Tommy the Cat
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"Tommy the Cat" is a song by the alternative rock band Primus, first released in 1989 on their live debut, Suck on This. The studio version was released on their third album, Sailing the Seas of Cheese.
The song is a simple ballad about a cat named Tommy that resides in an alley and is looking for love (hence, the lyrics, "Say baby, do you wanna lay down with me?")
The song features Les Claypool's now famous bass line, and is one of his most complex, but has a groove that makes it very catchy for the listener. This bass line, accompanied by the lyrics and guitar, make this song a favourite for listeners.
In 1989, Primus hadn't met Tom Waits (the singer who recites the words in the studio version) at the time of the performance for their live album Suck on This, so Les Claypool invited his grandfather to sing Tommy's lines.
In 1991, Primus released "Tommy..." on Sailing the Seas of Cheese, shortly after their first major label single, "Jerry Was a Race Car Driver", broke out and became a smash hit. This version of the song features Tom Waits as Tommy the Cat. The album grew quite popular, and so did the song. Eventually, the song got so popular that in concert, Primus started introducing all of their other songs by saying "This next song is not Tommy the Cat". In the summer of 1991, the video was released and received heavy airplay on MTV, but was infrequently shown on the regular music channels. The video has Les Claypool as the bartender serving milk, due to cats coming to the bar. The entire video is in black and white.
"Tommy the Cat" and Primus were briefly featured in the 1991 film Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey during the 'Battle of the Bands' portion of the movie. It also lacked Claypool's trademark Carl Thompson bass and was instead replaced with a rather generic looking 6-string bass.
The song was originally recorded with Les' 6-string Rainbow Bass, but he never used it for the song again during live performances and instead used his 4-string bass which makes the bassline sound greater. Recently since Primus' return in 2003, he's used his 6-string Rainbow Bass for the song during live performances.
| Primus |
| Les Claypool | Larry LaLonde | Tim Alexander |
| Brian Mantia | Todd Huth | Jay Lane | Bob Cock |
| Discography |
|---|
| Albums/EPs: Suck on This | Frizzle Fry | Sailing the Seas of Cheese | Miscellaneous Debris | Pork Soda | Tales from the Punchbowl | Brown Album | Rhinoplasty | Antipop | | Animals Should Not Try to Act Like People | Hallucino-Genetics, Live 2004 |
| Songs: "John the Fisherman" | "Too Many Puppies" | "Jerry Was a Race Car Driver" | "Tommy the Cat" | "Those Damned Blue-Collar Tweekers" | "My Name Is Mud" | "DMV" | "Mr. Krinkle" | "Wynona's Big Brown Beaver" | "Southbound Pachyderm" | "Mrs. Blaileen" | "Shake Hands With Beef" | "Over the Falls" | "Lacquerhead" |
| Related articles |
| Blind Illusion | Colonel Claypool's Bucket of Bernie Brains | Guns N' Roses | Les Claypool's Fearless Flying Frog Brigade | No Forcefield | Oysterhead | Possessed | Prawn Song Records |
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