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This was inspired by a 1970 Temptations song called "Psychedelic Shack," which had the refrain: "Psychedelic Shack, that's where it's at." The location of the actual Love Shack is not clear, but in 2004 MSNBC reported that an unoccupied, 5-room cabin with a tin roof in Athens, Georgia that had recently burned down was probably the dwelling in question. Kate Pierson lived there in the '70s.
This introduced The B-52's to a mainstream audience. They had a strong cult following, especially in the gay community, but not a broad audience.
Towards the end, the music stops and Cindy Wilson wails: "Tin Roof, Rusted." The line is commonly misheard.
The lyrics are fun and harmless, but they can be interpreted as being about a place where people go to have sex. At Disney World, you will never see Mickey Mouse dancing to it - really - they refuse to play it at Disney weddings.
The video was shot at a house in Upstate New York belonging to a friend of the band. He can be seen in the garden as the camera sweeps by the window.
Drag queen Rupaul, unknown at the time, is in the video. He had a dance hit called "Supermodel" a few years later.
Nile Rodgers and Don Was produced this. Rodgers has produced hits for Peter Gabriel, Madonna and David Bowie, as well as his group Chic, who had Disco hits with "
Le Freak" and "
Good Times." Was has worked with Jewel, Bob Dylan, Elton John and The Rolling Stones. He also had his own group in the '80s called Was Not Was, who had a hit with "Walk The Dinosaur."
This was the B-52's first Top 10 hit in the US.
The group performed this on an episode of The Simpsons as "Glove Slap."
Fred Schneider and Kate Pierson performed this at the 2002 Jammy Awards with the group Particle. Since the awards honored jam bands, they stretched the song into an extended jam.
Over the years, various adult video stores have cropped up using the Love Shack name. There was also a movie released on video in 2010 called Love Shack, which was about a group of porn stars who get together to make a film in honor of a deceased producer.
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"TIIIIIN ROOF - RUSTED !".
as I dropped my chin defeated on "Rusted". Many Cackles were heard spouting, and Fred was seen scouting me up and down like a REAL Man see... inspecting the area that my shirt was previously covering with those funny eyes he makes, adding yet another crescendo.
An artist colony, everyone in Woodstock had a name for their house there on a sign -"Grandpa's dream" - "Happy meadow" - "Hippie Heaven" and I had suggested to Kate "Private Idaho" but "Love Shack" had already been nailed up at her place in Athens GA where 'Rock Lobster" was conceived, which also had a tin roof apparently. That one was NOT the origin of the quote in the song. The Woodstock cabin seemed to become Kates new Love shack 2 up north near Woodstock NY. They had written or were working on a song to match this name for the 'Cosmic Thing' album, and a few days later in the studio, they elected to do it now with a full stop in it and put Cindy doing the "TIIIIIN ROOF - Rusted" outtake injected in, with the Cackles following (and Fred's eyes in the video too). They suggested I come to Bearsville and hear it in pre-production because they are still all laughing about it, but I had other fish to fry (smaller). Thats the Facts about it, publicly they said it means nothing because it kind of does, the true story doesn't explain well, and showfolk know this hype all adds even more talk and mystique to a great #1 hit, cause everyone thinks it does mean something. It has come to mean many things to different listeners and is perhaps the song's most memorable line. It's all good to me, but root facts are these. It is now common slang esp. in the South now, to mean "Surprise Pregnancy". "Shawania got Tin Roof Rusted" or according to The Urban Dictionary ~ BOY-"You're WHAAAT?" GIRL - "TIIIIIN ROOF -RUSTED !". The true meaning is - It's Called an inside joke, the telling of which dissipates the much better unknown mystique to outsiders. It was from a Thanksgiving feast celebration in the Catskills. The true origin of "Tin Roof Rusted" is in Woodstock NY on Thanksgiving 1988, in a wild thunderstorm, in Kate's log cabin, to extend a Joke within an "unfolding organic moment", as Kate once called it to me herself. Thats it period, Final for all you meandering, speculating creative and unresolved bloggers and music trivia buffs. This is the final insight on it, the mystery is solved for you now. They sonically captured the bubbling bliss of the moment very well huh?- from my point of view at least.
