B-52’s -

The B-52’s are an American new wave band from Athens that released three albums and an EP on Warner Bros. between 1979 and 1983, scoring hits with “Rock Lobster,” “Dance This Mess Around,” “Private Idaho,” “Give Me Back My Man,” “Legal Tender,” and “Song for a Future Generation.”

After the passing of guitarist and songwriter Ricky Wilson, they rebounded as a four-piece with one further Warner album and the hit “Girl from Ipanema Goes to Greenland.” After changing labels to Reprise, they issued two albums between 1989 and 1992, finding newfound fame with “Love Shack” and “Roam.” The band’s retro-futurist attire and cartoon-influenced songs set them apart from most of their contemporaries.

Members: Fred Schneider (vocals, keyboards, xylophone, percussion, toy piano), Kate Pierson (vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards), Keith Strickland (drums, percussion, guitar, bass, keyboards, marimba, sitar, vocals), Cindy Wilson (vocals, guitar, bongos, tambourine, 1976-90, 1998-present), Ricky Wilson (guitar, bass, keyboards, vocals, 1976-85)

Background

The B-52’s formed in 1976 in Athens, Ga., during an impromptu jam between poet Fred Schneider, keyboardist/singer Kate Pierson, drummer Keith Strickland, guitarist Ricky Wilson and his younger sister, singer Cindy Wilson. They held the jam immediately after sharing a tropical flaming volcano drink at a nearby Chinese restaurant. They played their first concert in February 1977 for a Valentine’s Day party. In lieu of a bassist, Ricky removed a middle string on his guitar and picked between high and low strings.

Ricky Wilson first collaborated with Strickland in 1969 when they formed a duo called Loon. Months later, they teamed with fellow high school friends in the psych-rock quartet Black Narcissus, which lasted two years. After graduating from the University of Georgia, Wilson reconnected with Strickland and the two worked odd jobs before linking with Pierson and Schneider, who sang in a protest band called the Sun-Donuts.

They named their band The B-52’s after the cone-shaped version of the 1960s beehive hairdo, as worn by Pierson and Cindy Wilson. Their sound was a combination of late-’50s exotica, early ’60s surf rock, and late-’60s male/female harmony pop, combined with a presentation inspired by earlier eccentrics like the tidal-haired ’50s rock n’ roller Esquerita. They assembled their band image with vintage clothing items from multiple decades, collected at thrift stores.

The B-52’s issued their first single, the boingy “Rock Lobster” (b/w “52 Girls”), in April 1978 on local-press DB Records, co-produced by Kevin Dunn. The record sold out its 2,000-copy pressing, prompting the band to play in New York City, where their quirky brand of new wave set crowds alight at CBGB and Max’s Kansas City. Label scouts took notice and The B-52’s signed to Warner Bros. (Americas, Oceania) and Island (UK, Europe).

In late 1978, The B-52’s flew to Nassau, Bahamas, where they recorded their first album with Island founder Chris Blackwell acting as their producer.

The B-52’s

The B-52’s released their self-titled debut album on July 6, 1979, on Warner Bros. The album features eight originals, including the band’s signature hits “Rock Lobster” and “Dance This Mess Around.”

Rick Wilson wrote the album’s bulk of songs with select collaborators, including Fred Schneider (“Rock Lobster”), band associate Robert Waldrop (“Hero Worship”), and Athens multi-media artist Jeremy Ayers (“52 Girls”). Schneider and Keith Strickland wrote the opening number, “Planet Claire,” which appropriates a theme by Henry Mancini.

The B-52’s contains three full-group compositions: “Lava,” “There’s a Moon In the Sky (Called the Moon),” and “Dance This Mess Around.” The three men, plus Katie Pierson, wrote the penultimate track, “6060-842.” The album concludes with “Downtown,” a reinterpretation of the Petula Clarke classic.

Fred makes select use of toy piano and the walkie-talkie transceiver on The B-52’s, which also features secondary sounds from Ricky (smoke alarm), Cindy (second guitar on “Moon In the Sky”), and Keith (effects on “Claire”). Katy plays second guitar on “52 Girls” and “Hero Worship,” the latter with Fred on synth-bass.

A1. “Planet Claire” (4:35)
A2. “52 Girls” (3:34)
A3. “Dance This Mess Around” (4:36)
A4. “Rock Lobster” (6:49)

B1. “Lava” (4:54)
B2. “There’s a Moon In the Sky (Called the Moon)” (4:54)
B3. “Hero Worship” (4:07)
B4. “6060-842” (2:48)
B5. “Downtown” (2:57) Tony Hatch

Sessions spanned late 1978 through early 1979 at Compass Point, Chris Blackwell’s two year-old Nassau studio used beforehand by Althea & Donna, Emerson Lake & Palmer, Robert Palmer, Third World, and Talking Heads, who used the island facility with Brian Eno for their second album, More Songs About Buildings and Food. Blackwell co-produced The B-52’s with Robert Ash, a prior Eno and Camel soundman with concurrent credits behind The Only Ones and Zed.

The B-52’s sports a yellow/red scheme with a Fifties atomic “High Fidelity” label by Sue Ab Surd (aka Island art director Tony Wright). La Verne stylists readied Kate and Cindy’s hair for the cover photo, taken by George DuBose, who later took the sauna facial pic for the Go-Go’s 1981 debut, Beauty and the Beat.

Island lifted the re-recorded “Rock Lobster” as an August 1979 UK single, backed with “Running Around,” a Compass outtake that later appeared on their second album. In mid-September, “6060-842” became the second single (b/w “Hero Worship”). In late November, “Planet Claire” appeared as a picture disc (of the album cover), backed with “There’s a Moon In the Sky (Called the Moon).”

In the US, Warner issued the re-recorded “Rock Lobster” as a January 1980 single (b/w “6060-842”), followed in March by “Planet Claire” (b/w “Moon In the Sky”), both housed in 7″ variations of the album-cover. The the Netherlands and Germany, Island lifted “52 Girls” (b/w “6060-852”). In Columbia and Japan, “Dance This Mess Around” appeared on 7″ (b/w “Lava”).

“Rock Lobster” reached No. 1 in Canada, No. 3 in Australia, and entered the Top 40 in the UK and New Zealand, where “Planet Claire” reached No. 35. The B-52’s reached No. 3 in New Zealand, No. 7 in Australia, No. 14 in Canada, and No. 22 on the UK Albums Chart.

On January 26, 1980, the B5-2’s performed “Rock Lobster” and “Dance This Mess Around” on the Season 5 ninth episode of Saturday Night Live, hosted by Young Frankenstein actress Teri Garr.

Wild Planet

The B-52’s released their second album, Wild Planet, on August 27, 1980, on Warner Bros. The album contains nine originals, including the staples “Private Idaho” and “Give Me Back My Man.”

Ricky Wilson co-wrote “Dirty Back Road” with associate Robert Waldrop and the rest with bandmates Fred Schneider and Keith Pearson. The three men group-wrote two songs (“Quiche Lorraine,” “Strobe Light”) and joint-composed “53 Miles West of Venus” with Katie Pierson.

Cindy Wilson collaborated with the men on “Give Me Back My Man” and co-wrote “Devil In My Car” with Fred, Katie, and Ricky. The three remaining tracks — “Party Out of Bounds,” “Private Idaho,” and the 1979 b-side “Runnin’ Around” — are full-group compositions.

A1. “Party Out of Bounds” (3:19)
A2. “Dirty Back Road” (3:20)
A3. “Runnin’ Around” (3:10)
A4. “Give Me Back My Man” (3:59)
A5. “Private Idaho” (3:33)

B1. “Devil In My Car” (4:28)
B2. “Quiche Lorraine” (3:58)
B3. “Strobe Light” (4:00)
B4. “53 Miles West of Venus” (4:53)

Sessions largely occurred in early 1980 at Compass Point, Nassau, with producer/engineer Rhett Davies, a soundman on Seventies classics by Camel (Moonmadness, Rain Dances), Eno (Another Green World, Before and After Science), and recent titles by After the Fire, Eye to Eye, and Grand Hotel/The Quick. The assistant engineer, Compass staffer Benjamin Armbrister, worked on concurrent Point recordings by Nazareth, The Plastics, and Suicide Romeo.

