- In this song, Stewart is incapacitated by his obsession with a woman. He’s clearly unhinged, making some bad decisions that cause him to declare in the pre-chorus:Oh no not again
It hurts so good
I don’t understand - The woman who has both his heart and mind racing is Kelly Emberg, a fashion model who was his girlfriend at the time. Stewart wrote in his Anthology liner notes: “Written in the early days of my relationship with Kelly Emberg, my long-suffering girlfriend. Our situation was the inspiration.”Stewart and Emberg never married but had a child together, daughter Ruby, in 1987. They split up in 1990.
- This was the biggest hit from the Camouflage album, which came at a creative nadir for Stewart, as he had little interest in the project. The task of completing the album fell to Michael Omartian, who was assigned as producer. At his manager’s suggestion, Stewart let Omartian steer the ship because Rod was in no condition to do so. “He did the best he could with an artist that wasn’t involved,” Stewart told Mojo. “I didn’t care.”
- This song has a drum machine and keyboard feel that was very popular in 1984, but also a very crisp horn section that included Jerry Hey and Chuck Findley. The guitarist, often reported as Stewart’s longtime mate Jeff Beck, was actually Michael Landau.
- Stewart wrote this song with Duane Hitchings and Rowland Robinson, who worked together in The New Cactus Band.
- The video, directed by Jonathan Kaplan, shows Stewart in full-on stalker mode, using binoculars to spy on his infatuation. The leading lady is Kay Lenz, who was in the film American Graffiti and appeared on a number of TV shows, including The Fall Guy and MacGyver. She was married to David Cassidy in the late ’70s and early ’80s.
- The very first MTV Video Music Awards is remembered for Madonna’s wedding-dress rendition of “Like A Virgin,” but Stewart was the first performer on the show, doing “Infatuation.”
