With a Girl Like You

"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]

"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)

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 as they only had a short amount of recording time, as 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 (Official German Charts)[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. Jo Rice (1982). The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits (1 ed.). Guinness Superlatives. p. 103. ISBN 978-0-85112-250-2.
  5. "TROGGS | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  6. Whitburn, Joel (2009). Top Pop Singles 1955–2008. Record Research. p. 999. ISBN 9780898201802.
  7. 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.
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