34 years ago today, The B-52’s released their fifth studio album, Cosmic Thing. It’s considered to be a comeback for the band, following the death of guitarist, songwriter and founding member Ricky Wilson in 1985. The band found commercial success with the record and was the 9th best-selling album of 1990 in the US.
The album produced the hits “Roam,” “Channel Z,” “Deadbeat Club,” and most notably, “Love Shack,” considered to be their signature song.
Speaking about the inspiration for "Love Shack," frontman Fred Schneider described the Georgia club named Hawaiian Ha-Le saying, "It was an African-American club that had a lot of good shows. It looked like a shack, you wouldn't expect it to be what it was, and when you opened the door, it was a wild band playing.”
Bandmate Cindy Wilson added, "It used to be this funky building with a tin roof that was old and rusty. They would have Soul Train lines."
The song was their first top 40 hit and the music video won the award for Best Group Video at the 1990 MTV Video Music Awards.
