Earworms and Allen Toussaint

The life history of a parasite seems simple enough: get inside host, reproduce, get inside new host, repeat. Sometimes simple strategies are effective. The virus for the common cold causes its host to cough and project new viruses into the environment. Other strategies add a level of complexity with an intermediary host. The beef tapeworm begins in a cow, but spends its reproductive life in a mammal that has eaten infected beef. Others go a step further and employ mind control. There are examples of mind-controlling parasites from all over the animal kingdom, with effects ranging from cat-loving rats to suicidal grasshoppers. It may seem counterintuitive that a parasite should cause the death of its host, but as Richard Dawkins pointed out, “evolution is smarter than you are.”

Earworms are an interesting specimen. They come in infinite forms with infinitely diverse strategies. George Costanza had “Master of the House” from Les Miserables. In Curb Your Enthusiasm, the nanny from hell is driven to attempted murder by the theme song from Looney Tunes. And anyone without Tivo has been tempted to either smash their TVs against the wall or give homeopathic medicine a try after being subjected to the HeadOn commercial.

I get songs stuck in my head from time to time, but the other day I had a strange case. Benjy was playing “Fat Man In The Bathtub” by Little Feat, preparing for his 600 lb. miracle post. All of a sudden, it triggered a memory of a different song I’d heard recently. I kept experiencing fleeting flashes of the melody line, but they disappeared too quickly for me to identify it. I spent the next hour or so going through my recently played tracks, searching for the mystery song. I didn’t even remember if I’d liked it, but my brain was at the mercy of the earworm. In a moment of clarity, I realized just how innovative this meme was. It had implanted itself in my psyche days before, and lay in wait until just the right moment. Somehow “Fat Man In The Bathtub” was its call to action, and I was fading fast.

Well, I’m still with you today, so you know the story has a happy ending. After working up quite a sweat, I remembered the song: “I’ll Take A Melody” by the Jerry Garcia Band. I had a live version from The Jerry Garcia Collection, Vol. 1: Legion of Mary. The infectious lick first shows up at the 1:12 mark, and then about every 15 seconds from then on. I listened to the 11 minute song three times and learned it on guitar, then decided to do some research on its origins. Turns out it was written by Allen Toussaint and first recorded in 1974 by a Scottish R&B singer named Frankie Miller on his album High Life. I ordered it from Amazon and was pleased to see that besides having a goofy, Austin Powers-esque cover, the entire album was produced and arranged by Toussaint. With Toussaint at the helm, Miller’s band put a completely different spin on the song than Jerry Garcia. Miller’s version features more parts and a much faster tempo. The doo doo doo doo doo doo doo riff sounds muted, and is completely overshadowed by the vocal harmonies and piano solos. It makes me think that maybe Garcia had a case of earworm much like my own, but he was able to take it one step farther, strengthening and perpetuating the melody.

I guess you could say that Jerry Garcia was the song’s intermediate host, and it was able to reproduce inside me after the Little Feat trigger. Talk about evolution being smart - this earworm had to think 2 generations ahead and required an eerily specific environmental input for its life cycle to complete. When all was said and done, I’d accumulated two studio takes by Jerry Garcia, a bizarre reggae version from John Holt that omits the earworm completely, and the original work. Here they are, but I’m warning you to listen at your own risk. Let me know if you hear anything in the Little Feat track that makes you think of “I’ll Take A Melody.”

Jerry Garcia - I’ll Take A Melody (live)

Frankie Miller - I’ll Take A Melody

John Holt - I’ll Take A Melody

Jerry Garcia - I’ll Take A Melody (Alternate Take)

Jerry Garcia - I’ll Take A Melody

Little Feat - Fat Man In The Bathtub

Little Feat - Fat Man In The Bathtub (live)

-Danny