Released November 7, 1991 Recorded 1991 Label Sire
Warner Bros. | Format CD single Length 15:12 | |
Genre Alternative metal
industrial metal | ||
"Jesus Built My Hotrod" is a 1991 single by Ministry. The track features a driving beat and speed metal guitar work which backs Butthole Surfers' singer Gibby Haynes' gonzo vocal stylings. It is notable for its polyrhythmic structure with the guitar riff in 5/4 and the drums in 4/4. According to Al Jourgensen's autobiography, the single sold over 1.5 million copies worldwide.
Contents
Composition
The song "Jesus Built My Hotrod" features guest vocals by Gibby Haynes from the Butthole Surfers. Jourgensen explained the process of collaborating with Haynes during the recording process:
Gibby came down completely drunk off his ass to the studio we're at in Chicago. He couldn't even sit on a stool, let alone sing. I mean, he was wasted. He fell off the stool about ten times during the recording of that vocal. He made no sense and it was just gibberish. So I spent two weeks editing tape of what he did.
Some of the vocal samples are from movies, including Brad Dourif in Wise Blood, and Dennis Hopper in Blue Velvet.
Release and reception
The song was released November 7, 1991, a little more than half a year before it appeared on Psalm 69: The Way to Succeed and the Way to Suck Eggs. MuchMusic and MTV championed the accompanying video (which featured, among others, various footage of vintage NASCAR and drag racing events) and it enjoyed repetitive plays on both stations. The photo that adorns the cover of the single depicts a 1970 Chrysler 440 Six Pack V8 engine (equipped with 3 2-barrel carburetors). At one point in the video, a 1970 Plymouth GTX, equipped with the 440 Six Barrel, is shown driving down the street, as the "Air Grabber" hood scoop opens.
The song reached number 19 on the U.S. Modern Rock Tracks chart, was number eight on ARIA's alternative singles for 1992 and was number 3 in John Peel's Festive Fifty for 1992.
Appearances in other media
The song is available for download in the Rock Band series of games.
A lyric from the song ("Ding a ding dang my dang a long ling long") was used (without spaces) as a cheat code in the video game Sleepwalker.
The song was featured in the 2014 Ubisoft video game, Watch Dogs, 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".