What a cult band Soundgarden could’ve been? And that precisely where the group was headed by 1994, while its Seattle contemporaries were selling millions. Singles like “Spoonman,” one of the greatest alternative rock songs of the 1990s, put an end to that. The group became internationally famous.
But what’s Chris Cornell yelling about here, and why are there spoons used as instruments? Let me tell you a story about artists from Seattle, fame, and misery. Here’s a look at the meaning of the lyrics of “Spoonman” and at how the song came to be.
Soundgarden’s Journey to Making “Spoonman”
You thought it. I thought it. Yes, Chris Cornell circa 1994 was just a little too good even for professional rock n’ roll standards. And his bandmates play highly sophisticated heavy music. But it wasn’t always like that. And, I write this with hope for all of our prospects. I’ll go sing in the shower right now!
I’m back! Soundgarden started out as an independent rock band in Seattle in the early 1980s. Cornell was initially the drummer. And when he became the singer he was, in the words of producer Jack Endino, “an excited amateur”.
What Cornell and his bandmates (which by 1994 included Kim Thayil, Ben Shepherd and Matt Cameron) had was a work ethic. The group toured and released music consistently and organically grew its audience.
By the early 1990s, they had switched from local label Sub Pop to the majors. The excellent “Badmotorfinger” was a hit with fans of heavy music, but not a mainstream success.
In 1994, just as grunge’s popularity was dying out, Soundgarden released “Superunknown,” one of the best records of the decade. It contained the immortal “Spoonman.”
Meaning of the Lyrics of “Spoonman”
“Spoonman” is a song of remarkable constraint from a band dubbed by fans the “Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath hybrid of the 1990s”. It’s powered by one great riff, call-and-response vocal a la The Who’s “Magic Bus,” and, well… spoons.
Those spoons are one of the best percussion sounds that I’ve ever heard. The spoons are performed by Artis the Spoonman. He is a street performer from Seattle. He was someone that the musicians in Soundgarden admired.
In the early 1990s, a little movie directed by Cameron Crowe, “Singles,” helped Chris Cornell find his soulfulness. He recorded music for the film, and many other demos later developed into Sundgarden songs. Friend and fellow Seattle musician, Jeff Ament, came up with the title.
Cornell was not yet acquainted with Artis the Spoonman. He later said about the meaning of the lyrics that they are: “about the paradox of who he is and what people perceive him as.”
Chris Cornell went on to add that: “He’s a street musician, but when he’s playing on the street, he is given a value and judged completely wrong by someone else,” Cornell continued. “They think he’s a street person, or he’s doing this because he can’t hold down a regular job. They put him a few pegs down on the social ladder because of how they perceive someone who dresses differently. The lyrics express the sentiment that I much more easily identify with someone like Artis.”
“Spoonman” Music Video
Of course, the music video utilised the talents and striking image of Artis. The band, meanwhile, is shown through splattered Polaroid photos.
Artis later talked about the meeting: “In 1992, they had me do a tweener [a performance between acts] between them and Melvins. And their manager at the time, Susan Silver, she told me Chris [Cornell] is writing a song, ‘Spoonman,’ and would I like to record on it when it’s done. And so in ’93, almost a year and a half later, they called me and we went in the studio that day and recorded it. Went through four takes and that was that. Two hours. That was the recording session.”
Artis was paid $1,000 for performing on the song and another for appearing in the video. I’m sad to report that, no, the song did not make him rich.
Legacy of “Spoonman” and of Soundgarden
Soundgarden had hit singles and were off to the races. However, they’d soon regret the long-fought-for, newly-acquired fame, I think.
“Spoonman” became the first single from “Superunknown,” an album that sold millions and also included the famous “Black Hole Sun.” Cornell, one of the greatest rock singers, had a style that was often imitated, but, in this writer’s opinion, never replicated.
Naturally, Soundgarden toured heavily behind the album. But this took its toll, I’m sure. While winning Grammys and MTV Awards was nice, the group only released one more studio album before the initial breakup in 1997. The band is now regarded as one of the greatest of its era.
And what about Artis the Spoonman? Does he regret not becoming even more famous and rich? Far from it. “There’s nothing ever to regret about ‘Spoonman.’ That’s unusually incredible, remarkable. Elvis didn’t have a Grammy Award-winning song featuring him about him. Nobody did. Nobody at all. There isn’t anybody. Not even that dancer, Bojangles. So it’s a huge honor, what’s happened to me,” he says. And, yes, he still beats the rhythm with his bones.
