Three Little Pigs (song)

"Three Little Pigs" is a song by American comedy rock band Green Jellÿ from their first video album, Cereal Killer (1992). Released by Zoo Entertainment in 1992 with the original band name, Green Jellö, the single was re-released on May 24, 1993, under the name Green Jellÿ due to a lawsuit for trademark infringement by the owners of Jell-O.

For other uses, see Three Little Pigs (disambiguation).

"Three Little Pigs"
Single by Green Jellÿ
from the album Cereal Killer, Green Jellö SUXX and Cereal Killer Soundtrack
B-side"Obey the Cowgod"
ReleasedMay 24, 1993 (1993-05-24) (UK)
Genre
Length5:53
LabelZoo Entertainment
Songwriter(s)
  • Marc Levinthal
  • Bill Manspeaker
Producer(s)Sylvia Massy
Green Jellÿ singles chronology
"Three Little Pigs"
(1993)		 "Anarchy in Bedrock"
(1993)
Music video
"Three Little Pigs" on YouTube

The song peaked at number 17 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in June 1993, staying on the listing for 20 weeks, and charted at number five in the United Kingdom. It additionally reached number one in New Zealand for two nonconsecutive weeks and charted highly in several European countries. The chart success can be partly attributed to the song's unique and heavily aired music video. "Three Little Pigs" was ranked number 35 on VH1's 40 Most Awesomely Bad Metal Songs...Ever.

Writing and composition

Written by Marc Levinthal and Bill Manspeaker after a "late-night drinkfest" at Zatar's in Hollywood, the song is a re-telling of the classic fairy tale Three Little Pigs, with modern twists—the straw-builder pig escaped the farm where he was raised to begin a new life in Los Angeles, the stick-builder pig is a marijuana-smoking, Bob Marley-listening, dumpster diving hippie and preacher from Venice Beach, and the third pig is the son of rock star Pig Nugent with a master's degree in architecture from Harvard College who builds his concrete mansion in Hollywood Hills. The third pig dispatches the Harley-riding Big Bad Wolf by calling 911, who in turn call in Rambo, who mows the wolf down with a machine gun.

Critical reception

In his weekly UK chart commentary, James Masterton wrote, "From straight out of nowhere to land in the Top 5 comes the surprise of the week. Who would have thought a tongue in cheek grunge rap retelling the old nursery tale would cross over so dramatically. Here it is though, and may well go Top 3 next week, aided in part by the clever plasticine animated video which accompanies the track."[1] Andy Martin from Music Week named the song Pick of the Week in the category of Rock, giving it four out of five. He added, "The excellent and hilarious promo that accompanies this bastardisation of the porcine children's tale (like Creature Comforts on acid) should win TV coverage and propel the weird, wacky and wonderful Green Jelly to stardom, or at least a Top 20 hit single. Expect BMG to pull out all the stops on this one."[2] John Harris from NME declared it as "undoubtedly a near-classic novelty record".[3] Tony Cross from Smash Hits also gave "Three Little Pigs" four out of five, commenting, "This heavy metal (should that be mental?) version of the little pig fairy-tale is weird indeed (and sports a flippin' smart video too). Full throttle crash and trash guitars bring the story right up to date, complete with hilarious high-pitched voices for the pigs ("not by the hair of our chinny chin chin!"), and torrents of sound for the big bad wolf. A rock opera that deserves a listen."[4]

Music video

The song's accompanying stop motion claymation music video received regular rotation on MTV, and in 1993 it was certified gold by the RIAA. "Three Little Pigs" was notable for being the first known music single to debut only in video form; when the music video was first shown on MTV, fans could buy the song on videotape, but not on CD. In 1993, however, the single was finally released in CD form. The music video was later made available by Vevo on YouTube in 2014 and had generated more than 27 million views as of December 2022.[5]

Track listings
  • Vinyl pressing
  1. "Three Little Pigs"
  • 1993 CD pressing
  1. "Three Little Pigs" (edit) – 4:29
  2. "Three Little Pigs" (full-length version) – 5:54
  3. "Obey the Cowgod" – 3:09

