Tarzan Boy

What stands out the most when listening to Tarzan Boy is that Tarzan yell that sneaks into the chorus like an irresistible hook. It's not just a melodic device: it's the backbone of the song, that "aaah!" repeated with an almost hypnotic cadence that ultimately defines the entire feel. The rest follows the same line: a simple yet effective electronic rhythm, lyrics that don’t overcomplicate things, and a sound that, at the time, felt fresh within the italo disco scene of the mid-80s. The curious thing is that, although the song seems designed to be danced to, that yell ends up turning it into something closer to an anthem than a dance track.

It was recorded in 1985 as the first single from Living in the Background, the debut album of Baltimora —an Italian project that, at least in this track, worked like clockwork—. The song was written by Maurizio Bassi (who also produced it) and Naimy Hackett, and hit the market on April 5 of that year. In Europe, it was a massive hit: in France it stayed at number one for five weeks, in the UK it reached third place, and in the United States, though it took a bit longer, it eventually climbed to number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1986. By 1993, it was given a second life when it was included in the soundtrack of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III and remixed, allowing it to re-enter the U.S. charts. What’s most striking, however, is that the song ended up transcending its time: since then, several artists have covered it, and it even became the entrance music for an AEW wrestler and the theme that plays every time baseball player Mark Canha steps up to bat for the New York Mets.