Died On This Date (February 4, 2013) Reg Presley / The Troggs

Reg Presley (Born Reginald Ball)
June 12, 1941 – February 4, 2013

reg-presleyReg Presley was the front man for legendary British garage band, the Troggs.  Their biggest hit came with their 1966 cover of Chip Taylor’s “Wild Thing” which reached #1 on the Billboard singles chart that year.  Their version came in at #257 on Rolling Stone‘s list of The Top 500 Songs of All Time.  Their follow-up single, “With A Girl Like You” was nearly as popular in the UK, but failed to ignite in the US.  Their three most popular singles,  the two listed above along with “Love Is All Around,” sold over a million copies each. Besides the impact their “Wild Thing” continues to have on rock music to this day, the band itself can take at least partial credit for influencing the birth of punk and garage rock.   As a songwriter, Presley’s biggest hit was “Love Is All Around,” which was another big hit in the UK, but barely cracked the Top 100 in the US.  It did however, enjoy a new life when Wet Wet Wet topped the UK charts with it in 1994.  At over 1.8 million copies sold at the time, it was the tenth biggest selling single in England.   Th royalties Presley enjoyed from its sales went to fund his research on crop circles on which he wrote the 2002 book, Wild Things They Don’t Tell Us.   Presley continued to tour with the Troggs up until his retirement in 2012 due to health concerns.  Reg Presley was 71 when he died of cancer and a series of strokes on February 4, 2013.  Troggs founding drummer, Ronnie Bond passed away in 1992.

Thanks to Paul Bearer for the assist.

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Died On This Date (April 10, 1992) Sam Kinison / Comic; Had Hit With “Wild Thing”

Sam Kinison
December 8, 1953 – April 10, 1992

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Known primarily for his outrageous comedy routines during the ’80s, Sam Kinison had a minor hit single in 1988 with his cover of  Chip Taylor’s “Wild Thing.”  Although the song never cracked the Billboard charts, the video was somewhat of a phenomenon on MTV and beyond, likely due to cameos by Rodney Dangerfield, Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Slash, Billy Idol, Tommy LeeRichie Sambora and a semi-nude Jessica Hahn.  It has been reported that Blackie Lawless of WASP was inspired to write  “(Animal) Fuck Like A Beast” after catching a Sam Kinison stand-up show.   Sam Kinison died on April 10, 1992 after the car he and his bride of six days were in was struck by an intoxicated driver.  He was 38 years old.

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