"Jesus Built My Hotrod" is a song by American
industrial metal
Industrial metal is the fusion of heavy metal and industrial music, typically employing repeating metal guitar riffs, sampling, synthesizer or sequencer lines, and distorted vocals. Prominent industrial metal acts include Ministry, Nine In ...
band
Ministry
Ministry may refer to:
Government
* Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister
* Ministry (government department), a department of a government
Religion
* Christian ...
, released as the first single from their fifth studio album, ''
Psalm 69: The Way to Succeed and the Way to Suck Eggs''. It was written by the band's frontman
Al Jourgensen
Alain David Jourgensen (born Alejandro Ramírez Casas; October 9, 1958) is a Cuban-American singer, musician and music producer. Closely related with the independent record label Wax Trax! Records, his musical career spans four decades. He is be ...
, bassist
Paul Barker
Paul Gordon Barker (born February 8, 1959), also referred to as Hermes Pan, is the former bass guitarist, producer and engineer of the industrial metal band Ministry from 1986 to 2003. Prior to Ministry, Barker provided bass for the Seattle ...
, drummer
Bill Rieflin
William Frederick Rieflin (September 30, 1960 – March 24, 2020) was an American musician. Rieflin came to prominence in the 1990s mainly for his work as a drummer with groups (particularly in the industrial rock and industrial metal scene ...
, session keyboardist Michael Balch, and the
Butthole Surfers
Butthole Surfers are an American rock band formed in San Antonio, Texas, by singer Gibby Haynes and guitarist Paul Leary in 1981. The band has had numerous personnel changes, but its core lineup of Haynes, Leary, and drummer King Coffey has been ...
lead singer
Gibby Haynes
Gibson Jerome Haynes (born September 30, 1957) is an American musician, radio personality, painter, author and the lead singer of the band Butthole Surfers.
Early life and career
Born and raised in Dallas, Texas, Gibby Haynes is the son of actor ...
, and was co-produced by Jourgensen and Barker. An
industrial metal
Industrial metal is the fusion of heavy metal and industrial music, typically employing repeating metal guitar riffs, sampling, synthesizer or sequencer lines, and distorted vocals. Prominent industrial metal acts include Ministry, Nine In ...
track, it features elements of
rockabilly
Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western music ...
and
psychobilly
Psychobilly is a rock music fusion genre that fuses elements of rockabilly and punk rock. It's been defined as "loud frantic rockabilly music", it has also been said that it "takes the traditional countrified rock style known as rockabilly, ram ...
, and is influenced by
the Trashmen
The Trashmen were an American rock band formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, in 1962.
The original line-up of the group featured guitarists Tony Andreason and Dal Winslow, bassist Bob Reed, and drummer Steve Wahrer.
Along with Col ...
1963 hit "
Surfin' Bird
"Surfin' Bird" is a song performed by American surf rock band The Trashmen, containing the repetitive lyric "the bird is the word". It has been covered many times. It is a combination of two R&B hits by The Rivingtons: " Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow" and "Th ...
", and
Flannery O'Connor
Mary Flannery O'Connor (March 25, 1925August 3, 1964) was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist. She wrote two novels and 31 short stories, as well as a number of reviews and commentaries.
She was a Southern writer who often ...
's novel ''
Wise Blood
''Wise Blood'' is the Debut novel, first novel by American author Flannery O'Connor, published in 1952 in literature, 1952. The novel was assembled from disparate stories first published in ''Mademoiselle (magazine), Mademoiselle'', ''Sewanee Rev ...
''; the song's instrumentation is defined by its polyrhythmic structure.
The song was first released as a single in November 1991, backed with the B-side "TV Song" based on lyrics by
Chris Connelly; re-edited versions of both tracks were included in ''Psalm 69'', as well as various compilation albums. The single reached No. 19 in the ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
''
Modern Rock Tracks
Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-played ...
chart with approximately 128,000 copies as of mid-July 1992, preceding the later success of ''Psalm 69''.
Background
Stories regarding the song's recording, given in various accounts over the years, hold that the first
Lollapalooza tour, with
Butthole Surfers
Butthole Surfers are an American rock band formed in San Antonio, Texas, by singer Gibby Haynes and guitarist Paul Leary in 1981. The band has had numerous personnel changes, but its core lineup of Haynes, Leary, and drummer King Coffey has been ...
featured in its lineup, came in Chicago to perform in Summer 1991. After the Surfers’ performance, lead singer
Gibby Haynes
Gibson Jerome Haynes (born September 30, 1957) is an American musician, radio personality, painter, author and the lead singer of the band Butthole Surfers.
