Love Shack

"Love Shack"
Cover art for U.S. editions
Single by The B-52's
from the album Cosmic Thing
B-side "Channel Z"
Released June 20, 1989
Recorded 1988
Genre Pop rock,[1] dance-rock[2], new wave
Length 5:21 (album version)
4:16 (single version)
Label Reprise
Songwriter(s) Kate Pierson, Fred Schneider, Keith Strickland, Cindy Wilson
Producer(s) Don Was
The B-52's singles chronology
"Channel Z"
(1989)		 "Love Shack"
(1989)		 "Roam"
(1989)

"Channel Z"
(1989)		 "Love Shack"
(1989)		 "Roam"
(1989)
Audio sample
  • file
  • help
Music video
"Love Shack" on YouTube

"Love Shack" is a 1989 single by new wave band The B-52's, from their album Cosmic Thing. It is considered the band's signature song, and has been a concert staple since its release.

Release

Released in 1989 from their album Cosmic Thing, the single was the band's biggest hit song and first million-copy seller.[3] It was also the band's first song to reach the Billboard Top 40 charts, peaking at number 3,[4] also reaching number 2 on the UK Singles Chart, and was number 1 for eight weeks in Australia, number 1 for 4 weeks in New Zealand, number 1 in the Republic of Ireland and also number 1 on the US Modern Rock Tracks chart.

The song was a comeback of sorts, following the band's decline in popularity in the mid-1980s and the death of their guitarist Ricky Wilson in 1985.[5]

Produced by Don Was,[6] the song's inspiration was "a cabin around Athens, Georgia", complete with tin roof, where the band conceived "Rock Lobster", a single from their first album; it is often said to have been located off "the Atlanta Highway", as the first verse implies. B-52's singer Kate Pierson lived in the cabin in the 1970s, and the cabin existed until 2004 when it burned down.[4]

Music video

The music video was directed by Adam Bernstein and shot at the home and studio of ceramic artists Philip Maberry and Scott Walker in Highland, New York.[7][8] It is also the first time drag queen RuPaul had ever appeared in any type of media before his own turn as a singer and model only a few years later.

Awards and rankings

The song received a number of accolades following its release. Named as one of the 365 Songs of the Century in 2001,[9] the video for the song received an award from MTV as the Best Group Video, and was named the Best Single of 1989 by Rolling Stone.[3] Additionally, it was ranked #246 in Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.[10]

Track listing

The single release contained various tracks depending on the country it was released in. Some countries, including the United States, had singles backed with "Channel Z", while other releases included a live version of "Rock Lobster" as the B-side.[11] A reissue single in the U.S. paired it with the follow-up single "Roam", which had also reached number 3. In 1998 and 1999, the single was released again with a number of remixes, including one by DJ Tonka, but the re-release did not chart in the United States, although it did enter the United Kingdom charts.[12]

UK single

  1. "Love Shack" (Single Version) — 4:20
  2. "Love Shack" (LP Version) — 5:21

US 12" single / CD maxi-single

  1. "Love Shack" (12" Remix) — 8:00
  2. "Love Shack" (Remix/Edit) — 4:07
  3. "Channel Z" (12" Rock Mix) — 6:24
  4. "Love Shack" (12" Mix) — 6:10
  5. "Love Shack" (A Capella) — 3:56
  6. "Love Shack" (Big Radio Mix) — 5:31

