Song · Baltimora
“Tarzan Boy” by Baltimora
Released 1986
“Tarzan Boy” by Baltimora appears on 14 radio countdowns from 4 stations between 1985 and 2025. It was first released in 1986. Its best result is #85 on the KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1985. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #170 alternative song of 1985 and #1,645 alternative song of all time.
Watch
Video from YouTube (BaltimoraVEVO). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube
Baltimora's debut single, "Tarzan Boy" bounded out of Italy in 1985 as the lead cut from the album Living in the Background, and it's pure sugar: a chirpy electronic melody, a lyric kept simple, and a chorus that turns the jungle cry of Tarzan himself into its hook. Maurizio Bassi wrote the music and Naimy Hackett the words.
That whooping refrain carries a melodic figure people much later dubbed the millennial whoop. In the video the act's frontman, Jimmy McShane, lip-syncs, and his own voice is never heard on the record. The song was Baltimora's one big moment, which is why they so often get filed under one-hit wonders, but it came back in a 1993 remix and has been picked up by a string of cover artists over the years.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | 85 | KROQ Los Angeles, CA | KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1985 | 107 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | 212 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1992) | 500 |
| 1994 | 107 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1994) | 497 |
| 1995 | 398 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1995) | 500 |
| 1999 | 1021 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) | 2000 |
| 2000 | 774 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) | 2001 |
| 2001 | 774 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) | 2002 |
| 2002 | 774 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) | 2003 |
| 2003 | 774 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) | 2004 |
| 2004 | 774 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) | 2005 |
| 2005 | 774 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) | 1994 |
| 2021 | 821 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '80s | 909 |
| 2023 | 816 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 850 Songs of the 1980s | 850 |
| 2025 | 598 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 800 Mood Booster Songs | 800 |
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