B-52’s ‘Love Shack’ burns down

ATHENS, Ga.  — The tin roof and a burned-out frame are all that remain of a cabin believed to have inspired the B-52’s ’80s party hit “Love Shack.”

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Athens-Clarke County fire officials said Thursday they considered the fire that gutted the unoccupied five-room cabin set back in a field “suspicious” and hadn’t ruled out arson.

Fire Inspector Reginald Hunter said Monday’s early morning fire couldn’t have been caused by faulty electrical wiring or a gas leak because the cabin wasn’t hooked up for utilities. He said building supplies used for renovating the house had been stolen.

Other properties near Athens — where the quirky band known for towering beehive wigs and catchy, oddball pop songs formed in 1976 — also have been credited with being the Love Shack. But it’s known that singer Kate Pierson lived in the cabin in the 1970s.

“I just was in touch with the B-52’s,” said Allisa Huestis of Atlanta, who had planned to move into the renovated house next week. “They said it was the original Love Shack and was where they created ‘Rock Lobster,”’ the popular song from the band’s 1979 self-titled debut album.

B-52’s publicist Bradford Cobb said Pierson wasn’t available for comment.

“Love Shack,” released in 1989, became the B-52’s first Top 10 hit, rising to No. 3 on the Top 40 charts.