ONE HIT WONDERLAND: "Tarzan Boy" by Baltimora

[@xXTomokoKurokiXx]

Thank you for bullying BetterHelp. It can always be bullied more.

[@notkimpine]

fuck betterhelp. nebula is the way to go sponsoring an streaming television app than most popular streaming television like netflix or goddamn amazon prime video

[@magicwindow6682]

I thought it was leading into him promoting BetterHelp for some reason despite how awful they are lol

[@LillianWard-mw4qe]

I was gonna say, lol. Todd knows better than that.

[@magicwindow6682]

@@LillianWard-mw4qe yeah he's way too smart

[@johnkirby8939]

Tell the truth my heart sank at the start of the ad. I was thinking "you've got to be kidding me. Turns out, he was.

[@TheDinoKitteh]

Jimmy's final part of his wikipedia page is so sad, he was assaulted for being gay but was trying to make a comeback, even was going to record Tarzan Boy for Aids charity.

[@juliagoodwin9510]

...I hate people.

[@TheDavidish]

That’s horrible. Seemed like a good man

[@donovanlocust1106]

Well now I'm sad

[@zombieedrea]

Oh :(

[@rfmerrill]

It's worse than that: he found out he was HIV positive, went home to live with his parents, and then was beaten up for being gay while living there.

[@mrjellyfish2]

Fun fact: the Tarzan Boy music video upload is the most viewed KZbin video posted in 2005.

[@edotjdotmusicrecords]

Even more interesting, it's a weird edited version that only MTV aired that only shuffles a couple of clips around... I guess to be less gay? Lol

[@HINRG14]

What

[@SabrinaRina]

How do you get that stat? It's cool, but so specific.

[@mrjellyfish2]

@SabrinaRina there's some Wikipedia article about most viewed KZbin videos by year or something like that

[@yoshiplasma]

insane that it has more views than "me at the zoo"

[@Cemarah-y1o]

The nicest part of this series is that you finally learn the names of songs you've been listening to for a long time but have never known their names or the bands that perform them.

[@amesstarline5482]

As a one who has added or reappreciated some playlist additions thanks to 1HW/OHW, agreed. That The Cardigans and White Town are more than just onehit wonders.

[@fermintenava5911]

No joke - I never knew that song was associated with Tarzan 😂

[@crossaffliction]

This one is harder than usual ... it's not exactly helpful that the most memorable "lyrics" are "oh-OH-oh-OH-oh-OH".

[@JK061996]

Sure, 10-hour-old bot

[@Phobero]

Italian here, never knew the frontman was Irish: based on his pronunciation, especially of the Tarzan name itself, whoever the singer is he is 100% Italian

[@SimonStrijbos]

He also bears a resemblance to Adriano Celentano

[@IABITVpresents]

I never knew the band was Italian in the first place because the song never felt Italian to me!

[@darecky8957]

@@IABITVpresentsit’s so italo disco

[@WesleyWilkins-qf2ky]

@IABITVpresents Right nothing about pizza

[@Aloysius2113]

definitely. at one point he pronounces "miss" like "meees" and that confirmed it for me.

[@Jenninka]

Thank you for the dog update. She looks very well repaired and I hope she doesn’t need any more fixing for a while

[@DKdrop]

It's always nice to see a dog back in working condition.

[@tyleradams6048]

The scar makes her look like a football with laces. Adorable! Maybe her new nickname could be Pigskin?

[@JanetStarChild]

@@tyleradams6048 At first, I thought you were talking about a _real_ footboll, but the laces and 'pigskin' clued me in that it's an American "football".

[@AnimatedAntic]

Fun fact about those Listerine ads that used the song. They were animated by Pixar (yes, THAT Pixar) back when they made television commercials to stay afloat. People at the studio like Pete Docter claimed that was their way of learning storytelling as they were making Toy Story.

[@billyweed835]

Humble beginnings. Those listerine ads only won, like, 8 Oscars.

[@yourstruly9013]

A very fun fact

[@ninashewchuk8976]

Pixar also did a bunch of commercials for Life Savers products.

[@MattMcIrvin]

Early on it was not obvious what Pixar's business model was going to be--they were making animated shorts from the beginning, but they tried selling a specialized 3D graphics computer in the late 80s, and their rendering software (with some success) in the 90s. Toy Story turned them into a movie studio full-time.

[@egill624]

@@ninashewchuk8976 They also made some commercials for Hershey's

[@xbeverlyhells]

Todd - this is not a staple of throwback stations Me, an argentinian - what do you mean. if you put on any 80s radio it takes you like four songs to get to tarzan boy Todd - latin america really likes it for some reason Me - what do you mean

[@RabbitEarsCh]

as a Venezuelan - yeah exactly!!!

[@krisdaschwab912]

I can confirm I have never heard this song in Poland.

It is also a staple on NL/Belgian 80s radio stations. Never noticed the lyrics, the band or the song title, but everyone sure knows that Tarzan yell

[@xbeverlyhells]

Hell we even had an ad in the 2000s (was it coca cola?) where the joke was that "gimmie the other" sounds very close to "kiwi melón"

[@jakubstachon]

​​@@krisdaschwab912 I have! It makes a regular appearance on MTV 80s, as well as some other miscellaneous music stations when they play their 80s compilations.

[@senorverde09]

Technically Laura Branigan's two major hits, Self Control and Gloria, were Italo-disco covers and did fairly well in the States.

[@Rhamiel506]

The current thing keeping Tarzan Boy relevant is that Pro Wrestler and son of the late actor Luke Perry, “Jungle Boy” Jack Perry was using the song as his theme music on the indies and the first few years of his TV wrestling career with AEW.

