Three Little Pigs (song) explained

Three Little Pigs
Cover:GreenJellypigs.jpg
Type:single
Artist:Green Jellÿ
Album:Cereal Killer Green Jellö SUXX Cereal Killer Soundtrack
B-Side:"Obey the Cowgod"
Released: (UK)
Genre:
Length:5:53
Label:Zoo Entertainment
Producer:Sylvia Massy
Next Title:Anarchy in Bedrock
Next Year:1993

"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.

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 32 million views as of March 2024.[5]

Track listings

  1. "Three Little Pigs"
  1. "Three Little Pigs" (edit) – 2:30
  2. "Three Little Pigs" (full-length version) – 5:54
  3. "Obey the Cowgod" – 3:09

Personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1993)Peak
position
Denmark (IFPI)[7] 18
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[8] 24
Portugal (AFP)[9] 5
UK Airplay (ERA)[10] 54
US Billboard Hot 100[11] 17
US Cash Box Top 100[12] 16

Year-end charts

Chart (1993)Position
Australia (ARIA)[13] 26
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[14] 81
Germany (Official German Charts)[15] 70
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[16] 88
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[17] 92
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[18] 12
UK Singles (OCC)[19] 69
US Billboard Hot 100[20] 93

Release history

RegionDateFormat(s)Label(s)
United States1993CassetteZoo Entertainment
United KingdomMay 24, 1993[21]
United StatesMay 25, 1993VHS[22]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Masterton. James. Week Ending June 5th 1993. Chart Watch UK. May 30, 1993. September 10, 2021. James Masterton.
  2. Market Preview: Rock – Pick of the Week. Martin. Andy. Music Week. 11. May 29, 1993. March 26, 2021.
  3. John. Harris. Long Play. NME. July 3, 1993. 34. June 5, 2023.
  4. Tony. Cross. New Singles. Smash Hits. May 26, 1993. 47. December 15, 2022.
  5. Web site: 2014-03-15 . Green Jelly - Three Little Pigs (Official Video) . 2024-03-22 . YouTube.
  6. Web site: Galil . Leor . 2017-12-29 . Comedic punk-metal band Green Jellÿ are still looking for new ways to be the “worst band in the world” . 2022-05-20 . Chicago Reader . en-US.
  7. Danish Singles Chart. August 6, 1993.
  8. Eurochart Hot 100 Singles. Music & Media. 10. 25. June 19, 1993. 19. March 25, 2018.
  9. Top 10 Sales in Europe. Music & Media. 10. 41. October 9, 1993. 13. March 20, 2018.
  10. Airplay 100. Hit Music. June 26, 1993. 18. May 6, 2024.
  11. Billboard Hot 100. Billboard. June 12, 1993. August 15, 2023.
  12. Web site: U.S. Cash Box Charts. popmusichistory. December 23, 2022.
  13. Web site: ARIA Top 50 Singles for 1993. ARIA. March 27, 2016.
  14. 1993 Year-End Sales Charts: Eurochart Hot 100 Singles. Music & Media. 10. 51/52. December 18, 1993. 15. November 27, 2019.
  15. Web site: Top 100 Single–Jahrescharts 1993. GfK Entertainment Charts. de. April 29, 2018.
  16. Web site: Jaarlijsten 1993. Stichting Nederlandse Top 40. nl. December 1, 2019.
  17. Web site: Jaaroverzichten – Single 1993. MegaCharts. nl. April 29, 2018.
  18. Web site: End of Year Charts 1993. Recorded Music NZ. November 15, 2019.
  19. Top 100 Singles 1993. Music Week. 24. January 15, 1994.
  20. Web site: Billboard Top 100 – 1993. Billboardtop100of.com. August 28, 2020.
  21. New Releases: Singles. Music Week. 21. May 24, 1993. July 21, 2021.
  22. Book: Green Jelly: Three Little Pigs Video Single [VHS]. 630277912X.