DJ Heard OBSCURE Song While Shopping…Played it On His Radio Show…Hit #1 OVERNIGHT!-Professor of Rock

The insanely great story of the 70s #1 classic hit Hooked on a Feeling. It was done twice by Jonathan King and B.J. Thomas before Blue Swede took it to #1 in 1974 by combining elements of the first two versions in an original way. The tribal chant executed by Blue Swede perfectly turned this song into a one-listen classic. The song was then revitalized years later in Ally McBeal due to a dancing baby and then went global again after it was used to great effect in the superhero movie Guardian of the Galaxy, helping the soundtrack sell 1 million copies 40 years after it hit #1. The story of a classic song that has impacted every generation including an interview with BJ Thomas.

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“Hooked on a Feeling”…one of the greatest, mood-altering, feel-good songs of the Rock Era. The “gotcha gah ooh, gotcha gah ooh” intro from the band Blue Swede's 1974 version of “Hooked on a Feeling" was irresistible pop craftsmanship.

One could call it pop manipulation… The chanting was SO instantly addicting... it was almost unfair for us mortals to deny.
But, what you may not know is there was an earlier version of “Hooked on a Feeling” by Jonathan King, that was the first to feature a tribal chanting intro.

We’re gonna talk about the controversial Jonathan King for sure.
But first…. let’s get into the original version of “Hooked on a Feeling" composed by Nashville Hall of Fame songwriter Mark James, and performed by the great BJ Thomas in ’68.
The original had a perpetual charm of its own. Billie Joe Thomas, who everyone called “BJ” was born in Oklahoma, and moved to Houston, Texas when he was still just a little tyke.

He learned to sing those good ol’ gospel songs in a church choir as a teenager, then joined a band named the Triumphs, that became Thomas & the Triumphs. As a solo artist, Thomas scored big in ‘66 with a cover of Hank Williams's immortal “I’m So Lonesome, I Could Cry.” The Hank remake, with BJ delivering a highly acclaimed lead vocal, was a gold single, selling over 1 million copies. It seemed like BJ Thomas was going to soar into stardom, but his next 10 singles failed to rise higher than #80 on the Billboard Hot 100.

1968 was a career-saving year for BJ. All he really needed was the right batch of songs…. His old friend, lyricist Mark James, convinced him to move to Memphis to work with producer Chips Moman. Moman & his Memphis Boys were starting to make things happen at American Studios, and James was hand-picked by Moman to be a head writer for his studio.

James was on the verge of a tremendous breakout of success when he began to collaborate with Thomas. The alliance was magical from the outset. Thomas’s solo LP, On My Way, produced by Chips Moman, featured several songs Mark James composed- specifically for BJ to record.