If you’re a songwriter frustrated by our music licensing system (which is to say a songwriter), then maybe it’s time to craft a ditty that sounds funny coming out of a fake animal.
In all seriousness, last week saw the passing of Memphis legend Mabon “Teenie” Hodges, guitarist and songwriter, who created several hits in collaboration with singer Al Green. Among these is “Take Me to the River,” written in 1974 and subsequently covered by many artists including Talking Heads. But from the concluding paragraphs in the Hodges’s obit from The Washington Post, we learn that he only first had publishing rights with this particular song, and that most of the revenue he earned from the hit came from sales of the novelty item Big Mouth Billy Bass — a mounted, mechanical fish that wriggles and sings “Take Me to the River” or “Don’t Worry Be Happy” at the push of a button. The obituary does not cite how much Hodges’s faux fish fortune was worth, but the singing bass did reportedly sell over 40 million units worldwide; Bill Clinton apparently gave one as a gift to Al Gore; and a February 2014 story in The Wire reports that a motion-activated Billy Bass scared a presumptive robber from a Minnesota bait and tackle shop.
Well, it’s one way to be immortalized. RIP Mr. Hodges.
