Spoonman

"Spoonman"
Single by Soundgarden
from the album Superunknown
B-side"Cold Bitch"
ReleasedFebruary 14, 1994 (1994-02-14)
StudioBad Animals (Seattle, Washington)
Genre
Length4:06
LabelA&M
Songwriter(s)Chris Cornell
Producer(s)
Soundgarden singles chronology
"Rusty Cage"
(1992)		 "Spoonman"
(1994)		 "The Day I Tried to Live"
(1994)
Music video
"Spoonman" on YouTube

"Spoonman" is a song by the American grunge band Soundgarden. It is from their fourth studio album Superunknown, which was released in 1994. The song describes Artis the Spoonman, a real-life musician who makes music with spoons. He was also featured in the song's music video. "Spoonman" won the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance at the 1995 Grammy Awards.

Track listings

All songs were written by Chris Cornell, except where noted.

CD (Europe) and 12-inch vinyl (Europe)

  1. "Spoonman" – 4:06
  2. "Fresh Tendrils" (Matt Cameron, Cornell) – 4:16
  3. "Cold Bitch" – 5:01
  4. "Exit Stonehenge" (Cameron, Cornell, Ben Shepherd, Kim Thayil) – 1:19

Cassette (UK) and 7-inch vinyl (UK)

  1. "Spoonman" – 4:06
  2. "Fresh Tendrils" (Cameron, Cornell) – 4:16

CD (Germany)

  1. "Spoonman" (edit) – 3:51
  2. "Cold Bitch" – 5:11
  3. "Exit Stonehenge" (Cameron, Cornell, Shepherd, Thayil) – 1:19

CD (Australia and Canada)

  1. "Spoonman" – 4:06
  2. "Cold Bitch" – 5:01

Personnel

Personnel adapted from Superunknown liner notes

Soundgarden

Additional musicians

Charts

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
New Zealand (RMNZ) Gold 15,000double-dagger

double-daggersales+streaming figures based on certification alone

Release history

Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United Kingdom February 14, 1994
  • 7-inch vinyl
  • 12-inch vinyl
  • CD
  • cassette
 A&M
Japan March 2, 1994 Mini-CD

References

  1. ↑ David Accomazzo (January 30, 2014). "An entertaining 20 years: Looking back at Boulder's music history". Boulder Weekly. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved January 5, 2016.
  2. ↑ Lien, James (March 7, 1994). "SOUNDGARDEN Superunknown (A&M, 1416 N. LaBrea Ave., Hollywood CA 90028)" (PDF). CMJ. p. 4. Retrieved December 21, 2025.
  3. ↑ Kaufman, Gil (January 4, 2010). "Soundgarden's Chris Cornell Announces Reunion". MTV News. Archived from the original on November 20, 2014. Retrieved January 5, 2016.
  4. ↑ Stern, Mike. "Woohoo: Five 90's Alternative Rock Songs That Picked Up the Pace". AccuRadio. Retrieved 2025-04-22.
  5. ↑ "37th Annual Gtammy Awards". Grammy Awards. Retrieved 2014-11-10.
  6. ↑ "Soundgarden" Archived 2015-09-12 at the Wayback Machine. Making Music. May 1994.
  7. ↑ "Soundgarden – Spoonman". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  8. ↑ "Alternative Charts Top 20". ARIA Report. No. 212. March 6, 1994. p. 11. Retrieved May 6, 2024.
  9. ↑ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 2484." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  10. ↑ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. March 12, 1994. p. 14. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
  11. ↑ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin - levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  12. ↑ "Íslenski Listinn". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). March 24, 1994. p. 10. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
  13. ↑ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Soundgarden". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  14. ↑ "Soundgarden – Spoonman". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  15. ↑ "Soundgarden – Spoonman" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  16. ↑ "Soundgarden – Spoonman". Singles Top 100. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  17. ↑ "Soundgarden: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 2, 2025.
  18. ↑ "Soundgarden Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  19. ↑ "Soundgarden Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  20. ↑ "Soundgarden Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
  21. ↑ "Soundgarden – Chart history – Billboard Rock Digital Song Sales". Billboard. Retrieved November 4, 2017.
  22. ↑ "The Year in Music: Hot Album Rock Tracks". Billboard. Vol. 106, no. 52. December 24, 1994. p. YE-62. Retrieved April 2, 2025.
  23. ↑ "New Zealand single certifications – Soundgarden – Spoonman". Radioscope. Retrieved May 20, 2025. Type Spoonman in the "Search:" field and press Enter.
  24. ↑ "Single Releases". Music Week. February 12, 1994. p. 21.
  25. ↑ "サウンドガーデン | スプーンマン" [Soundgarden | Spoonman] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved April 2, 2025.

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