"I Can't Control Myself" is a song 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 ...

, released as a single in September 1966. It continued their success after " Wild Thing" and "

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 ...

", becoming a top-ten hit in a number of countries.

Release and controversy

"I Can't Control Myself" was written by the Troggs 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 after several days of rehearsing in their home town

Andover Andover may refer to: Places Australia * Andover, Tasmania Canada * Andover Parish, New Brunswick * Perth-Andover, New Brunswick United Kingdom * Andover, Hampshire, England ** RAF Andover, a former Royal Air Force station United States * Ando ...

, the Troggs recorded the song on 24 August 1966 at

Olympic Studios Olympic Studios was a renowned British independent commercial recording studio based in Barnes, London. It is best known for its recordings of many artists throughout the late 1960s to the first decade of the 21st century, including Jimi Hendr ...

in London. It then released a month later as the first single on

Page One Records Page One Records, established in 1966, was the UK independent record label, owned by the producer/manager, Larry Page. They were involved in a court case in July 1967 with The Troggs.9681 WLR 157; 9673 All ER 822; (1967) 111 SJ 944 The label, ...

, which had been co-founded by the band's manager and producer

Larry Page Lawrence Edward Page (born March 26, 1973) is an American business magnate, computer scientist and internet entrepreneur. He is best known for co-founding Google with Sergey Brin. Page was the chief executive officer of Google from 1997 unt ...

. A continuing dispute in the US over the distribution of the Troggs' releases meant that "I Can't Control Myself" was simultaneously released by

Atco Atco or ATCO may refer to: Businesses * ATCO, a Canadian diversified company involved in manufacturing, utilities, energy and technologies ** ATCO Electric, a subsidiary of the above company * Atco (British mower company), a mower manufacturing com ...

and

Fontana Fontana may refer to: Places Italy *Fontana Liri, comune in the Province of Frosinone *Fontanafredda, comune in the Province of Pordenone *Fontanarosa, comune in the Province of Avellino *Francavilla Fontana, comune in the Province of Brindisi * ...

in September 1966. "I Can't Control Myself" is known for its blatantly suggestive lyrics and therefore caused much controversy upon its release. It was banned from being played or performed on radio and TV in the UK, US and Australia. Whilst this did not impact sales in the UK or Australia, it did impact the song's chart performance in the US as ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' took airplay into account with its charts. The controversy revolved around the line "Your slacks are low and your hips are shown'". In an interview in 2008, Presley maintained that the lyric was him "just writing about hipster trousers", something that guitarist Chris Britton has also backed up. However, in an interview in 2011, Presley revealed that the inspiration for the song was from a girl in

East Anglia East Anglia is an area in the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, a people whose name originated in Anglia, in ...

who "had pillar-box red jeans cut so low you could see her pubic hair". The song was also controversial for its ending in which Presley screams, which some critics thought sounded like an

orgasm Orgasm (from Greek , ; "excitement, swelling") or sexual climax is the sudden discharge of accumulated sexual excitement during the sexual response cycle, resulting in rhythmic, involuntary muscular contractions in the pelvic region charac ...

; although both Presley and Britton have strongly denied that was the intention.

Reception

Reviewing 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). ...

'',

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 ...

wrote that "the Troggs have done it again. Another number one on the way. The Troggs' well-developed signature – the "ba bahs" and the solid Presley sexiness are all apparent. A more mature and hideously evil sound on this song that they've managed before". ''Billboard'' described it as a "medium paced rock-ballad from the winning British group

hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

should equal the success of "Wild Thing". Pounding beat and teen-slanted lyrics add up to a hit". ''

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 potent, hard driving, throbbing exciter in the bag that the fans expect the Troggs to be in".

Charts

References

{{Authority control 1966 singles The Troggs songs Songs written by Reg Presley 1966 songs Songs banned by the BBC Censorship of music Number-one singles in Rhodesia