“Wicked Game” is a song by American rock musician Chris Isaak, released from his third studio album Heart Shaped World (1989). Despite being released as a single in 1989, it did not become a hit until it was featured in the 1990 David Lynch film Wild at Heart. Lee Chesnut, an Atlanta radio station music director who loved David Lynch films, began playing the song, and it quickly became an American top-ten hit in January 1991, reaching number six on the Billboard Hot 100, making it the first hit song of Isaak’s career. Additionally, the single became a number-one hit in Belgium and reached the top 10 in several other nations.
What would you have liked to have been, if you hadn’t been a professional musician?
I’ve worked in a funeral home, did roofing jobs, drove delivery and spent time working the docks of Stockton, California, unloading ships. None of it was near as much fun and I didn’t get to wear a sequined suit…Have you learned anything new about songwriting, interviewing your guests for the show?
Glen Campbell told me “stay out of the way of a good song.” I think it’s true. If a song’s good, don’t overdo it.
CHRIS ISAAK: On Record
American Songwriter