Chris Isaak achieved worldwide fame in the early 90s with his signature song “Wicked Game”. The song, with its distinctive guitar intro, was released on Isaak’s 1989 album “Heart Shaped World”. Initially, “Wicked Game received little attention. But when David Lynch used the song in his 1990 film “Wild at Heart” it became a worldwide hit. In this article, we will dive into the story and meaning behind Chris Isaak’s classic.
Meaning and Inspiration
“Wicked Game” is a song about the complex nature of love, which Chris Isaak describes as a wicked game. The lyrics depict a relationship filled with passion and longing, but also with manipulation and pain. As a result of the wicked nature of love, the narrator grows resentful towards falling in love, as he believes it will only result in a broken heart.
Concerning its meaning, Chris Isaak told Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: “It was just about what happens when you have a strong attraction to people that aren’t necessarily good for you. I think it hit a nerve because I think a lot of us have a strong attraction to people that aren’t necessarily good for us.”
Isaak was inspired to write the song after a late-night phone call from a woman he was seeing at the time. “It was one of those things where they call, they say, ‘I’m comin’ over.’ You know you shouldn’t, but you let ’em. Hang up the phone and go, ‘Oh, no. Now we’re gonna be in trouble,” Isaak told Rolling Stone. “I hung up the phone and wrote the song. By the time she got there, I had the song pretty much finished.”
Release, Wild at Heart, Lee Chestnut
It took Chris Isaak several years to record the final version of “Wicked Game”. This was mainly caused by the dissatisfaction that existed around the arrangement of the song. Eventually, Isaak included the song on his 1989 album Heart Shaped World. The album – and the song – initially performed modestly.
But everything changed when David Lynch decided to use an instrumental version of “Wicked Game” in his 1990 film Wild at Heart. Lynch already used Isaak’s songs in his 1986 film Blue Velvet and decided to reach into the singer’s repertoire again for Wild at Heart.
Atlanta radio station director Lee Chestnut, who was an admirer of Lynch’s films, fell in love with “Wicked Game’s” instrumental after seeing Wild at Heart. “I was really surprised when I discovered that (the soundtrack album version) had this incredibly cool vocal by Chris Isaak,” Chestnut told the LA Times in 1991. “I kept listening to it over and over in the office and finally told our program director, ‘Let’s put it on the radio for two days and see what happens.”
Single Success and Music Video
“Wicked Game” received an overwhelmingly good response on Atlanta’s radio stations. Therefore, Chestnut decided to call other radio stations to give the song airplay as well. “Wicked Game” quickly became a huge success on the radio.
To capitalize on the airplay, it was decided to film a music video for “Wicked Game”. The romantic black and white clip, directed by Herb Ritts, features Chris Isaak and supermodel Helena Christensen intimately embracing each other on the beach. The music video instantly received heavy rotation on MTV.
The concept on this video is very simple,” Isaak commented. “Nice lighting, and you’re singing this song to a girl. It’s not like there’s a lot of tricks and storyline in this. But I felt really comfortable that Herb [Ritts] could take something simple like that and make it beautiful.”
“Wicked Game” eventually became a huge hit at the start of 1991. The song reached number 6 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and was a worldwide top 10 hit. In Belgium, the song even topped the national chart.
Wicked Game’s Legacy
Over the years, “Wicked Game” became Chris Isaak’s signature song. The song is considered one of the most haunting love ballads ever recorded, in part thanks to James Calvin Wilsey’s iconic guitar playing. “Wicked Game’s” music video won 2 MTV awards in 1991. Later, Rolling Stone and VH1 included the video on their Top 100 Greatest Videos lists.
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