[@eggrolldog]

Bro, nobody is watching that.

[@KymearaMC]

The only reason why I know this song is because of Jurassic Express

[@eggrolldog]

@@KymearaMC That's fine, but to say a show that nobody watches is keeping this song relevant is just wrong. AEW can't even keep themselves relevant.

[@bmjv77]

@@eggrolldog found the WWE-stan. Seems as if you're threatened by AEW.

[@JunkBoy187]

Honestly worked so well for an entrance theme when JB was face. Still say his heel theme should have been Cry Me a River.

[@TheSeventhPersona]

Bro that fake out for Nebula at the end SENT ME 😂

[@Chickenfodder09]

As he was starting the ad plug I was like, man that was a stangley bad taste ad plug for Todd. Loved the fakeout.

[@mitchzurbrigg2403]

LIES . 23 MIN VIDEO. AS OF 8:17EST THIS WAS POSTED 11 MINUTES AGO.... YOURE LYING!!!

[@Eve.v]

​@@mitchzurbrigg2403this comment is from a day ago

[@silversprit3852]

@@mitchzurbrigg2403patreon bruh

[@songweretson]

​@@mitchzurbrigg2403The videos go up early for Patreon supporters. Hence why the comment is from yesterday

[@blueeyesredlipstick4228]

Jimmy McShane's whole appearance and style is giving me strong 'What if Thomas Dolby and David Bowie had a secret lovechild in the 80s' vibes.

[@Fickji]

Baltimora may not have deserved better but Jimmy McShane sure did.

[@NotoriousLightning]

That's so romantic!

[@dannycarrington1601]

And he wore Bea Arthur's wardrobe from _The Golden Girls_ .

[@witchflowers6942]

slightly giving David Sylvian in some clips… Those outfits were… a choice, though.

[@RThyrring]

I was about to say that but you beat me to it 😂

[@DiamondAxeStudiosMusic]

When you search "Baltimora" on Wikipedia, the first result is for an Italian X-factor contestant. I repeat, the people who made this song are so incidental, they're getting out-relevanced by an ITALITAN X-FACTOR CONTESTANT.

[@JonathanLedbetter]

When I was in college in the early 2000s, I listened to a syndicated radio show called Backtrax USA, which played well known and obscure '80s songs every week bookended with facts and updates. They would play "Tarzan Boy" occasionally, but every time they played it, the only "fact" they ever said about Baltimora was that the band was actually Jimmy McShane. Nothing else, not even mentioning the producer.

[@knightwing5169]

You and Todd uploading videos near-simultaneously is the highlight of my day.

[@SawdustMusic-rd8mj]

Hey Sean, first Grab Bag Reviews now One Hit Wonderland. Great day for the music critic community. God knows we need it right now.

[@IABITVpresents]

Funny that, the X Factor contestant WON his edition and is now among the most forgotten/irrelevant X Factor Italy winners in the history of the show

[@woodrobin]

In re: the graphic theme of the video for Tarzan Boy: I used to read the Tarzan comics, and there's a great deal of similarity in the font and layout of those screens and the font and layout of those comics. I think it's trying to evoke a theme of Tarzan's son (called Boy in the Weismuller movies, though he was called Korak in the comics or by his legal name John Clayton III (Tarzan's legal name was John Clayton II, Earl of Greystoke)) bursting out of the comic page into our reality. It would also then echo a subtext of bursting out of a smaller, more restricted world (like a provincial Northern Irish upbringing) into a larger reality (like Milan).

[@yltraviole]

Oh wow, childhood memory unlocked. I found some of those comics kicking around my grandparents' house growing up and devoured them. They must've been my uncle's. I'm Dutch, so they were basically my only introduction to American-style comics.

[@westvirginiaglutenfreepepp7006]

Nice insight!

[@CHLOE-s9m4y]

Thank you for all the amazing videos.

[@Arcademan09]

Fun Fact: in the Disney Tarzan movie, the voice actor for Clayton did the Tarzan yell, turns out he was a massive Tarzan fanboy growing up. Originally they were going to use someone else but when they told him that he did the yell on the spot and they immediately went with him for the iconic yell

[@krzuker]

Brian Blessed, absolute legend

[@BlueGuy98]

They were going to use Tarzan's voice actor Tony Goldwyn, but apparently he couldn't pull it off

[@liamannegarner8083]

I'm glad they gave a dumb old bird a second chance

[@Gammera2000]

Doubly funny given that Tarzan's surname name is Clayton. Except when it's the other one. Grey something

[@Werewolf_Korra]

Wait, I thought Patrick Stewart played Clayton

[@bigredradish]

two things i learned from this video: 1. Self Control was a cover of an italo disco song 2. the existence and existential dread of Woodie Boogie

[@RhythmGameAddict]

Were you introduced to Self Control by that version by Erika that topped the US club charts in the 2010s? That was my introduction.

[@ronenson1023]

Both of Laura Branigan's big songs were covers

[@Flamingbro69]

@@ronenson1023Yep, Gloria was a cover of an Italo Disco song by Umberto Tozzi from 1979.

[@Fickji]

I must have the worst taste in music. I really like Baltimora and their off the wall songs. Including Woody Boogie. That one and Juke Box Boy gets song randomly every so often. Strange, I could have sworn MTv or Vh1 showed the music video for Key Key Karimba in the late 80s or early 90s.

