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Suddenly Last Summer (song)

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Wikipedia article




{{Infobox song

| name = Suddenly Last Summer

| cover =

| alt =

| type = single

| artist = The Motels

| album = Little Robbers

| B-side = Some Things Never Change

| released = August 1983

| recorded = 1983

| studio =

| venue =

| genre = New wave

| length = 3:42

| label = Capitol

| writer = *Martha Davis

| producer = Val Garay

| prev_title = Forever Mine

| prev_year = 1982

| next_title = Remember the Nights

| next_year = 1983

| misc =

}}

"'Suddenly Last Summer'" is a new wave song by the band The Motels. It was the lead single from their RIAA gold-certified fourth album 'Little Robbers'. The single entered the Hot 100 at #60 on September 3, 1983, and it peaked at #9 on November 19, 1983; the song reached #1 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock charts. In Canada, it remained on the charts for ten weeks, climbed to #11 and there it was the ninety-eighth best-selling single of 1983. The B-side of the 7" single was "Some Things Never Change," and the song was included on the 1990 compilation album, 'No Vacancy The Best of The Motels'.

Inspiration



Martha Davis has said in various interviews that the song touches upon themes such as the loss of virginity and innocence. She has also mentioned how the inspiration came from knowing that "...summer is ending when you hear the ice cream truck go by for the last time and you know he won't be back for a while". In an interview with Davis in 2019, Linda Tuccio-Koonz further expanded on the song's themes of cyclical loss and new beginnings:
"'Suddenly Last Summer' percolated for years. The song, written after her parents had died her mom by suicide and her dad from illness is a reflection on those moments in life when things are changing, like when its a beautiful sunny day and a cold wind blows and you know the end of summer is coming."


Despite sharing the same name, there are no ties to Tennessee Williams' 1958 one-act play of the same name. The writer had died in February 1983 - the same month that The Motels returned to the studio to record 'Little Robbers'. According to Davis, the writer's death and the song's release were purely coincidental. She hadn't read Williams' work or seen the 1959 film version of 'Suddenly, Last Summer' until long after the song was released. Also, "Suddenly Last Summer" was chosen because Davis liked the alliterative sound of the title.

Music video



A music video was directed by the single's producer Val Garay with cinematography by John Alonzo. The video, filmed with soft focus, depicts Martha Davis recalling a romantic encounter at the beach (with the love interest portrayed by Robert Carradine) after an ice cream truck passes through her neighborhood; everyone else has a judging, stern expression both in the past and when she awakes back in the present. The book Davis is seen reading in the video is Jane Bierce's 1983 novel 'Building Passion'. The band members also appear and loosely reenact the stances of the "robbers" on the 'Little Robbers' album cover at the video's conclusion.

The video's sleep motif may have been inspired by Davis' songwriting process, as she awoke at 3 A.M. with the inspiration to write "Suddenly Last Summer".

Charts



Weekly charts



In popular culture



Two bootleg dance versions have been made of the song, one with a techno-like dance beat and another with a semi-tropical beat.

The song has appeared on the soundtrack of the TV show 'Breaking Bad' and also on 'American Horror Story: 1984'.

See also



*List of number-one mainstream rock hits (United States)

References



Category:1983 songs

Category:The Motels songs

Category:1983 singles

Category:Capitol Records singles

Category:Songs written by Martha Davis (musician)

Category:Song recordings produced by Val Garay

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