Songful Style Link Party #38: “Love Shack” by The B-52s

About Songful Style

Songful Style is a style challenge series hosted by Shelbee of Shelbee on the Edge, Marsha of Marsha in the Middle, and Suzy of Suzy Turner, The Grey Brunette.

Each month we will share a song with the lyrics and video and we invite you to use whatever aspect of the song that inspires you to create an outfit. 

It is similar to Style Imitating Art where we use artwork to inspire our outfit creations. Except Songful Style gives you lyrics, music, video, and album artwork to inspire your fashion creativity. You may even find inspiration in a memory triggered by the selected song. It is all open to your own personal interpretation and just a fun way to discover new music and get a little bit more creative with your wardrobe.

Anyone is welcome to join us on a permanent basis or you can just play along without any obligation to do anything other than feel inspired. We are flexible and fun and just want to find more ways to play dress up because it’s what we enjoy doing! 

We will be posting on the last Monday of each month and will announce our song choice for the following month at the end of each post. You are welcome to style your own song inspired outfit and add it to the link party or link anything that you want to share even if it has nothing to do with the song. 

Marsha chose this month’s musical inspiration simply because she loves both the song and the video. It is a fun one, for sure. But holy love shack, it is an ear worm of the most persistent sort!

The Video

“Love Shack” by The B-52s

The Lyrics

If you see a faded sign at the side of the road that says
"15 miles to the love shack"
Love shack, yeah, yeah
I'm headin' down the Atlanta highway
Lookin' for the love getaway
Heading for the love getaway

I got me a car, it's as big as a whale
And we're headin' on down to the love shack
I got me a Chrysler, it seats about 20
So hurry up and bring your jukebox money

The love shack is a little old place where
We can get together

Love shack, baby (a love shack, baby)
Love shack, baby, love shack
Love shack, baby, love shack
Love shack, baby, love shack (love, baby, that's where it's at)
Love shack, baby, love shack (love, baby, that's where it's at)

Sign says (woo) "Stay away fools"
'Cause love rules at the love shack
Well, it's set way back in the middle of a field
Just a funky old shack and I gotta get back

Glitter on the mattress
Glitter on the highway
Glitter on the front porch
Glitter on the highway

The love shack is a little old place where
We can get together

Love shack, baby (love shack, baby)
Love shack, that's where it's at
Love shack, that's where it's at

Huggin' and a kissin', dancin' and a lovin'
Wearin' next to nothing, 'cause it's hot as an oven
The whole shack shimmies (woo)
Yeah, the whole shack shimmies (woo-hoo)
The whole shack shimmies
When everybody's movin' around
And around and around and around

Everybody's movin', everybody's groovin', baby
Folks linin' up outside just to get down
Everybody's movin', everybody's groovin', baby
Funky little shack, funky little shack

Hop in my Chrysler, it's as big as a whale
And it's about to set sail
I got me a car, it seats about 20
So come on and bring your jukebox money

The love shack is a little old place where
We can get together

Love shack, baby (a love shack, baby)
Love shack, baby, love shack
Love shack, baby, love shack
Love shack, baby, love shack (love, baby, that's where it's at, yeah)
Love shack, baby, love shack (love, baby, that's where it's at)

Bang, bang, bang, on the door, baby
Knock a little louder baby
Bang, bang, bang, on the door, baby
I can't hear you
Bang, bang, bang, on the door, baby
Knock a little louder, sugar
Bang, bang, bang, on the door, baby
I can't hear you

Bang, bang, bang, on the door, baby (knock a little louder)
Bang, bang, bang, on the door, baby
Bang, bang (on the door, baby)
Bang, bang (on the door)
Bang, bang (on the door, baby)
Bang, bang (you're what?)
Tin roof, rusted

Love shack, baby, love shack
Love shack, baby, love shack (love, baby, that's where it's at, yeah)
Love shack, baby, love shack (love, baby, that's where it's at)
Love shack, baby love shack (huggin' and a kissin', dancin' and a lovin')
At the love shack

About the Band and the Song

The B-52s are an American new wave band from Athens, Georgia. The band was formed in 1976 after Fred Schneider (vocals and percussion), Kate Pierson (vocals, keyboards, and synth bass), Cindy Wilson (vocals and percussion), Ricky Wilson (guitar and vocals), and Keith Strickland (drums, guitar, keyboards, and vocals) shared a flaming volcano drink at a Chinese restaurant followed by an impromptu jam session. On Valentine’s Day 1977, they played their first gig at a party for their friends.

According to Bernard Gendron, the band evokes a “thrift shop aesthetic” which draws on the pop music, rock and roll, and camp/kitsch culture of the 1950s and 1960s. Their trademark sound included guitar and keyboard driven instrumentation juxtaposed with the unusual guitar tunings of Ricky Wilson and the contrasting vocals of Schneider, Cindy Wilson, and Pierson.

