Today's earworm and birthday all in one: Walk Hand In Hand

I grew up hearing the Gerry and the Pacemakers version of this song. It was pretty darned good, after all.

Now I discover what I've missed, all those years: Roy Hamilton.


Stylistic and general influence on Elvis Presley, as well as the man who inspired Sam Cooke to switch from gospel to  his famous secular sound, Hamilton combined elements of classical and gospel vocal training, to create his own unique handprint on American music.

Plus, he was one of the first to make a hit record of what has since become one of the most overdone tunes of the 1950s, "Unchained Melody".

He would have been celebrating his 92nd birthday, today.

Earworm of the Day: "Ombra mai fu" by G.- F. Händel.

It's not merely an earworm, it's a timely reminder. On this date in 1738, Serse, the opera from which this aria is taken, was first performed in London, at the King's Theatre, Haymarket. It was not well received at the time. Some critics and historians say it was because the audience was disinclined to appreciate comic elements in a serious opera. I can't argue one way or the other on that, but the love story is darned convoluted... even moreso than it had been in Xerxes' real life (yes, that Xerxes, sort of). But then, that was how a LOT of operas in the 18th century were.

But never mind all that. I'm going to be watching the entire opera, to make sure the earworm works its way out of my head. Also, because I can spend all day listening to just about anything by George Frideric Handel, because he was that awesome a composer.


Even the cats in our house like to listen to Handel. If they can't have Mozart.

Earworm of the Day: The Little Fugue

Probably not a version most people think of first, but the radio was playing a nice enough woodwind version of Bach's "Little" Fugue in G minor, and my mind wandered overnight into this territory.

You're probably somewhat familiar with this group, whether you realize it or not. The Swingle Singers have been performing, in one form or another, for nearly six decades. They come cropping up in my head at night rather too often for comfort, though.

I blame the sixties.

Earworm of the Day: Volare (Nel blu dipinto di blu)

Why I couldn't have had an English version stuck in my head, I'll never know. Maybe it's the way "nel blu dipinto di blu" trips off the tongue, no matter what it translates to. Maybe it's that Domenico Modugno was such a dashing fellow, he's a virtual siren for this aging wanderer… or, maybe I just like a little Italian every once in a while.

Earworm of the Day: Rise

There is nothing quite like having Johnny Rotten dancing through one's dreams…

I'm not sure this is the kind of thing to hunt down & play during a migraine, though. It's sure to cause more Problems…

Earworm of the Day: HAW HAW

I hear the Mule Skinner Blues, but Levi's style (as in the embedded video), at 3 a.m., and it's guaranteed to lead me down some strange pathways. Not only do I wander into Bluegrass turf, such as from Bill Monroe and Dolly Parton, but even more, the brain starts tripping out on memories of all those  psychedelic ads Levi's ran, back in the day, especially those featuring the voice of Ken Nordine (please click on this last one, especially!)...

Earworm of the Day: 12th Street Rag

I know you know this little ditty. It's probably been used in some cartoon or manic comedy scene you've watched, you've heard it in commercials, ad infinitum. Certainly I heard it enough to have it come burbling between my ears countless times.  Never, though, did the legend of its origins make its way to me, until now.

Whether the tale is true or not, I must admit to being greatly amused.

Also, the composer's life story, such as it is, made me smile. It's so greatly filled with holes as to be made of nothing but fairy dust, but those fairies must have had some fun, since the tales came from an apparent rival in the music industry. Also, since the composer was a Texan.

That Texas origin, in a way, makes hearing 12th Street Rag being played on an electric guitar, by a real master picker of said instrument (and a few other instruments, as well), seem somehow apt.

Enjoy trying to get this out of your head, if you're anywhere near people, today.

You're welcome.

Earworm of the Day: Castles in the Air

I'm city born, but I love the country life.

I suppose this might have come, in a round-about manner, from somebody having made me watch several Doctor Who episodes in recent days (that somebody being myself). After all, this scene has staying power, in all its manipulative majesty, and it, quite naturally, would lead one to hear this song. And, for me, there's a natural progression from one of his songs to the next.

Or, maybe it's still just a residual effect from having gotten stuck, off and on, for several decades, on a song about a mummy.

Nevertheless.

Enjoy.

Earworm of the Day: Please Don't Take Our Tree For Christmas

O Tannenbaum this is not. But it is very… something.

The Nutty Squirrels were a bebop knockoff of Alvin & the Chipmunks, and a welcome reprieve, for me, from the Chipmunks Christmas Song (which always gets so much air time during the sprawling holiday season).

It's a pity the squirrels didn't withstand the ravages of time in show biz. They were pretty hep cats, as tree rats go.

