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Topics: Celebrity, Music, Stephen King, Sex and Relationships
Katherine Sidnell
Topics: Celebrity, Music, Stephen King, Sex and Relationships
It’s not uncommon to have a favorite song, even after you’ve played it to death.
However, horror writer Stephen King has admitted he was nearly divorced due to his obsession with Mambo No. 5.
While the Lou Bega track hasn’t topped the charts since 1999, the song seemed to haunt the author long after it left the airways.
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Though it’s good to indulge in different genres, it seems like the pop classic didn’t impress King’s wife Tabitha Spruce.
An author in her own right, Spruce married the horror aficionado in 1971 and the couple went on to have three children together.
Despite their long-lasting relationship, things weren’t so harmonious after King became obsessed with the iconic tune.
In fact, the 75-year-old recently revealed that he was a ‘big time’ fan of the nineties song in an interview with Rolling Stone magazine.
“My wife threatened to divorce me. I played that a lot,” he admitted, adding that he even purchased multiple remixes of the party track.
“I had the dance mix. I loved those extended play things, and I played both sides of it. And one of them was just total instrumental."
However, Lou Bega failed to strike the same chord with the It writer’s wife, who became so infuriated with the song that she threatened to leave.
“…I played that thing until my wife just said, ‘One more time, and I’m going to f***ing leave you,’” King said.
It’s not the only strange admission King made about the track, noting that his obsession peaked while writing a novel about the assassination of JFK.
In spite of the sombre tone, the author said that 'Mambo No. 5' was among the songs that had helped him write 11/22/63 - which is a novel about a time traveler trying to prevent the president’s death.
King also revealed that he enjoyed rather upbeat music while writing his other thrillers as well, with Fatboy Slim and LCD at the top of his playlist.
He added: “When I write, there are things that I can listen to a lot. And a lot of it is techno stuff or disco stuff, but techno in particular.”
However, King admits he’s scaled back on the amount he listens to in recent years.
“I think it’s because I’ve slowed down a little bit, or the thought process is not as limber as it was when I was say 30, 35, that sort of thing,” King said, adding that he listens to ‘a lot of loud rock & roll’ as he polishes and rewrites his work.