Wild One (Johnny O'Keefe song)

"Wild One" or "Real Wild Child" is an Australian rock and roll song written by Johnny Greenan, Johnny O'Keefe, and Dave Owens. While most sources state that O'Keefe was directly involved in composing the song, this has been questioned by others.^[3] Sydney disc jockey Tony Withers was credited with helping to get radio airplay for the song but writer credits on subsequent versions often omit Withers, who later worked in the United Kingdom on pirate stations Radio Atlanta and, as Tony Windsor, on Radio London.

According to O'Keefe's guitarist, Lou Casch, the song was inspired by an incident at a gig in Newtown, Sydney,^[4] in about 1957. According to Casch, as O'Keefe and the Dee Jays played at an upstairs venue, an "Italian wedding" reception was taking place downstairs. Some of the dance patrons came to blows with wedding guests in the men's toilets, and within minutes the brawl had become a full-scale riot that spilled out into the street, with police eventually calling in the Navy Shore Patrol to help restore order. In an article by Clinton Walker that tries to answer the question, What was Australia’s first rock’n’roll record? the writer quotes Dee Jays’ saxophonist – and the song’s co-writer – John Greenan corroborating Casch’s account and elaborating upon it.^[5]

The release date of the single, 5 July 1958, is considered the birth of Australian rock and roll. The band Jet and Iggy Pop cover was released to mark the 50th anniversary of the original release. The Living End performed the song at the 2008 APRA Awards to mark the anniversary.

O'Keefe's recordings

O'Keefe was the first artist to record it, on his debut EP Shakin' at the Stadium, released on the Festival label. This version, ostensibly recorded live at the Sydney Stadium, was in fact a studio recording, overdubbed with the sound of a real audience.

An alternate version was recorded and released outside Australia: in the United States (as "Real Wild Child") on Brunswick and in the UK on Coral. "Festival liner notes have always put forward that the crowd overdub was the only difference... Ignoring the crowd overdub at the start, both versions have a different intro and JOK's vocal on the foreign versions is noticeably wilder than on the EP version issued here… As far as I know, the US/UK single version which, IMHO, is markedly superior to our version, was never issued in Australia... at the time, [but] it did finally appear on a local compilation LP in the 70's and is now commonly available on various JOK CDs."
Tony Watson^[6]

The song was the first Australian rock recording to reach the national charts,^[2] peaking at No. 20.^[7][8]

Cover versions

Iggy Pop

"Real Wild Child (Wild One)"
Single by Iggy Pop
from the album Blah-Blah-Blah
Released	1986
Format	7" 12"
Recorded	1986
Genre	Rock dance-rock pop rock
Length	3:38
Label	A&M
Songwriter(s)	Johnny Greenan Johnny O'Keefe Dave Owens Tony Withers
Producer(s)	David Bowie David Richards
Iggy Pop singles chronology
"Cry for Love" (1986) "Real Wild Child (Wild One)" (1986) "Isolation" (1987)
"Cry for Love" (1986) "Real Wild Child (Wild One)" (1986) "Isolation" (1987)

Iggy Pop included a cover of the song on his 1986 album Blah-Blah-Blah. Titled "Real Wild Child (Wild One)",^[9] this became a No. 10 hit on the UK Singles Chart in January 1987. It also charted on Billboard's Album Rock Tracks chart, peaking at No. 27. The Iggy Pop version was featured in the films Crocodile Dundee II, Adventures in Babysitting, Problem Child and its sequel Problem Child 2. The clip for that song was used in the opening titles for ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) music block rage.^[10]

Jet and Iggy Pop

"The Wild One"
Single by Jet featuring Iggy Pop
Released	19 July 2008
Format	CD single, Digital download
Recorded	2008
Genre	Hard rock
Length	1:43
Label	Warner Music
Songwriter(s)	Johnny Greenan Johnny O'Keefe Dave Owens
Jet singles chronology
"I Spy I Spy" (2007) "The Wild One" (2008) "She's a Genius" (2009)
"I Spy I Spy" (2007) "The Wild One" (2008) "She's a Genius" (2009)

A cover of the song was recorded again by Iggy Pop who teamed up with Aussie rockers Jet which was released as a single in July 2008, as a tribute to rock and roll legend Johnny O'Keefe. The song was released as a CD single and download on 19 July 2008 and peaked at number 66 on the ARIA Singles Chart.

Further Utilization

The 1986 Iggy Pop version of the song is used as the title music to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's all-night music video programme, rage and is also featured in the game SingStar Amped.^[16] This version is also used for the opening credits of the German TV series Der letzte Bulle, first aired in Germany in 2010.

In 1998 Australia Post issued a special edition set of twelve stamps celebrating the early years of Australian rock and roll, featuring Australian hit songs of the late 50s, 60s and early 70s: "Each of them said something about us, and told the rest of the world this is what popular culture sounds like, and it has an Australian accent."^[17] One of the stamps featured Johnny O'Keefe and "Wild One".

Everlife's cover was featured in the video game Lego Rock Band.

Wakefield's cover was featured in the video game Tak and the Power of Juju. It also appeared in the beginning and during the closing credits of Open Season 3.

Joan Jett's version appeared in an ad for the sitcom Hot in Cleveland. It also appeared during the closing credits of Bad Teacher.^[18] In 2014 it was used in a commercial (titled "Family Racer") for the 2015 Hyundai Sonata.

References