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Cover of Sailing the Seas of Cheese by Primus
Cover: Sailing the Seas of Cheese

Song · Primus

“Jerry Was A Race Car Driver” by Primus

From the album Sailing the Seas of Cheese (1991)

“Jerry Was A Race Car Driver” by Primus appears on 62 radio countdowns from 17 stations between 1991 and 2025. It was first released in 1991 on the album Sailing the Seas of Cheese. Its best result is #26 on the Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 1991. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #33 alternative song of 1991 and #252 alternative song of all time.

62countdowns
17stations
#26best position
0#1 finishes
0top 10 finishes
1991–2025years charted

Watch

Primus - Jerry Was A Race Car Driver (MTV Version)

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

"Jerry Was a Race Car Driver" went out as a promotional single from Sailing the Seas of Cheese, Primus's second album, released on Interscope in 1991, and it's funk metal at its most gleefully warped. Tim Alexander, Les Claypool and Larry LaLonde wrote the music together, Claypool wrote the words, and the band produced it themselves, with Ron Rigler engineering.

The song is a pair of tall tales. Jerry is a race car driver who got drunk and drove into a telephone pole, which explains the "was" in the title, and Captain Pearce is a retired fireman. It's all told in a cartoonish, nasal drawl over a lurching, elastic groove that seems to bend and snap back like rubber, while the band stops and starts on a dime. It's funny, it's heavy, and it's unlike anything else on the radio.

Modern rock radio took the bait, sending it to No. 23 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart.

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

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

Hard Rock & Metal

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1991 66 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1991 107
1991 29 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 1991 91
1991 26 Live 105 San Francisco, CA Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 1991 105
2005 79 CD101 Columbus, OH CD101 Top 101 Songs of 2005 101

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1992 182 Live 105 Live 105 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1992) 299
1994 155 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1994) 497
1994 193 Live 105 Live 105 Revolutionary 500 (July 1994) 500
1994 382 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1994) 500
1995 361 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1995) 500
1995 135 Live 105 Live 105 Revolutionary 300 (July 1995) 300
1995 895 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1995) 1000
1996 387 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1996) 500
1996 363 Q101 Q101 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (1996) 500
1996 367 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1996) 498
1999 284 KROQ KROQ Top 300 Most Requested Songs of the '90s (Labor Day 1999) 300
1999 148 WHFS WHFS Top 500 Songs of the '90s (December 1999) 500
1999 391 91X 91X Fat 500 Songs of All-Time (July 1999) 500
1999 529 Q101 Q101 Top 1,011 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1017
1999 651 107.7 The End The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1077
1999 284 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1999) 500
1999 314 CD101 CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 2000
2000 277 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2000) 500
2000 314 CD101 CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) 2001
2001 277 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2001) 498
2001 321 CD101 CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) 2002
2002 239 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2002) 500
2002 321 CD101 CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) 2003
2002 861 KISW KISW Top 999 of All Time (2002) 999
2002 311 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) 2002
2003 205 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2003) 500
2003 321 CD101 CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) 2004
2003 949 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) 2044
2004 126 Q101 Q101 Top 300 Party Songs of All-Time (July 2004) 300
2004 294 107.7 The End The End Original Alternative 500 (May 2004) 500
2004 321 CD101 CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 2005
2005 209 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2005) 500
2005 310 CD101 CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 1994
2006 187 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 2006) 500
2006 234 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2006) 499
2007 236 KROQ KROQ Top 500 Most Requested Songs of the '90s (Labor Day 2007) 500
2007 473 CD101 CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) 2008
2008 380 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 2008) 500
2008 464 CD101 CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) 2009
2009 463 Live 105 Live 105 Memorial 500 Song List (2009) 500
2009 459 CD101 CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) 2010
2010 448 CD101 CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) 2011
2011 438 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2013 431 CD101 CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) 2012
2014 433 CD101 CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) 2013
2014 433 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2014) 500
2015 442 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2015) 500
2019 464 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2019) 500
2020 282 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2020) 420
2021 886 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '90s 908
2021 298 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2021) 420
2022 584 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 900 Songs of the '90s 900
2022 58 X96 X96 Top 500 Alternative Songs of All Time 500
2022 316 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2022) 420
2023 481 The Current The Current's 893 Essential Songs of the '90s 893
2023 456 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2023) 500
2023 317 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2023) 420
2025 494 WFPK WFPK Top 500 Songs of the '90s 500

Also listed as: Jerry Was a Racecar Driver; Jerry Was a Race Car Driver; Jerry Was A Racecar Driver; Jerry was a Racecar Driver.

Charting alongside it in 1991

Best songs of 1991 →
  1. 1Smells Like Teen SpiritNirvana
  2. 2Losing My ReligionR.E.M.
  3. 3UnbelievableEMF
  4. 4Kiss Them for MeSiouxsie and the Banshees
  5. 5RushBig Audio Dynamite
  6. 6Give It AwayRed Hot Chili Peppers

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