View source for Five Minutes (Bonzo Goes to Washington)

"'''Five Minutes'''" is a song by [[Jerry Harrison]], [[Bootsy Collins]] and producer [[Daniel Lazerus]], and credited to '''Bonzo Goes to Washington'''. It was released on the Sleeping Bag Records label in 1984.

== Sample ==
The song prominently uses as sample of then president Ronald Reagan, jokingly discussing the possibility of a nuclear war between the USSR and the US, saying the line "We begin bombing in Five minutes!" Harrison acquired this tape of Reagan from somebody involved with his political opponent, Walter Mondale.<ref name=":0">Pehling, Dave. “CBS SF Talks to Talking Heads Member Jerry Harrison about Remain in Light.” Cbsnews.com, CBS San Francisco, 14 Aug. 2024, www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/interview-talking-heads-jerry-harrison-adrian-belew-remain-in-light/. Accessed 22 Aug. 2024.</ref>

== Recording ==
Through Harrison's connection to [[Bernie Worrell]], he got recruited [[Bootsy Collins]] to play bass on the track. According to Harrison, Collins was actually testifying before the US House of Representative at the time of recording. While Collins wanted to be a part of the project, he also "doesn't like to fly," leading to the bassist driving directly to Chicago for the recording session. <ref name=":0" />

== Release ==
While Harrison initially tried to put the record out through [[Atlantic Records]], the political nature of the song lead Harrison to release it through Sleeping Bag Records, founded by [[Arthur Russell]] and [[Will Socolov]]. According to Harrison, "''Will Socolov's family were members of the Communist Party, so I guess they had little to fear that they would have any extra scrutiny.''"<ref name=":0" />

== Sources ==