The band’s name, the B-52s, comes from the beehive hair style that both Pierson and Cindy Wilson wore for performances during the first decade of their career. Apparently, the beehive hairdo resembles the nose of a B-52 aircraft and it came to Strickland in a dream as the band’s name.

The band released their first single, “Rock Lobster”, in 1978, for DB Records. The song achieved underground success selling over 2,000 copies and led to gigs at larger and more popular venues. They re-recorded “Rock Lobster” for a UK album release which was wildly successful and resulted in packed shows in London and Canada. “Rock Lobster” was eventually released on the Warner Bros. label and went from an underground cult hit to number one on Canada’s RPM-compiled national chart on May 24, 1980. John Lennon credits the song “Rock Lobster” with inspiring him to return to song writing.

After Ricky Wilson’s death in 1985, Keith Strickland permanently switched from drums to lead guitar. Over the years, various other musicians have been added to the band’s lineup for different albums and live performances.

Between 1979 and 1992, the band released six studio albums before a long hiatus in studio recordings. From 1993 until 2007, the B-52s were busy making soundtrack appearances, including their hit revival of “(Meet) The Flintstones” for the 1994 live action film The Flintstones, and touring as well as a 25th anniversary celebration.

On March 25, 2008, the band released their seventh studio album Funplex (their first in 16 years), which debuted at number eleven on the U.S. Billboard charts, making it their second-highest charting album.

The B-52s kicked off their farewell tour in April 2022 which concluded with their final performance on January 10, 2023, in their hometown of Athens, Georgia. Following their farewell tour, the band took a residency in Las Vegas from May 2023 through April 2024. On May 15, 2024, the city of Athens, Georgia, announced that they were renaming their local hockey team the Rock Lobsters in honor of the band.

In celebration of Saturday Night Live‘s 50th anniversary, the B-52s recently performed their 1989 hit (and our song inspiration) “Love Shack” on February 14, 2025, at the Homecoming Concert at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.

“Love Shack” was released on June 20, 1989, on the band’s fifth studio album, Cosmic Thing. It is considered a comeback song for the B-52s after the mid-1980s decline in popularity that followed Ricky Wilson’s death. Since its release, “Love Shack” has become a concert staple, a fan favorite, and one of the band’s signature songs. It topped various charts in multiple countries, was the first B-52s song to sell a million copies, and their first song to reach top 40 on the US Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 3 and staying on the chart for 27 consecutive weeks.

“Love Shack” has left an impressive legacy. It was listed as one of the top 365 Songs of the Century in 2001 by the Recording Industry Association of America. In 2005, “Love Shack” was named the best single of 1989 by Rolling Stone and ranked number 246 on their 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list in 2010. I mean, the song is catchy, it’s fun, it’s silly, it’s happy, and I think it’s stuck in my head forever more.

About My Outfit

Back in April, I went on a two day thrifting adventure with my sister and I found some really amazing clothing pieces. My haul of preloved goodies included a few really brightly colored and wildly patterned tunics that I was sure would work to represent the whole 1950s/1960s vibe of this song. But when I started putting it all together, it wasn’t what I wanted.

So I ended up restyling this old thrifted blouse that I wore for a previous Songful Style challenge. This week three years ago, we created outfits for  “Hello, Goodbye” by The Beatles and I wore this top because it screamed 1960s psychedelic and Beatles vibes to me. That same aesthetic works just as well for this 1989 song with a very clear 1960s influence. For that first Beatles outfit, I paired this colorful blouse with these same white platform ankle boots, another flashback to certain shoe trends from the 1960s.

Thinking of the shorter dress and skirt styles that were fashion forward during that generation, I layered a white mini dress underneath the colorful blouse. My white thigh high stockings added just the right amount of Love Shack sass. I accessorized my outfit with bright pink earrings, two heart necklaces (for the obvious reason that hearts represent love and the song is called “Love Shack”), and my bright pink straw fedora which was inspired by the flamboyant pink hat that Cindy Wilson is wearing in the video.

After I had the outfit all put together, my husband and I went driving around town looking for some sort of shack as our back drop. We found one but it is so overgrown that you can barely see it through the weeds. But it is there…a love shack that hasn’t seen any love in quite some time.

This was a fun song to style. I really enjoyed this round of dress up! I hope you will check out how my songful friends have styled their outfits inspired by The B-52s’ “Love Shack.”

• Marsha of Marsha in the Middle (Marsha has been nursing her husband back to health after surgery so she is sitting out this round. If you are the praying type, Marsha appreciates all the prayers!)
• Suzy of Suzy Turner, The Grey Brunette

Featured Favorite from Songful Style Link Party #37: “Need You Now” by Lady A

If you enjoyed our musically inspired outfits for this round, please come back on June 30, 2025, to see how we style my next song choice, “Chantilly Lace” by The Big Bopper. It is a great way to learn new music and to view your wardrobe from a totally different perspective! 

Keeping it on the edge, 

Shelbee

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