Daily Dirt: Ooga-chaka, ooga-ooga, ooga-chaka, ooga-ooga

Daily Dirt for Sept. 29, 2021

Ideally, some day we might hear Touki Toussaint singing “Ooga-chaka, ooga-ooga, ooga-chaka, ooga-ooga”. In the meantime, welcome to Vol. 82 of the Daily Dirt:

1. There’s little question the first line of a song can hook you. With that in mind, here are 10 of the most iconic opening lines in rock history. I should warn you that after reading through this list, you will be carrying at least half of them around in your head all day. My personal favorite, of course, is “J”.

A. “I heard the news today, oh boy”: The Beatles, “A Day in the Life” from “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”, 1967.

B. “I saw a werewolf with a Chinese menu in his hand”: Warren Zevon, “Werewolves of London,” from “Excitable Boy,” 1978.

C. “Old man, look at my life, I’m a lot like you are”: Neil Young, “Old Man,” from “Harvest,” 1972.

D. “Hello darkness, my old friend”: Simon and Garfunkel, “The Sounds of Silence,” from “Wednesday Morning 3 A.M.,” 1964.

E. “We come from the land of the Ice and snow, from the midnight sun where the hot springs flow”: Led Zeppelin, “The Immigrant Song,” from “Led Zeppelin III,” 1970.

F. “Ooga-chaka, ooga-ooga, ooga-chaka, ooga-ooga”: Blue Swede, “Hooked on a Felling,” from “Hooked on a Feeling,” 1974.

G. “There is a house … in New Orleans”: The Animals, “The House of the Rising Sun,” from “The Animals,” 1964.

H. “Carry on my wayward son”: Kansas, “Carry on My Wayward Son,” from “Leftoverture,” 1976.

I. “When I find myself in times of trouble, mother Mary comes to me, speaking words of wisdom, let it be …”: The Beatles, “Let it Be,” from “Let it Be”, 1970.

J. “Wake up, Maggie, I think I got something to say to you”: Rod Stewart, “Maggie May,” from “Every Picture Tells A Story,” 1971.

2. Best baseball names in MLB this season:

A. Touki Toussaint: The Braves’ pitcher’s given name is Dany Gilbert Kiti Toussaint. Yeah, let’s stick with Touki.

B. Mookie Betts: Everybody loves a ballplayer called “Mookie”. Everybody. (For the record, his real name is Markus Lynn Betts.)

C. Victor Victor Mesa: He’s one of the most-hyped international prospects in recent years, Victor Victor has yet to make the Marlins’ varsity. Part of his mystique is — obviously — based on how Victor doubles as both his first and middle names. He also has a younger brother named — you guessed it — Victor.

3. Here’s an update on our quest to find the worst-tasting soda in the world. These flavors are all produced by companies called Lester’s Fixins in Camarillo, Calif., and W.T. Heck Sodas in Carlisle, Pa. I should warn you that your gag reflex may be tested: 

A. Mustard: The bottle says 100 percent natural, but there is absolutely nothing natural about mustard soda, according to sodapopcraft.com.

B. Spaghetti: More than likely, this is totally disgusting. For the record, the soda is red — just like spaghetti sauce.

C. Blue Cheese Dressing: My hand just covered my mouth.

D. Pumpkin Pie: Surprisingly, this flavor is also available from two other companies. I can see no earthly reason why, but it is.

E. Sweet Corn: Why? Simply, why?

Steve Fact O’ The DayI was once known as Mookie Eighinger.

Steve “Mookie” Eighinger writes daily for Muddy River News. His roller through Bill Buckner’s legs helped the Mets rally to win the 1986 World Series.