As a new wave music fun addition to the psychedelic and punk music scene, the B-52s last released an album called Funplex in March 2008 as its first original disc in 16 years.
The B-52s roots go back to when the band smashed into the limelight in 1979 with “Rock Lobster” directly due to the tune’s huge underground success. As its most iconic song, “Rock Lobster,” a beach-styled tune that features sounds one might just expect from a crustacean, would be the first in a string of hits for a party band that has had people flocking to the dance floors for 30 years.
Fans have good reason to continue their attraction with the B-52s, who built their sound and persona on the values of enjoying fun rock, having a few laughs and dancing the night away. Unofficially dubbed “The World’s Greatest Party Band,” the popularity of the band is based on its roots as distinctly new wave, yet mixed with vintage and punk music undertones.
An Inspiration to Party Bands as Best Party Music
Pop culture music takes a page from the band, as it inspired a list of other new wave punk, party-style groups whose feel-good purpose is also based on simple melodies, quirky lyrics and loud colored and mixed clothes. Scissor Sisters, The New Pornographers, the New Yorkers, the Rapture, LCD Soundsystem and The Boggs all take inspiration from their highly dance-oriented rock sound and thoughtful, lyrical qualities.
Much of the B 52's music is inspired by pop culture. After “Rock Lobster,” and “Dance This Mess Around,” on their self-titled 1979 breakthrough album, they released Wild Planet in 1980 with the hits “Give Me Back My Man” and “Private Idaho” (a track that inspired the film “My Own Private Idaho.”) Already, the band was enjoying the same success as the likes of Blondie and The Talking Heads.
MTV and 1980s Music Feature B 52's Music Classics
MTV became a perfect playground for the B-52s whose fun rock and videos command strong visual appeal with their primary colors, wild costumes, the theatrical antics of lead singer Fred Schneider, Kate Pierson and Cindy Wilson and the band's brand of new wave punk. Keith Strickland, one of the band's founders and songwriter, has today stepped up from behind the drums and now plays lead guitar.
The death of guitarist and band founder Ricky Wilson in 1985 caused the band to take a break. They returned in 1989 with the release of their chart-topping “Cosmic Thing” which included their #1 hit “Love Shack,” still a classic that firmly entrenched them as a classic party band, and “Roam” which also enjoyed great success.
From most recent to earliest, as found on Rolling Stone, here are the band’s album releases:
2008, Funplex
2007, Time Capsule: The Mixes - Summer of Love '98
2002, Nude on the Moon: The B-52's Anthology
1998, Time Capsule - Mixes: Hallucinating Pluto
1998, Time Capsule - Mixes: Summer of Love 98
1998, Tim Capsule
1995, Planet Claire
1992, Good Stuff
1989, Cosmic Thing
1986, Bounding Off The Satellites
1983, Whammy!
1982, Party Mix/Mesopotamia
1980, Wild Planet
1979, The B-52’s
The B-52s remain a party band whose fun rock sound is a cure for anything that brings people down. With the release of Funplex, the amount of airtime the band still commands on commercial and satellite radio and views on its You Tube videos, the B-52s are a band with a history and a strong future.
Shelley Aylesworth-Spink - Shelley Aylesworth-Spink has worked in support of communications, marketing and advertising for nearly 25 years in the private and public ...
