"I Wanna Be Your Dog" is a song by American rock band the Stooges, released as the group's debut single from the band's 1969 self-titled debut album. The riff is composed of only three chords (G, F♯ and E), is played continuously throughout the song (excepting two brief 4-bar bridges). The 3-minute-and-9-second-long song, with its distortion-heavy guitar intro, single-note piano riff played by producer John Cale of the Velvet Underground, and steady, driving beat, gave the cutting edge of the early heavy metal and punk sound.[6]
In 2004, the song was ranked number 438 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time",[7] but it was dropped to number 445 on its 2010 revision, then was re-ranked at number 314 on its 2021 list.[8]Pitchfork Media placed it at number 16 on its list of "The 200 Greatest Songs of the 1960s".[9]
Spanish female punk band Las Vulpes covered the song in 1983 with lyrics in Spanish. The song's title, "Me gusta ser una zorra", translates to English as "I like being a whore". They performed the song on the Spanish national state television broadcaster on a Saturday at noon in April 1983, causing a stir for the explicit and harsh lyrics.[11][12]
Actor John McCrea sang a cover version heard in the 2021 film Cruella. McCrea also appeared in the film.[14]Damiano David, lead vocalist of Måneskin, performed a cover of the song for the Italian dub of the film.[15]
Modern Life Is War released a cover in 2021 on their EP Tribulation Worksongs, Vol. 3.[16]