"Wild Thing" is a single by American

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backing ...

Tone Lōc from his 1989 album '' Lōc-ed After Dark''. The title is a reference to the phrase "doin' the wild thing," a

euphemism A euphemism ( ) is when an expression that could offend or imply something unpleasant is replaced with one that is agreeable or inoffensive. Some euphemisms are intended to amuse, while others use bland, inoffensive terms for concepts that the u ...

for sex. According to producer Mario Caldato Jr., who engineered and mixed the song, producer Michael Ross was inspired by an utterance of Fab 5 Freddy "Come on baby let's do the wild thing" in

Spike Lee Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, and author. His work has continually explored race relations, issues within the black community, the role of media in contemporary ...

's '' She's Gotta Have It'', and asked

Young MC Marvin Young (born May 10, 1967), better known by his stage name Young M.C., is an American rapper, singer and actor. He is best known for his 1989 hit " Bust a Move". His debut album '' Stone Cold Rhymin found international acclaim. Young h ...

to write the lyrics. "Wild Thing" peaked at number two on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in February 1989 and reached number one in New Zealand for two weeks in April. It eventually sold over two million copies in the United States, receiving a double-platinum certification from the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA). The song inspired at least two parodies (the ''

Gilligan's Island ''Gilligan's Island'' is an American sitcom created and produced by Sherwood Schwartz. The show's ensemble cast features Bob Denver, Alan Hale Jr., Jim Backus, Natalie Schafer, Tina Louise, Russell Johnson, and Dawn Wells. It aired for th ...

''-themed "Isle Thing" by

"Weird Al" Yankovic Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic ( ; born October 23, 1959) is an American comedy musician, writer, and actor. He is best known for writing and performing Comedy music, comedy songs that often Parody music, parody specific songs by contempo ...

, which was Yankovic's first rap parody; and " Child King" by

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

band ApologetiX).

Sampling controversy

The song uses an uncredited sample of

Van Halen Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1973. Credited with restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene, Van Halen was known for their energetic live performances and the virtuosity of their guit ...

's " Jamie's Cryin'". Van Halen's management at the time asked for a flat fee (credited in some reports to be US$5,000) as payment to have the song sampled by Tone Lōc. Apparently, the sampling decision was made without consulting the band's original members (credited as co-authors of the song). They had no idea "Wild Thing" would become a major hit. A subsequent civil

lawsuit A lawsuit is a proceeding by one or more parties (the plaintiff or claimant) against one or more parties (the defendant) in a civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today ...

was settled out of court, with Van Halen receiving US$180,000 as settlement payment.

Alex Van Halen Alexander Arthur Van Halen ( , ; born May 8, 1953) is an American musician who was the drummer and a co-founder of the rock band Van Halen, which was formed in 1972 by Van Halen and his younger brother Eddie Van Halen, Eddie under the name "Ma ...

has said that he had heard partially "Wild Thing" over the

radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...

and didn't realize his song had been sampled until he recognized his (by now famous)

tom-tom A tom drum (also known as a tom-tom) is a cylindrical drum with no snares, named from the Anglo-Indian and Sinhala language. It was added to the drum kit in the early part of the 20th century. Most toms range in size between in diameter, thoug ...

break at least a few times. Concerning the settlement, he said: "Well, at least we got something. Tone Lōc and his people made millions out of it..."

Music video

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

directed by

Tamra Davis Tamra Davis (born January 22, 1962) is an American film, television and music video director. Early life Davis was born the second of four children in Studio City, California. She was exposed to the media industry at an early age by her grand ...

was made for the song at a reported cost of $500, copying the style of Robert Palmer's " Addicted to Love."