Earworm of the Day: Riu riu chiu

The season is upon me, in truth and in full. I usually hear the Monkees' version of this, in my head, but sometimes it's the full chorus, as in the title link.  Large parts of my day are spent in the kitchen, preparing my favorite Christmas gifts (cookies and candy), and there is no Grinch stopping me from tuning to the Christmas music stations and actually singing along.

In fact, there has been nothing stopping me from making a nice, long list of Christmas music at YouTube, just because.

Earworm of the Day: When Was Jesus Born

I got no complaint. I think I'll continue to hum this for another day or two.

Earworm of the Day: Gingerbread

I can't imagine why this keeps cycling through my internal playlist. It's not as though there were some seasonal prompt, or something.

On the positive side of things, I have yet to be subjected to the Christmas songs so many people I know are doing their best to avoid (oh, those non-reindeer games!).

Earworm of the Day: Por Una Cabeza

It usually takes two to tango, but only one to get an earworm.

This is probably the single most overplayed tune for tango in show biz today (on those dance shows, in the background on TV series, and in quite a few film), which is why it can worm its way into a person's subconscious. Sometimes the show is worth seeing, sometimes not so much (although Colin Firth almost rescued this one).

In the contest for a person's sanity, though, the song always wins anyway, at minimum by a head.

Earworm of the Day: Ship Of Fools

There's nothing like catching some current political news to put this song into a person's head – no matter when or where it was current.

Some days make me want to emulate Emily Dickinson, and hide in my father's attic writing verses nobody will read in my lifetime. I'm not sure the bats would want to share the space with me, though.

Earworm of the Day: Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat

Beware you'll scuttle the ship…

I can't imagine why a scene inside a Salvation Army center would come to mind, this week…   ;)

All politics aside, though, be careful if you have a boat. You never know when you're in over your head. At that point, just any old song could come bubbling up from between your ears, and then where will you be?

You can thank me later.

Earworm of the Day: Wynken, Blynken and Nod

Jeopardy! had a clue, recently, whose question was "who are…" the Eugene Field creations turned into  a  memorable song or two or three. Naturally, this started a song in my head, which started the whole world – wait a minute. Let's not go down the Bee Gees highway, today.

Anyway, Field had ties to my home region (he attended my alma mater's rival college for a year), so it pleases me when local-boy-does-good gets a mention in international entertainment media. It also means earworms normal people generally don't have to suffer.

But if you grew up hearing any one of the many versions of the Dutch Lullaby in song, maybe it'll put you to sleep tonight.

Earworm of the Day: Big Thing

I'm not sure what prompted this. Usually if I'm hearing Duran Duran, it's one that's tied to a movie,  part of the filming process, or something that gets a Pavlovian response,  Well, that or anticipating mealtime in general.

When I'm thinking Big, it's usually Peter Gabriel, though. Or, on rare occasions, another eighties Big sound. So your guess is as good as mine, as to what might have prompted the switch-over.

But I don't expect that song to get stuck in your head. Not as long as there are so many other options available, today.

Earworm of the Day: Now We're Getting Somewhere

I don't know why this weekend would make me think of this band…

It's getting back to quiet, though.

Sadly.

Family has come and gone, and we're back to the regular occupants of this house.

We had a week of chaos, and I'm not sure how I'll cope, once again, with the quiet. It'll probably involve sitting and listening to a cat nag at me.

Enjoy the noise while you can.

Earworm of the Day: Liebesfreud

I once heard a busker playing this in one of the long corridors of Ohare International Airport, on a December night when almost everybody else had been long gone home in the deep cold. I hoped, for his sake, he wasn't playing it ironically. For me, it was a bittersweet reminder of my own (now voluntary) unitary state.

He finished playing the tune just as I passed his position, so I thanked him for the delightful transport, and dropped what little cash I could afford to give him into his case. He nodded. Neither of us was particularly chatty.

When I walked away from him, he began to play something sounding suspiciously like this. Considering the temperature outside the airport terminal was somewhere south of zero degrees Fahrenheit, I was fairly certain that was a deliberately ironic choice.

Earworm of the Day: Rip It Up

A little Rockabilly to keep you from resting quietly tonight...

Of all the versions of the song I've heard through the years, hers is actually my favorite, possibly because it's a girl thing (although, cute as these two are, they don't hold a candle to Wanda Jackson) Still, every time I listen to Jackson, my throat hurts for hours afterward. Like Rod Stewart and Bonnie Tyler after her, she belts her songs out in such a dry, wild fashion, I imagine she must have had nothing left of her vocal cords but burrs, after a few decades.