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| “Cult of Personality” | |||||
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| Single by Living Colour from the album Vivid |
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| Released | 1988 | ||||
| Format | CD, Vinyl, Cassette | ||||
| Recorded | 1987–1988, 2007 | ||||
| Genre | Hard rock Heavy metal Funk metal |
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| Length | 4:54 | ||||
| Label | Epic/CBS | ||||
| Writer(s) | Living Colour | ||||
| Producer | Ed Stasium | ||||
| Living Colour singles chronology | |||||
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| Vivid track listing | |||||
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"Cult of Personality" is a song by the heavy metal band Living Colour and the lead single from their debut album, Vivid. Its music video earned two MTV Video Music Awards for Best Group Video and Best New Artist. Released in 1989, "Cult of Personality" reached #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #9 on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart.
The song begins with an edited quote from the beginning of a speech by Malcolm X. As it appears in the song, the quote is:
". . . And during the few moments that we have left, . . . We want to talk right down to earth in a language that everybody here can easily understand."
The unabridged beginning of the speech is:
"...And during the few moments that we have left, we want to have just an off-the-cuff chat between you and me -- us. We want to talk right down to earth in a language that everybody here can easily understand." [1]
At 4:35, John F. Kennedy is quoted, saying "Ask not what your country can do for you," and the song ends with Franklin D. Roosevelt saying "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."
"Cult of Personality" was performed live during the April 1, 1989 edition of Saturday Night Live with host Mel Gibson. It was also performed on The Arsenio Hall Show that same year.
Lyrics
Along with the above quotes interspersed, the lyrics in the song refer to several well-known political and social figures (thus implicitly establishing each as the leader of a cult of personality).
Appearances in other media
- "Cult of Personality" appears on the Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas video game soundtrack.
- "Cult of Personality" also appears on Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, the band had to re-record it as the master tracks could not be found. During the rerecording, a new, tougher solo was added.
- "Cult of Personality" was briefly used as the theme song for professional wrestler, CM Punk, after he became the Ring of Honor Heavyweight Champion.
- "Cult of Personality" was featured on an episode of the game show "Don't Forget the Lyrics" hosted by Wayne Brady.
- "Cult of Personality" is frequently played by the CBS Orchestra on Late Night with David Letterman.
- "Cult of Personality" was performed by Phil Ritchie on the American reality TV series Rockstar: Supernova.
- "Cult of Personality" was also performed by Ty Taylor on Rock Star INXS
References
- ^ Malcolm X: "Message to the Grass Roots": http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/malcolmxgrassroots.htm
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Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 13 October 2008, at 06:32.
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