succeeded by
"All She Wants Is" by Duran Duran

References

  1. ↑ Key Tracks: Mario Caldato on Tone Loc’s “Wild Thing”
  2. ↑ "The Hot 100 : Feb 18, 1989 | Billboard Chart Archive". Billboard.com. 1989-02-18. Retrieved 2013-08-02.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "allmusic ((( Tone-Loc > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles )))". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2010-08-09.
  4. ↑ "Bob Sinclar - Disco Crash (Album) / 2KMUSIC.COM". 2kmusic.com. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
  5. ↑ "Australian-charts.com – Tone Loc – Wild Thing". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  6. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Tone Loc – Wild Thing" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  7. ↑ "Musicline.de – Tone Loc Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.
  8. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Tone Loc – Wild Thing" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  9. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Tone Loc – Wild Thing". Top 40 Singles.
  10. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Tone Loc – Wild Thing". Swiss Singles Chart.
  11. ↑ "Archive Chart: 1989-01-28" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
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