Synopsis

A claymated retelling of the Charlie Daniels classic follows the Devil as he arrives in Georgia looking for a soul to steal. He challenges young fiddler Johnny to a musical duel, wagering a golden fiddle against the boy's soul. The Devil summons a sinister band and delivers a frantic performance, but Johnny answers with dazzling musicianship of his own. As the contest reaches its climax, Johnny wins, leaving the defeated Devil to retreat while the golden prize is claimed.

Factoids & Trivia

• The video was made in 1996 as an entirely claymated stop-motion short, rather than a conventional live-action performance clip.

• Primus' version is a cover of the Charlie Daniels Band song. The recording was presented under the fictional name Festus Clamrod and the El Sobrante Twangers.

• The musical lineup credited for the recording includes Les Claypool on bass and vocals, Larry LaLonde on banjo, drummer Brain Mantia, slide guitarist Mark "Mirv" Haggard, and violinist Violina Misteriosa.

• The video was initially included as a hidden multimedia bonus on Primus' 1998 Rhinoplasty CD-ROM. Access required the password "violin," which became a recurring joke among fans on the band's message board.

• It later became more widely available through the band's video releases, including Videoplasty and Animals Should Not Try to Act Like People.

• The animated short was also recognized outside the music-video circuit, winning Best Animation Film at the Los Angeles International Short Film Festival.

• The production involved animators and fabricators associated with San Francisco's stop-motion community. Paul Berry, who had worked on The Nightmare Before Christmas and James and the Giant Peach, is among the credited animators.

• The same animation was later used to promote Rednex's cover of "The Devil Went Down to Georgia," making the short somewhat unusual as a video created for one recording but subsequently reused for another cover.