The 80s Smash From The B-52’s That Is All About the Wonders of Travel

The B-52’s comeback with the massive hit single “Love Shack” from their album Cosmic Thing was one of the most surprising and uplifting in the world of music in the 80s. That song struck such a unique tone that it might have seemed a tough one to follow up.

Luckily, the band had another ace up their sleeve with “Roam”. It did just as well on the charts as “Love Shack” in 1989, and it proved that this comeback was going to have staying power.

Back from the Brink

The B-52’s were somewhat of a broken band for much of the latter half of the 80s. Their 1986 album Bouncing Off The Satellites struggled to recapture the irreverent magic of earlier releases. Moreover, the band members clashed during the sessions, losing the tight-knit chemistry that once characterized them.

The ultimate blow to the band came when guitarist Ricky Wilson died of AIDS in 1985. He contributed to Bounding Off The Satellites but passed away before its release. The other members of the band, Cindy Wilson (Ricky’s brother), Kate Pierson, Fred Schneider, and Keith Strickland, scattered to separately process their grief.

No one would have been too surprised if the band had never recovered from that tragedy. But Strickland, who had previously played drums, switched over to the guitar and started writing music. He invited the other band members to his new location in Woodstock, New York. Encouraged, the band began plotting Cosmic Thing.

No Fred, but Still Fine

“Roam” originated from a piece of music written by Strickland that carried a classic pop vibe not often associated with the band. No surf guitars or punkish forward thrust like the old days. Robert Waldrop, an associate of the band who helped with the artwork of a few albums, contributed to the lyrics.

Kate Pierson and Cindy Wilson worked up the vocal melody and added the ethereal opening vocal section. Nile Rodgers provided his steady production hand. One person absent from “Roam”, save for background percussion? Fred Schneider… although he’s well-represented in the video for the song.

Those expecting another party-hearty single from the band a la “Love Shack” might have been a bit surprised by “Roam”. But it’s clear that people liked hearing this other side of the band. “Roam” matched “Love Shack” by peaking at No. 3 on the pop charts.

Behind the Lyrics of “Roam”

As you might be able to surmise from the title, “Roam” sings the praises of travel. It starts, fittingly considering the album title, in cosmic fashion. “Boy, Mercury shootin’ through every degree,” Pierson sings. In the second verse, Wilson advocates for a similarly interstellar move: “Skip the airstrip to the sunset.”

“Take it hip to hip, rocket through the wilderness,” the two suggest. In the chorus, the lyrics intimate that there doesn’t need to be any baggage, literal or figurative, on these trips. “Without wings, without wheels,” they offer. And then: “Without anything but the love you feel.”

In many ways, “Roam” is just as much of an uplifting song as “Love Shack”. It just follows a different path, proving that the B-52’s could travel many different musical roads and still be utterly captivating.

Photo by Lynn Goldsmith/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images

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