B-side "New York Connection" Recorded 1972 Length 3:01 | Format 7" vinyl Genre Glam rock, bubblegum | |
Released 1 September 1972 (UK)
September 1973 (US) | ||
"Wig-Wam Bam" is a song by British glam rock band the Sweet, written by songwriters Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman, released as a single in September 1972. It was the first Sweet single on which the band members played their instruments, as previous singles featured producer Phil Wainman on drums, and session musicians John Roberts and Pip Williams on bass and guitars respectively.
Contents
Lyrics
The song's lyrics are inspired by Henry Longfellow's Hiawatha poem from 1855. The story is about a Native American named Hiawatha. He doesn't bother much about Minnehaha, but Minnehaha appears to be in love with Hiawatha and wants to make him her man.
Music
The song featured a significant change in the band's sound, and is often considered the band's first glam rock single. Also, this was the first Sweet single with bass player Steve Priest singing some parts of the lead vocal: the "try a little touch, try a little too much" line at the chorus. This became an important part of Sweet's style later, and at most of their later singles, they also used this technique, with Priest singing some lines of the song. After the song became a hit, Sweet adopted a glam image, starting to wear glitter, Native American clothes and makeup.