The B-52’s formed in Athens Georgia 1976 after a drunken night at a Chinese restaurant. The name comes from the bouffant wigs that are a part of the band’s distinctive look, and not the airplane of the same name contrary to popular belief. Their quirky take on the emerging new wave and unusual guitar tunings set them apart from the pack.
The band gained popularity pretty much from it’s inception, but couldn’t break into the US top 40 charts until their 1989 release ‘Cosmic Thing’ which contained the infamous track ‘Love Shack’ which landed at number 3 on the billboard charts. A few months later in early 1990 ‘Roam’ which was also on ‘Cosmic Thing’ reached number 3 on the US charts as well.
Though the band had been around for more than a decade, 1989 – 1990 was manys first introduction to the band, which is a shame because their earlier material didn’t get much radio play in the U.S. Although Australia had been big supports of the band pretty much from the beginning. Here’s a few of my favorite cuts from the B-52’s.
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MP3: The B-52’s – Give Me Back My Man
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MP3: The B-52’s – Legal Tender
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MP3: The B-52’s – Private Idaho
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MP3: The B-52’s – Summer Of Love
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MP3: The B-52’s – 52 Girls
Listen to the intro on this then listen to DJ Shadows ‘Six Days’ (Soulwax remix)
Electroclash artists Chicks on Speed recognize the importance of B-52’s and in 2000 the released a collection of B-52’s covers on an album titled Chix-52. Their rendition of ‘Give Me Back My Man’ is excellent.
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MP3: Chicks On Speed – Give Me Back My Man
The B-52’s released a collection of hits from the past on a cd titled ‘Time Capsule: Songs For A Future Generation’ in 1998. That can be picked up here
