For his 1983 album Cold Blooded, he went for a less guitar driven and stripped down sound. On the title track, he created the drum section using the Roland TR-808 drum machine. The backing beat is a bare bones rhythm with just the right amount of swing to bring out the funk. As the song moves along, little stabs of synthesizer, rhythm guitar, and bass are scattered throughout to fill in the gaps. Overall it’s the interplay between Rick’s vocal arrangements and the 808 drums that really help to carry the song.
During the time he wrote “Cold Blooded”, Rick was dating actress Linda Blair (who is best known for her role as the possessed child Regan in the 1973 movie The Exorcist). While hanging at his studio one time, Rick decided to show Linda how he comes up with his music. He ended up laying down the drums, bass, synths, and more for what would eventually become the backing track for “Cold Blooded”. He also took inspiration from his relationship with Linda for the lyrics to this song. One particular incident that is said to have influenced the theme of the song is when Rick got Linda pregnant and she had an abortion without his knowledge. In his biography, GLOW, he said that the song “was about how Linda could freeze [his] blood”.
