Composer reveals story behind 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' theme song, how Larry David accidentally discovered it

The overture to comedy series 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' is now part of pop folklore and a regular fixture in Internet mash videos and memes. But how exactly did creator Larry David stumble upon "Frolic," the theme song to the HBO series?

Here's the scoop: "Frolic" was originally a part of the soundtrack to "La Bellissima Estate," an Italian film that was released in 1974. It was composed by Luciano Michelini, a Rome-based 71-year-old pianist, conductor and teacher, who wrote the light-hearted track for a funny character in the Sergio Martino-directed movie. According to Michelini, the "Curb Your Enthusiasm" production team contacted him in the year 2000 after David chose "Frolic" as the theme song for his new series.

In 2009, David revealed that he accidently discovered "Frolic" when he heard it in a bank commercial almost four years before the show's inception in 2000. "It just sort of introduces the idea that you're in for something pretty idiotic," the co-creator of Seinfeld said during an interview (see below).

How Larry David discovered the 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' theme song

Michelini revealed that while David did not directly contact him, he learned that an American label purchased the rights to the track in the year 2000. "Larry David never contacted me directly. In 2000, the son of Franco Micalizzi (an Italian composer from RCA) called me and said that an American label bought the music rights to a film by director Sergio Martino, 'La Bellissima Estate.' 'Frolic' was one of the songs in the movie, but I never thought that "Frolic" would have a future life because of this.

"A while later, Larry David's production team contacted the music editor, and I found out Larry had chosen 'Frolic' as the main theme song for his new series. The funny thing is they also wanted to know if I was still alive because the movie was from 1974," the composer told Thump Canada in a recent interview.

"Curb Your Enthusiasm" hasn't been on the air since 2011 but the song "Frolic" has garnered mainstream attention courtesy of countless mashup videos and political clips. Be it Steve Harvey announcing the wrong winner of the 2015 Miss Universe pageant (watch), to a Berne Sanders speech being abruptly interrupted by Black Lives Matter protesters (watch), to New Jersey Governor Chris Christie's commentary on Donald Trump's presidential tenure (watch), "Frolic" has found its way to a number of viral YouTube videos.

"The Frolic Effect" is a YouTube phenomenon

Interestingly enough, Michelini is aware of the "Frolic" phenomenon. "I have seen many of the videos on YouTube known as 'The Frolic Effect,' it's very amusing, and I think it's the perfect way to use the song. I have not seen many remixes, but the song has adapted to fit different purposes throughout its lifetime, and it can continue to adapt in different musical styles. The song has a solid harmonic arrangement with many seventh chords that you can easily manipulate, so you can easily edit into electronic music and the result can be very unique," the Italian composer said in the interview.

Michelini used instruments such as the mandolin, tuba, piano, and strings to put together "Frolic." The piano-only version can be seen below. The highly-anticipated "Curb Your Enthusiasm" season 9 will return later this year, nearly six years after the eighth season. According to several reports, Larry David & Co. will produce a tenth and final season to put a stamp on the iconic comedy series.