Love Shack



"Love Shack" is a single by new wave band The B-52's. Originally released in 1989 from their album Cosmic Thing, the single was the band's biggest hit song and first million-copy seller. It was also the band's first song to reach the Billboard Top 40 charts, peaking at number 3, 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.

Produced by Don Was, 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. "Tin roof...rusted," wailed by lead singer Cindy Wilson, was originally an outtake added to the track, and is perhaps the song's most memorable line. Fred Schneider also provides some memorable lines, including his notable boast of having a Chrysler that is "as big as a whale" and "seats about twenty". It has come to mean many things to different listeners.

The 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. The song was a comeback of sorts following the band's decline in popularity in the mid 1980s coupled with the death of their guitarist, Ricky Wilson, in 1985.

The song received a number of accolades following its release. Named as one of the 365 Songs of the Century in 2001, 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. Additionally, it was ranked #246 in Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Track listing
The single release contained various tracks depending on the country it was released in. The United States had a B-side of "Roam", a song that would later reach number 3 as well, and other countries had singles with either "Channel Z" or a live version of "Rock Lobster" as the B-side. 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.

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

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.
 * Alvin and the Chipmunks and The Chipettes covered the song for their 1996 album Club Chipmunk: The Dance Mixes.
 * In a 2015 episode of The Muppets, "Pig Out", the song is performed by Gonzo, Rizzo, and Pepe.
 * 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 performed on Glee as the finale of the Season Three episode 13 entitled "Heart".