John the Fisherman

Last updated
"John the Fisherman"
Single by Primus
from the album Frizzle Fry
ReleasedLive: December 30, 1989 Single: May 17, 1990
Genre
LengthLive: 3:53
Single: 3:37
Label Caroline (1990)
Prawn Song (2002)
Songwriter(s) Les Claypool/Todd Huth/Jay Lane
Producer(s) Primus and "Exxon" Matt Winegar
Primus singles chronology
"John the Fisherman"
(1989)
"Too Many Puppies"
(1990)

"John the Fisherman" is the debut single by American rock band Primus. It was first released on December 30, 1989 on the live album Suck on This , then re-released a year later on May 17, 1990, this time on their debut studio album Frizzle Fry as the lead single.

Contents

The band's frontman Les Claypool said of the song:

"John the Fisherman" was written so long ago. I like to write about things I know about so that I don’t sound like a dipshit talking over my head. I fish. Some dads take their kids to football games or baseball games. My dad took me fishing. That’s what we did, almost every weekend. My uncle, my grandfather, that’s what we did. It’s a big part of my history. So, for me, it was always easy to write about. These fishing songs kept popping up, themes about the ocean, and it made it like a chronicle, a subdivision of our body of work. [1]

The live version of "John the Fisherman" that appears on Suck on This contains an intro consisting of the intro to the 1981 Rush instrumental "YYZ".

Release

Although the band did release the song as a single and filmed a video for it (featuring the band members performing the song on a boat, with a cameo appearance by Kirk Hammett of Metallica, who has been a close friend of Claypool since they attended the same school), the single had very limited success due to its being released on an indie label, and the band did not receive mainstream attention until their next single, "Jerry Was a Race Car Driver", from their 1991 major label debut Sailing the Seas of Cheese . Because of this, many overlook "John the Fisherman" and claim "Jerry Was a Race Car Driver" was Primus' first single. When Frizzle Fry was re-released in 2002, many fans who caught on during the major label days of the band bought the album, and it became a fan favorite. There was a new interest in this song, and it received some radio and MTV airplay.

Fisherman's Chronicles

"John the Fisherman" is the first part of a four-part story called the "Fisherman's Chronicles", which continued on Primus' later albums. Its immediate sequel was "Fish On (Fisherman Chronicles, Chapter II)" on 1991's Sailing the Seas of Cheese , followed by "The Ol' Diamondback Sturgeon (Fisherman's Chronicles, Pt. 3)" on 1993's Pork Soda and most recently "Last Salmon Man" on 2011's Green Naugahyde .

Reception

AllMusic writer Ned Raggett thought that the song "probably remains the most concentrated blast" on the album. [2]

Appearances

Related Research Articles

Les Claypool American musician

Leslie Edward Claypool is an American musician, best known as the founder, lead singer, bassist, primary songwriter, and only continuous member of the funk metal band Primus. His playing style on the bass is well known for mixing tapping, flamenco-like strumming, whammy bar bends, and slapping.

Primus (band) American funk metal band

Primus is an American rock band formed in El Sobrante, California in 1984. The band is currently composed of bassist/vocalist Les Claypool, guitarist Larry "Ler" LaLonde, and drummer Tim "Herb" Alexander. Primus originally formed in 1984 with Claypool and guitarist Todd Huth, later joined by drummer Jay Lane, though the latter two departed the band at the beginning of 1989, and were replaced by LaLonde and Alexander respectively. Over the course of various lineup changes, Claypool is the only remaining original member left in Primus.

Tim Alexander Musician, songwriter

Timothy W. Alexander, also credited as "Herb" Alexander, is an American musician best known as the drummer for the rock band Primus. Alexander has played on the majority of Primus's discography, including some of the band's most well known albums such as Frizzle Fry (1990), Sailing the Seas of Cheese (1991), Pork Soda (1993) and Tales from the Punchbowl (1995). Alexander has left and re-joined Primus twice, he initially left the band in 1996 and rejoined in 2003 before leaving again in 2010 and re-joining in 2013.

<i>Sailing the Seas of Cheese</i> 1991 studio album by Primus

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<i>Suck on This</i> 1989 live album by Primus

Suck on This is a live album by the band Primus, released in 1989. At the time of recording, the featured lineup of bassist/vocalist Les Claypool, guitarist Larry LaLonde and drummer Tim Alexander had only been playing together for "about two months". This release, along with Jane's Addiction's self-titled live album, are seen as popularizing the then-underground alternative metal genre.

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Frizzle Fry is the debut studio album by American rock band Primus. It was released on February 7, 1990, by Caroline Records. Produced by the band and Matt Winegar, the album was recorded at Different Fur Studios in San Francisco between December 1989.

<i>Pork Soda</i> 1993 studio album by Primus

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Jerry Was a Race Car Driver

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Blame It on the Fish: An Abstract Look at the 2003 Primus Tour de Fromage is a DVD by Primus that was released on October 17, 2006. It was directed by Matthew J. Powers and produced by Powers Philms and Frizzle Fry Inc. This DVD contains 70 minutes of the movie, 90 minutes of extras and interviews taken from Primus' 2003 Tour de Fromage. It also shows random clips between songs and interviews. The title of the DVD stems from an incident in the film where drummer Tim Alexander successfully performs after getting food poisoning from bad fish at a restaurant.

"Those Damned Blue-Collar Tweekers" is a song by the American rock band Primus. It was released as the third single from their 1991 album Sailing the Seas of Cheese. Unlike its preceding singles "Jerry Was a Race Car Driver" and "Tommy the Cat", "Tweekers" did not feature an accompanying video. The song opens with Larry LaLonde on guitar and a reserved bassline from Les Claypool, from there alternating between his trademark slap bass and a quiet section for the vocals.

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References

  1. "Les Claypool Breaks Down the Entire Primus Discography". 29 September 2017.
  2. "Frizzle Fry - Primus | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic".
  3. "Guitar Hero II Final Tracklist Revealed". IGN. 2006-10-09. Retrieved 2009-07-21.