Fred Schneider
Frederick William Schneider III (born July 1, 1951) is an American singer, songwriter, arranger, and musician, best known as the frontman of the rock band The B-52's, of which he is a founding member. Schneider is well known for his "sprechgesang", which he developed from reciting poetry over guitars. Early life. Frederick William Schneider III was born on July 1, 1951, in Newark, New Jersey, and lived in Oceanport, New Jersey after moving there from Belleville, New Jersey. He has said that his musical influences included "Halloween songs and nutty Christmas songs" along with "Motown". After graduating  from Shore Regional High School, he attended the University of Georgia, where he wrote a book of poetry for a class project. After college, he was a janitor as well as a Meals on Wheels driver. At the time the B-52's formed, he had very little musical experience. The B-52's. The B-52's got their start in 1976 when founders Cindy Wilson, Ricky Wilson, Kate Pierson, Keith Strickland, and Schneider played an impromptu number after drinking at a Chinese restaurant in Athens, Georgia. The band played their first real gig in 1977 at a Valentine's Day party  for their friends. The band's first single was "Rock Lobster" which was recorded for DB Records in 1978. It was an underground success, and sold over 20,000 copies in total. In 1979, the B-52's signed a recording contract with Warner Bros. Records for South America, North America, Australia, and New Zealand. They also signed with Island Records for Europe and Asia. After the death of Ricky Wilson in 1985, the band went on hiatus. They reformed in 1989 and went on to mainstream success. Other music ventures. Schneider has released two solo albums. He also worked on a  side project called the Superions. The group released a self-titled EP and the album "Destination... Christmas!" in 2010. In February 2011 the band announced the beginning of working on a full-length album which was eventually released in 2017 under the title "The Vertical Mind". Radio. Until late 2008, Schneider hosted a show called "Party Out of Bounds" that aired on Friday nights, 9pm to 12am (ET) on Sirius 33 First Wave. On the show, Schneider played a mix of new wave-era dance, remixes and rarities, interspersed with anecdotes and humor. Personal life. Schneider was living  on Long Island, New York. Schneider discussed with Howard Stern his experience of coming out to his mother as gay on Stern's radio broadcast on February 22, 2010. He said that his mother always knew more about her son than he knew about himself, and he said he came out of the closet while she was vacuum-cleaning. His mother replied with "Oh I know, Freddie" and continued vacuuming without missing a beat. Schneider said his reaction was: "It's like, well, OK. I guess I'll go back outside and smoke some pot." Schneider is a lifelong vegetarian , and he appeared in a PETA ad campaign discouraging people from eating lobsters. Filmography. Films in which Fred Schneider has appeared include: