Spoonman
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| ""Spoonman"" | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
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| Single by Soundgarden | ||
| from the album 'Superunknown' | ||
| Released | February 15, 1994 | |
| Format | vinyl record (12") | |
| Recorded | 1994 | |
| Genre | Grunge | |
| Length | 4:06 | |
| Label | A&M | |
| Producer(s) | Michael Beinhorn, Soundgarden | |
| Chart positions | ||
|
UK – 20 |
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| Soundgarden singles chronology | ||
| "Rusty Cage" 1992 |
"Spoonman" 1994 |
"Black Hole Sun" 1994 |
- For the Triple M radio announcer, see The Spoonman.
- For the electronica duo, see Spoonman (Band).
- For the Underworld song, see Spoonman (Underworld song).
"Spoonman" is a hit song by the band Soundgarden. It was originally written for the soundtrack to the film Singles. More famously though, it appeared on the band's 1994 album Superunknown and was the first single released from it. It would later appear on their greatest hits album A-Sides. The song is credited as having launched Soundgarden's career into the mainstream, although attempts to do so with previous works had been made.
Previous to the creation of the song, Soundgarden, along with fellow grunge band Pearl Jam, was working on the soundtrack for Cameron Crowe's film Singles. Pearl Jam's bassist, Jeff Ament, had been put in charge of creating the name for a fictional band that would appear in the film. Before finally choosing Citizen Dick for its name, Ament had compiled a list of potential names which included the name "Spoonman". The name was inspired by Artis the Spoonman, a street performer from Santa Cruz, California and later Seattle, who played music with a set of spoons.
Soundgarden vocalist and songwriter Chris Cornell eventually used the list to create songs for the film with names from the list. "Spoonman" was among these, and an acoustic song was created from it. This early version of the song can be heard in the background in a scene of the film. Rather than just leave the song on the film's soundtrack, Soundgarden began working on an electric version of "Spoonman", which became the flagship single for their breakthrough album Superunknown. Before the album's release they would play it while on their 1993 tour with Neil Young. With hype building around the album, Soundgarden released the single a month before the album's release.
The song's inspiration, Artis the Spoonman, played a prominent role in the song itself. The final version of the song featured Artis the Spoonman playing his spoons as part of the song's instrumental. The music video for the song also featured Artis prominently, making him the focus of the video instead of the band. The call-and-response style is reminiscent of "Black Dog" by Led Zeppelin.
Shortly after the single's release, the song became widely popular, reaching high positions on rock charts. It would later go on to win the 1995 Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance.
While most rock music is composed in 4/4 (common time) or 3/4 time, Spoonman is fairly unique in that it is a mix of 4/4 and 7/4 time. Two other notable compositions that employ 7/4 time are Pink Floyd's "Money" and the Beatles' "All You Need Is Love".
[edit] Chart positions
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Spoonman | Official Irish Singles Charts | No. 23 |
| 1994 | Spoonman | Mainstream Rock Tracks | No. 3 |
| 1994 | Spoonman | Modern Rock Tracks | No. 9 |
[edit] External links
| Soundgarden |
| Chris Cornell | Kim Thayil | Matt Cameron | Ben Shepherd |
| Scott Sundquist | Hiro Yamamoto | Jason Everman |
| Discography |
|---|
| Albums and extended plays: Screaming Life | Fopp | Ultramega OK | Flower | Louder than Love | Screaming Life/Fopp | Badmotorfinger | Superunknown | Songs from the Superunknown | Down on the Upside | A-Sides |
| Singles: "Hunted Down" | "Flower" | "Loud Love" | "Hands All Over" | "Room a Thousand Years Wide" | "Jesus Christ Pose" | "Outshined" | "Rusty Cage" | "Spoonman" | "Black Hole Sun" | "Fell on Black Days" | "My Wave" | "The Day I Tried to Live" | "Superunknown" | "Pretty Noose" | "Burden in My Hand" | "Blow Up the Outside World" | "Ty Cobb" | "Bleed Together" |
| Related Articles |
| Temple of the Dog | Singles | Grunge music | Audioslave | Pearl Jam | Alice Mudgarden | Hater | Wellwater Conspiracy |
