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"I Want Candy"
Side-A label of the American vinyl single
Single bythe Strangeloves
from the album I Want Candy
B-side	"It's About My Baby"
Released	May 19, 1965 (1965-05-19)[1][2]
Genre	Rock and roll[3] garage rock[4] proto-punk[4] bubblegum[5]
Length	2:58
Label	Bang
Songwriters	Bert Berns Bob Feldman Jerry Goldstein Richard Gottehrer
Producer	The Strangeloves
The Strangeloves singles chronology
"Love, Love" (1964) "I Want Candy" (1965) "Out in the Sun" (1965)
Audio
"I Want Candy" onYouTube

"I Want Candy" is a song written and originally recorded bythe Strangeloves in 1965 that reached No. 11 on the USBillboard Hot 100 chart.^[6] It is a famous example of a song that uses theBo Diddley beat.^[6] It has gone on to spawn multiple sucessful cover versions, including byThe Tremeloes,Bow Wow Wow,Aaron Carter,Melanie C, and others.

"I Want Candy" was written byBert Berns,Bob Feldman,Jerry Goldstein andRichard Gottehrer in 1965. Some reports suggest that the song was written after the producers saw dancerCandy Johnson performing at the1964 World's Fair.^[7]

As writers/producers, Feldman, Goldstein and Gottehrer had already scored big hits for other artists, including "My Boyfriend's Back" bythe Angels. For this song, the trio took on the moniker ofthe Strangeloves, and recorded the tune themselves, augmented by studio musicians (co-writer Berns was not involved in the studio recording). The female vocalist heard half-screaming, half-singing "Baby!" in the middle of the track was an unknownsession 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, reached No. 7 in Canada^[8] and hit No. 11 in the US.^[6] The record failed to chart in the UK—or in the Strangeloves' ostensibly "native" country, Australia.

In the UK, the song first hit theUK Singles Chart in 1965, in a version bybeat groupBrian Poole and the Tremeloes, who released their version that July^[9] and took it to No. 25.^[10] This version also peaked at No. 81 in Australia.^[11]

The Count Bishops, a Britishproto punk andpub-rock band, released their version of "I Want Candy" on independent labelChiswick Records in June 1978, making an appearance on the British TV showTop of the Pops.

"I Want Candy"
Standard UK and international vinyl picture sleeve
Single byBow Wow Wow
from the EPThe Last of the Mohicans
B-side	"King Kong"
Released	May 28, 1982 (1982-05-28)[12]
Studio	Criteria (Miami)
Genre	New wave[13][14] bubblegum[15]
Length	2:46
Label	RCA
Songwriters	Bert Berns Bob Feldman Jerry Goldstein Richard Gottehrer
Producer	Kenny Laguna
Bow Wow Wow singles chronology
"Go Wild in the Country" (1982) "I Want Candy" (1982) "Fools Rush In" (1982)
Music video
"I Want Candy" onYouTube

Englishnew wave groupBow Wow Wow released their version in May 1982 as the lone single from their EPThe Last of the Mohicans. It was a top 10 hit in their native United Kingdom. For many in America, "I Want Candy" was their first introduction to young lead singerAnnabella Lwin and the band, who partnered with producerKenny Laguna to record the song atCriteria Studios in Miami, Florida.^[16] The song barely scraped the top 60 there but became an enduringnew wave classic.^[17]

The single was released in the Uk as a one sided single, with I Want Candy on the A side, and the Bow Wow Wow logo etched onto the B side. To capitalize on the success of the "I Want Candy"music video, RCA compiled an album calledI Want Candy for their newfound American audience. The album peaked at No. 123 on theBillboard 200.^[18]

EMI also used the name in the UK for a compilation of tracks (not including the actual song) the band had recorded for the label in 1980-1981. Elsewhere in the world, this album was titledTwelve Original Recordings.^[19] The UK release peaked at No. 26 in theUK Album Charts, matching the peak position ofSee Jungle! See Jungle! Go Join Your Gang Yeah, City All Over! Go Ape Crazy!, the band's official debut studio album onRCA.^[20]

The Bow Wow Wow recording appeared on twoVH1 countdowns:

• No. 86 on VH1's "100 Greatest Songs of the '80s"^[21]
• No. 8 on VH1's "100 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the '80s"^[22]

