Editing Blue Swede (section)

==Career==
Blue Swede was first formed in 1973, when [[Björn Skifs]], a top vocalist in Sweden, was looking for a band to accompany him during his concerts.<ref name="The Book of Golden Discs">{{cite book
| first= Joseph
| last= Murrells
| year= 1978
| title= The Book of Golden Discs
| edition= 2nd
| publisher= Barrie and Jenkins Ltd
| location= London
| pages= [https://archive.org/details/bookofgoldendisc00murr/page/325 325]
| isbn= 0-214-20512-6
| url-access= registration
| url= https://archive.org/details/bookofgoldendisc00murr/page/325
}}</ref>

The band was originally called "Blåblus" (Swedish for "blue blouse" [could be made out of denim], a pun on the word "blues"<ref>{{cite web|publisher=NPR|work=SoundCheck|title=That Was a Hit?!?: Blue Swede, 'Hooked On a Feeling'|first=John|last=Schaefer|url=http://soundcheck.wnyc.org/story/that-was-a-hit-hooked-feeling-blue-swede/|date=April 1, 2014|access-date=February 2, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150618193437/http://soundcheck.wnyc.org/story/that-was-a-hit-hooked-feeling-blue-swede/|archive-date=June 18, 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>) and featured Skifs singing the lead vocals. The band got their international breakthrough in 1974 with their cover of the 1968 [[B. J. Thomas]] song "[[Hooked on a Feeling (song)|Hooked on a Feeling]]".<ref name="LarkinGE">{{cite book|title=[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music|The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music]]|editor=[[Colin Larkin (writer)|Colin Larkin]]|publisher=[[Guinness Publishing]]|date=1992|edition=First|isbn=0-85112-939-0|page=281}}</ref> Blue Swede recorded Thomas's song in 1973, but based its rendition of the song on a 1971 version released by British pop eccentric [[Jonathan King]], which created the "ooga-chaka" introduction.{{clarification needed|reason=The grammar is unclear: which song has the "ooga-chaka" introduction?  If both, clarify further.  One of them at least repeats it as a chorus throughout.|date=May 2024}} The producer at the recording sessions was [[Bengt Palmers]]. Blue Swede released "Hooked on a Feeling" in Sweden in May 1973 and in the United States in February 1974. The song reached [[chart-topper|number one]] in the U.S. for one week in April 1974 and stayed in the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] [[record chart|chart]] for 18 weeks. The track also topped charts in Australia, Canada, and the [[Netherlands]], where it reached a peak chart position of 26.<ref name="The Book of Golden Discs"/> To capitalize on the success of the song, Blue Swede released the album ''[[Hooked on a Feeling (Blue Swede album)|Hooked on a Feeling]]'' that same year.

Throughout the rest of 1974, two follow-up singles from the same LP were released: "Silly Milly", which peaked at position 71 in the U.S., and a cover of [[The Association]]'s "[[Never My Love]]", which made the [[Top 40|Top Ten]] by peaking at position 7.<ref name="LarkinGE"/> From the band's 1974 follow-up album, ''Out of the Blue'', they recorded a [[Medley (music)|medley]] of "[[Hush (Billy Joe Royal song)|Hush]]" by [[Deep Purple]] and "I'm Alive" by [[Tommy James and the Shondells]] (not [[The Hollies]]' song of the same name), peaking at position 61 in the U.S., and achieving its greatest chart success in [[Scandinavia]]. Skifs left the band in 1975 and the band continued as Blåblus, releasing a further two albums.