Love Shack

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For the 2010 film, see Love Shack (film).

"Love Shack"
the B-52's
from the album Cosmic Thing
B-side"Channel Z"
ReleasedJune 20, 1989 (1989-06-20)[1]
StudioDreamland (West Hurley, New York)
Genre
Length
  • 5:21 (album version)
  • 4:15 (single edit)
The B-52's
singles chronology
"Channel Z"
(1989) 		"Love Shack"
(1989) 		"Roam"
(1989)
Audio sample
  • YouTube

"Love Shack" is a song by American

Ricky Wilson in 1985.[6]

"Love Shack" is considered the band's

500 Greatest Songs of All Time by Rolling Stone
.

Background

The genesis of the song came from B-52s 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

The song was the last to be recorded for the

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]

Reception

I had to go with our A&R person, bless her heart, and beg radio stations to play it — they thought it was too weird. We felt 'Love Shack' was probably the most accessible commercial thing we'd ever done, and finally they started playing it, and it made it all the way to No. 3 on the Billboard charts.

—Fred Schneider; Entertainment Weekly magazine, 2018[14]

Commercial

"Love Shack" became the band's biggest hit song as well as their first million-copy seller.

Modern Rock Tracks chart (four weeks).[21]

Critical

Caren Myers from

NME felt it was a rip-off of the Miracles' "Going to a Go-Go".[25] People magazine noted the "wild abandon" of the song.[26]

In retrospective reviews, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic described it as "an irresistible dance number with delightfully silly lyrics and hooks as big as a whale that unbelievably gave the group a long-awaited Top Ten hit."[27] Matthew Hocter from Albumism cited "Love Shack" as an example of the band's "own unique brand of upbeat, lyrically positive and infectious dance grooves".[28] The Daily Vault's Denise Henderson commented, "The celebration of life in dance and music is demonstrated by the repetitive chorus 'Everybody's movin/everybody's groovin baby!' Well, when in doubt, dancing and drinking and having a little fun always worked for me!"[29]

Legacy

"Love Shack" was named one of the

500 Greatest Songs of All Time.[31]

Music video

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

Best Group Video at the 1990 MTV Video Music Awards.[36]

Track listings

The single release contained different tracks in different countries of release. Some countries, including the United States, had singles backed with "

UK Singles Chart.[38]

"Love Shack"

"Love Shack 99"
  1. "Love Shack 99" (radio mix) – 4:39
  2. "Love Shack" (DJ Tonka remix) – 6:28
  3. "Love Shack" (album version) – 5:21
  • UK cassette single[52]
  1. "Love Shack 99" (radio mix) – 4:39
  2. "Love Shack" (album version) – 5:21

Credits and personnel

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

  • The B-52's – writing
    • Fred Schneider – vocals
    • Cindy Wilson – vocals
    • Kate Pierson – vocals, keyboards
    • Keith Strickland – guitar
  • Sara Lee – bass guitar
  • Charley Drayton – drums
  • Uptown Horns – horns
  • Don Was – production
  • Tom Durack – mixing
  • Dave Cook – engineering
  • Martin Kunitz – assistant engineering
  • Bob Ludwig – mastering

Charts

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[69] 2× Platinum 140,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[74] Platinum 600,000‡
United States (RIAA)[75] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
Europe June 20, 1989 7-inch vinyl Reprise [1]
United States August 18, 1989
  • 7-inch vinyl
  • 12-inch vinyl
  • CD
  • cassette
 [75]
Japan January 25, 1990 Mini-CD [76]
United Kingdom February 19, 1990
  • 7-inch vinyl
  • CD
 [77]
March 5, 1990 7-inch Love Shack Pack [78]

In popular culture

  • "Love Shack" was played in the third-season finale of Full House, where Stephanie danced to the song at the "We Love Our Children" telethon. The scene was also recreated by Jimmy Gibbler in the final season of Fuller House.[79]
  • In the Step by Step episode "The Kissing Game", the song can be heard on the radio in the background during the party that JT is throwing at Carol's salon.
  • The science education show Bill Nye the Science Guy featured a parody of the song titled "Bloodstream", about the human circulatory system, as a "Soundtrack of Science" segment in the episode "Blood & Circulation".
  • The song was covered in Glee's third-season episode "Heart". The episode, broadcast on Valentines Day, used the song to close the show. The cover, primarily performed by Darren Criss and Chris Colfer, was cited as the highlight of the episode by several critics, and a "rousing" end to the episode.[80][81]
  • In 2016, the song was lip synced by American basketball player Shaquille O'Neal on the television show Lip Sync Battle.[82] Because O'Neal commonly goes by the nickname Shaq, host LL Cool J pointed out that O'Neal was singing a "love song to himself."[82]
  • This song was featured at the start of the 21 Jump Street season 4 episode "Say It Ain't So, Pete", where Hanson and Penhall go undercover at an off-campus bar.
  • The B-52's were guest judges on the ninth season of the drag reality television show RuPaul's Drag Race, where the song was performed in a "Lip Sync For Your Life" by drag queens Jaymes Mansfield and Kimora Blac.
  • The B-52's guest-starred in the episode "E-I-E-I-(Annoyed Grunt)" of The Simpsons, in which they sang a parody of the song, titled "Glove Slap".
  • "Love Shack" was the developmental code name given by Apple Computer for their first Mac OS-compatible portable computer, the Macintosh Portable.
  • "Take me to your love shack, Mama's always got to backtrack", from the 2011 song "Everybody Talks" by Neon Trees, briefly references the song.
  • After completing the main story of the video game Saints Row (2022), a cutscene features most of the game's characters singing along to "Love Shack" in karaoke style.

See also

References

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  2. ^ Wilkerson Daily Corporation, ed. (1990). The Hollywood Reporter, Volume 315, N° 1 to 17.
  3. ^ "B-52s". WOLX-FM. From groundbreaking songs like "Rock Lobster," ... to chart-topping hits like "Love Shack" ... the B-52s' unforgettable dance-rock tunes start a party every time their music begins.
  4. ^ Molanphy, Chris (July 13, 2018). "The Deadbeat Club Edition, Part 2". Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia (Podcast). Slate. Retrieved August 3, 2023.
  5. ^ a b Harrington, Jim (2015). "The B-52's "Love Shack". In Dimery, Robert (ed.). 1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die. New York: Universe. p. 621.
  6. ISBN 185828421X
    .
  7. ^ a b Grow, Kory (June 1, 2018). "Love Shacks, Rock Lobsters and Nude Parties: The B-52's in Their Own Words". Rolling Stone. Retrieved January 29, 2023.
  8. ^ a b c Harris, Will (November 1, 2011). "Kate Pierson of The B-52s". The A.V. Club. Retrieved January 25, 2023.
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