"Suddenly Last Summer" is a new wave song by American new wave band

the Motels The Motels are an American new wave band from Berkeley, California, that is best known for the singles "Only the Lonely" and "Suddenly Last Summer", each of which peaked at No. 9 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, in 1982 and 1983, respectively. In ...

, released as the lead single from their fourth album, ''

Little Robbers ''Little Robbers'' is the RIAA Gold-certified fourth studio album by new wave band the Motels. It was recorded between February and August 1983 and released on September 16 of that year. It features the hit song, "Suddenly Last Summer", which ...

'' (1983). The single peaked at number nine on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and topped the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' Rock Top Tracks chart. In Canada, it climbed to number 11 and endded 1983 as the country's 98th-best-selling single. The

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

of the

7-inch single In music, a single is a type of release, typically a song recording of fewer tracks than an LP record or an album. One can be released for sale to the public in a variety of formats. In most cases, a single is a song that is released separate ...

is "Some Things Never Change," and the song was included on the 1990

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

, ''

No Vacancy – The Best of The Motels ''No Vacancy – The Best of The Motels'' is a compilation album by the new wave band, The Motels released in 1990. This album was released in United States, manufactured for BMG BMG may refer to: Organizations * Music publishing companies: ** ...

''.

Inspiration

Martha Davis has said in various interviews that the song touches upon themes such as the loss of virginity and innocence. She has also mentioned how the inspiration came from knowing that "...summer is ending when you hear the ice cream truck go by for the last time and you know he won't be back for a while". In an interview with Davis in 2019, Linda Tuccio-Koonz further expanded on the song's themes of cyclical loss and new beginnings:

"'Suddenly Last Summer' percolated for years. The song, written after her parents had died — her mom by suicide and her dad from illness — is a reflection on those moments in life when things are changing, like when it’s a beautiful sunny day and a cold wind blows and you know the end of summer is coming."

Despite sharing the same name, there are no ties to

Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the thre ...

' 1958 one-act play of the same name. The writer had died in February 1983—the same month that

returned to the studio to record ''

''. According to Davis, the writer's death and the song's release were purely coincidental. She hadn't read Williams' work or seen the 1959 film version of ''

Suddenly, Last Summer ''Suddenly Last Summer'' is a one-act play by Tennessee Williams, written in New York in 1957. It opened off Broadway on January 7, 1958, as part of a double bill with another of Williams' one-acts, '' Something Unspoken'' (written in London i ...

'' until long after the song was released. Also, "Suddenly Last Summer" was chosen because Davis liked the alliterative sound of the title.

Music video

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

was directed by the single's producer

Val Garay Val Garay (born May 9, 1942, in San Francisco, California, United States) is an American recording engineer and record producer who has worked with Kim Carnes, Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor, Neil Diamond, and others. Garay also co-founded Los An ...

with cinematography by John Alonzo. The video, filmed with

soft focus In photography, soft focus is a lens flaw, in which the lens forms images that are blurred due to spherical aberration. A soft focus lens deliberately introduces spherical aberration in order to give the appearance of blurring the image while ...

, depicts Martha Davis recalling a romantic encounter at the beach (with the love interest portrayed by

Robert Carradine Robert Reed Carradine ( ; born March 24, 1954) is an American actor. A member of the Carradine family, he made his first appearances on television Western series such as ''Bonanza'' and his brother David's TV series, ''Kung Fu''. Carradine's fir ...

) after an ice cream truck passes through her neighborhood; everyone else has a judging, stern expression both in the past and when she awakes back in the present. The book Davis is seen reading in the video is Jane Bierce's 1983 novel ''Building Passion''. The band members also appear and loosely reenact the stances of the "robbers" on the ''

'' album cover at the video's conclusion. The video's sleep motif may have been inspired by Davis' songwriting process, as she awoke at 3 A.M. with the inspiration to write "Suddenly Last Summer".

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

In popular culture

Two

bootleg Bootleg or bootlegging most often refers to: * Bootleg recording, an audio or video recording released unofficially * Rum-running, the illegal business of transporting and trading in alcoholic beverages, hence: ** Moonshine, or illicitly made ...

dance versions have been made of the song, one with a

techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time (4/4) and often ch ...

-like dance beat and another with a semi-tropical beat. The song has appeared on the

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...

of the TV show ''

Breaking Bad ''Breaking Bad'' is an American crime drama television series created and produced by Vince Gilligan. Set and filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the series follows Walter White (Bryan Cranston), an underpaid, overqualified, and dispirited hig ...

'' and also on '' American Horror Story: 1984''.

References

{{Authority control 1983 songs The Motels songs 1983 singles Capitol Records singles Songs written by Martha Davis (musician) Song recordings produced by Val Garay