Mini-skirt A miniskirt (or mini-skirt, mini skirt, or mini) is a skirt with its hemline well above the knees, generally at mid-thigh level, normally no longer than below the buttocks; and a dress with such a hemline is called a minidress or a miniskirt ...

ed women play guitars next to Tone Lōc; the video was frequently shown on

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

. The leading lady in the video is played by actress Tracy Camilla Johns.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Peaches remix

"Wild Thing (Peaches Remix)" is a version of Tone Lōc's "Wild Thing". The song features vocals by Tone Lōc and

Peaches The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and cultivated in China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and the glossy-skinned, non-fuzzy varieties called nectarines. Peac ...

herself. This

remix A remix, also sometimes called reorchestration or rework, is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, poem, or photograph ca ...

was made to celebrate Delicious Vinyl's 20th anniversary. It peaked at number four on the US ''Billboard''

Dance Singles Sales The Dance Singles Sales was a record chart released weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine listing each week's best-selling dance singles in the United States. Its previous names include Hot Dance/Disco 12-inch Singles Sales (1985–1987), Hot Dance Mu ...

chart.

Music video

The music video for "Wild Thing Remix" shows Peaches and Tone Lōc performing live at Avalon during the celebration of the 20th anniversary of Delicious Vinyl.

Charts

Uses in popular culture

"Wild Thing" was used in the 1989 film '' Uncle Buck'' (starring

John Candy John Franklin Candy (October 31, 1950 – March 4, 1994) was a Canadian actor and comedian who is best known for his work in Hollywood (film industry), Hollywood films. Candy first rose to national prominence in the 1970s as a member of the Tor ...

) during the scene when the titular character goes to the school of his nephew and niece to talk to the principal. In 1991, figure skater Tonya Harding used the track of "Wild Thing" in the last third of her free skate to win the U.S. Figure Skating Championships. In the 2000 film ''Bedazzled'', the song is used when

Brendan Fraser Brendan James Fraser ( ; born December 3, 1968) is an American-Canadian actor. List of awards and nominations received by Brendan Fraser, His accolades include an Academy Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a nomination for a Golden Globe A ...

's character Elliot first meets the Devil, played by Liz Hurley. In '' Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle'' (2003), the song is used to soundtrack the scene in which

Cameron Diaz Cameron Michelle Diaz (born August 30, 1972) is an American actress. Prolific in both comedy and drama, Cameron Diaz filmography, her films have grossed over $3 billion in the U.S. box-office. Her output of romantic comedies in the late 1990s a ...

's character Natalie rides a mechanical bull. In ''

Taxi A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a Driving, driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of thei ...

'' (2004), Gisele Bündchen's character Vanessa is introduced by the song walking out of a building with her female henchmen as they prepare for another bank robbery. The song was used in the trailer for the 2004 film '' Garfield: The Movie''. The song is also heard, in much-edited form, in the

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

film ''

The Angry Birds Movie ''The Angry Birds Movie'' is a 2016 animated comedy film based on Rovio Entertainment's ''Angry Birds'' franchise, produced by Columbia Pictures and Rovio Animation, and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing. The film was directed by Clay Kay ...

''. In 1989, the song was used in the Season One episode of the TV series '' Midnight Caller'' entitled "The Fall". Also in 1989, the song was used in the pilot episode of '' Doogie Howser, M.D.''. The song is briefly heard at a bar in the third chapter of the 2012 video game '' The Darkness II''. In 2012,

Bob Sinclar Christophe Le Friant (; born 10 May 1969), better known by his stage name Bob Sinclar (), is a French record producer, DJ, and remixer. He is the owner of the record label Yellow Productions. Musical career A native of Paris, Le Friant began D ...

and

Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. ( ; born October 20, 1971), better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg), is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Rooted in West Coast hip-hop, he is widely regarded as one of t ...

made an

electro house Electro house is a genre of electronic dance music and a subgenre of house music characterized by heavy bass and a tempo around 125–135 beats per minute. The term has been used to describe the music of many ''DJ Mag'' Top 100 DJs, including ...

cover.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wild Thing (Tone Loc Song) 1988 songs 1988 singles 2007 singles Tone Lōc songs Peaches (musician) songs 4th & B'way Records singles Delicious Vinyl singles Music videos directed by Tamra Davis Number-one singles in New Zealand Rap rock songs Remix singles Sampling controversies Song recordings produced by Peaches (musician) Songs about prostitutes Songs written by Young MC Van Halen