Farewell, Wild Thing

  On February 4th, we lost English singer-songwriter Reg Presley, best known as the lead singer of The Troggs. An active performer for over 40 years, Presley passed away from lung cancer at the age of 71. From Andover, Hampshire, his British Invasion band had a number of US and UK hits, including "Wild Thing," "Love Is All Around," and "With A Girl Like You" (featured here).
The Troggs were a highly influential rock and roll band whose sound was an inspiration for garage rock and punk rock. Presley started out as a bricklayer and kept up with this occupation until "Wild Thing" entered the UK singles chart in 1966. It reached #2 in the UK, #1 in the US, and sold over five million copies. With his distinct growl/lusty vocals and that memorable guitar riff, here's Presley and The Troggs in a promo video for "Wild Thing" (another song ranked among the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time).

Released in October 1967, "Love Is All Around" was composed by Presley, and reached #5 in the UK and #7 in the US later in May of '68. Covered by numerous artists, this version features a string quartet and a "tick tock" sound on percussion. After the first video taking place in a subway (or I mean, the underground), here's another cute video, this time on a train.

 

 Farewell, Reg Presley. You will always remain a legend of rock and roll.