"Any Way That You Want Me" is a song written by

Chip Taylor Chip Taylor (born James Wesley Voight; March 21, 1940) is an American songwriter and singer noted for writing "Angel of the Morning" and " Wild Thing". Early life Taylor was born on March 21, 1940, in Yonkers, New York. He is the brother of a ...

that was first released in September 1966 by Tina Mason as the B-side to her single "Finders Keepers". It has been covered by a number of artists, with the most successful version being by English rock band

the Troggs The Troggs (originally called the Troglodytes) are an English garage rock band formed in Andover, Hampshire in May 1964. Their most famous songs include the US chart-topper " Wild Thing", "With a Girl Like You" and "Love Is All Around", all o ...

The Troggs version

Release and reception

Chip Taylor had previously written " Wild Thing", which had become an international hit for the Troggs earlier in 1966. After a further two hit singles, the Troggs chose to cover another of his compositions, "Any Way That You Want Me". However, it was very different from the Troggs' previous releases, as it was a gentler pop ballad compared to their

garage rock Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock and roll that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The sty ...

songs. Released in December 1966, "Any Way That You Want Me" proved to be a success, becoming a top-ten hit in the UK in January 1966. However, it wasn't released in North America until April 1967 following the release of "Give It to Me" as a single there in February 1967. It failed to be as successful as the Troggs' earlier singles there, completely missing the charts. The B-side, "66-5-4-3-2-1", was written by lead vocalist

Reg Presley Reginald Maurice Ball (12 June 1941 – 4 February 2013), known professionally as Reg Presley, was an English singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer with the 1960s rock and roll band the Troggs, whose hits included " Wild Thing" (#1 on th ...

and was originally called "I Know What You Want", but was changed following the controversy of the band's previous single "

I Can't Control Myself "I Can't Control Myself" is a song by English rock band the Troggs, released as a single in September 1966. It continued their success after " Wild Thing" and "With a Girl Like You", becoming a top-ten hit in a number of countries. Release and ...

". Reviewing for ''

Record Mirror ''Record Mirror'' was a British weekly music newspaper between 1954 and 1991 for pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after the ''NME'', it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK album chart was published in ''Re ...

'', Peter Jones described "Any Way That You Want Me" as "either the best the boys have done – or the worst. Depends if you like hearing classical-style cellos behind their soft, ballady type of image. In fact, it's a very good song by Chip "Wild Thing" Taylor, and is well sung".

Penny Valentine Penelope Ann Valentine (13 February 1943 – 9 January 2003) was a British music journalist, rock critic, and occasional television personality. Biography Penny Valentine was born in London, of Jewish and Italian ancestry. In 1959 she became ...

for ''

Disc and Music Echo ''Disc'' was a weekly British popular music magazine, published between 1958 and 1975, when it was incorporated into ''Record Mirror''. It was also known for periods as ''Disc Weekly '' (1964–1966) and ''Disc and Music Echo '' (1966–1972). ...

'' described it as having "an insidiousness that makes it linger in your mind, not in the brash heavy-handed way of all the other Troggs successes, but in a subtle warm loving way. Which is very nice". ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born ...

'' wrote that "although Reg Presley sings well – his vocal style seems to have undergone a startling change – and the arrangement is clever, the song isn't exactly earth shattering. In parts it sounds like a

Boston Pops The Boston Pops Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts, specializing in light classical and popular music. The orchestra's current music director is Keith Lockhart. Founded in 1885 as an offshoot of the Boston Symp ...

version of "

Twist and Shout "Twist and Shout" is a 1961 song written by Phil Medley and Bert Berns (later credited as "Bert Russell"). It was originally recorded by the Top Notes, but it did not become a hit in the record charts until it was reworked by the Isley Brothers ...

" played at half speed". ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' described it as a "shuffling, easy-going, melodic, gentle romancer".

Charts

Other cover versions

* In October 1966, British

beat Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery (c ...

group the

Liverpool Five The Liverpool Five were a beat group that was part of the British Invasion-era of the 1960s. The group played throughout Europe and Asia before achieving the peak of their success in the United States between 1965 and 1967. Career Formed in En ...

released a cover of the song as a single in the US which peaked at number 98 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. * In June 1967, American

psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...

band H. P. Lovecraft released a cover of the song as their debut single. * In June 1968, American rock band

the American Breed The American Breed was an American rock band from Chicago in the 1960s. The band was originally called Gary & The Knight Lites before adopting the name The American Breed in 1967. The band had a number of charting songs in 1967–68, the be ...

released a cover of the song as a single from their album ''

Pumpkin, Powder, Scarlet & Green ''Pumpkin, Powder, Scarlet & Green'' is the third album released by the 60's pop group The American Breed, released in the summer of 1968. This album was not as successful as their first two efforts, but the album did manage to have three modes ...

''. It peaked at number 88 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number 84 on the Canadian ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...

'' chart. * In July 1969, American singer

Evie Sands Evie Sands (born July 18, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter and musician. Sands' music career spans more than 50 years. She began her career as a teenager in the mid-1960s. After a rocky start, she eventually found chart success in 1969, be ...

released a cover of the song as a single from her album ''Any Way That You Want Me''. It peaked at number 53 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, number 40 on the ''RPM'' chart and number 85 on the retrospective Australian

Kent Music Report The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music enthusiast David Kent from May 1974 through to January 1999. The chart was re-branded the Australian Music Report (AMR) in July ...

chart. * In October 1969, American

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

singer Walter Jackson released a cover of the song as a single which peaked at number 111 on the ''Billboard''

Bubbling Under Hot 100 Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (also known as Bubbling Under the Hot 100) is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart lists the top songs that have not yet charted on the main ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Chart ...

and number 37 on the Best Selling Soul Singles chart. * In August 1977, British singer

Mary Mason Mary Mason is a British singer who scored a minor hit in the UK Singles Chart in 1977 with a medley of Chip Taylor's "Angel of the Morning" / "Any Way That You Want Me", reaching #27 and spending six weeks in the chart. Earlier in the year, Maso ...

released a medley of the song along with another of Taylor's songs "

Angel of the Morning "Angel of the Morning" is a popular song written by Chip Taylor, originally recorded by Evie Sands, but first charting by Merrilee Rush. The song has been covered by many artists including P. P. Arnold, Connie Eaton, Mary Mason, Guys 'n' Dolls ...

" as a single which peaked at number 27 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. * In August 1979, American singer

Juice Newton Judith Kay "Juice" Newton (born February 18, 1952) is an American pop and country singer, songwriter, and musician. Newton has received five Grammy Award nominations in the Pop and Country Best Female Vocalist categorieswinning once in 1983as well ...

released a cover of the song as a single from her album '' Take Heart''. It peaked at number 81 on the ''Billboard''

Hot Country Singles Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

chart. * In February 1985, a cover by Carlette peaked at number 60 on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles chart. * In June 1990, English rock band

Spiritualized Spiritualized (stylised as Spiritualized®) are an English rock band formed in 1990 in Rugby, Warwickshire, by Jason Pierce (often known as J. Spaceman), formerly of Spacemen 3. After several line up-changes, in 1999, the band centered on Pierc ...

released a cover of the song as a single which peaked at number 75 on the UK Singles Chart.

References

{{Authority control 1966 songs 1966 singles 1967 singles 1968 singles 1969 singles 1990 singles The Troggs songs Juice Newton songs Lita Ford songs Melanie (singer) songs Songs written by Chip Taylor