Early life and career
Born and raised in Dallas, Texas, Gibby Haynes is the son of actor ...
visited the Chicago Trax! studios. There, Ministry frontman
Al Jourgensen
Alain David Jourgensen (born Alejandro Ramírez Casas; October 9, 1958) is a Cuban-American singer, musician and music producer. Closely related with the independent record label Wax Trax! Records, his musical career spans four decades. He is be ...
asked Haynes if he could record vocals for the song, then only featuring guitar and drum parts with no vocals, mainly due to its beat structure. While alleged to be drunk at this point, Haynes had been performing his parts for some time, before falling asleep.
As Jourgensen later explained, he spent about two or three weeks at home after that session, editing the tapes on a two-track recorder in order to render Haynes' performance as somewhat audible. He then overdubbed additional instrumental parts, samples from drag racing competitions and tape noises. In the end, Jourgensen and bandmates added a spoken-word intro to fit Haynes' “moronic” singing.
Around the same time, guitarist
Mike Scaccia
Michael Ralph Scaccia (June 14, 1965 – December 22, 2012) was an American musician, best known as a guitarist for several heavy metal and alternative rock acts, including Rigor Mortis, Ministry and Revolting Cocks.
Life and career
Scaccia was ...
and drummer
Bill Rieflin
William Frederick Rieflin (September 30, 1960 – March 24, 2020) was an American musician. Rieflin came to prominence in the 1990s mainly for his work as a drummer with groups (particularly in the industrial rock and industrial metal scene ...
had recorded a demo of themselves playing as fast as they could; initially conceived as a joke, it became the single's flipside, “TV Song”.
After he finished editing, Jourgensen was contacted by
Sire Records
Sire Records (formerly Sire Records Company) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Records.
History Beginnings
The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gottehrer ...
about getting new recorded material for the next album. Left with little choice, Jourgensen sent in a tape of “Jesus Built My Hotrod”, since it was the only song he had by this time. Sire staff were irritated with only having “Jesus Built My Hotrod” to release, and as well that most of an advance, initially intended for the record, were spent by Jourgensen and his acquaintances on drugs. Jourgensen told them to either release the song and pay another advance, or terminate a contract. The label chose to release the song, with no further expectations from the band.
Music and lyrical themes
“Jesus Built My Hotrod” is an
industrial metal
Industrial metal is the fusion of heavy metal and industrial music, typically employing repeating metal guitar riffs, sampling, synthesizer or sequencer lines, and distorted vocals. Prominent industrial metal acts include Ministry, Nine In ...
,
speed metal
Speed metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that originated in the late 1970s from new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM) roots.K. Kahn-Harris, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'' (Berg Publishers, 2007), , p. 31. It ...
, thrash metal
Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...
, and alternative metal
Alternative metal (also known as alt-metal) is a genre of heavy metal music
Heavy metal (or simply metal) is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United Kingdom and United States. With r ...
song which features elements of rockabilly
Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western music ...
and psychobilly
Psychobilly is a rock music fusion genre that fuses elements of rockabilly and punk rock. It's been defined as "loud frantic rockabilly music", it has also been said that it "takes the traditional countrified rock style known as rockabilly, ram ...
; on ''Psalm 69'', it is the fifth track with a length of four minutes and fifty-one seconds.[.] The track was written by Al Jourgensen
Alain David Jourgensen (born Alejandro Ramírez Casas; October 9, 1958) is a Cuban-American singer, musician and music producer. Closely related with the independent record label Wax Trax! Records, his musical career spans four decades. He is be ...
, Paul Barker
Paul Gordon Barker (born February 8, 1959), also referred to as Hermes Pan, is the former bass guitarist, producer and engineer of the industrial metal band Ministry from 1986 to 2003. Prior to Ministry, Barker provided bass for the Seattle ...
, Bill Rieflin
William Frederick Rieflin (September 30, 1960 – March 24, 2020) was an American musician. Rieflin came to prominence in the 1990s mainly for his work as a drummer with groups (particularly in the industrial rock and industrial metal scene ...
, and Michael Balch with lyrics credited to Gibby Haynes
Gibson Jerome Haynes (born September 30, 1957) is an American musician, radio personality, painter, author and the lead singer of the band Butthole Surfers.
