I Want Candy

This article is about the original song. For the Bow Wow Wow album featuring a version of it, see I Want Candy (album). For the 2007 film, see I Want Candy (film).

"I Want Candy"
Side-A label of the American vinyl single
Single by The Strangeloves
from the album I Want Candy
Released	1965 (U.S.)
Recorded	1965
Genre	Rock
Length	2:59
Label	Bang
Writer(s)	Bert Berns Bob Feldman Jerry Goldstein Richard Gottehrer
Producer(s)	The Strangeloves
The Strangeloves singles chronology
"Love, Love" (1964) "I Want Candy" (1965) "Out in the Sun" (1965)

"I Want Candy" is a song written and originally recorded by The Strangeloves in 1965 that went to number 11 in the United States. It is a famous example of a song that uses the Bo Diddley beat.

Original version

"I Want Candy" was written by Bert Berns, Bob Feldman, Jerry Goldstein and Richard Gottehrer in 1965. As writer/producers, Feldman, Goldstein and Gottehrer had already scored big hits for other artists, including "My Boyfriend's Back" by The Angels. For this song, the trio took on the moniker of The Strangeloves, and recorded the tune themselves, augmented by studio musicians (co-writer Berns was not involved in the studio recording).

The female vocal half screaming half singing "Baby!" in the middle was an unknown session singer.

Although Feldman, Goldstein and Gottehrer used their real names in the writing and production credits of this single, they claimed The Strangeloves were actually three Australian brothers (and ex-sheep farmers) named Giles, Miles and Niles Strange. Feldman, Goldstein and Gottehrer dressed up in shaggy wigs and exotic clothing for publicity photos as The Strangeloves.

"I Want Candy", The Strangeloves' second single, became a top 10 hit in Canada and hit no. 11 in the US. The record failed to chart in the UK—or in The Strangeloves' so-called "native" country, Australia.

Bow Wow Wow version

"I Want Candy"
Standard cover art for UK and international vinyl editions
Single by Bow Wow Wow
from the album The Last of the Mohicans
B-side	"King Kong"
Released	1982
Recorded	1982
Genre	New wave
Length	2:46
Label	RCA
Producer(s)	Bow Wow Wow
Bow Wow Wow singles chronology
"Go Wild in the Country" (1982) "I Want Candy" (1982) "Fools Rush In" (1982)

English new wave group Bow Wow Wow released their version as the first and only single from their EP The Last of the Mohicans. For many in America, "I Want Candy" was their first introduction to young lead singer Annabella Lwin and the band. The song barely scraped the Top 50, but became an enduring new wave classic. The song gave its name to the band's 1982 release, I Want Candy, which was mainly a compilation, but included a couple of new cuts produced by Kenny Laguna (Joan Jett & the Blackhearts).

The popularity of Bow Wow Wow's recording, highly associated with 1980s pop music, is partly due to the memorable video that got heavy play in the early days of MTV.

The Bow Wow Wow recording appeared on two VH1 countdowns:

• No. 86 on VH1's "100 Greatest Songs of the '80s"
• No. 8 on VH1's "100 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the '80s"

Bow Wow Wow's recording is frequently included in collections of '80s pop music and on soundtracks for movies that take place in the '80s, as well as in movies that want to make use of the recording's youthful, carefree tone. The recording appeared on the soundtracks for Blank Check, Private School, Bio-Dome, Daddy Day Care, 200 Cigarettes, High Fidelity, Romy and Michele's High School Reunion, Napoleon Dynamite and (in the form of a remix by Kevin Shields) Marie Antoinette. It also appeared in The Simpsons episode "The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase".

The song was set to appear on the PlayStation 2 video game Guitar Hero: Rocks the 80s, but was pulled out of the game for unknown reasons.

The popular Canadian teen drama Degrassi: The Next Generation, which is known for naming each episode after an '80s hit song, named an episode after this song.

