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.

"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'' Top Singles chart. ''Rolling Stone'' named "Love Shack" the best single of 1989 and ranked it 246th on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. The song was also named one of the 365 Songs of the Century in 2001.

Background

The inspiration for the song was "a cabin around Athens, Georgia," with a tin roof, where the band conceived "Rock Lobster", a single from their debut album. The cabin was said to have been located off the Atlanta Highway near Athens. B-52's singer Kate Pierson lived in the cabin in the 1970s, and it burned down in December 2004. Cindy Wilson's line "tin roof rusted" was originally an outtake from a jamming session, where Wilson continued her line while the tape had stopped. While there has been speculation about the meaning of the line, according to Kate Pierson, it literally means a rusted tin roof.

Critical reception

Matthew Hocter from Albumism noted the band's "own unique brand of upbeat, lyrically positive and infectious dance grooves", like on "Love Shack". Stephen Thomas Erlewine from 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." 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!" Pan-European magazine ''Music & Media'' said it is the best track from the disappointing ''Cosmic Thing''. "Good clean fun from some of the US' most productive eccentrics." David Giles from ''Music Week'' wrote, "The B-52's deserve a hit after their fine return to form last summer with the ''Cosmic Thing'' LP, but I'd be surprised if this is the track to do it." He added, "Like Party Out of Bounds, it tries to conjure up a wild, chaotic celebration, but unlike that particular track it is neither inventive nor melodic enough." A reviewer from ''People'' magazine noted "the wild abandon" of the song.

Music video

The accompanying music video for "Love Shack" was directed by American film director, music video director and television director Adam Bernstein and shot at the home and studio of ceramic artists Philip Maberry and Scott Walker in Highland, New York. The video features a cameo from a pre-fame RuPaul in his first mainstream appearance. The video won the award for Best Group Video at the 1990 MTV Video Music Awards.

Commercial performance

The single was the band's biggest hit song as well as their first million-copy seller.David Mansour, ''From Abba to Zoom: A Pop Culture Encyclopedia of the Late 20th Century.'' Andrews McNeel Publishing, 2005. It was the band's first song to reach the top 40 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, peaking at number three in November 1989. It also reached number five in Canada, number two in the United Kingdom, and number one in Australia (eight weeks), Ireland (one week) and New Zealand (four weeks), as well as on the ''Billboard'' Modern Rock Tracks chart (four weeks).

Track listings

The single release contained different tracks in different countries of release. Some countries, including the United States, had singles backed with " Channel Z", while other releases included live versions of "Planet Claire" and "Rock Lobster" as the B-side. In 1999, the single was released again with a number of remixes, including one by DJ Tonka. Although the re-release did not chart in the United States, it did enter the UK Singles Chart.

US 12-inch maxi-single
:A1. "Love Shack" (12-inch remix) — 7:58
:A2. "Love Shack" (12-inch instrumental) — 6:34
:B1. "Love Shack" (12-inch mix) — 6:09
:B2. "Love Shack" (Big Radio mix) — 5:32
:B3. "Channel Z" (12-inch rock mix) — 6:22

US maxi-single
# "Love Shack" (12-inch remix) – 7:58
# "Love Shack" (remix/edit) – 4:02
# "Channel Z" (12-inch rock mix) – 6:22
# "Love Shack" (12-inch mix) – 6:09
# "Love Shack" (a cappella) – 3:54
# "Love Shack" (Big Radio mix) – 5:32

International 7-inch single
:A. "Love Shack" (edit) – 4:15
:B. "Channel Z" (LP version) – 4:49

Australian 12-inch single
:A1. "Love Shack" (12-inch remix) – 7:58
:A2. "Love Shack" (12-inch instrumental) – 6:34
:A3. "Rock Lobster" (original version) – 6:49
:B1. "Love Shack" (12-inch mix) – 6:09
:B2. "Love Shack" (Big Radio mix) – 5:32
:B3. "Channel Z" (12-inch rock mix) – 6:22

Australian CD single
# "Love Shack" – 4:18
# "Planet Claire" (live) – 5:10
# "Rock Lobster" (live) – 5:17

"Love Shack 99"
# "Love Shack 99" (radio mix) – 4:39
# "Love Shack" (DJ Tonka remix) – 6:28
# "Love Shack" (album version) – 5:21

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

"Love Shack 99"

Year-end charts

Certifications

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''.
*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 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.
* The song was lip synced in 2016 on the television show ''Lip Sync Battle'' by American basketball player Shaquille O'Neal. 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."
*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 a bar off-campus.
*The B-52's were guest judges on the ninth season of the drag reality television show RuPaul's Drag Race, where this 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 it 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 "Mac Portable."
* "Take me to your love shack, Mama's always got to backtrack," from the song "Everybody Talks" (2011) by Neon Trees, briefly references the song.

See also

* List of Billboard number-one alternative singles of the 1980s
* List of number-one singles in Australia during the 1980s
* List of number-one singles of 1990 (Ireland)
* List of number-one singles from the 1990s (New Zealand)

References

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1989 singles
1989 songs
1999 singles
The B-52's songs
Irish Singles Chart number-one singles
Number-one singles in Australia
Number-one singles in New Zealand
Reprise Records singles
Song recordings produced by Don Was
Songs about Georgia (U.S. state)
Songs written by Cindy Wilson
Songs written by Fred Schneider
Songs written by Kate Pierson
Songs written by Keith Strickland