"I Want Candy"
Single by Candy Girls featuring Valerie Malcolm
B-side	"Four other remixes"
Released	November 13, 1996 (1996-11-13)
Studio	The Sleaze Pit Studios
Genre	Dance[32]
Length	3:30 (radio edit)
Label	Feverpitch EMI
Songwriters	Bert Berns Bob Feldman Jerry Goldstein Richard Gottehrer
Producer	Candy Girls
Candy Girls singles chronology
"Wham Bam" (1995) "I Want Candy" (1996)
Valerie Malcolm singles chronology
"I Want Candy" (1996) "History '97" (1997)
Music video
"I Want Candy" onYouTube

British duoCandy Girls, consisting ofRachel Auburn andPaul Masterson, released cover of "I Want Candy" featuring singer Valerie Malcolm. It became their third hit single in 1996, peaking at No. 30 on theUK Singles Chart and No. 12 on theUK Dance Singles Chart. OnMusic Week's UK on a Pop Tip Club Chart, the song hit number-one. The single was their last as the duo split after the release. Masterson went on to have hits as Amen! UK, Clergy, Yomanda, Dorothy andHi-Gate. Amusic video was also produced to promote the single.

A reviewer fromMusic Week rated Candy Girls' version of "I Want Candy" three out of five, describing it as "a pumped-up version ofBow Wow Wow's hit complete with piano breaks for that hands in the air bit. The girls' debut could catapult them chartwards."^[33] Daisy & Havoc from the magazine'sRM Dance Update gave it four out of five, writing, "The next booming Candy Girls outing is probably their best yet. It's really amusing, with the so-suitable 'I want candy' vocal and the all-round Nineties pop meets Fifties kitsch feel, and it's positively rabble-rousing in its enormous piano breaks."^[34]

• 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"

"I Want Candy"
Single byAaron Carter
from the albumAaron's Party (Come Get It)
B-side	"Jump, Jump"
Released	September 4, 2000 (2000-09-04)[42]
Genre	Pop[43]
Length	3:16
Label	Jive Zomba
Songwriters	Bert Berns Bob Feldman Jerry Goldstein Richard Gottehrer
Producer	Steve Mac
Aaron Carter singles chronology
"Aaron's Party (Come Get It)" (2000) "I Want Candy" (2000) "Bounce" (2000)
Music video
"I Want Candy" onYouTube

Aaron Carter released a cover of "I Want Candy" as his seventh overall 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 features the participation of his brotherNick Carter from theBackstreet Boys. Carter promoted it by performing it on the showLizzie McGuire. A music video was produced to promote the single, directed byAndrew MacNaughtan. Carter released a remix of the song in 2018, self-produced on hisLøVë album.^[44]

The music video for this version features Carter going on a date with Candy while three boys constantly harass him.

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

"I Want Candy"
Single byMelanie C
from the albumThis Time
B-side	"Already Gone"
Released	March 26, 2007
Genre	Pop[56]
Length	3:23
Label	Red Girl
Songwriters	Bert Berns Bob Feldman Jerry Goldstein Richard Gottehrer
Producer	Stephen Hague
Melanie C singles chronology
"The Moment You Believe" (2007) "I Want Candy" (2007) "Carolyna" (2007)
Music video
"I Want Candy" onYouTube

"I Want Candy" was released as the second single from English singerMelanie C's fourth albumThis Time, and the first single in the UK, Denmark and Italy, released on March 26, 2007.^[57] The song was also the soundtrack to thefilm of the same name, and the video featured Melanie dancing for the first time since theSpice 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 duringAl Murray's Happy Hour onITV1 on February 24, 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, theballad "The Moment You Believe" was chosen.

A music video for "I Want Candy", directed byTim Royes, depicts Melanie C in a skin-tightcatsuit, featuring a sexually suggestive dance routine with half-naked bodybuilders in crowd-controller uniforms. The video instantly grabbed the number one spot onYouTube with 200,000 hits in its first day.^[58]

Notes

• ^{^[a]} signifies an additional producer

Credits adapted from the liner notes ofThis Time.^[60]

• Bert Berns – writer
• Bob Feldman – writer
• Jerry Goldstein – writer
• Richard Gottehrer – writer
• Paul Grady – engineer
• Stephen Hague – engineer, producer

• 1965 songs
• 1965 singles
• 1982 singles
• 1996 singles
• 2000 singles
• 2007 singles
• Aaron Carter songs
• Bow Wow Wow songs
• Melanie C songs
• The Tremeloes songs
• Music videos directed by Andrew MacNaughtan
• Music videos directed by Tim Royes
• Song recordings produced by Stephen Hague
• Songs written by Bert Berns
• Songs written by Jerry Goldstein (producer)
• Songs written by Richard Gottehrer
• Bang Records singles
• RCA Records singles
• Jive Records singles
• EMI Records singles
• Zomba Group of Companies singles
• Songs written by Bob Feldman

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