Early life and career
Born and raised in Dallas, Texas, Gibby Haynes is the son of actor ...
, and was co-produced by Jourgensen and Barker under their respective aliases, Hypo Luxa and Hermes Pan.
In a 2016 interview, Jourgensen said that the song was partially inspired by his youth experiences with his stepfather, a stock car driver and mechanic. Commenting on Ministry's work for ''Spin Alternative Record Guide
The ''Spin Alternative Record Guide'' is a music reference book compiled by the American music magazine '' Spin'' and published in 1995 by Vintage Books. It was edited by rock critic Eric Weisbard and Craig Marks, who was the magazine's editor-i ...
'', writer Eric Weisbard
Eric Weisbard is an American music critic known for founding the Pop Conference, which is hosted annually by the Museum of Pop Culture (formerly known as the EMP Museum). He also organized the conference for many years.
Career
Weisbard serves ...
likened it to “an updated, theorized” version of the Trashmen
The Trashmen were an American rock band formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, in 1962.
The original line-up of the group featured guitarists Tony Andreason and Dal Winslow, bassist Bob Reed, and drummer Steve Wahrer.
Along with Col ...
1963 hit “Surfin' Bird
"Surfin' Bird" is a song performed by American surf rock band The Trashmen, containing the repetitive lyric "the bird is the word". It has been covered many times. It is a combination of two R&B hits by The Rivingtons: " Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow" and "Th ...
”; AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
’s editor Steve Huey supports this point in the song review.
The song begins with a spoken word intro, which refers to Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as "rock & roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis made ...
as “the devil” and Jesus Christ
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
as “an architect previous to his career as a prophet” respectively. In the “Redline/Whiteline Version”, it is followed by sampled lines of Hazel Motes (portrayed by Brad Dourif
Bradford Claude Dourif (; born March 18, 1950) is an American actor. He was nominated for an Oscar, and won a Golden Globe and a BAFTA Award for his film debut role as Billy Bibbit in '' One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'' (1975). He is also kn ...
) from 1979 film ''Wise Blood'', before cutting immediately into the main section, which contains Haynes’ scat-like singing set to the drum beat performed in common time signature () with guitar riff
A riff is a repeated chord progression or refrain in music (also known as an ostinato figure in classical music); it is a pattern, or melody, often played by the rhythm section instruments or solo instrument, that forms the basis or accompani ...
—attributed to Jourgensen and repeated throughout most of the song, excluding solos—in , which was said to be complicated. The “Redline/Whiteline Version” also features a sampled line of Frank Booth (portrayed by Dennis Hopper
Dennis Lee Hopper (May 17, 1936 – May 29, 2010) was an American actor, filmmaker and photographer. He attended the Actors Studio, made his first television appearance in 1954, and soon after appeared in ''Giant'' (1956). In the next ten years ...
) from David Lynch
David Keith Lynch (born January 20, 1946) is an American filmmaker, visual artist and actor. A recipient of an Academy Honorary Award in 2019, Lynch has received three Academy Award nominations for Best Director, and the César Award for Be ...
’s 1986 film '' Blue Velvet'', as well as dialogues from drag race competitions. The song ends with another spoken word part, saying: “Jesus built my car / it's a love affair / mainly Jesus and my hot rod.”
Release and reception
"Jesus Built My Hotrod" was released on November 7, 1991, little more than half a year before it appeared on ''Psalm 69'', in three formats (vinyl record
A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English), or simply a record, is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The groove usually starts nea ...
s, CD and CS), with promo copies accompanied by a free quart of motor oil
Motor oil, engine oil, or engine lubricant is any one of various substances used for the lubrication of internal combustion engines. They typically consist of base oils enhanced with various additives, particularly antiwear additives, deterg ...
. It was quickly successful, which was said to be unexpected by commentators including Jourgensen. As of mid-July 1992, "Jesus Built My Hotrod" sold 128,000 copies, and was considered one of Warner Bros.’ best-selling CD singles along with Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in Basildon, Essex, in 1980. The band currently consists of Dave Gahan (lead vocals and co-songwriting) and Martin Gore (keyboards, guitar, co-lead vocals and main songwriting).
Depeche ...
’s “Personal Jesus
"Personal Jesus" is a song by English electronic music band Depeche Mode. It was released as the lead single from their seventh studio album, '' Violator'' (1990), in 1989. It reached No. 13 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 28 on the ''Billbo ...