Waldrop designed the red-back Wild Planet cover, which features a posed group shot by celebrity portrait photographer Lynn Goldsmith, whose images also grace 1979/80 covers for Dirty Looks, Frank Zappa, Klark Kent, Stephen Bishop, and Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers. Coiffeurs La Verne and Phyllis styled the B-52’s hair for Lynn’s photo with makeup by Chic cosmetologist Paul Bricker.

“Private Idaho” appeared as the lead single in the US (b/w an instrumental “Party Out of Bounds”) and Australia (b/w “52 Girls”). In the latter nation, the song reached No. 11 on the Kent Music Report. In the UK, Island lifted “Give Me Back My Man” as a July single (b/w an instrumental version), followed in November by “Strobe Light” (b/w “Dirty Back Road”). In the Netherlands and Germany, “Dirty Back Road'” became an a-side (b/w “Give Me Back My Man”).

Wild Planet reached No. 3 in New Zealand, No. 12 in Australia, and No. 18 on the UK Albums Chart and US Billboard 200.

Party Mix!

In July 1981, the B-52’s released Party Mix!, an EP comprised of remixed tracks from their first two albums. Side A contains three remixed songs from Wild Planet segued together as a medley. Side B gives the same treatment to three tracks from their first album.

A1. “Party Out of Bounds” (5:12)
A2. “Private Idaho” (4:04)
A3. “Give Me Back My Man” (7:02)

B1. “Lava” (6:08)
B2. “Dance This Mess Around” (2:59)
B3. “52 Girls” (2:58)

Party Mix! credits three remix engineers: Daniel Coulombe (Icehouse), Paul Wexler (Tin Huey), and Remain In Light engineer Steven Stanley. The EP came about as a stopgap release amid delays on their intended third album.

Party Mix! reached the UK Top 50 and sparked a wave of similar releases by Soft Cell (Non-Stop Ecstatic Dancing) and the Human League (Love and Dancing — billed as the League Unlimited Orchestra).

Mesopotamia

On January 27, 1982, the B-52’s released Mesopotamia, an EP comprised of six completed songs from their intended third album, recorded with Talking Heads frontman David Byrne.

Kate Pierson does ‘bird calls’ and splits keyboard, bass, and organ parts with guitarist Ricky Wilson and drummer Keith Strickland, who also plays piano and marimba. Byrne plays fretless bass, synthesizer, and supplemental guitar and percussion.

Mesopotamia also features guest musicianship from R&B session drummer Yogi Horton, Waitresses saxophonist Ralph Carney, James White & The Blacks reedist Robert Aaron, Swollen Monkeys trumpeter David Buck, Talking Heads associate-percussionist Steve Scales, and accordionist (and SNL alumnus) Charles Rocket.

A1. “Loveland” (5:00)
A2. “Deep Sleep” (3:29)
A3. “Mesopotamia” (3:49)

B1. “Cake” (5:48)
B2. “Throw That Beat In the Garbage Can” (4:30)
B3. “Nip It In the Bud” (3:32)

Sessions took place in September 1981 at Blank Tape, a New York facility owned by Aural Exciters mastermind Bob Blank. Byrne produced the album during graveyard slots between sessions for his first album, The Catherine Wheel, a soundtrack for choreographer Twyla Tharp’s namesake dance project. Catherine Wheel soundman Butch Jones engineered Mesopotamia in sequence with The Red and The Black, the debut solo album by Talking Heads keyboardist Jerry Harrison.

Due to compromising factors (writer’s block, creative conflicts, business pressure), the band and their management agreed to a trimmed EP release that dropped four songs from the intended album: “Queen of Las Vegas,” “Big Bird,” “Butterbean” (all re-recorded for their third full-length album), and the long-vaulted “Adios Desconocida.”

Artist Desiree Rohr illustrated the Mesopotamia cover, which depicts the B-52’s as ancient Iranian wall engravings.