The Black Eyed Peas sampled the song for the song "Electric City" on their 2009 album The E.N.D.

Charts

Chart (1982)	Peak position
Australia (Kent Music Report)	39
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)	30
Ireland (IRMA)	7
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)	26
Netherlands (Single Top 100)	23
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)	30
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)	9
US Billboard Hot 100	62
US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play	36
US Billboard Top Tracks	22
US Cash Box	61

Aaron Carter version

"I Want Candy"
Single by Aaron Carter
from the album Aaron's Party (Come Get It)
B-side	"Jump, Jump"
Released	September 4, 2000 (2000-09-04) (U.S.)
Genre	Pop
Length	3:16
Label	Jive Zomba
Aaron Carter singles chronology
"Children of the World" (1999) "I Want Candy" (2000) "Aaron's Party (Come Get It)" (2000)

Aaron Carter released a cover of "I Want Candy" and released as his 7th single and the second single from his second album Aaron's Party (Come Get It) (2000).

This version of "I Want Candy" begins with a phone conversation with a friend about a girl named Candy and has the participation of his brother Nick Carter from the Backstreet Boys. Carter promoted it by performing it on the show Lizzie McGuire. A music video was produced to promote the single and was directed by Andrew MacNaughtan.

Chart (2000)	Peak position
Australia (ARIA)	27
France (SNEP)	46
Germany (Official German Charts)	68
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)	27
Netherlands (Single Top 100)	21
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)	10
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)	31

Track listings

Single

1. "I Want Candy" [Album Version] – 3:13
2. "I Want Candy" [Instrumental] – 3:13

Maxi CD

1. "I Want Candy" [Album Version] – 3:13
2. "I Want Candy" [Instrumental] – 3:13
3. "Jump Jump" – 2:39

Candy Girls featuring Valerie Malcolm version

"I Want Candy"
Single by Candy Girls featuring Valerie Malcolm
Released	1996 (UK)
Genre	Pop dance
Label	Feverpitch EMI Records
Candy Girls featuring Valerie Malcolm singles chronology
"Wham Bam" (1995) "I Want Candy" (1995)

Candy Girls, who are Rachel Auburn and Paul Masterson, released a cover of I Want Candy and it became their third hit single, peaking at 30 in the UK. It was their last release. After releasing this single, the duo split. Masterson went on to have hits as Amen! UK, The Clergy, Yomanda, Dorothy and Hi-Gate.

Track listings

Disc 1

1. I Want Candy (Radio Edit)
2. I Want Candy (12" Mix)
3. I Want Candy (Candy's Disco Dub)
4. I Want Candy (Jon The Dentist's Mix)
5. I Want Candy (Beat Barons Mix)

Disc 2

1. I Want Candy (Radio Edit)
2. Wham Bam
3. Fee Fi Fo Fum

Melanie C version

"I Want Candy"
File:Melanie C - I Want Candy.jpg
Single by Melanie C
from the album This Time
B-side	"Already Gone"
Released	March 26, 2007 (2007-03-26)
Format	Maxi CD 7" vinyl digital download
Recorded	2006
Genre	Pop rock power pop dance-pop
Length	3:23
Label	Red Girl
Producer(s)	Stephen Hague
Melanie C singles chronology
"The Moment You Believe" (2007) "I Want Candy" (2007) "Carolyna" (2007)
Music video "I Want Candy" on YouTube

"I Want Candy" was the first single to be taken from Melanie C's fourth album "This Time", in the UK, Denmark and Italy. The song was also the soundtrack to the movie of the same name, and the video saw Melanie dancing for the first time since the Spice Girls. Melanie split her time between the UK and Europe, where she was promoting "The Moment You Believe", and as a result, the single was not heavily promoted and reached no. 24 — although on the physical chart, the single reached no. 7. "I Want Candy" went on to sell 12,510 copies in the UK, but had better success in Italy (no. 9) and Denmark (no. 12).