Chart performance

  • "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.[32]
  • The Simpsons parodied the song in the 1999 episode "E-I-E-I-(Annoyed Grunt)" with a song titled "Glove Slap" over a montage of Homer challenging Springfield residents to a duel with gloves, as well as the end credits. This parody was also sung by the B-52's.
  • The song is heard in the 1991 film Frankie and Johnny, when Johnny (Al Pacino) interrupts Frankie's (Michelle Pfeiffer) bowling league, vying for her affections, to her dismay.
  • The song was used as a lip-sync song in the 2nd episode of the 9th season of the show RuPaul's Drag Race which the B-52's were also guests on.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Wilkerson Daily Corporation, ed. (1990). The Hollywood Reporter, Volume 315, N° 1 to 17.
  2. ↑ "The B-52s". B-52s. Archived from the original on 27 May 2013. Retrieved 28 July 2013. "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."
  3. 1 2 David Mansour, From Abba to Zoom: A Pop Culture Encyclopedia of the Late 20th Century. Andrews McNeel Publishing, 2005.
  4. 1 2 "B-52's 'Love Shack' burns down". The Associated Press. Today.com. 16 December 2004. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
  5. ↑ Richie Unterberger, Samb Hicks, Jennifer Dempsey. Music USA: The Rough Guide. Rough Guides, 1989.
  6. ↑ Fred Bronson. Billboard's Hottest Hot 100 Hits. Watson-Guptill, 2003.
  7. ↑ "Emmy Nominated Director's Strange Trip: From Sir-Mix-a-Lot's 'Baby Got Back' to 'Fargo'". TheWrap.com. 30 July 2014. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  8. ↑ "HOUSE PROUD; Thrill Rides on the Color Wheel". The New York Times. 1 May 2003. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  9. ↑ "Songs of the Century". Archives.cnn.com. Cable News Network LP, LLLP. 7 March 2001. Archived from the original on 24 October 2008. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
  10. ↑ "Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs Of All Time". Rolling Stone. April 2010. Retrieved November 3, 2015.
  11. ↑ "The B-52s Unofficial Discography: Love Shack". Theb52s.de. Archived from the original on 1 November 2005. Retrieved 24 January 2007.
  12. ↑ "The B-52s Unofficial Discography: Love Shack 99". Theb52s.de. Archived from the original on 14 September 2000. Retrieved 24 January 2007.
  13. ↑ "Australian-charts.com – The B-52's – Love Shack". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
  14. ↑ "Ultratop.be – The B-52's – Love Shack" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
  15. ↑ "Love Shack - B-52'S". VRT (in Dutch). Top30-2.radio2.be. Archived from the original on 22 February 2012. Retrieved 28 July 2013. Hoogste notering in de top 30 : 9
  16. ↑ "Dance/Urban - Volume 51, No. 10, January 20, 1990". Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  17. ↑ "Retail Sales - Volume 51, No. 7, December 16, 1989". Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  18. ↑ "Top Singles - Volume 51, No. 7, December 16, 1989". Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  19. ↑ "Lescharts.com – The B-52's – Love Shack" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
  20. ↑ "The Irish Charts - All there is to know". IRMA. Retrieved 28 July 2013. Only one result when searching "Love shack"
  21. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – The B-52's - Love Shack" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
  22. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – The B-52's – Love Shack" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
  23. ↑ "Charts.nz – The B-52's – Love Shack". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
  24. 1 2 "B-52's". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 October 2018.
  25. 1 2 3 4 "Cosmic Thing awards at Allmusic". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  26. ↑ http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?brws_s=1&file_num=nlc008388.6684&type=1&interval=24&PHPSESSID=mhe12pta2k83e08udtq66ot062
  27. ↑ "Billboard Top 100 - 1989". Billboard. The Longbored Surfer. Archived from the original on 25 January 2010. Retrieved 6 October 2013.
  28. ↑ "End of Year Charts 1990". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
  29. ↑ "Billboard Top 100 - 1990". Billboard. The Longbored Surfer. Archived from the original on 2 January 2014. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
  30. ↑ "1990 Top 100 Singles". Music Week. London, England: Spotlight Publications. 2 March 1991. p. 41.
  31. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20140814052832/http://www.australian-charts.com/bestall.asp?page=4. Archived from the original on 14 August 2014. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  32. ↑ "Stephanie's dance to Love Shack Baby". YouTube. April 29, 2011. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
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