Primus

Avant-garde funk-metal band Primus formed in the Bay Area in 1984 and is celebrated for their mischievous musical style and quirky videos. ∙ Sailing the Seas of Cheese, their 1991 LP, featured the alternative hit “Jerry Was a Race Car Driver” and the single “Tommy the Cat,” which they performed in Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey. ∙ Their third album, 1993’s Pork Soda, which included the hit “My Name Is Mud,” debuted at No. 7 on the Billboard 200 chart and went Platinum in 1997. ∙ “Wynona’s Big Brown Beaver”—the band’s funk-rap hit—received a 1996 Grammy nomination for Best Hard Rock Performance. ∙ Directed by stop-motion animator Mike Johnson, the video for their 1998 cover of Charlie Daniels’ “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” became a viral hit. ∙ In 2011, Green Naugahyde, the band’s first full-length LP since 1999’s Antipop, rose to No. 15 on the Billboard 200 and into the Top 10 of three other charts. ∙ As a tie-in with their 2014 album, Primus & The Chocolate Factory with The Fungi Ensemble, the band sold Primus Bars and other chocolate treats named after their songs. ∙ The band's most enduring track is the theme to the long-running cartoon South Park.