The Toy Box: The B-52's

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Retro Spins: The B-52's - Cosmic Thing

While The B-52's remained in a self imposed hiatus, member Keith Strickland began composing on his own. He would later meet with Kate Pierson, Fred Schneider, and Cindy Wilson, and play them the music for each of them. This would result in them agreeing to try and write together again.

Ironically, their biggest hit, Love Shack, wasn't initially going to be used for 1989's Cosmic Thing. It was the last to be recorded and added, refined from a fifteen minute unfinished piece. The end result was a number three hit single, which spent twenty-seven weeks on the Billboard Hot 100. This was followed by the single, Roam, which also reached number three, and spent twenty weeks on the charts. Deathbeat Club would be the third and final single, which became a minor hit, peaking at number thirty. Channel Z, which was actually the first single released from the album, became a number one hit on Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart, driven by its popularity on alternative and college radio stations.

Cosmic Thing would be the bands first release on Reprise Records, and pave their way to mainstream success. As such, one would be forgiven if they didn't know of The B-52's existence until 1989. This was certainly aided by the music videos for Love Shack and Roam, which found steady rotation on MTV. Everybody seemed to know the party anthem (Love Shack), from kids to adults, and it was everywhere over the following years, since then becoming a legacy in its own right to the era of 80's music.

So, with the bar set extremely high, today we dive into their final, and most critically acclaimed album, 1989's Cosmic Thing. Let's go!

Usually, when listening to an album for a Retro Spin, I type as I hear it, trying to capture specific moments. With the exception of this opening paragraph, I actually just sat back, and took the time to let everything play out. When it was done, I took a short nap.

Upon waking up, I then said to myself, "Okay, self. What do you actually remember from that album that stood out?" The answer was Love Shack, Roam, and Topaz. While I don't think it will necessarily involve taking a nap, I think what I definitely need to do for future listening sessions is simply focus on hearing what is coming through the speakers, walk away, and come back later to then say, "What needs to be added to my shuffle?" The reason being that there is so much filler in rotation for me that I skip most of it.

Cosmic Thing, in comparison to prior albums from The B-52's felt a little hollow. Like something was missing in the spirit of it all, and it's clear what was. Even the band knew it because after its release and touring, Cindy Wilson stepped away for two reasons. The first being that she was still processing the loss of her brother, and former guitarist, Ricky Wilson. The second was that she was in a period of her life where she said her clock was ticking. She wanted to have a family, and take the time to raise her children.

With her blessings, The B-52's continued on, bringing in new singer, Julee Cruise, to fill in for her on tours. When they returned to the studio for 1992's Good Stuff, it would be as a trio with just Schneider, Pierson, and Strickland. While Wilson would rejoin the group in 1996, they wouldn't record their next and subsequent final studio album, 2008's Funplex.

The B-52's embarked on a farewell tour in 2022, closing out in Athens, Georgia in January 2023. Upon completion, the conducted a residency show at The Venetian Las Vegas in Paradise, Nevada, which was still ongoing as of this writing (in March 2025).

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THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS
August 27, 1983

THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS
August 27, 1988

Retro Spins: The B-52's - Bouncing Off the Satellites

After taking a year off, The B-52's, who were all living together at this time, began working on their next studio album. However, struggles with coming up with new material together would prompting them to instead try writing tracks individually.

When recording commenced in July of 1985, band member Keith Strickland, was the only one aware that guitarist Ricky Wilson was suffering from Aids. It would be a secret he opted to keep up until a few days before his death when he finally told his remaining bandmates, which included sister Cindy Wilson, and the rest of his family.

Though the album was completed, Wilson succumbed to AIDS in October of 1985, derailing the band as a result. Devastated, they would go their separate ways, and instead contemplating if The B-52's were over. When Bouncing Off The Satellites was finally released in September of 1986, the band opted to no tour, and promoted its release sparkly, which included a music video for Girl from Ipanema Goes to Greenland.

Summer Of Love, and Girl from Ipanema Goes to Greenland start the album off on that quirky B-2's sound, and things continue for the remainder of what would technically be called, "side A", if it weren't a continuous CD. Detour Thru Your Mind does have a fun, and intentional, backwards track, which when played in reverse has Fred Schneider stating, "Watch out, you might ruin your needle."

Overall, there's a lot of playful back and forth banter between the vocals of Schneider and Pierson, a common staple for their music. The back half, though, seems bland in comparison. It doesn't have that same level of excitement and pop that you get in the first several songs. It all just kind of falls into background noise, albeit, weird sounding background noise. It's the type of music you'd hear in a fever dream. Hmm...That may very well sum up The B-52's in general. They're okay, as a whole, but they're definitely not my favorite. I couldn't see myself listening to them often.

As noted above, The B-52's went on hiatus throughout most of 1986 and 1987, with little promotion being given to the album. However, time would help heal wounds, and in 1989, they reemerged from the darkness to release their biggest hit to date, and finally experience a mainstream breakthrough. You know the song. It's all over 80's pop culture, and we'll talk about it next time.

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THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS
August 26, 1989

Retro Spins: The B-52's - Whammy!

The B-52's were born from an impromptu jam session in 1976 between brother and sister Cindy and Ricky Wilson, Kate Pierson, Fred Schenider, and Keith Strickland. During their early days of performing live, the group considered alternative names, Tina-Trons and Fellini's Children, but ultimately settled on The B-52's, named for the particular beehive hairdo resembling the nose cone of the aircraft, which Pierson and Cindy Wilson wore in performances during the band's first decade.

