In an earlier entry I wrote about Carl Moore, a fascinating personality who became a central character in my book, I Went Down to St. James Infirmary. In 1938 he made his only four records. The sound files for three of those can be found here: 3 songs by Carl “Deacon” Moore and his orchestra.
I felt that his strangest record, “Evolution Mama,” deserved its own entry. The song was written by pianist and jazz orchestra leader Terry Shand (1904-1977) . . . according to the credit on Moore’s record label, anyway. It has rarely been recorded, most notably by the short-lived but influential Even Dozen Jug Band, whose members included Maria Muldaur, John Sebastian, Peter Siegel, and Steve Katz. That was in 1964. It was credited as a traditional tune.
Referring to the controversy over evolution vs creation ("Evolution Mama, don't you make a monkey out of me"), the song was probably a response to the “Scopes monkey trial” of 1925 (sixty-six years after Darwin’s Origin of the Species was published, fifty-four years after his Descent of Man). The trial took place in Tennessee, which had made the teaching of evolution illegal. Mississippi and Moore’s home state of Arkansas had similar legislation. Although the trial ruled that banning the teaching of evolution was unconstitutional, challenges continued into the late 1960s. A timeline of the trial can be found via this link.
During the trial, held in Dayton, Tennessee, the courtroom was packed (proceedings eventually moved outdoors due both to the heat and the fear that the courtroom floor would collapse), the streets became lively with souvenir stands; some events were akin to performance art - for example, a chimpanzee dressed in a three-piece suit, fedora, and spats, and a local man, short of stature and with a sloping brow, presented as a missing link. The main concern of the Creationists, of course, was the challenge to the long-established belief that man - and, indeed, every being - was created whole, through divine intervention.
In the song, Moore chants “I ain’t half man and I ain’t half beast / But I can do you more good than this here store-bought yeast / ‘Cause Evolution Mama, sweet smellin’ mama / Don’t you make a monkey out of me.”
Many of the references would be lost today; from the perspective of the 21st century, the song wouldn’t make much sense. Regardless of the time, though, it is a peculiar piece of work. One of my contacts, trumpeter Joseph Bennett, wrote this about a 1939 performance by Moore:
“When the Deacon was building to the climax of his show, and came to the final chorus of ‘Evolution Mama,’ his voice rose as he half-spoke, half-sang the words, “I’ve got a knife / and I’ve got a gun / I’m gonna cut you / if you stand still / and shoot you if you run / Evolution Mama / don’t you make a monkey out of me!” The audience roared approval, while the band rose in an FFF ending to close with a grand flourish. It was a boffo performance.”
Moore delivers those disturbing final lines with the relaxed good humour of an Arkansas hillbilly sitting on his front porch while recounting fond childhood memories. A strange song in more ways than one.
By clicking on the song title below, you can hear Carl “Deacon” Moore and his orchestra perform "Evolution Mama" - the song is courtesy of Moore’s wife, Marjorie Moore, and was transferred to cassette tape for me by the big band historian Joseph E. Bennett.
You can find the full lyric for "Evolution Mama" by clicking here.