” and Madonna
Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...
’s “Vogue
Vogue may refer to:
Business
* ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine
** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine
** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine
** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine
** ''Vogue China'', ...
” in October 1992. In 2013, Jourgensen claimed that the single sold over 1.5 million copies worldwide.[: "While we were 'working,' Sire pressed 'Jesus Built My Hotrod' into a maxi-single, and the radio department started pimping the song to all the college and commercial radio stations across the country. The thing went supernova. They sold 1.5 million copies of the single alone—to everyone’s surprise.”]
The song has received significant critical acclaim. In a short review for AllMusic, John Book gave the single three of five stars, praising Jourgensen’s guitar performance, while his fellow editor Steve Huey hailed it as one of Ministry's "best-known songs". Writing for the ''Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'', Robert Hilburn
Robert Hilburn (born September 25, 1939) is an American pop music critic, author, and radio host. As critic and music editor at the ''Los Angeles Times'' from 1970 to 2005, his reviews, essays and profiles appeared in publications around the wor ...
called the song "a guaranteed classic".
Despite being a fan favorite, “Jesus Built My Hotrod” was not featured during the ''Psalm 69'' tours, to some authors' wondering; it wasn't until 1999 when the song made appearance during the ''Dark Side of the Spoon
''Dark Side of the Spoon'' is the seventh studio album by American industrial metal band Ministry, released on June 8, 1999 by Warner Bros. Records. " Bad Blood" was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance in 2000.
Background
' ...
'' tour, since present in Ministry's live setlist during the 2000s and the 2010s. In the November 2008 issue of ''Guitar World
''Guitar World'' is a monthly music magazine for guitarists – and fans of guitar-based music and trends – that has been published since July 1980. ''Guitar World'', the best-selling guitar magazine in the United States, contains original art ...
'', Jourgensen explains that as he doesn't “have isheart into it,” he wouldn't perform it without Haynes.
Artwork and music video
The front cover for the single was designed by Paul Elledge, who also did the artwork for ''Psalm 69''. In a 2013 interview Elledge said that Jourgensen and Barker, infatuated with a Chrysler
Stellantis North America (officially FCA US and formerly Chrysler ()) is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of the multinational automoti ...
Hemi engine
A hemispherical combustion chamber is a type of combustion chamber in a reciprocating internal combustion engine with a domed cylinder head notionally in the approximate shape of a hemisphere (in reality usually a spheric section thereof). An en ...
, had favored idea of having "a super-industrial shot of an engine that was kind of like what you would see at a factory, not on an album cover." Instead of taking a photo of an engine, Elledge requested it from Chrysler representatives.
The accompanying video for the song was also directed by Elledge; the band convinced the Warner Bros. representatives to shoot the video with Elledge, despite latter having no experience of filming. Elledge listened to the song 100 times or more, before creating a storyboard. Commenting on the shoot, Elledge said that he wanted “to make it so that some things I shot people would think was stock (footage) and some things that were stock were things I shot.” Elledge spent three days shooting the band and others featured in video, as well as doing the animation; the band was shot on black so Elledge could layer other footage. From three takes, the final cut was edited during six weeks.
Legacy
Later recordings
The album version of the song is in Ministry's 2001 compilation album ''Greatest Fits
''Greatest Fits'' is a greatest hits album by American industrial metal band Ministry (band), Ministry, released on June 19, 2001 by Warner Bros. Records.
Background
The compilation was released to coincide with the release of the movie ''A.I. A ...
''; remixed and re-recorded versions appear on several Ministry compilations, including 2005's '' Rantology'', 2008's ''Cover Up
A cover-up is an attempt, whether successful or not, to :wikt:conceal, conceal evidence of wrongdoing, error, incompetence, or other embarrassment, embarrassing information. Research has distinguished personal cover-ups (covering up one's own ...
'', 2010's '' Every Day Is Halloween: The Anthology''/''Undercover
To go "undercover" (that is, to go on an undercover operation) is to avoid detection by the object of one's observation, and especially to disguise one's own identity (or use an assumed identity) for the purposes of gaining the trust of an indi ...
