Cult of Personality (song)

"Cult of Personality"
Single by Living Colour
from the album Vivid
Released	1988
Format	CD, Vinyl, Cassette
Recorded	1987–1988, 2007
Genre	Funk metal, heavy metal
Length	4:54
Label	Epic, CBS/Sony
Writer(s)	Living Colour
Producer	Ed Stasium
Living Colour singles chronology
"Cult of Personality" (1988) "Glamour Boys (1989)
Vivid track listing "Cult of Personality" (Track 1) "I Want to Know" (Track 2)

"Cult of Personality" is a song by funk metal band Living Colour. It was the first single from their debut album, Vivid, released in 1988. "Cult of Personality" reached No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 9 on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart. It also won the Grammy award for "Best Hard Rock Performance" in 1989. Its music video earned two MTV Video Music Awards for Best Group Video and Best New Artist. The song was ranked #69 on VH1's 100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs.^[1] The solo was ranked #87 in Guitar World's "100 Greatest Guitar Solos" list.^[2] It was also selected as one of many songs you must hear & download in the musical reference book, 1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die: And 10,001 You Must Download. In 2007, the song was re-recorded and released for the video game Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock because the band no longer owns the rights to the original.

The band's founder, Vernon Reid described the song as very special for the band not just for its commercial success but because it was essentially written in just one rehearsal session. The riff was stumbled upon while practicing something else and by the end of the session they had written what was to become Living Colour's best known song.^[3]

The song contains many political references, and shares its name with a phenomenon involving psychology and politics.

Political figures referenced

"Cult of Personality" prominently includes several audio samples of speeches from twentieth-century political leaders.

The song begins with an edited quote from the beginning of "Message to the Grass Roots", 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."^[4]

During a rest in the music at 4:35, John F. Kennedy's inaugural address is heard ("Ask not what your country can do for you..."). The song ends with Franklin D. Roosevelt saying "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself", from his first inaugural address.

Along with the above quotes, the following political leaders are mentioned in the lyrics:

• Benito Mussolini
• John F. Kennedy
• Joseph Stalin
• Mohandas Gandhi

Charts

Chart	Peak
RIANZ Singles Chart	3	[5]
U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock	9	[6]
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	13	[7]
UK Singles	67	[8]

In other media

• It is included in the soundtrack of the Cameron Crowe movie Say Anything...
• In 2004, a shortened version was featured in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas soundtrack on Radio X.
• In 2007, Living Colour re-recorded the song for the video game Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock because the original master recordings could not be located. This version was also included in Guitar Hero: Smash Hits.
• It was included in the 2008 video game Shaun White Snowboarding.
• The New York Islanders use this song for home games at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
• Several Rutgers Scarlet Knights athletics teams use this song when starting lineups are introduced.
• In 2009, the song was used by the WWE in a video promoting Stone Cold Steve Austin's induction into the WWE Hall of Fame.
• Professional wrestler CM Punk used this song as his entrance theme during his time in Ring of Honor and again in WWE. The latter usage was introduced with CM Punk's surprise return to the company after winning the WWE Championship at the end of his contract. His popularity during this time brought the song to #111 on iTunes' Singles Top 200 in July 2011.[3]

References

1. ^ "spreadit.org music". http://music.spreadit.org/vh1-top-100-hard-rock-songs/. Retrieved February 5, 2009. 
2. ^ 100 Greatest Guitar Solos
3. ^ "Vernon Reid - Guitar World interview (part 3) Cult Of Personality". youtube. 2010-02-15. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MJvNE1mOMY&feature=fvsr. Retrieved 2011-05-02. 
4. ^ Malcolm X: "Message to the Grass Roots": http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/malcolmxgrassroots.htm
5. ^ [1], New Zealand charts for Living Colour
6. ^ Billboard.com single charts for Living Colour
7. ^ Billboard.com billboard chart history for Living Colour
8. ^ [2], an archive containing all UK charting singles