Althouse: Goodbye to Reg Presley, the lead singer of The Troggs.

February 5, 2013

Goodbye to Reg Presley, the lead singer of The Troggs.

He was 71.

And here's "Wild Thing."

You make everything groovy....

29 comments:

edutcher said...: At least he made it to old age.

No mean feat for his generation.; 2/5/13, 9:00 AM
MadisonMan said...: The suits in the Wild Thing clip are really groovy.; 2/5/13, 9:13 AM
Eric the Fruit Bat said...: I really, really liked that song, back when I was a little kid, in that unreserved, unselfconscious way that disappears eventually.

To this day I don't know whether bands like The Troggs were slumming or whether that was the best they could manage.

The term "garage rock" had yet to be invented, and even if it had, I wouldn't have understood the distinction.; 2/5/13, 9:14 AM
jr565 said...: I also like their other song,
A Girl Like You.

I want
to spend my life
with a girl like you
ba bah bah bah bah
bah bah bah bah.

I guess they ran out of lyrics midway through the first verse. But it actually works.; 2/5/13, 9:17 AM
Cody Jarrett said...: you make everything...groovy.

Wild thing never met Michelle's ass.

Unless they meant gravy.; 2/5/13, 9:26 AM
Anonymous said...: This is always a crowd favorite at the private parties we play. EVERYONE sings along. And we do, make evrything groovy.; 2/5/13, 9:29 AM
traditionalguy said...: Reg Presley had a sincere look in his eyes and voice, which was a rare event in the bands of the sixties. He was being himself.; 2/5/13, 9:29 AM
KCFleming said...: He made our hearts sing.; 2/5/13, 9:35 AM
Ipso Fatso said...: I have been listening to "A Girl Like You" all day. The Troggs were great!!! RIP Reg.; 2/5/13, 9:36 AM
Wince said...: I never put together where R.E.M. got the "bah, bah, bah" they put in their unplugged cover of Love is All Around.

It's a Troggs mash-up.

Way better than Wet, Wet, Wet's craptastic cover.; 2/5/13, 9:38 AM
Wince said...: Buh-bye.

What part didn't you understand? The "Buh" or the "Bye".

Total Bastard Airlines.; 2/5/13, 9:45 AM
sinz52 said...: On "Dancing with the Stars," former GOP House Speaker Tom DeLay danced the cha-cha-cha to "Wild Things."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vs_0hxToe8s

(starts at 2:08); 2/5/13, 9:58 AM
AllenS said...: Reg was interested in crop circles and UFOs.

Who knew?; 2/5/13, 9:59 AM
madAsHell said...: From his wiki page...

"Presley used his royalties from that cover to fund his research into crop circles, and outlined his findings in a book, Wild Things They Don't Tell Us published in October 2002"

It's available at Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Wild-Things-They-Dont-Tell/dp/184358073X/

I'm thinking his wah-wah pedal is broken.; 2/5/13, 10:04 AM
William said...: Remember when rock singers flamed out in drugs or plane crashes and you were left haunted by what might have been. So here it is. If Hendrix had been allowed to follow his arc we might have finally learned the full meaning of crop circles.; 2/5/13, 10:12 AM
virgil xenophon said...: 71 is old? Doesn't look that way from my perspective (69 in May) LOL, it's all relative..

(And still 19 at heart :) ); 2/5/13, 10:34 AM
Don said...: I loved Reg's "Love Is All Around" back when, and still do.

Interestingly, "Wild Thing" was written by Jon Voight's brother and Angelina Jolie's uncle James.; 2/5/13, 10:37 AM
Known Unknown said...: "... Although it wasn't his instrument, he soon learned, and the Troglodytes were born in 1964. (The name comes from a disturbing trend among some English youth to go off and live in caves.)"

Always wanted to know where the name came from.; 2/5/13, 10:43 AM
Indigo Red said...: The Troggs made the ocarina a staple in rock bands.; 2/5/13, 12:19 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Why is Drudge so preoccupied with that woman in Argentina?; 2/5/13, 12:32 PM
jr565 said...: I actually like a lot of songs where they replace lyrics with nonsense syllables. It works surprisingly well in many cases.
A few instances. Velvet Undergrounds Who Loves the Sun
"Bah bah bah bah Who Loves the Sun".
or The Pixies Mr Grieves
La la la la
la la la la
la la la la
lalallala.

Those are some of the best parts of the songs. (picking them because they are more alternative rocks songs so are considered to have integrity as opposed to pop songs which are known to rhyme moon with june and as such are expected to have nonsensical lyrics"

More lyricists should resort to singing la or bah in their songs.; 2/5/13, 12:35 PM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: Umm...why is she laying on a bed of tinfoil. Are they going to broil her later?; 2/5/13, 12:42 PM
jr565 said...: Or Fah.
Otis Redding was classic in adding nonsense syllables to songs and making it work.
Fah fah fah fah fah fah fah fah fah
(Your Turn)
fah fah fah fah fah fah fah fah.
The whole song is about 50% nonsense syllables.; 2/5/13, 12:43 PM
Old RPM Daddy said...: When reading Where the Wild Things Are to my kids, what song do you suppose I sang (badly) when we looked at all the pictures of the Wild Rumpus? Rest in Peace, Reg Presley.; 2/5/13, 12:52 PM
Chip Ahoy said...: So when you get to the groOoOoOoOovy part do you make your hands like a karate chop V ditch and go wavy with your shoulders, V-hands, and hips making gentle wave motions as if on independent swivels? Because that happens automatically.; 2/5/13, 12:53 PM
Ipso Fatso said...: One more for your consideration.

"Um,Um,Um,Um,Um,Um"--Major Lance.

With music that good he shoulda been a general-Skin, Cal City, IL 1964; 2/5/13, 2:24 PM
Indigo Red said...: Searching around for Troggs songs and found Jimmy Hendrix Experience "Wild Thing" version in which Jimmy plays "Strangers in the Night" at the bridge.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeZogZ2fHhQ; 2/5/13, 2:57 PM
Dan Harris said...: For a laugh, check out the "Trogg Tapes" on YouTube. Someone hit the record button while the Troggs where struggling with a song. It is legendary and hilarious. Unless you are offended by F bombs.....many, many F bombs.; 2/5/13, 6:22 PM
Unknown said...: I always loved Reg Presley's eyes. Remind me of my dad.
That girl, that was the look we all wanted. I never quite achieved it, but boy did I try.; 2/5/13, 9:36 PM