The Earworm Masters #2 – Gerardo “Rico Suave” [1990]

You may only know two of the words from this song, but they would be the only two you need to know.

I have a hard time finding another video that epitomizes 1990 than Rico Suave.  Most everyone is clean, lean, sexy, well-dressed, and looking like they’re all from Miami Beach. And the mullets, legendary in length, offset an amazing series of perms on the women.

The song features several samples, most notably for me is one from James Brown’s Give It Up or Turn It Loose and Chamo Candela by Daquiri.  In a satiric honor which also is a measure of the song’s popularity, Weird Al Yankovic covered the song in Taco Grande.  The beat and the horns are catchy enough to get stuck in your head for days.

And that is why Rico Suave is today’s Earworm Master!

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On Youtube – http://youtu.be/fpK_Ext2AeI

The Earworm Masters #1 – Michael Murphey’s “Wildfire” [1975]

Is it soft rock, pop, or country? Seems to me the inaugural Earworm Masters song is a little bit of all three. The smooth melodies mixed with a story filled with mystery kept half of America fixated on what the song was about. In fact, the song Wildfire came from a dream Michael Murphey had, one which hinged on a story told by his grandfather.

I can still hear the hum of the tubes in my AM Radio when listening to this.

If you’re my age – forty something or more – you know the chorus, word for word.  Don’t worry…it’s not a bad thing 🙂