Tommy the Cat

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.

Related Topics:
Alternative rock - Primus - Suck on This - Sailing The Seas Of Cheese

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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, you wanna lay down with me?")

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Les Claypool's bass line during the majority of the song is somewhat simple for an experienced bassist, but has a groove that makes it very catchy for the listener.

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This bass line, accompanied by the repedative lyrics and guitar, make this song a favourite for listeners. Some people may find the song too repetitive, while others may love the song.

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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.

Related Topics:
1989 - Tom Waits - Suck On This - Les Claypool

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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 relased with a lot of popularity on MTV, but was shown so little 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.

Related Topics:
1991 - Sailing The Seas Of Cheese - Jerry Was A Race Car Driver - Tom Waits - MTV - Les Claypool

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