[@HollandOates]

@@bigredradish bro. Wait till you learn about Gloria

[@dranet47]

I met the lead singer back in the 80s, probably 86 or 87. He came to the record store where I worked and we had a signing party for him. Not a ton of people showed up, but there were a few for sure. I spoke with him and, even though he was trying to hide it, it was very clear he wasn't into women. Later that night he had a show. He was nice so I asked a couple of friends and we all went to support him. He "sang" three songs, and then came into the audience to meet with people. It was a small arena and I was right next to the stage. I was going to introduce my friends to him, but it seemed that he didn't remember me from earlier that day. He said it was nice to meet me and gave me a kiss on the cheek. Very awkward!! I put "sang" in quotes because he lip synced all three songs. Woody Boogie is a cute song, and I don't remember the third song he performed.

[@mellowyellow6572]

I’ll never know if he sang on the originals but I’m *pretty* sure he didn’t sing in any of the live performances available on KZbin. Amazing dancer and commanding stage presence though.

[@raggedyanarchist]

Best karaoke jam ever. You sing the verses, then just run around shoving the mic in other people's faces to do the chorus. It's fun.

[@mikelippenkrantz]

I'm inclined to think the producer DID do the singing. From what little I heard of Jimmy speaking, there's no way he'd have a thick accent of suspicious European origin while singing if he had been born and raised in Ireland. BUT I doubt the producer (wherever he may be nowadays) could dance like Jimmy! That guy had style and moves for days. So I'll just enjoy the song and video with a big grin. 😃 Thanks for another great vid, Todd! Wishing Amydog a continued speedy recovery!

[@SuperJNG18]

Yeah, no disrespect to the dead, but that man is 100% lip-syncing to an Italian's voice. Not a hint of Irish, or Northern Irish, about that accent (the distinct lack of "yarr" is a tip-off).

[@Oklawolf]

I've heard Maurizio Bassi sing. It's definitely him singing, but there's still no Baltimora without Jimmy.

[@BobLuas]

I don't know , if you hear him speaking , he's kind of lost his accent a lot , and your singing voice doesn't necessarily have your own accent), and this is speaking as someone from Ireland .

[@troyschulz2318]

@@BobLuasFair enough, but that’s very clearly an Italian accent on the singer. You can tell from the vowels.

[@Cultureclashash]

This series is the closest we’re going to get to another “I love the 80s”/ “pop up video” type of nostalgia commentary VH1 used to be so good at

[@bullmonty764]

I distinctly remember being kind of pissed that they were too focused on Drag Race and T.I.‘s strangely long-lasting marriage and other such shows to do an I Love the 2010s. Although if they somehow actually did it this past summer, I concur that it would’ve been *very* different from the I Love the Decade shows we grew up with. Essentially, infinitely less Bieber, Frozen, and Stranger Things, infinitely more Kendrick, Haddish, and Black-ish. Not that it’s a bad thing; it would just be much more reflective of their current audience

[@kolbykauffman4180]

God, Pop Up Video was the shit, man!

[@carybeweary7209]

👍

[@jonsrecordcollection7172]

"That head shape and glasses style were popular in the 1980s." I was in high school back then & there are no lies detected. Every high school class had at least one. Ours was named Ken & we called him Beaker, like on the Muppet Show.

[@larissabrglum3856]

I saw a cop yesterday with that exact look and it was slightly surreal

[@KathyClysm]

I recently archived old photos for my grandma and this episode made me realize my dad was the brunette version of this 80ies archetype 😂 not the worst 80ies look tho, could have been SO much worse

[@greenhowie]

Vash the Stampede is basically that exact archetype, Trigun was written in the mid 90s and you can tell Western 80s media had a heavy influence.

[@lexp6099]

@@greenhowie My thought when I saw him in the red 80s huge suit with drop crotch pants lol! Very Vash.

[@ItsAstronomical]

I've never seen your channel before, but my friend sent this to me because I am a huge Baltimora fan. I'm very glad to see a large channel talk about not just Tarzan Boy, but also Baltimora, so I would like to thank you on that. I would give a recommendation to everyone reading this to give both albums a chance. I also agree about the subtext in Tarzan Boy and Living in the Background 100%, and it's something that struck me when listening to it but I didn't see many people talking about it, so seeing it discussed is really good. I think "Woody Boogie" (including its iconic Woody the Woodpecker laugh) is fairly good, but I agree it wasn't their best work. "Chinese Restaurant" and "Running for Your Love" were much better and one of them should've been a single. Survivor in Love never got a modern streaming release which is a shame, if you want to stream it you have to add it locally to iTunes or Spotify. "Eye To Eye" honestly feels fitting as a "final" Baltimora song. RIP Jimmy McShane.

[@MsAngrybutterfly]

I knew this would get Todd new fans!

[@CloudyObsession]

Thanks for the extra info!

[@Avrysatos]

Welcome, i hope you find lots here to listen to and much nostalgia.

[@drsjjsmith]

I picked up _Living in the Background_ as a remaindered cassette circa 1989. Best 99 cents I ever spent. I want to say that it didn't have "Juke Box Boy" on it, though.

[@SuperJNG18]

And here we are: an actual, for-real Baltimora fan who knows the deep cuts. I salute you, sir or ma'am or non-binary friend.

[@oscara1573]

The best thing about this series, is that you finally get to know the names of songs that you have listened since forever but never knew their names or the bands that play them

[@beccapardo4439]

As much as I want todd to have better luck however I love extra todd content. It literally brightens my day to have a todd in the shadows video notification

[@TheZenomeProject]

This song was patient-zero for a particular musical phenomenon called the "Millennial whoop". Between the years 2010-2018, so many songs had this "whoa-oh-whoa-oh-whoa" sound in the same scale. It's weird how this song sounds so 80s but also, simultaneously, ahead of its time for this particular reason.

[@salmonella7993]

But it wasn't at all...

[@magicwindow6682]

yeah I read about that

[@broadway331]

It sounds like a Bastille song.

