page_title: The B-52's
hierarchical_section_title: The B-52's
caption_attribution_description: English: Fred Schneider (top left), Kate Pierson (top right), Cindy Wilson (bottom left) and Keith Strickland (bottom right) live in Athens, GA Feb 18th, 2011.
context_page_description: The B-52s are an American new wave band which was formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1976. The original line-up consisted of Fred Schneider, Kate Pierson, Cindy Wilson, Ricky Wilson, and Keith Strickland. Ricky Wilson died from AIDS-related illness in 1985, and Strickland switched from drums to lead guitar. The band also added touring members for albums and live performances.
  The group evoked a "thrift shop aesthetic", in the words of Bernard Gendron, by drawing from 1950s and 1960s pop sources, trash culture, and rock and roll. Schneider, Pierson, and Wilson sometimes use call-and-response-style vocals, and their guitar- and keyboard-driven instrumentation composes their trademark sound which was also set apart from their contemporaries by the unusual guitar tunings used by Ricky Wilson on their earlier albums. The band has had many hits, including "Rock Lobster", "Planet Claire", "Private Idaho", "Whammy Kiss", "Party Out of Bounds", "Wig", "Love Shack" and "Roam".
context_section_description: The B-52s (styled as The B-52's prior to 2008) are an American new wave band which was formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1976. The original line-up consisted of Fred Schneider (vocals, percussion), Kate Pierson (vocals, keyboards), Cindy Wilson (vocals, percussion), Ricky Wilson (guitar), and Keith Strickland (drums, guitar, keyboards). Ricky Wilson died from AIDS-related illness in 1985, and Strickland switched from drums to lead guitar. The band also added touring members for albums and live performances.
  The group evoked a "thrift shop aesthetic", in the words of Bernard Gendron, by drawing from 1950s and 1960s pop sources, trash culture, and rock and roll. Schneider, Pierson, and Wilson sometimes use call-and-response-style vocals (Schneider's often humorous sprechgesang contrasting with the melodic harmonies of Pierson and Wilson), and their guitar- and keyboard-driven instrumentation composes their trademark sound which was also set apart from their contemporaries by the unusual guitar tunings used by Ricky Wilson on their earlier albums. The band has had many hits, including "Rock Lobster", "Planet Claire", "Private Idaho", "Whammy Kiss", "Party Out of Bounds", "Wig", "Love Shack" and "Roam".
caption: The B-52s live in Athens, Georgia, on February 18, 2011. Left to right, top to bottom: Fred Schneider, Kate Pierson, Cindy Wilson, and Keith Strickland.
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