Has any series ever had a more fitting theme song than “South Park”? The “South Park Theme” by funk metal group Primus, later reworked by projects led by Les Claypool, is a twanging, frenetic jingle that quite deliberately fails to convince the viewer that its monotone lyrics about the titular small town’s idyllic nature hit their mark. It’s a perfect way to set the stage for the absurdities that invariably follow, so it makes sense to think that the whole thing was carefully planned out and arranged, but as “South Park” co-creator Matt Stone told Pitchfork in 2010, the whole thing took just one incredibly lucky cold call to pull off.
“It wasn’t that well thought out. We got the pilot, I was probably 25 years old, and I was a humongous Primus fan in college,” Stone said while describing how the band got involved. “We literally got a copy of [Primus’ debut album] ‘Frizzle Fry’ or one of their albums, opened it up, looked in the back, and saw ‘David Lefkowitz Management.'”
From that point on, Stone and co-creator Trey Parker simply mailed the management company an envelope that contained two things: A copy of “The Spirit of Christmas” short film that served as the blueprint for “South Park,” and a letter that requested a theme song. It was a big swing, but then again, they were creating what would turn out to be one of the best animated TV shows of all time. Claypool certainly saw something in it, as he soon contacted Stone — and the rest is history.
Les Claypool captured the South Park vibe with very little direction
As Stone mentioned earlier, he was a massive Primus fan. When Claypool actually got in touch, the call went about as well as you’d expect for a surprise conversation with a musical idol.
“Two or three weeks later, I get this call,” Stone told Pitchfork. “We’re in the office, cutting out our stupid little construction paper and trying to do the show, and I get this call. It was like, ‘Matt, Les Claypool’s on line one.’ He was my hero at the time. I was so into the guy. And he was on the phone like, ‘What are you guys looking for? What do you guys need?’ He was looking for some direction, and my direction was idiotic. It was like, ‘Oh just do whatever you want to do, do whatever you want to do. It’s a small town in Colorado.’ That’s about how much I gave him. And he came back with that song. It’s great. It’s such a perfect encapsulation of ‘South Park.'”
“South Park” remains a reliable firebrand in Season 27, continuing to tackle timely news and controversies. In 2025 alone, the White House slammed “South Park” for its portrayal of President Donald Trump, and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem issued a less-than-thrilled response when the show featured her. At this point, whoever the show targets has probably learned to dread its theme song. Given how perfectly the song fits the series, it’s surprising how little Claypool knew about “South Park” when he wrote it, underscoring his musical instincts.
