B-52's 80's Music News

B-52’s came to us via the college town of Athens, GA., known for churning out alternative music. The B-52’s got their name from the Southern slang word for giant bouffant wigs, which of course are favored by singers Kate Pierson and Cindy Wilson. The five member band, which also included founding members Fred Schneider, guitarist Ricky Wilson, and drummer Keith Strickland, formed in the mid-’70s after a drunken evening even though the group had little or no previous musical experience.

In 1979, they issued their self-titled debut album or strange, bizarre, upbeat, and danceable songs which scored an underground club hit with a song, “Rock Lobster.” The next year, Wild Planet debuted, which reached the Top 20 on the U.S. album charts. On October 12, 1985, however, Ricky Wilson died, and although it was ruled natural caused, it was later revealed he was a victim of AIDS. The band spent the next several years in on the down-low.

In 1989, the B-52’s finally returned with Cosmic Thing, their most popular and commercially successful effort to date. It spawned hits like Roam and Love Shack. In 2008 the band returned with a new album for the first time in 16 years. The album is called Funplex with plenty of the elements that we love about B-52’s songs. Check out The B52’s  in Concert.

B-52’s Concert 2010 itinerary:(Dates are subject to change.)