It has
been said that the B-52s are as quintessentially American as the Beach Boys.
And twenty-five years and over twenty million albums into their career, the
B-52s remain the among the most beloved rock stars ever. Any mystery concerning
the longevity and ongoing appeal of the B-52s is immediately solved when
exposed to the B-52s unique concert experience. From the timeless gems of
"Rock Lobster," "Planet Claire" and "Private
Idaho" to the more recent classics of "Channel Z," "Love
Shack" and "Roam", the B-52s unforgettable dance-rock tunes
start a party every time the music begins.
Formed on
an October night in 1976 following drinks at an Athens, GA,
Chinese restaurant, the band played their first gig at a friend's house on
Valentine's Day 1977. Naming themselves after Southern slang for exaggerated
'bouffant" hairdos, the newly-christened B-52s (Fred Schneider, Kate
Pierson, Keith Strickland, Cindy Wilson and Ricky Wilson) began weekend road
trips to New York City
for gigs at CBGB's and a handful of other venues. Before long, their thrift
store aesthetic and genre-defying songs were the talk of the post-punk
underground. A record deal soon followed and their self-titled debut disc,
produced by Chris Blackwell, sold more than 500,000 copies on the strength of
their first singles, the garage rock party classic "Rock Lobster,"
and "52 Girls." The B-52s began to attract fans far beyond the punk
clubs of the Lower East Side — galvanizing the
pop world with their 'stream-of-consciousness' approach to songwriting and
outrageous performance. They had clearly tapped into a growing audience for new
music that was much larger than anyone could have anticipated. "We always
appealed to people outside the mainstream," says Kate Pierson, "and I
think more people feel they're outside the mainstream these days."
With the
release of their second studio effort, Wild Planet (1980), the B-52s and
co-producer Rhett Davies proved their success was no fluke with hits with
"Private Idaho," "Give Me Back My Man" and "Strobe
Light." In just two albums, the B-52s created a lexicon of songs, styles,
phrases and images which would set the standard for the development of the
'alternative music scene' for the next decade. The success of Mesopotamia,
produced by David Byrne (1982), and Whammy! (1983) positioned the B-52s
as MTV regulars as well as alternative radio staples.
At the
time of their greatest achievements, however, they suffered their greatest
tragedy — the death of guitarist Ricky Wilson from AIDS. "He really had a
vision…," said sister Cindy Wilson. "He was one of the strongest
elements of the B-52s from the beginning." Ricky Wilson's passing in 1985
came just after the sessions for Bouncing Off The Satellites (1986). The
album, dedicated to Wilson,
had taken nearly three years to complete but was worth the wait, serving up the
fan favorites "Summer of Love" and "Wig."
As a period
of mourning, Keith, switching from drums to guitar, gradually resumed writing
music for a new album. Working together on vocal melodies, lyrics and
arrangements for the new tracks, Keith, Kate, Fred and Cindy re-emerged with
the Don Was/Nile Rodgers co-produced Cosmic Thing (1989). The album
proved to be the greatest commercial achievement for the group, and its success
propelled the band to international superstars.
Cosmic
Thing
soared to the top of the Billboard Album chart, sold five million copies and
yielded their first-ever Hot 10 hits — "Love Shack" and
"Roam" and a Top 40 hit with "Deadbeat Club." The B-52s
advanced their reputation as the greatest party band on the planet to a whole
new generation of music fans. They played to sold-out audiences worldwide on a
tour that would last more than 18 months, including an Earth Day gig before
nearly 750,000 people in New York City's
Central Park.
Soon
after, Cindy Wilson amicably departed. "I'd been a B-52 for a long time,
and it just felt like time for a change," said Cindy. Before long, Wilson had successfully
completed her first solo project — a baby girl. Meanwhile, Kate collaborated
with other artists, including Athens
compatriots R.E.M., for whom she guest-starred on their 1991 album Out of
Time. She also scored a hit with fellow CBGB's alum Iggy Pop on his
lovelorn duet "Candy." Fred, meanwhile started work on a solo
project, Just Fred (1996), with producer Steve Albini, his second solo project
since the release of 1984’s Fred Schneider and the Shake Society.
As a trio,
Fred, Keith and Kate re-enlisted the tag team of Was and Rodgers to produce the
energetic Good Stuff (1992). With it’s popular title cut and
concert favorite "Is That You Mo-Dean?," Good Stuff is more
than just a worthy follow-up to Cosmic Thing: the album stands as the
group's most overtly political album. "We're out there to entertain
people," said Fred, "but it's great to get people thinking and
dancing at the same time."
Reuniting
permanently with Cindy, the B-52s wrote and recorded two new tracks that fit
perfectly into Time Capsule, a 1998 stellar collection of hits. The
first single from the Best Of collection, "Debbie" is a metaphorical
tribute to band friend and supporter Debbie Harry and the whole CBGB's scene of
the late '70s.
With the
release of the two-disc collection Nude on the Moon: the B-52s Anthology
(2002), the B-52s took much-deserved credit for a body of work that is unique,
beloved and timeless in its own way. The B-52s influence cuts a wide path
through much of so-called 'modern rock' — from the low-fi efforts of nouveau
garage bands to the retro-hip of ultra-lounge, to the very core of dance music
itself. "We just did our own thing, which was a combination of rock 'n
'roll, funk, and Fellini, and game show host, and corn, and mysticism,"
says Fred. It is indeed all these things (and much more).
In 2008 the B-52s released their first new album in 16 years, the aptly
titled Funplex. With its primal guitar hooks, driving drums
and the B-52s' unmistakable vocal style, Funplex is instantly recognizable as quintessential and
contemporary B-52s. Newsweek Magazine declared, “Like a sonic shot of
vitamin B12, the dance floor beats, fuzzy guitar riffs and happy, shiny lyrics
keep the energy going.”
As the B-52s continue
to take their party-music revolution into the 21st century they show no signs
of slowing down, serving up their own unique blend of music and showmanship to
millions of fans around the world.