Spoonman facts for kids

Quick facts for kids "Spoonman"
Single by Soundgarden
from the album Superunknown
Released	February 15, 1994
Genre	Grunge hard rock
Length	4:06
Label	A&M
Songwriter(s)	Chris Cornell
Producer(s)	Michael Beinhorn, Soundgarden
Soundgarden singles chronology
"Rusty Cage" (1992) "Spoonman" (1994) "The Day I Tried to Live" (1994)

"Spoonman" is a song by American band Soundgarden. Written by frontman Chris Cornell, "Spoonman" was released on February 15, 1994 as the first single from the band's fourth studio album Superunknown (1994). "Spoonman" is credited as one of the songs that launched Soundgarden's career into the mainstream. The song peaked at number three on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and number nine on the Modern Rock Tracks chart. A remixed version of the song by Steve Fisk appears on the "Black Hole Sun" and "My Wave" singles. The song was included on Soundgarden's 1997 greatest hits album A-Sides and the 2010 compilation album Telephantasm.

Origin and recording

"Spoonman" was originally written for the soundtrack to the 1992 film Singles. At this time, Soundgarden, along with Pearl Jam, were working on the soundtrack for the film. Pearl Jam 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, Washington, who plays music with a set of spoons. Soundgarden vocalist and songwriter Chris Cornell eventually used the names on the list to create songs for the film. "Spoonman" was among these, and an acoustic version was created from it. This early version of the song can be heard during a scene in the film in which a poster advertising a Citizen Dick show is stapled to a lightpost.

Rather than just leave the song on the film's soundtrack, Soundgarden began working on an electric version of "Spoonman". The song's inspiration, Artis the Spoonman, played a prominent role in the song. The final version of the song featured Artis the Spoonman playing his spoons as part of the song's bridge. Drummer Matt Cameron also plays pots and pans on the song. Bassist Ben Shepherd performs backing vocals on the song.

Composition

"Spoonman" was performed in drop D tuning. The main riff was written in septuple meter, in 7
4 time. The chorus is 4
4 and part of the spoon solo is in 3
4. Guitarist Kim Thayil has said that Soundgarden usually did not consider the time signature of a song until after the band had written it and said that the use of odd meters was "a total accident".

Lyrics

Cornell on "Spoonman":

It's more about the paradox of who [Artis] is and what people perceive him as. He's a street musician, but when he's playing on the street, he is given a value and judged completely wrong by someone else. They think he's a street person, or he's doing this because he can't hold down a regular job. They put him a few pegs down on the social ladder because of how they perceive someone who dresses differently. The lyrics express the sentiment that I much more easily identify with someone like Artis than I would watch him play.

Music video

The music video for "Spoonman" was directed by Jeffrey Plansker (under the alias John Smithey). The video also features Artis prominently, making him the focus of the video instead of the band. The band members are shown only in black-and-white still photographs. The video was released in February 1994.

In an interview with Hit Parader magazine in 1994, Chris Cornell said about the music video:

I think we were fairly smart with "Spoonman" in that you really don't see us that much in the video. You see various pictures of us, but it's not quite the same as having us in your living room all the time. We're trying to maintain some degree of mystique about Soundgarden, I guess. I remember back when I was a kid, long before MTV, and the only way to see my favorite bands was to go to their concerts. It was an incredible experience. MTV has helped a lot of bands, but they've also helped rob a lot of groups of that special mystique. It's tough when you can see a great rock band on TV one second, then hit the clicker and be watching a soap opera or a sitcom the next. That's what rock and roll has become for some people.

Track listing

All songs written by Chris Cornell, except where noted:

CD (Europe) and 12" Vinyl (Europe)

1. "Spoonman" – 4:06
2. "Fresh Tendrils" (Matt Cameron, Cornell) – 4:16
3. "Exit Stonehenge" (Cameron, Cornell, Ben Shepherd, Kim Thayil) – 1:19

Cassette (UK) and 7" Vinyl (UK)

1. "Spoonman" – 4:06
2. "Fresh Tendrils" (Cameron, Cornell) – 4:16

Promotional CD (US)

1. "Spoonman" (edit) – 3:50
2. "Spoonman" – 4:06

CD (Germany)

1. "Spoonman" (edit) – 3:51
2. "Exit Stonehenge" (Cameron, Cornell, Shepherd, Thayil) – 1:19

Promotional 12" Vinyl (UK)

1. "Spoonman" – 4:06

CD (Australia and Canada)

1. "Spoonman" – 4:06

Chart positions

See also

In Spanish: Spoonman para niños