"Justified & Ancient" | |||||||||||
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Single by The KLF | |||||||||||
from the album The White Room | |||||||||||
Released | September 1991 (original track) November 1991 (remade) |
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Format | CD single, CD maxi, 7" single, cassette | ||||||||||
Recorded | Trancentral | ||||||||||
Genre | House, freestyle, new jack swing | ||||||||||
Length | 3:37 (Stand by The JAMs) | ||||||||||
Label | KLF Communications (UK) | ||||||||||
Writer(s) | Jimi Cauty, Bill Drummond, Ricardo Lyte | ||||||||||
Producer(s) | Drummond/Cauty | ||||||||||
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"Justified & Ancient" is a song by British band the KLF (Bill Drummond and Jimmy Cauty) which featured on their 1991 album The White Room but with origins dating back to the duo's debut album, 1987 (What the Fuck Is Going On?).
The song is best known for its remake that was released in November 1991 as a pop-house single subtitled "Stand by The JAMs", with verses featuring the vocals of American country music singer Tammy Wynette. This version was an international hit, reaching number 2 on both the UK Singles Chart, and the US dance chart, number 11 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and hitting number 1 in 18 countries.
Despite its success, "Justified & Ancient (Stand by the JAMs)" was the final release by the KLF through retail channels as well the second-to-last altogether release from the KLF (the last release being the mail-order only re-recording of "3 a.m. Eternal" with Extreme Noise Terror) before Drummond and Cauty quit the music business and retired the KLF name.
The title "Justified & Ancient" refers to the KLF's pseudonym and earlier incarnation, "The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu" (The JAMs). The JAMs took their name from a fictional subversive cult from the 1970s conspiratorial novels The Illuminatus! Trilogy. Just as the fictional JAMs made it their remit to propagate and confusion, so too did the real JAMs and the KLF. Their attempts to subvert the music industry and other establishments were frequent, unconcealed and controversial. The song "Justified & Ancient" is a statement of identity and rebellious intent. Moreover, it deliberately understates this intent. In contrast to the provocative and abrasive lyrics of the JAMs' album 1987 (What the Fuck Is Going On?), on which "Justified & Ancient" first appeared, the song has a soft and innocuous tune, and quaint lyrics: