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Cover of Vivid by Living Colour
Cover: Vivid

Song · Living Colour

“Cult of Personality” by Living Colour

From the album Vivid (1988)

“Cult of Personality” by Living Colour appears on 89 radio countdowns from 31 stations between 1989 and 2026. It was first released in 1988 on the album Vivid. Its best result is #42 on the 91X Top 91 Songs of 1989. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #54 alternative song of 1989, #307 alternative song of all time and #394 of the '80s.

89countdowns
31stations
#42best position
0#1 finishes
0top 10 finishes
1989–2026years charted

Watch

Living Colour - Cult Of Personality (Official Video)

Video from YouTube (LivingColourVEVO). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"Cult of Personality" opens Vivid, Living Colour's 1988 debut, and it lands like a brick through a plate-glass window: a scything, stop-start riff, a rhythm section with funk in its hips and metal in its fists, and a singer with range to burn. Will Calhoun, Corey Glover, Vernon Reid and Muzz Skillings share the writing credit, and Ed Stasium produced and mixed it for Epic, with Paul Hamingson engineering.

According to Reid, the band's guitarist and founder, it came together in a single rehearsal: the riff turned up by accident while they were working on something else, and by the time they packed up they had the song that would define them. The title borrows its name from a psychological phenomenon, and the words are thick with political references. Reid's solo, a wah-soaked frenzy, is the kind of thing guitar magazines exist to rank, and Guitar World did, twice.

Released as the album's second single, it climbed to No. 9 on Album Rock Tracks and crossed over to No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100. It won the Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance, and the video took MTV awards for Best Group Video and Best New Artist.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

Classic Rock

Hard Rock & Metal

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1989 43 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1989 107
1989 42 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 1989 90

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1989 486 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1989) 500
1990 158 Z-Rock Z-Rock Top 1001 Songs of All-Time (1990) 1000
1991 714 CFNY 102.1 The Edge CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (1991 Edition) 1002
1992 281 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1992) 500
1994 182 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1994) 497
1994 193 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1994) 500
1994 368 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1994) 1000
1995 261 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1995) 1000
1996 165 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1996) 498
1996 183 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1996) 1000
1998 152 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1998) 1000
1999 234 WLIR / WDRE WLIR Top 300 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 300
1999 380 107.7 The End The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1077
1999 166 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1999) 500
1999 366 CD101 CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 2000
1999 807 CFNY 102.1 The Edge CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (November 1999) 1002
1999 158 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1999) 998
2000 269 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2000) 500
2000 366 CD101 CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) 2001
2000 74 103.3 The Edge 103.3 The Edge Top 103 New Rock Songs of the Millennium 103
2001 270 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2001) 498
2001 366 CD101 CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) 2002
2001 340 WBRU WBRU Modern Rock Top 500 (2001) 500
2002 162 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2002) 500
2002 366 CD101 CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) 2003
2002 219 KISW KISW Top 999 of All Time (2002) 999
2002 83 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) 2002
2003 154 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2003) 500
2003 366 CD101 CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) 2004
2003 481 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) 2044
2004 366 CD101 CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 2005
2004 263 Y100 Y100 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (July 2004) 300
2005 171 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2005) 500
2005 363 CD101 CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 1994
2005 384 99X 99X Freedom of Choice 1000 (2005) 1000
2006 365 Live 105 Live 105 500 Co-Op Countdown (Memorial Day 2006) 500
2006 156 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2006) 499
2007 434 CD101 CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) 2008
2008 485 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 2008) 500
2008 434 CD101 CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) 2009
2009 437 Live 105 Live 105 Memorial 500 Song List (2009) 500
2009 440 CD101 CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) 2010
2010 445 CD101 CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) 2011
2010 290 97.9 The Loop The Loop USO Rock 'N' Roll 500 (2010) 500
2011 458 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2012 269 WXPN WXPN 885 Greatest Rock Songs (2012) 885
2013 453 CD101 CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) 2012
2013 252 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR CT 500 (2013) 500
2014 460 CD101 CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) 2013
2017 424 97.9 The Loop 97.9 The Loop Top 540 Countdown (2017) 540
2019 658 102.5 KZOK KZOK Top 1025 of 2019 1025
2019 206 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ 500 (2019) 500
2019 326 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2019) 500
2019 395 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Big 500 (2019) 499
2020 484 102.5 KZOK KZOK Classic Rock Top 1025 (2020) 1025
2020 289 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ 500 (2020) 500
2020 423 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2020) 500
2021 888 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '80s 909
2021 213 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Big 500 (2021) 500
2021 229 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2021) 1043
2021 245 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ 500 (2021) 500
2022 287 94.1 KRNA KRNA Memorial Day 500 (2022) 500
2022 66 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Big 500 (2022) 500
2022 417 102.5 KZOK KZOK Classic Rock Top 1025 (2022) 1025
2022 918 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2022) 1043
2022 462 100.7 KSLX KSLX Arizona 500 (2022) 500
2022 490 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2022) 500
2023 207 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 850 Songs of the 1980s 850
2023 389 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2023) 500
2023 327 KSHE 95 KSHE 95 Rock N' Roll 500 (2023) 500
2023 688 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2023) 1043
2023 923 101.5 WPDH WPDH Top 1015 (2023) 1015
2023 287 101.5 WPDH WPDH Top 1015 (2023) 1015
2023 372 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2023) 500
2024 319 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2024) 500
2024 308 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2024) 499
2024 66 KSHE 95 KSHE 95 Rock N' Roll 500 (2024) 500
2024 166 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Top 400 of the Last 40 Years (2024) 400
2024 311 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2024) 1043
2024 144 KEXP The Best Opening Tracks of All Time 738
2025 249 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2025) 500
2025 343 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2025) 500
2025 298 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Top 400 of the Last 40 Years (2025) 400
2025 134 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2025) 500
2025 157 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2025) 1043
2026 191 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2026) 500
2026 495 100.7 KSLX KSLX Arizona 500 (2026) 500
2026 414 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2026) 500

Also listed as: Cult Of Personality; Cult of Personalty.

Charting alongside it in 1989

Best songs of 1989 →
  1. 1Love SongThe Cure
  2. 2StandR.E.M.
  3. 3Here Comes Your ManThe Pixies
  4. 4She Drives Me CrazyFine Young Cannibals
  5. 5Love ShackThe B-52's
  6. 6Personal JesusDepeche Mode

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