Tin Roof!!…….Rusted!!
“If you see a painted sign at the side of the road that says 15 miles to the……………..”. The fact of the matter is, whether you love the song or not, we all know what comes next! LOVE SHACK!! That’s right, “love shack yeah yeah”. This song lives in wedding reception infamy, and as a DJ, it’s either a song that I keep in my back pocket until the time is just right, or it’s a song that I could use to start the night off … sometimes I even forget to play it altogether! Let’s dive in and take a look at one of the most iconic songs of the 80s!!
"Love Shack" is a song by American new wave band the B-52's from their fifth studio album, Cosmic Thing (1989). After doing some research, I learned that it was released on June 20, 1989. The song was a comeback for the band, following their decline in popularity in the mid-1980s. It is considered the bands’ most popular song and rightfully so! It was inspired by a club outside of Athens, Georgia, called the Hawaiian Ha-Le. "It used to be this funky building with a tin roof that was old and rusty. They would have Soul Train [dance] lines.”, singer Cindy Wilson said. Another inspiration for the song was thought to be a cabin near Athens with a tin roof, where the band had wrote "Rock Lobster", a single from their 1979 debut album.
“The tin roof, rusted.” Probably the most important line during an entire dance party. As a DJ, “Love Shack” is a song you NEVER cut early to mix in another. Over my 20 plus years of DJing weddings, I have never once questioned when or where I should play this song. It can spin anywhere or anytime, and once that first beat drops, people of all ages make the mad dash to the floor in anticipation of the song’s hook: “bang, bang, bang on the door baby” and yell, “tin roof, rusted!!” Let’s take a closer look and how this line became famous!
Singer Cindy Wilson first yelled the line during a pre-recorded rehearsal, and the tape cut out, which the band found amusing and thought it might be a suitable ending. Little did they know how it would impact the song forever. The band has stated the line literally references an actual tin roof from the songs inspiration cabins/clubs, but people over the years have come up with various meanings, which they are ok with. According to the band, Wilson's performance of the "tin roof rusted" line in the song's first proper recording session had an "exuberance that shocked everybody ... she infused it with so much feeling, it threw everybody." Further attempts to record the line did not have the same feel and they kept it as is.
I personally love to love the Love Shack…….it just makes sense. Not only for how it can come in handy during a dance party, but on occasion…….ok, most likely always, I find myself jamming along behind my DJ booth when this song is spinning. Whatever the case is, Energy Entertainment is always ready to release the tin roof , but only if you want it!!
DJ Brad
EE Team