'' and 2011's ''The Very Best of Fixes and Remixes''. For the ''Rantology'' version, subtitled “Update Mix”, a new introduction was recorded by Haynes. The song's lyrics have been supposedly recycled for Butthole Surfers' 1993 song “Some Dispute Over T-Shirt Sales”, from ''Independent Worm Saloon
''Independent Worm Saloon'' is the sixth album by alternative rock band Butthole Surfers, released in 1993 on Capitol Records. The band chose to follow a heavier orientation for most of the record, following the hiring of producer John Paul Jones ...
''.
Notable cover versions of the song were recorded by The Bosshoss
The BossHoss is a German band from Berlin, founded in 2004. They originally started with country and western style cover versions of famous pop, rock and hip hop songs, for example "Hot in Herre" by Nelly, "Toxic" by Britney Spears and " Hey Ya! ...
(for their 2006 album ''Rodeo Rodeo'') and Lamb of God
Lamb of God ( el, Ἀμνὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ, Amnòs toû Theoû; la, Agnus Dei, ) is a title for Jesus that appears in the Gospel of John. It appears at John 1:29, where John the Baptist sees Jesus and exclaims, "Behold the Lamb of God wh ...
(for 2018 cover album '' Legion: XX'', as Burn the Priest). Commenting on the Lamb of God recording, frontman Randy Blythe
Randy is a given name, popular in the United States and Canada. It is primarily a masculine name. It was originally derived from the names Randall, Randolf, Randolph, as well as Bertrand and Andrew, and may be a short form (hypocorism) of them ...
admitted that he didn't consider it a good idea, until he performed vocals; instead of requesting permissions for the original cut's samples, the band chose to voice these themselves. The Burn the Priest version made an appearance on an episode of ''The Flash
The Flash (or simply Flash) is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert, the original Flash first appeared in ''Flash Comics'' #1 (cover date ...
''.
Appearances and references in popular culture
“Jesus Built My Hotrod” was featured in the first trailer of Seth Grahame-Smith
Seth Grahame-Smith (born Seth Jared Greenberg; January 4, 1976) is an American writer and film producer, best known as the author of ''The New York Times'' best-selling novels '' Pride and Prejudice and Zombies'' and '' Abraham Lincoln, Vampire ...
’s 2009 parody book ''Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
''Pride and Prejudice and Zombies'' is a 2009 parody novel by Seth Grahame-Smith. It is a mashup combining Jane Austen's classic 1813 novel ''Pride and Prejudice'' with elements of modern zombie fiction, crediting Austen as co-author. It was fir ...
''.
A lyric from the spoken word intro ("Ding a ding dang my dang a long ling long") was used (without spaces) as a cheat code
Cheating in video games involves a video game player using various methods to create an advantage beyond normal gameplay, usually in order to make the game easier. Cheats may be activated from within the game itself (a cheat code implemented by ...
in the video game '' Sleepwalker''. In August 2010, the song became available for download in the ''Rock Band
A rock band or pop band is a small musical ensemble that performs rock music, pop music, or a related genre. A four-piece band is the most common configuration in rock and pop music. In the early years, the configuration was typically two guita ...
'' series of games. The song was also featured in the 2014 Ubisoft
Ubisoft Entertainment SA (; ; formerly Ubi Soft Entertainment SA) is a French video game publisher headquartered in Saint-Mandé with development studios across the world. Its video game franchises include '' Assassin's Creed'', ''Far Cry'', '' ...
video game, ''Watch Dogs
''Watch Dogs'' (stylized as ''WATCH_DOGS'') is an action-adventure video game franchise published by Ubisoft, and developed primarily by its Montreal and Toronto studios using the Disrupt game engine. The series' eponymous first title was rele ...
'', both as a song available in game, and as a backdrop for a set piece during the game's storyline; one reviewer called it a "fantastic moment".
Track listing
Personnel
Credits adapted from liner notes of the “Jesus Built My Hotrod” single, ''Psalm 69: The Way to Succeed and the Way to Suck Eggs'' and ''Greatest Fits''.[; .]
Accolades
Chart performance
;Weekly charts
;Year-end charts
References
Notes
Citations
Bibliography
;Primary sources
*
*
;Secondary sources
*
*
*
*
*
External links
*
{{authority control
1991 singles
Ministry (band) songs
1991 songs
Sire Records singles
Songs about cars
Songs about Jesus
Songs written by Al Jourgensen
Songs written by Paul Barker
Songs written by Bill Rieflin
Song recordings produced by Al Jourgensen
Speed metal songs