Volkswagen ‘Black Beetle’ Commercial – What’s the Song?

Jon Spencer Blues Explosion covers Ram Jam's 1977 rock smash 'Black Betty' in the new teaser commercial for the Volkswagen Beetle. The ad will make its televised debut during tonight's Super Bowl.

The hero of the clip is an inexplicably cute black beetle with twin white racing stripes. He races past ants, centipedes, grasshoppers and other jungle insects with ease, handling tight turns and long jumps with the help of dramatic slow-motion camera work.

Meanwhile, the Blues Explosion deliver a lean, super-charged take on the AOR classic that features one of the most inscrutable and yet completely irresistible lyrics of all time:

"Whoa-oh, black betty bam-a-lam / Whoa-oh, black betty bam-a-lam / Black betty had a child bam-a-lam / The damn thing gone wild bam-a-lam / She said it weren't in her mind bam-a-lam / Said whoa-oh, black betty bam-a-lam / Whoa-oh, black betty bam-a-lam."

Jon Spencer Blues Explosion are a fantastic rock-punk-alternative blues band who rose to fame in the '90s but took a long break following the release of their 2004 album 'Damage.'  They started returning to the live scene in 2008, and have mentioned making a new studio album sometime in the near future. Bam-a-lam.

Watch the Volkswagen 'Black Beetle' Commercial Featuring Jon Spencer Blues Explosion