Personnel
  • Bill Manspeaker (as Moronic Dicktator) – vocals
  • Les Claypool – guest voice of Three Little Pigs[6]
  • Maynard James Keenan – guest voice of Three Little Pigs[6]
  • Pauly Shore – guest voice of Three Little Pigs[6]
  • Gary Helsinger (as Hotsy Menshot) – voice of Rambo
  • C.J. Buscaglia (as Jesus Quisp) – guitars, producer
  • Steven Shenar (as Sven Seven) – guitars
  • Michael Bloomquist (as Rootin') – bass
  • Joe Russo (as Mother Eucker) – bass
  • Danny Carey (as Danny Longlegs) – drums

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[24] Platinum 70,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[32] Platinum 10,000*
United States (RIAA)[33] Gold 700,000[34]

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history
Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United States 1993 Cassette Zoo Entertainment
United Kingdom May 24, 1993
  • 7-inch vinyl
  • 12-inch vinyl
  • CD
  • cassette
 [35]
United States May 25, 1993 VHS [36]

References
  1. Masterton, James (May 30, 1993). "Week Ending June 5th 1993". Chart Watch UK. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  2. Martin, Andy (May 29, 1993). "Market Preview: Rock – Pick of the Week" (PDF). Music Week. p. 11. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
  3. Harris, John (July 3, 1993). "Long Play". NME. p. 34. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  4. Cross, Tony (May 26, 1993). "New Singles". Smash Hits. p. 47. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
  5. "Green Jelly - Three Little Pigs (Official Video)". YouTube. March 15, 2014. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
  6. Galil, Leor (December 29, 2017). "Comedic punk-metal band Green Jellÿ are still looking for new ways to be the "worst band in the world"". Chicago Reader. Retrieved May 20, 2022.
  7. "Green Jellÿ – Three Little Pigs". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved April 29, 2018.
  8. "Green Jellÿ – Three Little Pigs" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved April 29, 2018.
  9. "Green Jellÿ – Three Little Pigs" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved April 29, 2018.
  10. Danish Singles Chart. August 6, 1993.
  11. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 10, no. 25. June 19, 1993. p. 19. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  12. "Green Jellÿ – Three Little Pigs" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved April 29, 2018.
  13. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Three Little Pigs". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved April 29, 2018.
  14. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 33, 1993" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved April 29, 2018.
  15. "Green Jellÿ – Three Little Pigs" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved April 29, 2018.
  16. "Green Jellÿ – Three Little Pigs". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved April 29, 2018.
  17. "Green Jellÿ – Three Little Pigs". VG-lista. Retrieved April 29, 2018.
  18. "Top 10 Sales in Europe" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 10, no. 41. October 9, 1993. p. 13. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
  19. "Green Jellÿ – Three Little Pigs". Singles Top 100. Retrieved April 29, 2018.
  20. "Green Jellÿ – Three Little Pigs". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved April 29, 2018.
  21. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 29, 2018.
  22. "Billboard Hot 100". Billboard. June 12, 1993. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  23. "U.S. Cash Box Charts" (PDF). popmusichistory. Retrieved December 23, 2022.
  24. "ARIA Top 50 Singles for 1993". ARIA. Retrieved March 27, 2016.
  25. "1993 Year-End Sales Charts: Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 10, no. 51/52. December 18, 1993. p. 15. Retrieved November 27, 2019.
  26. "Top 100 Single–Jahrescharts 1993" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved April 29, 2018.
  27. "Jaarlijsten 1993" (in Dutch). Stichting Nederlandse Top 40. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  28. "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1993" (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Retrieved April 29, 2018.
  29. "End of Year Charts 1993". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
  30. "Top 100 Singles 1993". Music Week. January 15, 1994. p. 24.
  31. "Billboard Top 100 – 1993". Billboardtop100of.com. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  32. "New Zealand single certifications – Green Jelly – Three Little Pigs". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
  33. "American single certifications – Green Jelly – Three Little Pigs". Recording Industry Association of America.
  34. "Best-Selling Records of 1993". Billboard. Vol. 106, no. 3. BPI Communications. January 15, 1994. p. 73. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved May 4, 2015.
  35. "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. May 24, 1993. p. 21. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
  36. Green Jelly: Three Little Pigs Video Single [VHS]. ASIN 630277912X.
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