Love Shack
"Love Shack" is a song by American new wave band the B-52's from their fifth studio album, Cosmic Thing (1989). It was released on June 20, 1989, and was produced by Don Was. The song was a comeback for the band, following their decline in popularity in the mid-1980s and the death of guitarist Ricky Wilson in 1985.[6]
For the 2010 film, see Love Shack (film)."Love Shack" is considered the band's signature song and has been a concert staple since its release. Commercially, the single topped the charts in Australia, Ireland, and New Zealand and reached number two on the UK Singles Chart, number three on the US Billboard Hot 100 (becoming their first top-40 hit), and number five on the Canadian RPM 100 Singles chart. The song was later named one of the 365 Songs of the Century by the Recording Industry Association of America and one of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time by Rolling Stone.
Background[edit]
The genesis of the song came from B-52's frontman Fred Schneider, and was inspired by a club outside of Athens, Georgia, called the Hawaiian Ha-Le: "It was an African-American club that had a lot of good shows. It looked like a shack, you wouldn't expect it to be what it was, and when you opened the door, it was a wild band playing."[7] Kate Pierson stated that it was "kind of like the juke joint in The Color Purple", and that the band would hang out there with a large "bohemian" group of friends.[8] Cindy Wilson added, "It used to be this funky building with a tin roof that was old and rusty. They would have Soul Train [dance] lines."[7]
Another inspiration for the song was thought to be a cabin near Athens with a tin roof, where the band had conceived "Rock Lobster", a single from their 1979 debut album.[9] The five-room cabin, which was located on a dairy farm, had once been rented by Pierson and her then-husband, after they had relocated to Athens in the 1970s.[10] Author Mats Sexton recalled that Pierson had stated several of the band's early songs were conceived in the cabin through jamming, including "many different guitar riffs and assorted lyrics".[10] The cabin, which was on the cusp of being reoccupied and renovated, burned down in December 2004.[9]
Composition and recording[edit]
The song was the last to be recorded for the Cosmic Thing album and was devised when the band's sessions with producer Don Was finished a day early.[11] The band had a 15-minute long piece that was undeveloped and presented it to Was, who suggested integrating another piece they'd been improvising about a "love shack" as the song's chorus.[11] Pierson later recalled, "It wasn't even gonna make the album because it wasn't solidified. But after we added that chorus, Bingo, here it is; it sounds like a hit. But we didn't aim to write hits, we aimed to heal ourselves and channel Ricky [Wilson]'s spirit. That was the goal, and I knew his presence was there."[11] The section that begins "the love shack is a little old place where..." was initially only in the song once, but both Pierson and Was felt it should repeat, although Schneider disagreed.[8]
Wilson's line "tin roof rusted" originated from a jam session for the song, where the band were rehearsing along with pre-recorded instrumentation.[8] Wilson was yelling the line as the backing tape stopped, which the band found amusing and thought provided a suitable ending.[12] Wilson later elaborated, "It was just a vision in my head of my love shack."[12] While there has been speculation about the meaning of the line, Pierson has also corroborated that the line is literally referencing a rusted tin roof.[13] Wilson mused, "It's amazing what people have come up with in the past about it. I kind of like that. Let the people participate in the meaning. I'm fine with that."[12]
According to Was, Wilson's performance of the "tin roof rusted" line in the song's first proper recording session had an "exuberance that shocked everybody ... she infused it with so much feeling, it threw everybody."[11] After further attempts to re-record it failed to recreate the same "manic energy", Was decided he would keep the take and punch in the remainder of the song.[11] During the recording of one take, a lightning storm caused the power to go out in the studio during the breakdown section, which put the session temporarily on hold.[11] When the band reconvened, they realized the incomplete take was so good that they would keep it and splice it together with another take.[11]
Music video[edit]
The accompanying music video for "Love Shack" was directed by American film, music video and television director Adam Bernstein and shot at the home and studio of ceramic artists Philip Maberry and Scott Walker in Highland, New York.[32][33] Bernstein initially wanted to shoot the video in a New York studio but was convinced to relocate once he saw the house.[11]
The video features a cameo from a pre-fame RuPaul in his first mainstream appearance.[34] Pierson later recalled, "we invited all our friends and had a party. ... We started out really early in the morning and it turned into this rave. RuPaul got the dance line going, and it almost felt like we weren't being videotaped."[11] Guitarist Keith Strickland stated that the dance line scene was an homage to the television show Soul Train, and that RuPaul stepped in to direct the scene when Bernstein "didn't get the process".[11] Video artist Tom Rubnitz also appears in the video as the bartender.[35] The video won the award for Best Group Video at the 1990 MTV Video Music Awards.[36]
Credits are lifted from the Cosmic Thing album booklet. The Uptown Horns consist of Chris Cioe, Paul Litteral, Arno Hecht, Bob Funk, and Carl Beatty.[53]
Studios
Personnel