Wig-Wam Bam

"Wig-Wam Bam" is a song by British glam rock band The Sweet, written by songwriters Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman, released as a single in September 1972. It was the first Sweet single on which the band members actually played their instruments, as previous singles featured producer Phil Wainman on drums, and session musicians John Roberts and Pip Williams (later producer of Status Quo albums) on bass and guitars respectively.
Lyrics.
The song's lyrics are inspired by Henry Longfellow's "Hiawatha" poem from 1855. The poem tells the legend of a Native American warrior Hiawatha and his lover Minnehaha. The lyrics also refer to Running Bear and his lover Little White Dove, two characters from the 1959 song "Running Bear" written by Jiles Perry Richardson.
Music.
The song featured a significant change in the band's sound, and is often considered the band's first glam rock single. Also, this was the first Sweet single with bass player Steve Priest singing some parts of the lead vocal: the "try a little touch, try a little too much" line at the chorus. This became an important part of Sweet's style later, and at most of their later singles, they also used this technique, with Priest singing some lines of the song. After the song became a hit, Sweet adopted a glam image, starting to wear glitter, Native American clothes and makeup.
Chart performance.
The song reached No. 4 in the UK singles chart in September 1972.
In other media.
The song appeared in "Rock & Chips".