In 1995, you couldn't turn on MTV for twenty minutes without seeing three guys in shiny, distorted plastic cowboy suits bouncing around like caffeinated action figures. It was weird. Honestly, it was a little terrifying if you were a kid. That was the year Wynona's Big Brown Beaver catapulted Primus from "that weird bass band" into a household name, for better or worse.
Most people thought they knew exactly what Les Claypool was talking about. They were wrong.
The Winona Ryder "Controversy" That Wasn't
If you grew up in the 90s, the playground logic was simple: the song is called Wynona, it’s about a beaver (ha ha, get it?), so it must be about Winona Ryder. The media ran with it. It felt like the kind of snarky, alternative-era jab that was common back then.
But Les Claypool has spent decades debunking this.
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Basically, the song was inspired by a real fishing trip in Lassen County, California. Claypool was out with a buddy, stepped into a creek, and practically tripped over a massive, literal beaver. The animal freaked out. Les freaked out. The phrase "big brown beaver" got stuck in his head as an alliteration, and he started building a character around it.
The spelling was a huge clue people ignored. Claypool pointed out that his "Wynona" was spelled with a "y," more like country star Wynonna Judd. He even met Winona Ryder later—she was apparently more confused than angry. Her boyfriend at the time, Dave Pirner of Soul Asylum, didn't find it quite as funny. He allegedly started renaming his own songs in concert to mock Claypool. Drama in the alt-rock scene was a bit different back then.
How They Made That Creepy Music Video
The video is a masterpiece of "uncanny valley" energy. You've got these latex suits that look like the Puttermans from the old Duracell commercials, but more aggressive.
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They used a specific technical trick to get that jerky, unnatural movement. The band actually recorded the footage while playing the song at 25% slower speed. They had to lip-sync and mime their instruments to a sluggish, dragging version of the track. When they sped the film back up to the normal tempo, it created that twitchy, stop-motion effect that makes your skin crawl today.
Small Details You Might Have Missed:
- The Bass Drum: Tim Alexander’s kick drum says "Buck Naked and the Bare Bottom Boys." This was a tribute to their friend Phillip "Buck" Bury, who had died a few years earlier.
- The Solos: Larry LaLonde's guitar work on this track is insane. He starts with "noise" guitar and then pivots into a finger-picking style inspired by Jerry Garcia.
- The Smell: That line about "seven layers, smells like Taco Bell"? It’s just pure Claypool nonsensical storytelling.
The Grammy Curse
Believe it or not, Wynona's Big Brown Beaver was nominated for a Grammy in 1996 for Best Hard Rock Performance. They lost to the Smashing Pumpkins' "Bullet with Butterfly Wings."
For the band, the song's success was a double-edged sword. It made them huge, but it also pigeonholed them as a "joke band." Claypool has admitted the song became the "bane of his existence" for a while because people stopped listening to the complexity of the music and just waited for the beaver jokes.
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What Really Happened With the Lyrics?
The song isn't just one long double entendre. It’s a series of vignettes about weird characters. You have Lou with the baboon, Rex the Texan from New Orleans who "candied up his nose" (a pretty thin veil for cocaine use), and the final reveal where Wynona realizes her beaver might actually be a porcupine.
It's Southern Gothic storytelling filtered through a San Francisco funk-metal lens.
Actionable Takeaways for the Primus Curious
If you only know this song and want to understand why Primus is actually respected by musicians like Geddy Lee and Tom Waits, do this:
- Listen to "Pork Soda" or "Frizzle Fry": These albums show the darker, heavier side of the band that "Wynona" masks with its bright colors and fast tempo.
- Watch the "Duo de Twang" version: Les Claypool re-recorded the song in 2014 with his side project. It’s stripped down and sounds much closer to the original country-bluegrass vibe he had in his head when he first wrote it.
- Check the Bass Tabs: If you're a musician, try to play that main riff. It uses a relentless triplet pattern that is a masterclass in hand endurance.
Ultimately, the song is a snapshot of 1995—a time when the mainstream was just weird enough to let a song about a literal/metaphorical rodent reach the top of the charts.
Next Steps for Deep Diving:
- Research the "Puttermans" Duracell ads to see the direct visual inspiration for the music video.
- Listen to "Southbound Pachyderm" to hear the band's more atmospheric, serious side from the same era.