Melanie premiered her version of the song during Al Murray's Happy Hour on ITV1, 24 February 2007. The video was premiered on March 2, 2007 in the UK. The song was released as Italy's and Denmark's first single from the new album, where it reached no. 9 in both countries, while in other European countries the ballad "The Moment You Believe" was chosen.

Music video

In the video of "I Want Candy", Melanie C is featured in a skin-tight catsuit, featuring a sexually suggestive dance routine with half-naked bodybuilders in crowd-controller uniforms. The video instantly grabbed the number one spot on YouTube with 200,000 hits in its first day.

Formats and track listings

These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "I Want Candy" by Melanie C.

• UK Maxi CD single

1. "I Want Candy" (Single Version) – 3:23
2. "I Want Candy" (Club Junkies Mix) – 6:37
3. "I Want Candy" (So-Lo's Electric Vocal Mix) – 5:16
4. "I Want Candy" (So-Lo's Filtered Disco Dub) – 7:33
5. "I Want Candy" (Music Video) – 3:22

• Italian Maxi CD single

1. "I Want Candy" (Single Version) – 3:23
2. "I Want Candy" (Club Junkies Mix) – 6:37
3. "I Want Candy" (So-Lo's Electric Vocal Mix) – 5:16
4. "I Want Candy" (So-Lo's Filtered Disco Dub) – 7:33
5. "Already Gone" – 4:12
6. "I Want Candy" (Music Video) – 3:22

• UK 7" vinyl single

1. "I Want Candy"
2. "Already Gone"

• Promo CD single

1. "I Want Candy (Club Junkies Mix) – 6:37
2. "I Want Candy (So-Lo's Electric Vocal Mix) – 5:14
3. "I Want Candy (So-Lo's Filtered Disco Dub) – 7:29
4. "I Want Candy (Single Version) – 3:23

Charts

Chart (2007)	Peak position
Denmark (Tracklisten)	9
Italy (FIMI)	9
Scotland (Official Charts Company)	9
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)	24

Other cover versions

• The Bouncing Souls covered it on their first album The Good, the Bad, and the Argyle.
• In the United Kingdom, the song first hit the UK Singles Chart in 1965, covered by Brian Poole and The Tremeloes, who took it to number 25. This version also peaked at number 81 in Australia.
• It was also released by The Count Bishops in 1978. However, it failed to chart despite a performance on Top of the Pops.
• Veruca Salt covered the song on their 2007 spring tour.
• Good Charlotte covered the song in the film Not Another Teen Movie.
• Westlife did a cover in 2000 for their Mother's Day album.
• Billie covered the song for her debut album, Honey to the B, but the cover was only included on the MiniDisc edition.
• X Factor duo Jedward covered the song for their debut album, Planet Jedward.
• Australian pop singer Cody Simpson recorded his rendition of the song for the soundtrack to the 2011 animated/live-action film Hop.
• Kramer produced and sang his version of "I Want Candy" for his solo LP The Brill Building (2012).
• Widespread Panic covered the song during their 2013 Halloween show in New Orleans.
• Lydia Lunch's band 8 Eyed Spy released a live cover of the song on their self-titled 1981 LP.
• International character Gummibär (The Gummy Bear) covered the song on his album Party Pop (2015).

Parodies

• In 1998, the potato chip brand Pringles made an advertisement parodying the song saying "I Want Pringles".
• The Detroit Red Wings hockey organization had a parody of this song titled "I Want Stanley"
• In the video game Dance Dance Revolution Hottest Party 2, Pop'n Fresh did a version of this song.
• On the album Surfing by Megapuss, Devendra Banhart and cohorts did a rough parody of this song titled "A Gun on His Hip and a Rose on His Chest," reciting lyrics such as "*** the president" in place of "I want candy."
• In 2013, the experimental electronic group Matmos recorded a version titled "I Want Snowden" in reference to the NSA leaker Edward Snowden for The Onion's The A.V. Club.

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics