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.

Production
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 artists Louise Mandrell and RC Bannon also recorded and released this song in 1979. The band Mercy included a version on their first album in 1968.

Blue Swede version
In 1973, the Swedish pop rock group Blue Swede recorded a cover version, which included the ooga chaka introduction from a 1971 cover by Jonathan King. King had heard Johnny Preston's Running Bear, which was the inspiration for the ooga chaka chant. The Blue Swede version of the song also tweaked the lyrics to avoid a drug reference. This version reached No. 1 in the United States. Billboard ranked it as the No. 20 song for 1974. On 25 July 2012, the 1974 live performance by Blåblus video was officially uploaded to YouTube; it has generated nearly 6 million views as of October 2022.

Record World said that "the opening hook will have buyers crying for the 'oogah chugga' record."

In 1992, Blue Swede's recording was featured on the soundtrack of Quentin Tarantino's debut feature Reservoir Dogs.

In 1998, during an episode of the legal comedy-drama series Ally McBeal, "Cro-Magnon", the main character's neurosis about being able to conceive a child before her biological clock runs out is illustrated by her imagining a computer generated baby dancing into her bedroom to Blue Swede's recording of "Hooked on a Feeling". A website featuring the dancing baby and the Blue Swede recording became an internet meme, further cementing the scene in pop culture history.

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 film's soundtrack reached the top of the Billboard 200 chart in August 2014. The song was also featured in the teaser trailer for the 2017 sequel, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.

In 2024 the song was performed live by Björn Skifs at the beginning of the Grand Final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 in Malmö.

Personnel
Personnel, according to the liner notes of the 2004 compilation album Skifs Hits!


 * Björn Skifs – lead vocals, backing vocals
 * Bo Liljedahl – bass guitar, backing vocals
 * Ladislav Balaz – organ, electric piano, backing vocals
 * Jan Guldbäck – drums, backing vocals
 * Michael Areklew – guitar, backing vocals
 * Hinke Ekestubbe – tenor saxophone
 * Tommy Berglund – trumpet
 * Claes Dieden – backing vocals
 * Björn Norén – engineer
 * Bengt Palmers – producer, arranger

Covers

 * In 1971, Jamaican reggae band Twinkle Brothers released a reggae cover of the song with ooga chaka chants and a brass arrangement also known from later cover versions.
 * In 1971, British musician Jonathan King recorded a cover version of the song, also with ooga chaka chants. King described it as "a reggae rhythm by male voices". His version reached number 23 on the UK Singles Chart in November 1971.
 * In 1985, Mexican Group El Tiempo released a cover on their album Cada Día Más (translated as Every Day More). It is listed as the song "No Puedo Evitarlo".
 * In 1997, American singer David Hasselhoff released a single and a music video covering this iconic song.
 * In 2024, Swedish rock band The Hives released a cover as exclusive to Spotify, as part of the company's Spotify Singles series. This version also features ooga chaka chants.