[@DanJackson1977]

​@@salmonella7993Eh... yeah I can kinda hear it. 🤷‍♂️

[@Seantendo]

I blame Let's All Chant for that.

[@coastaku1954]

This is the closest we have gotten to Todd talking about Eurobeat. Italo-Disco is a precursor to Eurobeat, since Eurobeat was invented by combining Italo-Disco and Hi-NRG, along with tweaking the sound to make it more Japanese.

[@arisagilly]

Todd acutally did talk unintentionally mentioned Eurobeat once. Towards the end of the Jimmy Ray video, when Todd was figuring out what happend to Jimmy Ray after his hit, he mentioned he found some Jpop which was actually just a bunch of Eurobeat sung by a guy(Alessandro Gilardi)who just so happend to use Jimmy Ray as an alias name lol.

[@coastaku1954]

@@arisagilly Ah yes he did!

[@djbeema]

I love Italo disco. Was thinking I could watch Todd do an entire video on it but I guess that's not really his area of expertise. If anyone has a good recommendation for a documentarian style video on the subject I'd love to hear about it

[@GarlicDogDOTA]

@@arisagillythat’s one of the best parts of eurobeat and hi nrg. It seems like there’s lots of artists but really it’s a few dozen guys with 10000 nom de plume each

[@retrozaid1600]

Yeah I was gonna mention that aswell in the comments

[@DKdusk]

Tarzan boy is a classic in Brazil. Every old person knows this songs and plays in every jukebox in some shitty corner bar

[@hausofsteph]

A bit more of context about Tarzan Boy in Brazil: the song was the intro of a popular Saturday night show, Perdidos na Noite (Lost in the Night)

[@DKdusk]

@hausofsteph oh yeah, i wasnt born in that time but yeah totally

[@hausofsteph]

@@DKdusk I wasn’t either, it’s because my dad used to watch the show at that time

[@iwasanangryyoungman]

I bet Woody Boogie would have been even bigger, given Pica-Pau's following down there

[@belizoalves1719]

I only remember the name 'perdidos na noite' because Faustao used to mention 500 times every sunday.

[@ronanmcintyre]

That is definitely an Italian accent, not a (Northern) Irish one. <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="605">10:05</a> He pronounces "miss" as "meese", which is very common for Italian speakers those vowels aren't meaningfully distinct in Italian

[@thrillhouse4151]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="30">0:30</a> omg what a cute dog, with those giant eyes.

[@mariaquiet6211]

Pugs are such perfect little creatures

[@ulture]

"there is just a thick layer of Italian cheese over it. Just distinctly European in a way that doesn't really translate to America" he said, illustrating it with a picture of the most American lasagna I've ever seen.

[@smoot9069]

I had to stop the video i couldnt stop laughing my ass off 💀💀 its not even that funny but goddamn

[@Volvagia1927]

Definitely over sauced and kinda over cheesed?

[@LimeyLassen]

@@Volvagia1927 Speaking as an American, there is no such thing as "over sauced"

[@ulture]

@@Volvagia1927 mostly the fact it appears to have some sort of mild cheddar on top. And yes, far too much of it. The top layer of a lasagna should be bechamel covered in parmesan

[@randomassortmentofthings]

@@ulture Most american lasagna don't use any bechamel. a "Traditional" one uses riccotta and mozzarella along with tomato sauce, with the top layer being sauced and then finished with Parmesan and mozzarella

[@rlh1984]

As I clicked on the video, I thought, “What song?” Then I heard Todd’s piano rendition, and I thought, “Oh, this song!”

[@eric3844]

GOD YES I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS DAY. This is unironically one of my favorite songs of all time, from back when all you needed for the hit was a synth and a rough command of the English language. Living in the background wasn't a bad album either.

[@MarcosElMalo2]

I cracked up when he said it’s better than Toto’s Africa. It’s funny because it’s true.

[@brooketeegarden2303]

I've got a less depressing ending for you Todd! This song is so catchy it's almost single-handedly responsible for two of the best heels in modern wrestling in the last few years. Here's how: Christian Cage loses his title shot and decides to hitch his wagon to a popular young group called Jurassic Express who use Tarzan Boy as their entrance theme (especially Jungle Boy who usually rides in on the back of another of the trio, Luchasaurus, who is of course, a dinosaur). The problem of course is that while he can manipulate Jurassic Express to his will, you can see the moment Christian realizes he needs to destroy the group entirely and go full Heel when his theme music is cut off for Tarzan Boy to play and continue playing for three full minutes during a Pay Per View while the audience sings and dances along. Christian Cage turns full Heel, becomes the leader of the Patriarchy, turns Jungle Boy into Jungle Boy Jack Perry then just Jack Perry then betrays him, the first of several betrayals leading to Jack Perry becoming The Scapegoat Jack Perry today. All because Tarzan Boy was TOO over with the audience.

[@nejdalej]

Then they gave Jack Perry a classical music song which was objectively a bad fit for a wrestling theme. And what he got afterwards was so underwhelming. When your wrestling theme is Jungle Boy, where do you go from here?

[@FullMetalDagger]

@@nejdalej hard disagree, Scapegoats music is ScapeGOATED. XD

[@freakfoxvevo7915]

Music fans: We want Tarzan Boy again! Jack Perry: Go cry me a river!

[@SuperJNG18]

It's illegal for Todd to mention ReAnimator but not "Move Your Dead Bones."

[@brandonjustis]

that exactly what I thought!! he said it and I was waiting for "REANIMATE YOUR FEET!"

[@rachel_sj]

I was also expecting a little snippet from Thomas Dolby’s She Blinded Me with Science too 😢

[@LynetteTheMadScientist]

I thought for sure when he talked about how strangely popular robot love songs were he would bring up Automatic Man

[@Clay3613]

America does not like 2000's Eurobeat at all.

