Daily Dirt: From Jeremiah to Maggie to a werewolf with a Chinese menu in his hand, those first lines are important

Daily Dirt for Sunday, Feb. 27, 2022
In my world, Jeremiah is still a bullfrog … Welcome to today’s three thoughts and Vol. 223 of The Daily Dirt.

1. I think we’d all likely agree the first line of any song is uber important.

More times than not, it will determine if we will even hang around the for the second line, let alone the first chorus. With that in mind, here are 10 of the most impactful opening phrases — in my humble opinion — from songs in the so-called rock era:

• 1. “Jeremiah was a bullfrog” … Three Dog Night: Any self-respecting child of the 1970s’ ears will perk up as soon as this heard on the radio — and the singing will not stop until “Joy to the World” has run its course.
• 2. “Hello darkness my old friend, I’ve to talk with you again” … Simon and Garfunkel: As soon as a baby boomer hears this, he or she automatically slouches his or her shoulders, breaks into a small smile and sighs, “Aww … Simon and Garfunkel’s ‘Sound of Silence'”.
• 3. “Oooga-chaka!, ooo-ga ooo-ga, ooo-ga chaka!” … Blue Swede: Nowadays, I think very few even realize “Hooked On A Feeling” was initially a hit for B.J. Thomas (minus, the ooo-ga chakas, of course).
• 4. “You show us everything you’ve got, you keep on dancin’ and the room gets hot, you drive us wild, we’ll drive you crazy” … Kiss: There is no doubt “Rock and Roll All Nite”  is the next song about to break your ear drums when those words are heard.
• 5. “On a dark, desert highway, cool wind in my hair. Warm smell of colitas in the air, rising up through the air” … The Eagles: As soon as we hear the guitar intro to “Hotel California,” we know we are about to set sail on both a musical and emotional journey.
• 6. “She was a fast machine, she kept her motor clean. She was the best damn woman that I ever seen” … AC/DC: Raise your hand if you immediately used to begin playing you air guitar at the first sound of “You Shook Me All Night Long”. 
• 7. “I saw a werewolf with a Chinese menu in his hand” …  Warren Zevon: Oh yeah, “Werewolves of London,” ah-ooooo …
• 8. “A long, long time ago, I can still remember how that music used to make me smile” … Don McLean: Yes, yes … sing it with me … byyyye, byyyye Miss “American Pie”.
• 9. “Wake up, Maggie, I think I got somethin’ I just got to say to you” … Rod Stewart: The man, the myth, the legend. He will forever be linked to “Maggie May”.
• 10. “I got my first real six-string. Bought it at the five-and-dime. Played it till my fingers bled … was the summer of ’69” … Bryan Adams: Once the opening riff begins, there is little doubt all those listening will, at some point, be singing/screaming along to “The Summer of ’69.”

   
2. Here’s the latest update of what we have “Found on Facebook”:

“Maybe I don’t want pizza. Pizza wants me.”

“I’m reading a horror story in Braille. Something bad is going to happen … I can feel it.”

“My hobbies include eating and also thinking about the next time I will be eating.”– “Don’t worry about getting older. You’ll still do crazy dumb stuff. Only slower.”

“Nutrition fact: If you drink a gallon of water per day, you won’t have time for other people’s drama because you’ll be too busy peeing. Stay hydrated, my friends.”

3. I stumbled across an interesting article a few days ago, a piece written by Matt Kelly of mlb.com on MLB records that will never be broken.

Sure, the obvious choices are items like Cal Ripken’s 2,632 consecutive games played, Cy Young’s 749 complete games and Nolan Ryan’s 5,714 strikeouts. Marks like that are no-brainers, but Kelly also offered up some “off the beaten path” accomplishments that are likely to stand the test of time. These were my three favorite choices he threw out:

Gold medal: Ron Hunt of Montreal was hit by 50 pitches in 1971. The “closest” anyone has come to that mark in the last 50 years was Craig Biggio’s 34 in 1997.

Silver medal: The Cubs’ Jody Davis threw out 89 baserunners in 1986, the most by any catcher since the end of World War II and integration. The closest any catcher has come to Davis was the the Expos’ Gary Carter, who had 75 in 1983. No other catcher has reached 70 since Tom Pagnozzi of the Cardinals in 1991.

Bronze medal: Hall of Famer Joe Sewell was the toughest hitter to strike out in MLB history (.014 percent), including his microscopic three whiffs in 576 plate appearances in 1932.

Steve Thought O’ The Day — Steve notes that Joe Sewell struck out 114 times in his 114-year MLB career. “I think I struck out that many times in my sophomore season alone in high school,” Steve said.

Steve Eighinger writes daily for Muddy River News. He struck out far more often on Friday and Saturday nights back in the day.