With a Girl Like You

For the television episode, see My Lady Jane § Episodes.

"With a Girl Like You"
Dutch picture sleeve
Single by the Troggs
B-side"I Want You"
Released8 July 1966 (1966-07-08)[1]
StudioOlympic, London
Genre
Length2:08
LabelFontana
Songwriter(s)Reg Presley[4]
Producer(s)Larry Page[4]
The Troggs singles chronology
"Wild Thing"
(1966) 		"With a Girl Like You"
(1966) 		"I Can't Control Myself"
(1966)

"With a Girl Like You" is a song by English rock band the Troggs, released as a single in July 1966. On the back of the success of "Wild Thing", "With a Girl Like You" topped the charts in the UK, and was similarly a success across Europe, but did not fare as well in the US, only peaking at number 29 on the Billboard Hot 100.[5][6]

Background and release

"With a Girl Like You" was written by the Troggs' lead vocalist Reg Presley whilst he was a bricklayer. He took inspiration from the vocals in "Barbara Ann", which became a hit for the Beach Boys in early 1966.[7] "With a Girl Like You" was recorded at Olympic Studios at the same time as their previous single "Wild Thing". Both songs were recorded in two takes because they only had a short amount of recording time; manager Larry Page got them into the studio at the end of a session for his orchestra.[8][9] The hook, with Presley shouting "Ba ba ba ba ba", was initially planned to be performed on trumpets, though the band opted for vocals instead.[7]

"Wild Thing" had been simultaneously released in the US in May 1966 on two record labels, Atco and Fontana. Atco had released "With a Girl Like You" as the B-side, whereas Fontana released "Wild Thing" with the Presley-penned "From Home". Therefore, in July, Fontana released "With a Girl Like You" as a A-side single with "I Want You", written by Page and Colin Frechter, as the B-side, which is the same as the release in the UK.[10][11]

Reception

Reviewing for New Musical Express, Derek Johnson wrote that "With a Girl Like You" "doesn't have the novelty spoken passages and tempo breaks of "Wild Thing" but it does have another gimmick – at the end of each line. The soloist repeats the melody in a sort of scat vocal that everyone can join in. It's a catchy mid-tempo tune, fairly simple in construction, and therefore quickly assimilated".[12] Record Mirror wrote that it "should be every bit as big as "Wild Thing"" and similarly that "the boys plunge into a steady mid-tempo, with rasping lead voice, and sturdy beat and several vocal gimmicks on a teen song if ever there was one".[13] Cash Box described it as "a low-down, funky, blues-soaked romancer".[14]

Charts

Chart (1966–67) Peak
position
Australia (Go-Set)[15] 4
Australia (Kent Music Report)[16] 8
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[17] 6
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[18] 12
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[19] 8
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[20] 16
Denmark (Danmarks Radio)[21] 3
Finland (Soumen Virallinen)[22] 13
Germany (GfK)[23] 2
Ireland (IRMA)[24] 2
Italy (Musica e dischi)[25] 11
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[26] 1
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[27] 1
New Zealand (Listener)[28] 1
Norway (VG-lista)[29] 2
Rhodesia (Lyons Maid)[30] 1
South Africa (Springbok Radio)[31] 1
Spain (Promusicae)[32] 6
Sweden (Kvällstoppen)[33] 2
Sweden (Tio i Topp)[34] 1
UK Disc and Music Echo Top 50[35] 1
UK Melody Maker Top 50[36] 1
UK New Musical Express Top 30[37] 1
UK Record Retailer Top 50[5] 1
US Billboard Hot 100[6] 29
US Cash Box Top 100[38] 41

References

  1. ^ "New discs from Walkers and Ryans, also Troggs" (PDF). Record Mirror. 2 July 1966. p. 4. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  2. ^ Stiernberg, Bonnie. "The 50 Best Garage Rock Songs of All Time". Paste. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
  3. ^ Perfect Beat. Vol. 7. Perfect Beat. 2004. Wild Thing was followed by two mid-tempo pop-rock songs, With A Girl Like You and / Can 't Control Myself, also hits in 1966.
  4. ^ a b Jo Rice (1982). The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits (1 ed.). Guinness Superlatives. p. 103. ISBN 978-0-85112-250-2.
  5. ^ a b "TROGGS | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  6. ^ a b Whitburn, Joel (2009). Top Pop Singles 1955–2008. Record Research. p. 999. ISBN 9780898201802.
  7. ^ a b Kutner, Jon; Leigh, Spencer (26 May 2010). 1,000 UK Number One Hits. Omnibus Press. p. 324. ISBN 978-0-85712-360-2.
  8. ^ "The Making Of… The Troggs' 'Wild Thing'". UNCUT. 5 February 2013. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  9. ^ "With A Girl Like You by The Troggs - 1966 Hit Song". Vancouver Pop Music Signature Sounds. 14 October 2019. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  10. ^ Battle Over Troggs Round, Round It Goes. Billboard. 16 July 1966. p. 7.
  11. ^ "The Troggs - With A Girl Like You". 45cat. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  12. ^ "Singles" (PDF). New Musical Express. 8 July 1966. p. 4. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  13. ^ "New Singles" (PDF). Record Mirror. 9 July 1966. p. 9. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  14. ^ "Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. 16 July 1966. p. 32. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  15. ^ "Go-Set Australian charts - 5 October 1966". Gosetcharts. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  16. ^ Kent, David (2005). Australian Chart Book 1940–1969. Australian Chart Book Pty Ltd, Turramurra, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-44439-5.
  17. ^ "The Troggs – With a Girl Like You" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  18. ^ "The Troggs – With a Girl Like You" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  19. ^ "The Troggs – With a Girl Like You" (in French). Ultratop 50.
  20. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 8245." RPM. Library and Archives Canada.
  21. ^ "danskehitlister.dk". Archived from the original on 14 April 2016. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  22. ^ Nyman, Jake (2005). Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. p. 139. ISBN 951-31-2503-3.
  23. ^ "The Troggs – With a Girl Like You" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
  24. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – With a Girl Like You". Irish Singles Chart.
  25. ^ "Classifiche". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Set "Tipo" on "Singoli". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Troggs".
  26. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – The Troggs" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  27. ^ "The Troggs – With a Girl Like You" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  28. ^ "flavour of new zealand - search listener". www.flavourofnz.co.nz. Archived from the original on 12 August 2022. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
  29. ^ "The Troggs – With a Girl Like You". VG-lista.
  30. ^ Kimberley, C. Zimbabwe: Singles Chart Book. Harare: C. Kimberley, 2000
  31. ^ "South African Rock Lists Website - SA Charts 1965 - 1989 Acts (T)". Rock.co.za. Archived from the original on 28 October 2016. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  32. ^ Salaverri, Fernando (2015). Sólo éxitos 1959–2012 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 978-84-8048-866-2.
  33. ^ "Troggs - Se alla låtar och listplaceringar". NostalgiListan (in Swedish). Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  34. ^ Hallberg, Eric; Henningsson, Ulf (2012). Tio i Topp - med de utslagna "på försök" 1961–74 (in Swedish). Premium. p. 383. ISBN 978-91-89136-89-2.
  35. ^ "Top 50" (PDF). Disc and Music Echo. 6 August 1966. p. 3. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  36. ^ "Pop 50". Melody Maker. 6 August 1966. p. 2.
  37. ^ "NME Top Thirty". New Musical Express. 5 August 1966.
  38. ^ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles – Week ending September 24, 1966". Cash Box magazine. Retrieved 7 October 2022.