[@picahudsoniaunflocked5426]

@@Clay3613 I heard that in Brian Wilson, the way nature intended.

[@DanPantzig]

Very pleased to see the dog is back from the shop and ready to drive again.

[@jessehammer123]

At <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="1310">21:50</a> or so I was like “oh no…not Todd too. Don’t do thaaat. :(“ But then with the pivot, I laughed SO hard.

[@GranTruismo4head]

I fucking cried laughing and wanted to hug Todd for that! He made me feel so much better.

[@eddya7894]

Italo disco rocks! Fun fact... while most Americans don't know Italo Disco, many of the synth pop bands we loved in the 80s were heavily influenced by it (mainly the Pet Shop Boys, they've got a lot of stuff that wears the influence proudly, Domino Dancing is one example). But, cheesy as it may be, some of those bands had some pretty fun dance songs that should have gotten airplay in the States.

[@BattleAxe1345]

You said it well. Even Daft Punk were influenced by Italo just a bit. I'm surprised Italo hasn't made such a big internet splash yet as Japanese City-pop has.

[@DarkSideofSynth]

Their loss. We enjoyed it so much and still do. Most Americans missed out on so much music. On the other hand, there were and still are many American artists whom we never heard of here in Europe.

[@KathyClysm]

"The jungle breeze blowing through his loin cloth" is gonna live rent-free in my head for the next week

[@FalconPain]

I genuinely thought he was going for the Ray Stevens when he started that sentence. "As he swings through the trees without a trapeze in his BVDs"

[@blueeyesredlipstick4228]

Of all the references I expected Todd to make in this video, the one that makes me feel the oldest is the brief flash of YTMND.

[@djbeema]

I miss ytmnd

[@garyv2498]

Little Gay Fuel to brighten up your day?

[@themoley91]

The very first thing this song brings to mind for me is Gay Fuel lol

[@skakirask]

Same Though I also remember this song from the TMNT3 movie and VH1 playing it on Pop Up Video

[@aliendoomsyndrome]

Yep, that is entirely the "Gay Fuel song" to me. That's the first and only way I heard it for many, many years.

[@HollandOates]

Hey wait: Laura Branigan's first hits were totally Italo-Disco! You even showed a clip of the original "Self Control," which was a huge hit for her here. "Gloria" was probably her biggest-and that's yet another Italian cover song!

[@dannycarrington1601]

Bananarama's I Heard A Rumor owes a lot to Micheal Fortunati's Give Me Up.

[@HollandOates]

@ Italo-addict: IDENTIFIED

[@ShallRemainUnknown]

​@dannycarrington1601 The entire SAW (Stock, Aitken, Waterman - Bananarama, Dead or Alive, Rick Astley, Kylie Kinogue, etc., etc...) sound was all but openly acknowledged as an Anglicized Italo Disco.

[@VinchVolt]

the thing about italo disco is that its only non-"tarzan boy" crossovers in the anglosphere were when it had an already established anglophone star behind it -- new order's "bizarre love triangle", philip oakey's "together in electric dreams" (a collaboration with giorgio moroder), and the entire stock aitken waterman library were prime examples of that (in saw's case, they were generally known as the "men behind the men and women" when it came to their discography). if it was by a homegrown italian act, its chances of making it to the uk and us were far lower, even for baltimora and their northern irish alleged frontman. it also probably didn't help that "tarzan boy" came out just before the very similar genre of latin freestyle rose to the american mainstream. since that genre had a noticeable influence on other anglosphere dance acts in the late '80s (pet shop boys' "domino dancing" for instance), italo disco would've faced an uphill battle trying to distinguish itself.

[@Millennialtomb]

Not to mention a little album called the SCARFACE SOUNDTRACK.

[@DigiRangerScott]

I like that Todd talked about what was going on with Tarzan in the ‘80s, establishing just where the bar was BEFORE Disney touched the story. Not the complete story, but stuff you’re going to hit pretty quickly when backtracking. The 50 years following Disney’s Snow White had it to live up to, but establishing a baseline for Tarzan shows that the fondness for Disney’s version doesn’t have to just be “It was the first version I ever saw”

[@songweretson]

The Burroughs estate has become notoriously strict about the copyright around Tarzan (and John Carter, but that's a whole other tragedy), which might be why we haven't seen much about him recently. Which is a pity, because I really love Burroughs' work.

[@DigiRangerScott]

@ And as the years go on, the less adaptations made, the more the rankings are going to stand

[@songweretson]

@DigiRangerScott We did get a live action Tarzan movie back in like... 2016, I think? It had Margot Robbie as Jane, and one of the Skarsgard guys as Tarzan. I didn't love it. I really want Tarzan and Carter to both get another chance. (Conan, too. Conan's (and Robert E Howard's) legacy has totally trashed by his movies. But that's a whole other discussion.

[@DigiRangerScott]

@ Exactly, that’s 2016 and it didn’t go over well

[@cecelias_]

I remember this because as a kid, we’d go to a holiday camp in Spain and whenever the mascot characters would come out into the audience during the evening entertainment show, it would always be this song. Not sure if this was real or a fever dream. But I do remember hearing it year after year

[@SplatterInker]

British 90s kid here... I have never heard this song before. What a ride.

[@theoneandonlymichaelmccormick]

This one goes out to all the people in the audience (like myself) who first heard this song as the entrance music of AEW wrestler “Jungle Boy” Jack Perry, and it re-wrote their brain chemistry.

[@fabiangamboa1714]

I'm not the only one!

