Lee Van Cleef

Album: Green Naugahyde (2011)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Bassist/vocalist Les Claypool came up with this song's riff whilst noodling around at home. He told MusicRadar: "I had that sitting around for a while. If I'm home and I come up with something, I'll try to record it, but a lot of the time I'll forget to. A lot of things go off into space and never come back 'cause I just don't remember them. Lee Van Cleef stuck around. I came up with it on my dobro bass and really liked it, so I recorded it."
  • Lee Van Cleef (1925 – 1989) was an American film actor who is best known for his roles in spaghetti westerns, particularly Sergio Leone's For a Few Dollars More and The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. Van Cleef's sharp features led to him being cast as a villain in other films such as The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. Claypool told Rolling Stone the song is "reflective of my youth."
  • The album title is lifted from a line in this song: "A yellow Studebaker with a 302/With a seat of Green Naugahyde." It refers to a form of plastic leather used for seats. Claypool explained to Artist Direct: "That was my father's pickup truck when I was a kid. Years later, I actually ran that pickup truck into the side of a liquor store because the driver's door flew open as I was making a right turn ... The ol' Studebaker is no longer with us, but there were a lot of fond memories in that vehicle. I come from a long line of auto mechanics, and naugahyde was what people had on their couches because they couldn't afford leather. The circles I ran in, we saw a lot of naugahyde, the '70s working-class leather."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

"Private Eyes" - The Story Behind the Song

"Private Eyes" - The Story Behind the SongSong Writing

How a goofy detective movie, a disenchanted director and an unlikely songwriter led to one of the biggest hits in pop history.

Concert Disasters

Concert DisastersFact or Fiction

Ozzy biting a dove? Alice Cooper causing mayhem with a chicken? Creed so bad they were sued? See if you can spot the real concert mishaps.

Adele

AdeleFact or Fiction

Despite her reticent personality, Adele's life and music are filled with intrigue. See if you can spot the true tales.

Rick Astley

Rick AstleySongwriter Interviews

Rick Astley on "Never Gonna Give You Up," "Cry For Help," and his remarkable resurgence that gave him another #1 UK album.

Lori McKenna

Lori McKennaSongwriter Interviews

Lori's songs have been recorded by Faith Hill and Sara Evans. She's performed on the CMAs and on Oprah. She also has five kids.

Rupert Hine

Rupert HineSongwriter Interviews

Producer Rupert Hine talks about crafting hits for Tina Turner, Howard Jones and The Fixx.