They recorded their first single, Rock Lobster, in 1978, and this song quickly became an underground success. It would later be re-recorded, and released in Germany and the UK. When it became a number one hit in the latter area, the result was a sold out show at the Electric Ballroom.

The band would end up signing with Warner Brothers, and release their self titled debut in 1979. Led by yet another re-recorded version of Rock Lobster, the album would reach number three in Australia, while also producing Billboard Hot 100 hits in the USA. As noted in my prior post, the band was even sited as a favorite and inspiration for John Lennon.

Returning to the studio in 1980, they recorded and released their sophomore album, Wild Planet. This too proved to be successful, reaching number eighteen on the Billboard 200. The single, Private Idaho would become their second Billboard Hot 100 single.

They briefly collaborated with Keith Byrne of Talking Heads in 1981. However, things wouldn't come to fruition, with differences in opinion on the musical direction being sited as the reason. This prompted the band to instead release the 1982 EP, Mesopotamia.

While the lineup wouldn't change, the band themselves would shuffle roles, with Strickland stepping away from drums, and Pierson switching solely to vocals in the studio, while still remaining on keyboards when touring. The biggest change to 1983's Whammy would be the use of a drum machine, and a heavy experimentation of synthesizers.

Whammy reached number twenty-nine on the Billboard 200, continuing the success of The B-52's. Meanwhile, multiple singles would reach the Billboard Hot 100. While initial pressings of the album included the Yoko Ono cover, Don't Worry. However, copyright issues soon arose, leading to future pressings of the album, including all CD copies, omitting the song. It was replaced instead with Moon 83.

Digging into the album myself, I could definitely hear the stylistic change from new wave surfer music to a more synthpop new wave sound. It's certainly an appropriate shift for the year in which it was released, but at the same time, lacks that certain distinction that made The B-52's what they were.

Oddly, the tune, Don't Worry, is probably my favorite from it, which is a shame, because since I own the CD pressing, I don't actually have this song in my library. As for the rest of the album, well, I didn't really hear anything that stood out.

As for The B-52's, sad times were brewing in the background. During the recording of Whammy, Ricky Wilson learned he had HIV. He confided only in Strickland, deciding to not tell anyone else, including his sister and other family members. Though he would contribute to the band's 1986 album, Bouncing Off The Satellites, he succumbed to the disease on October 12, 1985.

Boy, what a downer to end on.

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THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS
August 25, 1984

Retro Spins: The B-52's - Wild Planet

When John Lennon says you're his favorite band, and sites your song, Rock Lobster as his own inspiration, people tend to take notice.

I did my first post on The B-52's a few years ago when I reviewed their 1979 self titled debut as part of my classic rock series of Retro Spins. Since then, I've left the band alone, despite their CD's sitting on my shelf.

After the success of their debut, the band quickly returned to the studio to work on their 1980 follow up, Wild Planet. The album consisted of several songs which they had been playing live since 1978, but to date had not recorded due to an abundance of music for their initial album. Upon its release, it was certified gold, and reached number 18 on the Billboard 200.

As I played through it, I was definitely greeted by the quirky party / surf style of The B-52's. If nothing else, it's different enough to make it fun. However, what it lacks, perhaps intentionally, is hits.

Ultimately, where Wild Planet suffers is that its just not memorable for any catchy hooks, fun choruses, or in general, memorable songs. Instead, it feels as though it serves more so as background noise to a beach party.

With that said, it's not without its songs that I found shuffle worthy. I ended up adding Give Me Back My Man, and Private Idaho to this ever growing list. I'll even go so far as to say I'm glad to have done so. I suppose I'll take it a step further, and say, I'm not counting the band out. I'm intrigued to hear their follow up, and see where things go from there. If nothing else, The B-52's sound is intriguing enough to keep me invested in seeing what else they have, for now.

Really, there's not much to say about this one, so I suppose my next stop is 1983's Whammy!

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THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS
August 24, 1985

Retro Spins: The B-52's - The B-52's

Though it wouldn't be until the 80's that "New Wave" would become a popular term for music, the concept of this musical category was around as early as the 70's, and The B-52's, while debuting in 1979, fell among that classification. But what exactly is New Wave?

Truth be told, it was a category created to be a catch all for music that didn't necessarily fall into one. The "New Wave" term is regarded as so loose and wide-ranging as to be "virtually meaningless", according to the New Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock. For me, it simply means music that was unique, or sometimes cutting edge in terms of shaping a generation.

The B-52's definitely fall into the definition of the word unique. They sounded different, they were kind of weird, were they a joke? Or were they being serious? Who knows. Kitschy in all manners of the word. They were the kind of music teens could relate to, but light enough that even your mom would listen to them.

Their self titled debut, though mildly successful at the time, would ultimately serve as the ground work for their future success, boosted all the more by consistent rotation on MTV. However, what I myself found myself feeling with their album was a sense of uniqueness and fun that soon wore thin, bordering on annoying. The music wears thin fast.

I personally bought this album for Rock Lobster, and really, that's all I walked away with. Mind you, even that's not a song I would actively throw on just to hear. But if you caught me in the right mood of a random shuffle, I may or may not skip it.

They remind me a lot of Weird Al Yankovic, which is odd, because they certainly aren't a parody band. Still, this definitely the vibe I get from them. Not a bad thing, but not something I necessarily would want to hear everyday. I don't think I would go to any great lengths, or necessarily have any interest in tracking down any other albums. Well, beyond their 1989 Cosmic Thing Album (for Love Shack and Roam), which I already have.

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