In late 1990, Cindy Wilson took time off from the band, with Julee Cruise filling in for her on tour. The B-52s released Good Stuff in 1992 as a trio—the only album release on which Cindy Wilson was not present—and the title track reached number 28 that August. The album…
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Their next single, ” Love Shack “, with its party vibe and colorful music video , became their first top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, ultimately reaching number three in November 1989. That peak was matched in March 1990, when their follow-up single, ” Roam “, also reached…
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Strickland had been composing in 1988. After he played some of his new music for the other band members, they all agreed to try writing together again, with Pierson, Wilson, and Schneider contributing lyrics and melodies. In 1989, the band released Cosmic Thing , their mainstream breakthrough, on Reprise Records…
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When the band returned to the studio, Strickland had learned how to play the guitar in Wilson’s style and switched permanently to the new instrument, leaving session players to complete the rhythm section. The results were released on September 8, 1986, as Bouncing off the Satellites , a mixture of…
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In January 1985, the B-52s performed in Brazil at Rock in Rio for their largest crowd ever. Later in the year, the band struggled to write new material for their next album. The band members all lived together in the same house and felt that collaboration was not working, so…
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Released on April 27, 1983, Whammy! reached number 29 on the Billboard 200 chart. ” Legal Tender ” reached the Billboard Hot 100 chart, as well as the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play Singles chart alongside ” Whammy Kiss ” and ” Song for a Future Generation “. For the…
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In December 1982, the band began recording their third album, Whammy! According to Pierson, Strickland no longer wanted to play the drums, so the band switched to drum machines for this album, with Strickland and Ricky Wilson playing all the music on the album, and the rest of the band…
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In 1981, the band collaborated with Talking Heads ‘ David Byrne to produce a third full-length studio album. Reportedly due to differences with Byrne over the album’s musical direction, recording sessions for the album were aborted, prompting the band to release Mesopotamia in 1982 as an EP . (In 1991,…
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Released on August 27, 1980, Wild Planet was well received by critics. It reached number 18 on the Billboard 200 chart in 1980 and was certified gold; ” Private Idaho ” became the band’s second Hot 100 entry. The B-52s performed on Saturday Night Live on January 26, 1980, and…
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In April 1980, the B-52s returned to Compass Point Studios to record their next album. Several of the songs on the new album had been concert staples since 1978; the band did not record them for their first album, as they had more songs than could fit in a quality…
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