The B-52's: 1979 - 1983

 

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. Making music that's full of quirks but also friendly and fun to dance to, the B-52s filter surf music, '60s pop, vintage soul, and low-budget sci-fi soundtracks through a pop culture kaleidoscope. Among the first American new wave acts to break through to mainstream visibility, the B-52s became one of the biggest success stories to emerge from the American underground in the late '70s. 
                                             

With their eager embrace of kitschy fashion and oddball humor, the B-52s made party music for the skinny tie crowd, and also brought a queer sensibility to their music when punk rock was turning increasingly macho and misogynistic. (Four of the five founding members were on the LGBTQ+

spectrum, and they were outspoken in their support of AIDS research and marriage equality.) 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.
                           

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. Ricky Wilson's passing in 1985 came just after the sessions for Bouncing Off The Satellites (1986). 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 audience 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. 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. In 2008 the B-52s released their first new album in 16 years, the aptly titled Funplex. 
                                 

As they take their party-music revolution into the 21st century the B-52s show no signs of slowing down, serving up their own unique blend of music and showmanship to millions of fans around the world. In April 2022, the group announced that they would embark on a final farewell tour, with KC and the

Sunshine Band and DJ Cummerbund. On May 15, 2024, the City of Athens, Georgia, announced that their Federal Prospects Hockey League team would be named the Rock Lobsters, honoring the band and their song. The B-52s toured with Devo on their North American Cosmic De-Evolution tour in 2025, with Lene Lovich as the opening act. The tour reached London and Manchester in June 2026 with guests Lovich and the Rezillos. The B-52s were honored with the 2,861st star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on October 29, 2026, at 6212 Hollywood Boulevard in front of Amoeba Music. The B-52s received their star in the category of Recording.
                                         

       

ALBUMS ON THIS POST
                     

01. THE B-52's - THE B-52's 1979
02. THE B-52's - WILD PLANET 1980
03. THE B-52's - PARTY MIX 1981 + MESOPOTAMIA 1982
04. THE B-52's - WHAMMY! 1983

01.  THE B-52's - THE B-52's 1979

                             

Even in the weird, quirky world of new wave and post-punk in the late '70s, the B-52's' eponymous debut stood out as an original. Unabashed kitsch mavens at a time when their peers were either vulgar or stylish,

the Athens quintet celebrated all the silliest aspects of pre-Beatles pop culture -- bad hairdos, sci-fi nightmares, dance crazes, pastels, and anything else that sprung into their minds -- to a skewed fusion of pop, surf, avant-garde, amateurish punk, and white funk. On paper, it sounds like a cerebral exercise, but it played like a party. It's difficult to imagine the endless kitschy retro fads of the '80s and '90s without the B-52's pointing the way, but The B-52's isn't simply an historic artifact -- it's a hell of a good time. 
                                    

The B-52's – 1979 - The B-52's
Label: Warner Bros. Records – 3355-2
Format: CD, Album, Reissue 1987
Country: US
Released: 1979    
Genre: Rock
Style: New Wave

TRACKS

                     

01. Planet Claire   4:35
Written-By – F. Schneider, K. Strickland
02. 52 Girls   3:34
Guitar [2nd] – Kate Pierson
Written-By – J. Ayers, R. Wilson
03. Dance This Mess Around   4:36
Written-By – The B-52's
04. Rock Lobster   6:49
Written-By – F. Schneider, R. Wilson
05. Lava   4:54
Written-By – The B-52's
06. There's A Moon In The Sky (Called The Moon)   4:54
Guitar [2nd] – Cindy Wilson
Written-By – The B-52's
07. Hero Worship   4:07
Guitar [2nd] – Kate Pierson
Keyboards [Keyboard Bass] – Fred Schneider
Written-By – R. Wilson, R. Waldrop    
08. 6060-842   2:48
Written-By – F. Schneider, K. Pierson, K. Strickland, R. Wilson
09. Downtown   2:57
Written-By – Tony Hatch
    

LINE - UP

                        

Kate Pierson – vocals, organ, keyboard bass; additional guitar (2, 7)
Fred Schneider – vocals, cowbell, walkie-talkie, toy piano; keyboard bass (7)
Keith Strickland – drums, percussion, "Claire sounds"
Cindy Wilson – vocals, bongos, tambourine; additional guitar (6)
Ricky Wilson – guitars, smoke alarm

Flac Size: 258 MB

02.  THE B-52's - WILD PLANET 1980

                               

Conventional wisdom has it that all the B-52's' subsequent releases are highly inferior to their debut.

While Wild Planet is not the rarefied wonder their first platter is, it's still darn good. The songs here are generally faster, tighter, and punchier than previously, though production values are not as wonderfully quirky and detailed. These selections continue to exhibit a cunning mix of girl group, garage band, surf, and television theme song influences, all propelled along by an itchy dance beat. Performances and sound quality are fine. This album is well worth hearing and recommended. 
                             

