Today’s classic song of the day is a garage rock classic from a British band called the Troggs. “With a Girl Like You” was released as a single in July of 1966 and peaked at #29 on the Billboard Hot 100. It did even worse on the Cash Box Top 100, stalling out at #41, even though it was a massive hit elsewhere in the world, hitting #1 in the Netherlands, New Zealand, Rhodesia, South Africa, Sweden, and the band’s native UK.
Part of the reason for the song’s poor showing in the U.S. is that it was simultaneously released on two different record labels, Atco and Fontana. That distribution dispute resulted in the single not getting the unified promotional push it needed to score higher on the charts.
“With a Girl Like You” is particularly melodic for a garage band tune; in fact, the “ba ba bas” sound more than a little like what you might hear from a sunshine pop band like Spanky and Our Gang. It was written by Reg Presley, the band’s lead vocalist, while he was still paying the bills as a bricklayer. The song was actually the second hit for the Troggs, who had previously scored a #1 hit earlier in 1966 with “Wild Thing.” They had one more big hit in the U.S., 1967’s “Love is All Around,” along with a handful of other hits in the UK.
The Troggs went through a number of personnel changes over the years and is still active (absent any original members) today.
For today’s daily bonus video of the day, here’s a proto music video the Troggs put together for “With a Girl Like You.” A good looking bunch of lads, they were, for a bunch of garage rockers.
