If you ever were under the normal assumption that males could not give birth, and that the female gender was the only side privvy to this glorious natural occurrence, then please pull up a chair my dear children and let's get you acquainted with one of the greatest musical creations of the 1960s, The Troggs. Composed of four modest gentlemen from Andover UK, The Troggs crawled up from the primordial ooze in 1964 as Reg Presley, Pete Staples, Ronnie Bond, and the name that's still sadly not a household one, guitarist Chris Britton, and created a new savage primitivism that was still yet to shake the foundations of modern pop music.
Everyone knows their biggest hit "Wild Thing" but what most of the world doesn't know is the wealth of deep cuts hiding in The Troggs back catalog from the 1966-72 era, where these four guys literally gave birth right in plain sight to several important genres of music that would unfold in the following years. Garage Rock (as it was coined as a term in the early 1970s) with "Lost Girl," "From Home," and "I Can't Control Myself," as well as Bubblegum Pop with "Hip Hip Hooray" and "Everything's Funny," and most-importantly, Proto-Punk with "Come Now," "Strange Movies," and "I Want You," the latter of which was covered on the debut LP by the MC5 in 1969, as if you needed any further validation.
But it didn't stop there, as The Troggs sawed through the competition and also laid down the sleazy foundations for 'Baroque Pop' with hits such as "Any Way That You Want Me" (later covered by Spiritualized), "Jingle Jangle," and "You Can Cry If You Want To," as well as the emerging style later to be known as Heavy Metal with "Feels Like A Woman," and "I'm On Fire," and "Evil Woman." But even as The Troggs grew weary of the impending psychedelic revolution happening right before their eyes, they were able to conquer the genre with flying colors as their pseudo-psych classics "Purple Shades," and "Maybe The Madman" implemented their simplistic style effortlessly.
But don't let the end of the 1960s stop you, the early 70s were an incredibly fertile period for The Troggs, despite their absence of attention, and domestic releases from the USA. Their early 70s heaviness cannot be understated, and they certainly had a huge impact, especially after Jimi Hendrix famously covered them at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967, as well as the previously mentioned MC5 adoration. What did they know that everyone else didn't? That you have to sing through your TEETH and not just through your mouth, like Reg does, and that those shoulder-jerking dance moves should be preserved in stone for future generations to drool over, because today is Reg Presley's birthday and it's still such a crime that The Troggs aren't the most influential band of the 1960s, or maybe they are?
So in honor of Sir Presley's 73rd birthday today, kick back and enjoy the 3-part Troggs documentary:
And check out a 1973 live version of "Wild Thing" with it's snarling fuzz so overwhelming, you might just need an incontinence bag:
Grab ALL THE TROGGS YOU CAN right here:
