Earache My Eye

"Earache My Eye," the irreverent comedy rock track from Cheech & Chong's 1974 album Cheech & Chong's Wedding Album, is a fan favorite among Zoo Freaks for its rebellious humor and iconic guitar riff. The song, paired with a comedy skit, features Tommy Chong as a defiant teenager blasting a glam rock tune by the fictional "Alice Bowie," played by Cheech Marin, while his father (also Marin) yells at him to get ready for school. According to Tommy Chong in a 2017 Rolling Stone interview, the song’s riff was crafted by their friend Gaye Delorme, who started playing it at Marin’s house, singing just “Mama talking to me.” Chong fleshed out the lyrics, and they recorded it with stellar musicians, including Delorme on guitar and famed percussionist Airto Moreira on drums. The track’s clever mix of jazz and rock chords, Chong noted, gave it a unique edge that helped it climb to #9 on the Billboard charts and #4 in Canada, even topping Chicago’s WLS-AM for a week in September 1974.

The song’s cultural impact endures, with covers by bands like Soundgarden, whose ominous, Black Sabbath-inspired version added a grunge twist, and Korn, who featured Cheech Marin as a guest vocalist on their 1998 hidden track. Hip-hop acts like Eminem and 2 Live Crew have sampled it, with Eminem’s 2017 track “Untouchable” earning Chong’s praise for its clever use. Chong shared in the same Rolling Stone piece that rappers and musicians, from movie makers to rockers, are big Cheech & Chong fans, calling the sample “quite an honor.” The Alice Bowie character, a blend of Alice Cooper and David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust persona, was a playful jab at the era’s rock stars who, as Chong put it, “only knew three chords” yet amassed fortunes. The song’s live performance in their 1978 film Up in Smoke, filmed at West Hollywood’s Roxy, was a last-minute addition to the movie’s ending, complete with tutus—first worn by Chong, though Marin, jealous, took over the costume.

Cheech & Chong, the Grammy-winning comedy duo of Richard “Cheech” Marin and Tommy Chong, began their journey in the late 1960s in Vancouver, Canada. Marin, born July 13, 1946, in Los Angeles, moved to Vancouver to avoid the Vietnam War draft and met Chong, a Canadian-American born May 24, 1938, in Edmonton, Alberta. Chong, who dropped out of high school at 16, was already a musician, playing guitar for a Calgary soul group called The Shades, whose debut album Does Your Mama Know About Me hit the charts. His early years were tough, marked by poverty, but music became his outlet. Marin, with a knack for comedy, connected with Chong over their shared love of humor and cannabis culture. They started performing improv comedy at Chong’s family-owned topless club, blending hippie, free-love, and drug culture themes that resonated with the counterculture of the time.

Their big break came in the early 1970s when they recorded their self-titled debut album, followed by Cheech & Chong's Wedding Album in 1974, which included “Earache My Eye.” Their stoner comedy films, starting with Up in Smoke in 1978, cemented their fame, appealing to audiences with their irreverent take on the hippie era. Despite legal troubles, like Chong’s 2003 arrest over his company Nice Dreams, they’ve remained cultural icons. You can follow their antics on their official website, cheechandchong.com, or on social media: Facebook, Instagram, and X. Cheech Marin also has personal accounts: Facebook, Instagram, and X. Fans can connect on the Cheech and Chong Fans Facebook group or visit fan sites like Cheech and Chong Fan Club for news, merch, and community discussions.