Suddenly Last Summer (song)

"Suddenly Last Summer" is a hit song by new wave band the Motels. It was the lead-off single from their RIAA Gold-certified fourth album Little Robbers. The single entered the Hot 100 at #60 on September 3, 1983 and peaked at #9 on November 19, 1983.[1]

"Suddenly Last Summer"
Single by The Motels
from the album Little Robbers
B-side"Some Things Never Change"
ReleasedAugust 1983
Recorded1983
GenreNew wave
Length3:42
LabelCapitol
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Val Garay
The Motels singles chronology
"Forever Mine"
(1982)		 "Suddenly Last Summer"
(1983)		 "Remember the Nights"
(1984)

Inspiration

Martha Davis has said in various interviews that the song touches upon themes such as the loss of virginity and innocence.[2] 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, Linda Tuccio-Koonz (2019) further expanded on the song's themes of cyclical loss and new beginnings:[3]

"'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 it’s 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' same-named 1958 off-Broadway one-act play.[4] 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.[5] Also, "Suddenly Last Summer" was chosen because Davis liked the alliterative sound of the title.[6]

Music video

A music video was directed by the single's producer Val Garay with cinematography by John Alonzo.[2] The video depicts Davis dreaming about having a romantic encounter on the beach while an ice cream truck passes throughout the neighborhood.[7] The video's sleep motif may have been inspired by Davis' songwriting process, as she awoke at 3 AM with the inspiration to write "Suddenly Last Summer".[5]

The video also features one of Davis' children playing the teenaged character (presumably eldest daughter Maria, who would have been 17 at the time) and actor Robert Carradine as Davis' love interest. The band members also appear and loosely reenact the stances of the "robbers" on the Little Robbers album cover at the video's conclusion.[2][8]

Chart placement

"Suddenly Last Summer" peaked at number 18 on the Adult Contemporary chart[9] and hit #1 on the U.S. Billboard Top Tracks chart, the only instance of a Motels song topping any US music chart. Upon the release of the music video, the single began climbing the Hot 100 as that summer turned to fall.

Versions

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 was included on the 1990 compilation album, No Vacancy: Best of the Motels.

The B-side of the 7" single was "Some Things Never Change." The song has appeared on the soundtrack of the TV show Breaking Bad.[10] and also on American Horror Story: 1984.

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See also
  • List of number-one mainstream rock hits (United States)

References
  1. Whitburn, Joel (1991). The Billboard Hot 100 Charts: The Eighties. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research, Inc. ISBN 0-89820-079-2.
  2. "The Motels' Martha Davis talks about releasing their lost album "Apocalypso", David Fincher, and Love Scenes With Nerds". Golden Age of Music Video. 2011-08-12. Retrieved 2019-04-29.
  3. Tuccio-Koonz, Linda (2019-04-02). "Martha Davis and The Motels play Daryl's House Club in Pawling, New York". Connecticut Post. Retrieved 2019-04-29.
  4. Ryan, Kyle. "Dead leaves and the dirty ground: 25 sad songs for changing seasons". Music. Retrieved 2019-04-29.
  5. Beviglia, Jim (2018-11-15). Playing Back the 80s: A Decade of Unstoppable Hits. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9781538116401.
  6. "Swinging Modern Sounds #38: Dinner At Martha's House - The Rumpus.net". therumpus.net. Retrieved 2019-04-29.
  7. Gross, Jon Dolan,Joe (2013-07-01). "Best Summer Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2019-04-29.
  8. "Martha Davis". IMDb. Retrieved 2019-04-29.
  9. Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 175.
  10. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1054729/
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