[@JamesR1986]

To me I'll always think of the original live action Turtles in Time live action movie

[@noway9320]

with the iconic Taz cover

[@D0makr0m3]

TAZ singing along like your drunk uncle at karaoke made my heart soar ^_^

[@PlatinumRoseLady]

*Lowers head while raising right hand.*

[@ZanraiKid]

GIORGIO MORODER MENTIONED! Instant classic One-Hit Wonderland!

[@claremiller9979]

Moroder is responsible in part for my twenty year relationship, my partner and I are ride-or-die Electric Dreams fans

[@koneheadcokehead4981]

REACH OUT, REACH OUT FOR THE MEDAL

[@stevethepocket]

My first exposure to the guy was in film class, where one of the classic influential movies we had to watch was _Metropolis_ (dir. Fritz Lang, 1927) and no joke, the professor decided to play the color-filtered version with an '80s-tastic soundtrack courtesy of Moroder and associates.

[@Hudson316]

This is the guy who had the track on Daft Punk’s Random Access Memories, yeah?

[@aggie_boos1260]

@@claremiller9979that is such a good song ❤

[@coreywest7237]

Fun fact (which I know already has probably been said a million times in the comments) this song was the theme music for wrestler named Jungle boy, he eventually started going by his real name and dropped the music. His name is Jack Perry son of the late actor Luke Perry

[@jetblack99]

I was actually waiting the whole video for him to bring it up because it's just the kind of oddball factoid that's perfect for One Hit Wonderland. Too bad. Despite having lived through the 80s AEW was my first exposure to this most 80s of novelty hits.

[@williambrousseau4458]

Literally the only reason I know this song. I thought this was a bigger hit when he’d come out and the whole crowd was singing along

[@Windwalker88]

Best era or AEW by far. The first time he came out with that song still gives me chills

[@EternalGuardian07]

I was hoping he'd use a clip of Tazz singing it as the outro.

[@RiotEXE]

I had to scroll for a while before I saw any mention at all, and this was the first...

[@CervantesVI]

One of the best feelings when watching a One Hit Wonderland episode is getting blasted with a song you vaguely remember from a decade or two ago and suddenly having the flood of recognition wash over you, and that happened with me about 5 seconds into the piano cover.

[@bee-bg1wt]

oh hello! last year when i started my first year of uni, i got fixated on this song for some reason. i listened to it everyday for like 2 months, read the artist's spotify description and many articles about them and their history, the fact that it's unknown whether it's the guy in the video singing, and the fact that he died from aids. glad to see this episode!!

[@jessewilley531]

Sarah thank you! For years I've been I joked with a friend how long would it take Todd to do this one... and damn... it took only three weeks since we last brought it up.

[@MsAngrybutterfly]

You’re welcome! It dropped the first day I started a new job! I’m happy everyone who loves this song can celebrate with me!

[@Betta66]

Whoever requested this, Merry Christmas

[@MsAngrybutterfly]

Thank you! Merry Christmas to you as well!

[@philly_sports1558]

I'm so happy Amydog is doing better. Such a sweet and adorable pupper.

[@ZandrousVT]

All Elite Wrestling gave this song another chance in the spotlight as it was the theme for the wrestler "Jungleboy" Jack Perry up until 2023. Just imagine an entire arena full of people waving their arms back and forth and doing that Tarzan yell. Good times.

[@RonnieBarzel]

I hear that chorus and immediately mentally picture bottles of Listerine swinging through the jungle.

[@codexmachina1358]

This was the first time Todd did a one hit wonder and I had no idea who he was then he hits me with I AM YOUR AUTOMATIC LOVER. BRO UP AND DOWN I GO IS A PRETTY LIGHTS CLASSIC

[@CityofButterfly]

Never listened to Pretty Lights but this comment gave me flashbacks to that one Michael Rosen YTPer who referenced Pretty Lights in almost every video. I think it was RootNegativeSixteen but not 100% sure.

[@michelhv]

Ok but that final swipe was spot on. We all need some better help than betterhelp.

[@ted90909]

saddest part about mcshane's passing is that people unaware of it would still go up to the guy from tight fit of 'the lion sleeps tonight' fame and confuse the two after the fact

[@robertwilloughby8050]

Even sadder, they were friends, and it absolutely broke the tight fit guys heart.

[@skunkrat01]

As the ad read was going on I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. Thank you for not disappointing us Todd.

[@tdarkhorse4]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="951">15:51</a> BRAZIL, TODD DID NOT MEAN ANY OF THIS. HE LOOOOVVVES WOODY WOODPECKER. PLEASE DON'T COME FOR HIM, BRAZIL!

[@Youmama187]

Nope too late Todd now has to fear the whole of Brazil!

[@horsedrinkingfromskull9087]

The weirdest thing about Woody Boogie is that was not even the first Woody Woodpecker themed Italo disco song... that would be Woodpeckers from Space by VideoKids.

[@sonofaspyder3000]

Italy is a strange place

[@LimeyLassen]

This has to be some kind of genius meme that no one remembers

[@ericvernooij2917]

In fact, VideoKids was a Dutch band.

[@SuperJNG18]

I also mentioned that! And weirdly, both artists died quite young, in the '90s.

[@Empyre18]

Waves arms over head while singing in Tazz’s commentary voice: “oh oh oh oooooohhh, oh ooooooohhh, oh oooooooohhhh!!!” But, I digress.

[@thepolarphantasm2319]

"American Idol Jones ova here!" - Taz, probably, talking crap about himself

[@theoneandonlymichaelmccormick]

He’d need a trip to Yam Bag City to hit those notes properly.

[@ItsTheFizz]

Just watch the One Hit Wonderland, dude...

