The B-52's - Love Shack

What this video is

Released June 20, 1989, 'Love Shack' represented a triumphant commercial comeback for The B-52's following the 1985 death of guitarist Ricky Wilson and a period of declining popularity. Produced by Don Was, the song emerged from the band's deep roots in the Athens, Georgia bohemian arts community and reflected the inclusive, eccentric party ethos of that scene. The music video, shot at a working artist's rural New…

Why it matters

As the band's first Top 40 hit and their commercial peak, 'Love Shack' codified the 'party new wave' subgenre — eccentricity and camp made radio-friendly. The video's aesthetic of inclusive, multi-racial, gender-nonconforming celebration was unusual for mainstream MTV in 1989 and prefigured the…

The director

Adam Bernstein is an American director known for work across music videos, film, and television. He directed numerous high-profile music videos in the late 1980s and 1990s and later transitioned to television directing, with credits including episodes of…