Cindy Wilson - The B-52s

The B-52s

The B-52's were formed when Wilson, her older brother and guitarist Ricky, organist and vocalist Kate Pierson, drummer and percussionist Keith Strickland, and vocalist Fred Schneider played an impromptu musical jam session after sharing a tropical Flaming Volcano drink at a local Chinese restaurant. They later played their first concert in 1977 at a Valentine's Day party for their friends

Wilson and the band broke onto the music world with the campy, 60's retro band. Their remarkable, and enduring, "Yellow Album", called simply The B-52's, had the hit single Rock Lobster, and Planet Claire. This launched the band into stardom, among R.E.M. and other bands from Athens, Georgia.

Cindy took a sabbatical from the band in 1990 to concentrate on raising a family, during which time The B-52s recorded and released the album Good Stuff as a trio of Kate Pierson, Keith Strickland and Fred Schneider. During the live tour to promote the Good Stuff album in 1992 and 1993, Julee Cruise sang as a replacement for Wilson. Wilson rejoined The B-52s in 1994. In 1998 she took part in recordings from which two new songs were selected to be included along with the band's hit singles on the album Time Capsule: Songs for a Future Generation. Wilson then took maternity leave in 1999, later rejoining the band in 2001 for regular touring of their greatest hits.

The B-52s completed the album Funplex in 2007 and it was released in March 2008. Wilson co-wrote every song on the album with the three other band members. In all, she has co-written much of the band's back catalogue, including "Dance This Mess Around", "Private Idaho" and all of the Cosmic Thing album including hit singles "Love Shack" and "Roam".

Wilson's vocal efforts include the typical B-52s "call-and-response" vocals with Schneider and/or Pierson, as well as her harmonies with Pierson on the band's all-female songs such as "Roam", "52 Girls", "Cake", "Legal Tender", "Summer of Love" and "Juliet of the Spirits". She also sang all vocals on "Hero Worship", "Loveland", "Nip It in the Bud", "Girl From Ipanema Goes to Greenland", "Ain't It a Shame" and the live favorite "Give Me Back My Man".

Wilson is the band's bongocera, playing the bongos in regular live favorites "Planet Claire", "Mesopotamia", "Pump" and "Party Out of Bounds" as well as other songs such as "6060-842" and "Big Bird". Less remarked is her guitar work; she played acoustic guitar in The Cindy Wilson Band, and made a one-time contribution of electric guitar (alongside her brother Ricky) in the song "There's a Moon in the Sky (Called the Moon)" from The B-52s first album. She also played an electronic drumkit on a commercial for the WE tv network.