Cult of Personality (song)
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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"In 1988, all-black heavy metal band Living Colour achieved mainstream success with their debut album Vivid, peaking at #6 on the Billboard 200, thanks to their Top 20 single "Cult of Personality". The band's music contained lyrics that attack the Eurocentrism and racism of America." --Sholem Stein |
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"Cult of Personality" is a song by rock band Living Colour. It is the second single on their debut album, Vivid, released on July 14, 1988. "Cult of Personality" reached No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 9 on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart. It won the Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance in 1990. Its music video earned the MTV Video Music Award for Best Group Video and MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist.
The band's guitarist and 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. The title comes from a psychological phenomenon called cult of personality, and the lyrics contain many political references.
The song was ranked No. 69 on VH1's 100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs.
Political figures named
"Cult of Personality" prominently includes several audio samples of speeches from 20th-century political leaders.
The song begins with an edited quote from the beginning of "Message to the Grass Roots", a speech by Malcolm X: "... 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."
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. The lyrics mention Benito Mussolini, Joseph Stalin, and Mahatma Gandhi. According to Vernon Reid, Adolf Hitler was originally also in the lyrics but was pulled due to fear that referring to him would be misconstrued and too controversial.