I had a brief but good soul connection with Keith, who is a very decent sensitive really creative spiritual guy. Kate with her fondness for nature and Native American traditions became a friend beyond a client then and was always kindly to me.
Another tidbit, She told me when organizing the album, she put a list of potential producers before a highfalutin psychic in Texas. She said she had already decided to use ace top dog Don Was, but wanted to see if the psychic would have picked him out of a list to confirm the lucky stars in her decision. The psychic told her "If you use This one (Don Was) ANND This One - you will have a Hit album. The other was Nile Rogers. She said she was shocked, "We are Family- Le Freak- Good Times-Disco Nile? But we are New Wave !". "Use this man Nile too, and you will create a Hit Album". Why, she only put his name there as padding, a decoy with many other names she had no intention of ever really using as a producer, and now this. She decided to flow with the universe and take the cosmic advice for "Cosmic Thing" and it went multi-platinum. Both "Roam" and "(Shake Your) Cosmic Thing" went to #3 - "Love Shack" to #1. Love Shack 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 three, also reaching number two on the UK Singles Chart, and was number one for eight weeks in Australia and also number one on the US Modern Rock Tracks chart. 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 #243 in Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In 2006, it was also named as one of VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the 80s, placing at #40. In February 1991 The B-52s were nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group for 'Roam' because they deserved it I think. Kate told me she had to view video archives for days to find the clips you see in the 'Roam' videos, but that she culled "The Right ones". Do any 2 female singers or duo today sound anything remotely as interesting as Kate and Cindy? Let us go back and hear this Love Shack song undressed, for Thankgivings of a pop mystery solved.
My own favorite personal Cosmic Thangs with it all were in pre-technology 1994 India, once when I heard it on an unlikely satellite radio and realized, it was Cosmic Thing -now coming in from spaace. The other was also in India when I befriended a sweet talented German boy who told me he had a rockin' band back home. "O yea- whats your bands name"- "Tin Roof Rusted" - "From the B-52's song?" -- "Hey Wow- you know it !". Yup. Full circle. (Ain't that right Shanthi Boy?)
So 'Love Shack' legitimately belongs evermore on the already awkward Thanksgiving day radio Playlist with 'Alice's Restaurant' from this final revelation day on the matter, Today, Thanksgiving 2012, when I will next post this in all the wrangling 'hidden meaning of Lyrics' sites and blogs to settle all the yammering once and for all about this Tin Roof that Rusted. This music trivia case is now closed. So now if your girlfriend tells you her "Tin Roof Rusted", there is still a slight chance she only means the roof is leaking. And may your Terkey holiday be so Blessed with thankfulness and blessed potatoes, esp. the biggest B-52 fans I ever knew, you Jax and Mags. Hi Kate. Hi Keith, how goes the sonic atmosphere? I've been roaming, ‘cause I wanted to.
BTW, while "tin roof...rusted" is Cindy's line, sometimes Kate would say it live instead, especially when they first toured for the Cosmic Thing album.
#1: "Tin Roof, Rusted" DOES NOT mean "pregnant" Cindy (the one who said it in the song) said that she "just made it up"
#2: The black chick in the white outfit with the fro, is NOT Ru Paul!
#3: When he says "hop in my Chrysler it's as big as a whale..." He's ACTUALLY TALKING about his Chrysler!
Yeesh!
Thanks Nia.
http://www.lyricsjunkie.com/B-52s+lyrics/Love+Shack.html (link to lyrics)
There's a very good 80s covers band here in Las Vegas called Loveshack. They currently play at Santa Fe Station.
and kate pierson performed backing vocals on the iggy pop song "candy"