Hooked on a Feeling

"Hooked on a Feeling" is a 1968 pop song written by Mark James and originally performed by B.J. Thomas. Thomas's version featured the sound of the electric sitar (played by Reggie Young) and reached No. 5 in 1969 on the "Billboard" Hot 100. It has been recorded by many other artists, including Blue Swede, whose version reached No. 1 in the United States in 1974. The Blue Swede version made singer Björn Skifs' "Ooga-Chaka-Ooga-Ooga" intro well known (and famous in Sweden at the time), although it had been used originally by British musician Jonathan King in his 1971 version of the song.
Background, recording, and release.
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. James was hired by early 1968 to write for Moman's publishing company, which led to him writing songs for many artists, including his childhood friend B.J. Thomas. 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. It was recorded at the American Sound Studio in Memphis, Tennessee in 1968, and first released on October 29 of that year. Country artist Louise Mandrell and RC Bannon also recorded and released this song in 1979.
Jonathan King version.
In 1971, British musician Jonathan King recorded a cover version of the song, adding "ooga chaka" jungle chants. King described it as "a reggae rhythm by male voices". His version reached number 23 on the UK Singles Chart in November 1971.
Blue Swede cover.
In 1974, the Swedish pop group Blue Swede did a cover version, which included the "ooga chaka" introduction from Jonathan King's 1971 cover. Their arrangement was inspired by a version recorded in 1971 by the Jamaican Reggae band the Twinkle Brothers. The Blue Swede version of the song also tweaked the lyrics to avoid a drug reference. This version reached number one in the United States. "Billboard" ranked it as the No. 20 song for 1974. On 24 July 2012, the 1974 live performance by Blåblus video was officially uploaded to YouTube. It has over 5 million views as of December 2020.
The 2014 feature film "Guardians of the Galaxy", which featured the brass fanfare and title lyrics of the Blue Swede cover version prominently in its trailers and theatrical release, resulted in a significant spike in sales for the recording; the reached the top of the "Billboard" 200 chart in August 2014. The song was also featured heavily in the teaser trailer for the 2017 sequel, "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2".<ref name= "/FilmTeaser"></ref> although the song was not used in the actual film.