Tusk (song)
| "Tusk" | ||||||||
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| Single by Fleetwood Mac | ||||||||
| from the album Tusk | ||||||||
| B-side | "Never Make Me Cry" | |||||||
| Released | September 19, 1979 | |||||||
| Format | 7" | |||||||
| Recorded | 1978–1979 | |||||||
| Genre | Rock, psychedelic rock | |||||||
| Length | 3:29 | |||||||
| Label | Warner Bros. | |||||||
| Writer(s) | Lindsey Buckingham | |||||||
| Producer(s) | Fleetwood Mac, Richard Dashut, Ken Caillat | |||||||
| Fleetwood Mac singles chronology | ||||||||
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"Tusk" is a song by Fleetwood Mac from the 1979 double LP of the same name. The song peaked at number 8 in the US for three weeks, reached number 6 in the UK (where it was certified Silver for sales of over 250,000 copies), number 5 in Canada and number 3 in Australia. It was one of the first songs to be released using a digital mixdown from an original analog source.
Looking for a title track for the as yet unnamed album, Mick Fleetwood suggested that they take the rehearsal riff that Lindsey Buckingham used for sound-checks. Producers Richard Dashut and Ken Caillat hence created a drum-driven production. In addition to normal drums, Fleetwood Mac also experimented with different found sounds on the song. Fleetwood and Buckingham played lamb chops and a Kleenex box on the track respectively.
"I'm playing floor toms, and I overdubbed a lot of American Indian wood tribal drums. It's a whole hodgepodge of Kleenex boxes, drums, weird stuff, slapping of lamb chops and things. I got a big leg of lamb in there somewhere – I'm hitting it with a spatula." [laughs]
The single was recorded live together with the supporting video at Dodger Stadium (without an audience) in Los Angeles, California in collaboration with the University of Southern California Trojan Marching Band. The performance was also filmed for the song's music video.
The Trojan marching band's part both set a record for the highest number of musicians performing on a single and earned the marching musicians a platinum disc. Lindsey Buckingham, Stevie Nicks and Mick Fleetwood presented it to the Trojan band on October 4, 1980 during a game at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, this time in front of a huge crowd. The song was also performed live during Fleetwood Mac's concert in 1997 in conjunction with the USC Band.
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Wikipedia