With a Girl Like You

"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
SongwriterReg Presley[4]
ProducerLarry 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 rival record labels, Atco and Fontana owing to a distribution dispute. 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] A settlement was reached later in 1966 which gave Fontana exclusive rights to future Troggs releases.[12]

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".[13] 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".[14] Cash Box described it as "a low-down, funky, blues-soaked romancer".[15]

"With a Girl Like You" experienced a resurgence in popularity in 2026 in the US from its use in a dog food ad entitled "More Good Years" for the company The Farmer's Dog.[16] One reviewer wrote that the commercial resonated not only for its catchy tune, but because it makes an emotional connection between owners and their dogs.[17]

Charts

Chart (1966–67) Peak
position
Australia (Go-Set)[18] 4
Australia (Kent Music Report)[19] 8
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[20]6
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[21]12
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[22]8
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[23]16
Denmark (Danmarks Radio)[24] 3
Finland (Soumen Virallinen)[25] 13
Germany (GfK)[26]2
Ireland (IRMA)[27]2
Italy (Musica e dischi)[28] 11
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[29]1
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[30]1
New Zealand (Listener)[31] 1
Norway (VG-lista)[32]2
Rhodesia (Lyons Maid)[33] 1
South Africa (Springbok Radio)[34] 1
Spain (Los 40 Principales)[35] 1
Sweden (Kvällstoppen)[36] 2
Sweden (Tio i Topp)[37] 1
UK Disc and Music Echo Top 50[38] 1
UK Melody Maker Top 50[39] 1
UK New Musical Express Top 30[40] 1
UK Record Retailer Top 50[5] 1
US Billboard Hot 100[6] 29
US Cash Box Top 100[41] 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. Archived from the original on 1 August 2017. 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. 1 2 Jo Rice (1982). The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits (1 ed.). Guinness Superlatives. p. 103. ISBN 978-0-85112-250-2.
  5. 1 2 "TROGGS | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  6. 1 2 Whitburn, Joel (2009). Top Pop Singles 1955–2008. Record Research. p. 999. ISBN 9780898201802.
  7. 1 2 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. ↑ "Billboard". 3 December 1966.
  13. ↑ "Singles" (PDF). New Musical Express. 8 July 1966. p. 4. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  14. ↑ "New Singles" (PDF). Record Mirror. 9 July 1966. p. 9. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  15. ↑ "Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. 16 July 1966. p. 32. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  16. ↑ Cote, Jacqueline Burt (22 April 2026). "1966 Classic Rock Hit Is Making a Massive Comeback 60 Years Later". parade.com. Retrieved 18 August 2026.
  17. ↑ "Why The Farmer's Dog Commercial Chose a 60s Garage Rock Classic". auralcrave.com. Retrieved 18 August 2026.
  18. ↑ "Go-Set Australian charts - 5 October 1966". Gosetcharts. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  19. ↑ Kent, David (2005). Australian Chart Book 1940–1969. Australian Chart Book Pty Ltd, Turramurra, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-44439-5.
  20. ↑ "The Troggs – With a Girl Like You" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  21. ↑ "The Troggs – With a Girl Like You" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  22. ↑ "The Troggs – With a Girl Like You" (in French). Ultratop 50.
  23. ↑ "Top RPM Singles: Image 8245". RPM. Library and Archives Canada.
  24. ↑ "danskehitlister.dk". Archived from the original on 14 April 2016. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  25. ↑ Nyman, Jake (2005). Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. p. 139. ISBN 951-31-2503-3.
  26. ↑ "Offizielle Deutsche Charts" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. To see the peak chart position, click 'TITEL VON', followed by the artist's name.
  27. ↑ "With a Girl Like You | IRMA". Irish Singles Chart.
  28. ↑ "Classifiche". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Set "Tipo" on "Singoli". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Troggs".
  29. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – The Troggs" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  30. ↑ "The Troggs – With a Girl Like You" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  31. ↑ "flavour of new zealand - search listener". www.flavourofnz.co.nz. Archived from the original on 12 August 2022. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
  32. ↑ "The Troggs – With a Girl Like You". VG-lista.
  33. ↑ Kimberley, C. Zimbabwe: Singles Chart Book. Harare: C. Kimberley, 2000
  34. ↑ "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.
  35. ↑ "Los 40 Principales: Nº1 - Foros Portal Musica Digital". foros.los40.com. Archived from the original on 14 December 2009. Retrieved 22 March 2026.
  36. ↑ "Troggs - Se alla låtar och listplaceringar". NostalgiListan (in Swedish). Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  37. ↑ 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.
  38. ↑ "Top 50" (PDF). Disc and Music Echo. 6 August 1966. p. 3. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  39. ↑ "Pop 50". Melody Maker. 6 August 1966. p. 2.
  40. ↑ "NME Top Thirty". New Musical Express. 5 August 1966.
  41. ↑ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles – Week ending September 24, 1966". Cash Box magazine. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
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