Today In Pop Culture: What is “Ooga-Chaka?”

By Jeffery X Martin

If you had an AM radio in the Sixties or Seventies, odds are that’s all you had because it was the Sixties or Seventies. Thank the gods for real technology, right? AM radio, with its predilection for programming soft rock and one hit wonders, was the place to hear American singer BJ Thomas. The guy had hit after hit. Thomas was the performer of “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head,” which won an Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1970.*

[Do you know which movie “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head” was featured in? The answer is at the end of this article!]

His most famous song is “Hooked on a Feeling.” It is infectious in all the best ways. On this date in 1969, the song peaked at number five on the Billboard charts. It’s surprising that Thomas’s version of the song didn’t hit the top of the pops. It had fun lyrics with vague drug references and a singalong chorus that could fill a stadium with lighter-holding sports fans. There was only one thing that could improve this song, which was already so close to perfection.

That thing was a simple phrase.

Ooga-Chaka.

In 1971, British musician Jonathan King (who is a whole story unto himself) first added the Ooga-Chaka phrase to the song. He felt it gave the song a “reggae rhythm by male voices.” Whether King had actually heard reggae before is up for debate.

The Swedish group, Blue Swede, released their own version of “Hooked on a Feeling” in 1974. Not only did they change the lyrics to avoid the drug reference, but they reworked the Ooga-Chaka. This version screamed up the charts, surpassing the original and hitting number one.

There’s only one possible reason for the success of Blue Swede’s rendition. I think you know what it is.

[It’s the Ooga-Chaka.]

The song keeps reappearing in pop culture. Remember the dancing baby from Ally McBeal? When that weird looking thing went viral, it was dancing to “Hooked on a Feeling.” You could also hear it on the soundtrack for Reservoir Dogs.

Just when you think the song is dead, it shows back up. How does it keep returning? Is it the Ooga-Chaka?

[Yes. Yes, it is.]

2014 rolled around, and the song ended up on the soundtrack for Guardians of the Galaxy, a Marvel superhero movie. The movie made mad bank, and the soundtrack hit the top of the charts. Now, a generation of children were exposed to the musical magic of Blue Swede, and the secret charm that made their song a giant hit.

What does Ooga-Chaka mean? After literally minutes of research, I can reveal that it means absolutely nothing. It’s just fun to say, and has been for over 40 years now. To quote Roald Dahl, “A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men.”

*Did you know that “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head” was featured in the film, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid? If so, congratulations! You’ve just Ooga-Chaka‘d up!