The band's frontman Les Claypool said of the song: "John the Fisherman" was written so long ago.
[1]The live version of "John the Fisherman" that appears on Suck on This interpolates the intro to the 1981 Rush instrumental "YYZ".
Although the band did release the song as a single and filmed a video for it (featuring the band members performing the song on a boat, with a cameo appearance by Kirk Hammett of Metallica, who has been a close friend of Claypool since they attended the same school), the single had very limited success due to its being released on an indie label, and the band did not receive mainstream attention until their next single, "Jerry Was a Race Car Driver", from their 1991 major label debut Sailing the Seas of Cheese.
Because of this, many overlook "John the Fisherman" and claim "Jerry Was a Race Car Driver" was Primus' first single.
AllMusic writer Ned Raggett thought that the song "probably remains the most concentrated blast" on the album.