Cindy Wilson

As a founding member of the B-52s and as a solo artist, Cindy Wilson showcases her clarion vocals and boundless creativity in her music. With the legendary Athens, Georgia-based band, she helped usher in a dance-friendly sound that ran counter to the strained seriousness of many of their peers on the American new wave scene of the 1970s and '80s. Along with the gleaming harmonies she created with Kate Pierson on favorites like "Legal Tender" and "Roam" and the spirited call-and-response between her, Pierson, and Fred Schneider on songs such as "Love Shack" and "Rock Lobster," Wilson sang solo on more B-52s songs than her bandmates, including "Give Me Back My Man." After decades of success with the band, Wilson launched her solo career, blending electronic sounds and singer/songwriter pop into 2017's contemplative Change and adding buoyant techno and disco influences to 2023's Realms. Cindy Wilson was born in Athens, Georgia on February 28, 1957. Growing up, Wilson had a deep love of music; she first latched onto vocalists like Petula Clark and Nancy Sinatra, and in her teens became a serious fan of Alice Cooper and the Beatles. Wilson had an older brother, Ricky Wilson, who played guitar and also had omnivorous musical tastes, ranging from Joan Baez to Captain Beefheart. In 1976, Cindy and Ricky were with friends, enjoying a night out that included several flaming tropical drinks, when the partiers struck upon the idea of forming a band. The revelers included Fred Schneider, Kate Pierson, and Keith Strickland, and they decided to name their new group the B-52s, after the local nickname for the towering beehive hairdos that were still fashionable in Georgia. While not all the members were accomplished musicians, by February 1977 the B-52s had played their first show (with pre-recorded backing tapes filling in for instruments they hadn't yet mastered), and in 1978 they cut an independent single, "Rock Lobster" b/w "52 Girls," with Wilson contributing vocals and percussion, as well as taking part in the songwriting. The single became an underground success, due in part to Cindy and Kate's distinctive backing vocals, and the buzz led to a major-label record deal (Warner Bros. in the United States, Island in the U.K. and Europe). Their debut album, 1979's The B-52's, helped make them one of the breakout acts of the American new wave, as well as establishing Athens, Georgia as a city with serious hip credentials. The B-52s released two albums and two EPs between 1980 and 1983, and they toured frequently, but the group suffered a tremendous loss in October 1985 when Ricky Wilson died of AIDS-related illnesses. Cindy was especially devastated by her brother's passing, and while the B-52s completed the album they were working on at the time of his death, 1986's Bouncing Off the Satellites, they opted not to tour in support of the release, and the band went on hiatus for a few years. In 1989, Cindy Wilson reunited with Schneider, Pierson, and Strickland to record a new B-52s album, and Cosmic Thing turned out to be the group's greatest commercial success, a multi-platinum hit that spawned the singles "Love Shack" and "Roam." In 1990, Wilson took a hiatus from the B-52s so she and her husband, Keith Bennett (who had once been a guitar tech for the band), could focus on raising a family. During this period, Julee Cruise took over for Wilson on the road (actress Kim Basinger took over Wilson's vocal spot for one show in 1992), but Wilson returned to the B-52s in 1994, and joined them in the studio in 1998 for the recording of two bonus tracks for the "best-of" compilation Time Capsule: Songs for a Future Generation. In 1999, Wilson took maternity leave from the B-52s, but was back to work in 2001, joining the group during its frequent tours. In 2008, the band released the album Funplex, with Wilson contributing to the songwriting on all 11 songs. The group toured extensively in support, and remained a fixture on the summer touring circuit for the next several years. After Wilson hired a Beatles tribute band to play at her son's birthday party, she struck up a friendship with one of its members, Athens musician Ryan Monahan. She began playing with Monahan and drummer Lemuel Hayes; one of the trio's first gigs was a 2010 show commemorating R.E.M.'s 30th anniversary. By 2014, Wilson and company had written enough original material to record, and teamed up with producer and musician Suny Lyons. Appearing in September 2016, the Sunrise EP introduced her breathy vocal stylings and electronically inclined sound, and featured covers of Broadcast, Junior Senior, and Oh-Ok as well as her own songs. Another EP, February 2017's Supernatural, consisted entirely of Wilson originals. That December saw the release of her first solo album Change on Kill Rock Stars. Recorded at Athens' Space Station studio with Lyons, Hayes, and Monahan, the album blended synth pop and vintage singer/songwriter and R&B influences in its meditative songs. Wilson's live show for the album incorporated multimedia elements and included a date at that year's South by Southwest. The B-52s' farewell tour began in 2022 and stretched into the following year, with performances at the Darker Waves festival and a five-show residency in Las Vegas. As the band played their final dates, Wilson released her second solo album, August 2023's Realms. She and Lyons were joined by string player Maria Kindt and B-52s touring drummer Sterling Campbell on lively songs that fused Wilson's new wave roots with touches of disco and techno.
© Mark Deming & Heather Phares /TiVo