The B-52's – 1980 - Wild Planet
Label: Warner Bros. Records – W2 3471
Format: CD, Album, Club Edition, Reissue 1989
Country: US
Released: 1980
Genre: Electronic, Rock
Style: New Wave, Synth-pop

TRACKS

                          

01. Party Out Of Bounds    3:21
02. Dirty Back Road    3:21
03. Runnin' Around    3:09
04. Give Me Back My Man    4:00
05. Private Idaho    3:35
06. Devil In My Car    4:28
07. Quiche Lorraine    3:58
08. Strobe Light    3:59
09. 53 Miles West Of Venus    4:53

LINE - UP

                         

Kate Pierson – vocals, organ, keyboard bass; additional guitar 
Fred Schneider – vocals, cowbell, piano; keyboard bass
Keith Strickland – drums, percussion
Cindy Wilson – vocals, tambourine, additional guitar 
Ricky Wilson – guitars

Flac Size: 211 MB

03.  THE B-52's - PARTY MIX 1981 + MESOPOTAMIA 1982

                           

Party Mix! is a six-track mini-album that selects three tracks each from the B-52's' first two albums, The B-52's and Wild Planet, and presents them in dance mixes. Since the group's bouncy songs are already

dance-ready, this makes for alternatives rather than real improvements, even from a dancefloor perspective. 
After setting dancefloors alight and funny bones aquiver in 1979-1980 with their first two albums, The B-52's and Wild Planet, the B-52's seemed to run out of gas soon after, issuing a stopgap remix mini-album, Party Mix!, in 1981, and then turning in another stopgap mini in this lackluster set, produced by David Byrne, who must have seemed like a good choice, although his sense of humor is less zany, if just as weird, as that of the B's. 
                                     

The B-52's – Party Mix & Mesopotamia
Label: Reprise Records – 9 26401-2
Format: CD, Compilation
Country: US
Released: 1991
Genre: Electronic
Style: New Wave, Synth-pop

TRACKS
                               

RARTY MIX 1981

                             

           
01. Party Out Of Bounds    5:12
02. Private Idaho    4:04
03. Give Me Back My Man    7:00
04. Lava    6:07
05. Dance This Mess Around    2:57
06. 52 Girls    3:02

MESOPOTAMIA 1983            

                        

07. Loveland    5:05
08. Deep Sleep    3:30
09. Mesopotamia    3:51
10. Cake    5:36
11. Throw That Beat In The Garbage Can    4:09
12. Nip It In The Bud    3:32

LINE - UP

                         

Vocals, Keyboards, Bass, Organ, Noises [Bird Calls], Keyboards [Keyboard Bass] – Kate Pierson
Vocals, Noises [Walkie Talkie], Toy Piano – Fred Schneider
Saxophone – Ralph Carney (tracks: 7 to 12), Roberto Aaron (tracks: 7 to 12)
Trumpet – David Buck (tracks: 7 to 12)
Vocals, Bongos, Tambourine – Cindy Wilson
Bass [Fretless], Synthesizer, Guitar, Percussion – David Byrne (tracks: 7 to 12)
Drums – Yogi Horton (tracks: 7 to 12)
Guitar [2nd] – Kate Pierson (tracks: 6)
Guitar, Keyboards, Bass, Organ, Noises [Smoke Alarm] – Ricky Wilson (3)
Keyboards, Bass, Drums, Percussion, Organ, Piano, Marimba, Guitar – Keith Strickland

Flac Size: 354 MB

04.   THE B-52's - WHAMMY! 1983

                        

Following the botched collaboration with David Byrne on Mesopotamia, the B-52's decided to craft their fourth album as a return to the pop-culture funk explosion of their debut. Smartly, they decided to not

simply replicate the skewed Southern funk of that album, choosing to update their signature sound with drum machines and new wave synths. As a result, it now sounds a little forced and dated, but the best moments -- "Legal Tender," "Whammy Kiss," "Butterbean," "Song for a Future Generation" -- rank as B-52's classics, and the entire record is certainly entertaining, even with its faults. [Whammy! was originally released with a cover of Yoko Ono's "Don't Worry." When the time came to reissue the CD in 1989, the group ran into copyright troubles with Ono and the song was pulled, replaced by "Moon 83."] 
                             

The B-52's – 1983 - Whammy!
Label: Warner Bros. Records – 9 23819-2
Format: CD, Album, Reissue May 1990
Country: UK & Europe
Released: 1983
Genre: Rock
Style: New Wave, Synth-pop

TRACKS

                          

01. Legal Tender   3:41
Lyrics By – Robert Waldrop    
02. Whammy Kiss    5:21
03. Song For A Future Generation    3:58
04. Butterbean    4:16
05. Trism    3:24
06. Queen Of Las Vegas    4:35
07. Moon 83    4:01
08. Big Bird   4:13
Saxophone – Ralph Carney
Trumpet – David Buck    
09. Work That Skirt    3:51

LINE - UP

                        

Cindy Wilson – vocals
Kate Pierson – vocals
Fred Schneider – vocals
Ricky Wilson – keyboards, guitars, bass, vocals on "Song for a Future Generation"
Keith Strickland – keyboards, guitars, drums, vocals on "Song for a Future Generation"

ADDITIONAL MUSICIANS

Ralph Carney – saxophone on "Big Bird"
David Buck – trumpet on "Big Bird"

Flac Size: 255 MB