[@jackmighty6889]

Congrats to the newly repaired pup! Looks to be in working order.

[@seangarner2687]

Another excellent episode. I hadn't ever given this song much mind before now. The song has a warmer place in my heart now after hearing the story behind it and the Italadisco scene.

[@quinnnewman9538]

besides the tragic ending, this feels like a throwback to old one hit wonderland.

[@wstine79]

I remember hearing this song growing up as a kid and fell over the all over again when Jungle Boy Jack Perry used it as his theme song in AEW.

[@theoneandonlymichaelmccormick]

🫡

[@cavspunk08]

one of the only downsides to his heel turn is that we dont get to hear this song when he comes to the ring anymore

[@pyrogriffin]

Taz singing this was the light I needed at the time.

[@philly_sports1558]

I wonder if CM Punk gets irrationally angry just by hearing this song lol

[@kenshirothethird]

Yes! I thought Todd was gonna mention it

[@Pensfan5919]

Prepare for wrestling comments that rival the Rick Derringer video.

[@psuley1977]

You got that right BROTHER

[@DefNotAiko]

Brother Dude Jack

[@saintseraphim]

I think Hulk Hogan is quite a bit more popular than anyone you could be referencing so don't hold your breath

[@1rhpsfan]

@@DefNotAiko Jack Perry to be exact, son of Luke Perry (Yes, that Luke Perry.) who when he started wrestling was known as Jungle Boy in AEW.

[@ItsTheFizz]

Much to the chagrin of the Scapegoat...

[@SonOfAGunYYH]

@<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="456">7:36</a> this only proves to me that Highlander should have been nominated for an Oscar

[@djbeema]

I've been waiting for this since your Haddaway video. Those two songs always hand in hand for me for some reason. Never knew it came out so much earlier!

[@cosmicwaffles2024]

I ALSO forgot to add, thank god Todd did not end this with an ad for BetterHelp. It's a terrable service. Nebula would be a better option.

[@Kylora2112]

I absolutely *LOVE* this song! However, TWO Italodisco hits became MEGA hits in the US. Gloria by Umberto Tozzi and Self Control by Raf. The original Italian artists didn't cross over to the US, but they wound up being huge Hot 100 smashes for Laura Branigan.

[@datacentre81]

Didn't know those were covers! Just gave them a listen, and... yeah Laura's voice brought a LOT to those songs, especially Gloria.

[@digitaljanus]

As an Italian-Canadian I always feel like I'll be disowned for this opinion--but Laura's versions were better. All credit to the original songwriters and producers, but Laura owned those songs with her performances.

[@Kylora2112]

@@digitaljanus Self Control is in my top 10 80s pop songs. I'm sick of Gloria because my band plays it most every show and it's really simple on guitar (I get kinda bored), but yeah, Self-Control kicks all kinds of ass. RIP Laura ♥

[@NJGuy1973]

​@@Kylora2112You should do a mashup of "Self Control" and "Tarzan Boy." "I live among the creatures of the night/Night to night, gimme the other, gimme the other"

[@SabrinaRina]

I could see the universal love being from the same energy brought to world cup anthems. It has that chant chorus that you can just yell from the chest in mass without lyrics.

[@Cloudy_Jones]

I hate how much hate Disco gets, I absolutely love Disco music, nothing beats a fire bass line.

[@TheDanishGuyReviews]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="390">6:30</a> I have heard Dolce Vita before, and the first time I did, I thought for sure Ryan "We'll Always Have" Paris was a fellow Danish person. He sings with the light European lilt of someone whose first language definitely isn't English.

[@daemonspudguy]

Giorgio Moroder collaborated with Daft Punk on a track on Random Access Memories, where he actually narrated his life and early music career. The track is called Giorgio by Moroder.

[@littlekingtrashmouth9219]

And spawned a meme

[@ZanraiKid]

@@daemonspudguy Also known as the best Daft Punk song aside from One More Time and Face to Face.

[@dylansmit3883]

He also joined forces with a bunch of ex-Lamborghini engineers and started his own supercar brand: Cizeta-Moroder.

[@littlekingtrashmouth9219]

@ is this for real or is this just some pun that I’m not getting?

[@dylansmit3883]

@@littlekingtrashmouth9219 If you're replying to me, yes it is. The Cizeta-Moroder V16T is very rare, but very real. Moroder eventually left the company, so the later cars were sold under just Cizeta. He recently auctioned off the pre-production model he kept for over 30 years.

[@DRCEQ]

"The thing about Italian Disco is-- you've probably never heard it". There's a sizable portion of the internet who are familiar with 1983's "Camel by Camel" by Sandy Martin, thank you very much.

[@stevethepocket]

Well, we're familiar with the instrumental version, anyway.

[@karolmongiello2725]

I had to go and look it up because what the fuck that IS italo disco?

[@rdrrr]

​​​@@karolmongiello2725Although Italo-Disco didn't make it to the US a lot of American pop stars covered Italo-Disco songs (e.g. Laura Branigan) or copped the style (Animotion's Obsession is totally Italo-Disco) So basically everything that made the pop charts in the latter half of the 80s was Italo-Disco

[@IsmailofeRegime]

@@karolmongiello2725 Like Todd said in the video, it's basically synth-heavy pop music with a distinct "Italian cheese," to it, though half the "cheese" seems to be Italians speaking English with obvious accents and/or not really understanding the English language. Two examples of this are "Give Me Up" by Michael Fortunati and "Challenger" by Baby's Gang.

[@geraldfriend256]

Rdrrr …. You prolly meant to type pop charts but poo charts works for that time period

[@jimtomas]

My birthday tomorrow.. but I got my present 🎁 today!! Thanks so much Todd much appreciated it!