Mesopotamia reached No. 18 on the UK Albums Chart and No. 35 on the Billboard 200. The B-52’s embarked on a 30-date tour with The Bongos, an upcoming Hoboken indie-pop quartet that befriended the headliners. To accommodate new, old, and updated material, Katie added synthesizer and synth bass to her organ-based keyboard arsenal.

Whammy!

The B-52’s released their third full-length album, Whammy!, on April 27, 1983, on Warner Bros.

Whammy! contains eight group-credited originals, including the hits “Legal Tender” and “Song for a Future Generation,” a Jetsonian character call voiced by all five members. The album includes completed versions of three missing Mesopotamia tracks: “Butterbean,” “Queen of Las Vegas,” and “Big Bird,” the last of those with Swollen Monkeys hornists Ralph Carney and David Buck.

Ricky Wilson assumes the bassist role and splits guitar and keyboard rolls exclusively with Keith Strickland, who forgoes drums for electronic percussion. Katie Pierson joins Fred Schneider and Cindy Wilson in the vocals-only section. The realignment marked their switch from the organ-based new wave of earlier albums to the dance-based synthpop found here.

Original copies include “Don’t Worry,” a Yoko One cover replaced on subsequent pressings (October 1983 onward) with “Moon 83,” an update of a B-52’s classic.

A1. “Legal Tender” (3:40) lyricist Robert Waldrop (a prior sixth wheel) co-wrote this song.
A2. “Whammy Kiss” (5:20)
A3. “Song for a Future Generation” (4:00)
A4. “Butterbean” (4:14)

B1. “Trism” (3:23)
B2. “Queen of Las Vegas” (4:40)
B3. “Don’t Worry” (3:50) originated as “Don’t Worry Kyoko (Mummy’s Only Looking for Her Hand in the Snow)” on Ono’s 1971 album Fly with lyrics about her estranged daughter and music lifted from the unreleased 1969 Beatles song “Watching Rainbow.” The B-52’s removed this song from Whammy! due to legal issues.
B4. “Big Bird” (4:14)
B5. “Work That Skirt” (3:48)

Sessions occurred in December 1982 at Compass Point, Nassau, where Jamaican reggae soundman Steven Stanley produced and engineered Whammy! in sequence with titles by Black Uhuru, Chaz Jankel, Gwen Guthrie, and the second album by the Talking Heads spinoff Tom Tom Club. Warner overruled the band’s desire to segue the tracks together as continuous side-long pieces (ala Party Mix!).

Whammy! shows the startled members standing side-to-side beneath powder clouds while a spotted dog sniffs the power at their feet. This was the earliest album-sleeve credit for William Wegman, an American canine photographer. Freelance illustrator Gene Grief (Flash and the Pan, Nina Hagen) created the cover layout and primary/secondary-colored all-caps scheme (back cover, repeated on the labels).

“Song for a Future Generation” — titled “Future Generation” and backed with an instrumental version — became the first UK single. In June 1983, Warner lifted “Legal Tender” as the first US single, backed with “Moon 83,” an initial non-album track added to subsequent Whammy! pressings.

B. “Moon 83” is a remake of “There’s a Moon In the Sky (Called the Moon)” from the first B-52’s album.

In August, “Song for a Future Generation” became the second US single (b/w “Trism”).

Whammy! reached No. 29 in Sweden and the US and No. 33 on the UK Albums Chart.

Bouncing Off the Satellites

The B-52’s released their fourth full-length album, Bouncing Off the Satellites, on September 8, 1986, on Warner Bros.

The album features ten originals completed three-months prior to the October 1985 death of co-founder Ricky Wilson, whose grief-stricken bandmates halted group activity for two years to reassess their future. Warner dropped the album with scant promotion halfway through the band’s hiatus.

Warner lifted “Summer of Love” as a US single (b/w “Housework”) while the band regrouped for a video to “Girl from Ipanema Goes to Greenland,” a college radio hit.

The B-52’s resumed activity in June 1987 when Island issued “Wig” as a UK single (b/w “Summer of Love”).

Bouncing Off the Satellites features space-age orbital art by American zolo artist Kenny Scharf, a painter/sculpture from Manhattan’s East Village ‘No Wave’ performance art scene.

Discography: