Tommy the Cat

"Tommy the Cat"
Single by Primus
from the album Sailing the Seas of Cheese
Released	1991
Recorded	January 1991
Studio	Fantasy (Berkeley, California)
Length	4:15
Label	Interscope
Songwriter(s)	Les Claypool Todd Huth Larry LaLonde Tim Alexander
Producer(s)	Primus
Primus singles chronology
"Jerry Was a Race Car Driver" (1991) "Tommy the Cat" (1991) "Making Plans for Nigel" (1992)
Music video
"Tommy the Cat" on YouTube

"Tommy the Cat" is a song by the American rock band Primus, released on their second album, Sailing the Seas of Cheese .

Recording

The song contains spoken word portions (as the voice of Tommy the Cat) interspersed with the singing of Les Claypool. In their live performances, Claypool does both parts himself; however, Tom Waits provided the voice of Tommy the Cat on the studio version from Sailing the Seas of Cheese.

Release

Primus released "Tommy the Cat" following their first major label single, "Jerry Was a Race Car Driver". In concert, Claypool started introducing all of their other songs by saying "This next song is not Tommy the Cat", apparently due to the popularity the song had gained after a video was released and played on MTV. ^[1]

Music video

A black-and-white music video was made featuring live action and animation. Les Claypool is seen as a bartender pouring milk for an elderly man (played by Claypool's grandfather ^[2] ) dressed as a cat and a smiling figure. The animation featured a female cat strolling into an alley filled with numerous tomcats while the titular Tommy relays what happened. Interspersed are occasional footage of the band playing the song.

References

1. single popularity (22 July 2010). "Seas Of Cheese". the daily guru. Retrieved 13 November 2013.
2. "Les Claypool Breaks Down the Entire Primus Discography". September 29, 2017.