[@karelfinn2343]

If I had bought a request it absolutely would have been for this song. I'm glad Todd loves it as much as I do.

[@JBBost]

What's even better than Better Help is getting the best help from mental health professionals. Art saves, but learning how to manage your stress is also important

[@kyonizuka]

some day Todd will be brave enough to cover that absolute sensation that was "That Thing You Do" by THE one hit wonder of one hit wonders...The Oneders!

[@dragonrana88]

I forgot about this song until Jungle Boy Jack Perry in AEW reminded me it existed

[@wwe666q]

Same here

[@HeartyArtie]

I forgot Jack Perry existed until you reminded me. Thanks.

[@artistwithouttalent]

I'm kind of surprised that Tarzan Boy wasn't on your radar for this show ETA: HOLY SH*T THE TARZAN BOY GUY WORKED WITH GIORGIO MORODER??

[@KillahMate]

Surely the Tarzan Boy Guy having worked with Giorgio Moroder must be the least surprising thing of all time. As Todd says, the song is practically drowning in Italo Disco cheese.

[@MsAngrybutterfly]

I was too! That’s why I requested it. I think it was on his radar, as he’s mentioned it during the “Rock Me Amedeous” episode, I think that might be why I got my request so quickly.

[@Muse392]

Me: "Never heard of this one before." Todd: *Plays some chords* Me: "Oh, right." Every time.

[@KatyTerBerg]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="905">15:05</a> Early music videos were such a fun brand of bizarre. 😅

[@ttaka8233]

Me before the video: Huh Tarzan Boy, not sure I know this one. Me 2 seconds into the video: I definitely know this one.

[@罪のアリス]

I had the exact same reaction.

[@willbloodworth5248]

The Better Help fake out was ❤

[@ActualLiteralKyle]

That Better Help twist at the end was chefs FRICKIN kiss

[@1armronindad748]

Nah. Chris Farley, swinging on top of the tree, is my favorite version of the song. Nothing gets more Tarzan like that. R.I.P Chris

[@Blacknight8850]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="721">12:01</a> "With possibly the worst music video ever made" - both "Turbo Lover" by Judas Priest and "I Ran (So Far Away)" would like a word.

[@A_Dopamine_Molecule]

I don't care if it's basically a decades-old meme, I unironically liked this song since I was a kid and still do... Thanks for the YTMND nostalgia, though.

[@jamesmason7979]

I became acquainted with this song through pro wrestling, of all things. A wrestler named Jack Perry used it as his entrance music as part of his "Jungle Boy" gimmick.

[@magicalmysteryperson]

IT KILLS GERMS, JUST LIKE IT ALWAYS DID! IT FIGHTS PLAQUE, AND THE GUM DISEASE GINGAVITUS, JUST LIKE IT ALWAYS DID! (fun fact! those Listerine ads were animated by Pixar, back before they made Toy Story)

[@Lightspeeds]

Did they also do a chips ahoy commercial?

[@magicalmysteryperson]

@@Lightspeeds yep!

[@stevethepocket]

@@magicalmysteryperson Wait, it wasn't THE Chips Ahoy commercial, was it? The one set to "Sing Sing Sing" by Benny Goodman?

[@magicalmysteryperson]

@@stevethepocket Yep! It was that ad.

[@MsAngrybutterfly]

Shockingly, there is a Ritz Bitz commercial from that era often mistakenly contributed to Pixar that was actually stop motion by Henry Sellick pre Nightmare Before Christmas.

[@theajenkins4551]

IVE BEEN WAITING FOR SOOOO LONG FOR THIS during lockdown this was my favourite song, it will always make me feel like I’m somewhere else other than where I was. Thank you for this Todd!!!!

[@rumrunner8019]

Is Todd *EVER* going to do "Epic" by Faith No More? He can easily do that piano solo at the end for his intro.

[@SuperJNG18]

@@rumrunner8019 do Faith No More count?

[@PerpetratorOfTruth]

Italo disco is awesome. Them italians know how to craft a good jam. That's why they ruled the 90's too with eurodance and techno.

[@DarkSideofSynth]

Yup! We did ;)

[@anniel6479]

Thank you, Todd, for covering this song. Like legitimately, thank you. I love it but I could never ever remember what it's called for more than five minutes after looking it up. But this video is definitely going to change that!

[@TheUnmitigatedDawn]

The bleeped out Baltimore rant was the funniest part

[@billslocum9819]

Most of it was scurrilous rumor mongering at best.

[@AdrianBelmonte96]

bet it had references to challenge pissing

[@dfstout7531]

Don from Baltimore. Ouch. Lol😂

[@Flamingbro69]

Also, continuity from the SR-71 OHW episode

[@DKdrop]

Now we need someone who's really good at reading lips to translate it for us.

[@DaBeanieBaby]

I hear this song nearly daily at work. I’ve never paid attention to it. This series is how I’ve learned about so many songs I hear on our work radio station. Thanks, Todd!

[@nasaboy87]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="1021">17:01</a> Yes they do. The toys make appearances in some Giallos (Italian crime horror movies).

[@2stayweird]

I had vague memories of hearing this song as a child, but had no idea about the name or the singer, just the "OoOoooOOo~Oooooo" in the chorus. then one night in the mid-2000s I was at an "80s night" dance party and when this song came on I felt like a sleeper agent being activated 🤣

[@SuperJNG18]

That's how I felt when I heard "Soon" by My Bloody Valentine all the way through when I only remembered the hook and had been losing my mind trying to figure out what it was.

[@XavIsOnline]

"Why would anyone want to make a dance song about Tarzan?" Cuz Tarzan is cool, man. He's really cool.