Infatuation

Album: Camouflage (1984)
Charted: 27 6
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • In this song, Stewart is incapacitated by his obsession with a woman. He's clearly unhinged, making some bad decisions that cause him to declare in the pre-chorus:

    Oh no not again
    It hurts so good
    I don't understand


    The woman who has both his heart and mind racing is Kelly Emberg, a fashion model who was his girlfriend at the time. Stewart wrote in his Anthology liner notes: "Written in the early days of my relationship with Kelly Emberg, my long-suffering girlfriend. Our situation was the inspiration."

    Stewart and Emberg never married but had a child together, daughter Ruby, in 1987. They split up in 1990.
  • This was the biggest hit from the Camouflage album, which came at a creative nadir for Stewart, as he had little interest in the project. The task of completing the album fell to Michael Omartian, who was assigned as producer. At his manager's suggestion, Stewart let Omartian steer the ship because Rod was in no condition to do so. "He did the best he could with an artist that wasn't involved," Stewart told Mojo. "I didn't care."
  • This song has a drum machine and keyboard feel that was very popular in 1984, but also a very crisp horn section that included Jerry Hey and Chuck Findley. The guitarist, often reported as Stewart's longtime mate Jeff Beck, was actually Michael Landau.
  • Stewart wrote this song with Duane Hitchings and Rowland Robinson, who worked together in The New Cactus Band.
  • The video, directed by Jonathan Kaplan, shows Stewart in full-on stalker mode, using binoculars to spy on his infatuation. The leading lady is Kay Lenz, who was in the film American Graffiti and appeared on a number of TV shows, including The Fall Guy and MacGyver. She was married to David Cassidy in the late '70s and early '80s.
  • The very first MTV Video Music Awards is remembered for Madonna's wedding-dress rendition of "Like A Virgin," but Stewart was the first performer on the show, doing "Infatuation."

Comments: 1

  • Rhonda Hodges / Wife Of Teenie Hodges from Hot Springs ArIt’s Roland Robinson not Rowland. He was my husband Teenie’s cousin.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

When Rock Belonged To Michelob

When Rock Belonged To MichelobSong Writing

Michelob commercials generated hits for Eric Clapton, Genesis and Steve Winwood in the '80s, even as some of these rockers were fighting alcoholism.

Mike Campbell

Mike CampbellSongwriter Interviews

Mike is lead guitarist with Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, and co-writer of classic songs like "Boys Of Summer," "Refugee" and "The Heart Of The Matter."

Protest Songs

Protest SongsMusic Quiz

How well do you know your protest songs (including the one that went to #1)?

Best Band Logos

Best Band LogosSong Writing

Queen, Phish and The Stones are among our picks for the best band logos. Here are their histories and a design analysis from an expert.

Michael Schenker

Michael SchenkerSongwriter Interviews

The Scorpions and UFO guitarist is also a very prolific songwriter - he explains how he writes with his various groups, and why he was so keen to get out of Germany and into England.

American Hits With Foreign Titles

American Hits With Foreign TitlesSong Writing

What are the biggest US hits with French, Spanish (not "Rico Suave"), Italian, Scottish, Greek, and Japanese titles?