Cindy Wilson
Encyclopedia
Cynthia Leigh Wilson is a vocalist and a founding member of new wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...

 rock band The B-52s.

Career

Wilson began her career as a luncheonette waitress in her home state of Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...

. Her brother, Ricky Wilson
Ricky Wilson (American musician)
Ricky Helton Wilson was an American instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, and musician. He was best known as the original guitarist and founding member of New Wave rock band the B-52s...

, was also a founding member of The B-52s; Ricky died in 1985. Cindy took a sabbatical from the band in 1990 to concentrate on raising a family, during which time The B-52s recorded and released the album Good Stuff
Good Stuff
Good Stuff is the sixth studio album by New Wave band The B-52s, released in 1992. This is the first B-52s album in which vocalist Cindy Wilson does not appear, though she rejoined some years later....

as a trio of Kate Pierson
Kate Pierson
Catherine Elizabeth "Kate" Pierson is an American vocalist and one of the lead singers and founding members of The B-52's. One of the multi-instrumentalists in the band, Pierson played guitar, bass and various keyboard instruments...

, Keith Strickland
Keith Strickland
Julian Keith Strickland is an American multi-instrumentalist, composer, and one of the founding members of the The B-52s. Originally the band's drummer, Strickland switched to guitar after the death of guitarist Ricky Wilson in 1985...

 and Fred Schneider
Fred Schneider
Frederick William "Fred" Schneider III is an American rock singer, 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:Schneider was born in Newark,...

. During the live tour to promote the Good Stuff album in 1992 and 1993, Julee Cruise
Julee Cruise
Julee Cruise is an American singer, and actress.With a distinctive, airy voice, Cruise has recorded three albums, but is probably best known for the lead vocal on "Falling," the theme song for the cult U.S. television series Twin Peaks...

 sang as a replacement for Wilson. Wilson rejoined The B-52s in 1994. In 1998 she took part in recordings from which two new songs were selected to be included along with the band's hit singles on the album Time Capsule: Songs for a Future Generation
Time Capsule: Songs for a Future Generation
Time Capsule: Songs For a Future Generation is a greatest hits album released by the B-52's in 1998. The album presents sixteen of their single releases and fan-favorite album tracks in chronological order, with the addition of two newly-recorded songs exclusive to this collection. One of them,...

. Wilson then took maternity leave in 1999, later rejoining the band in 2001 for regular touring of their greatest hits.

The B-52s completed the album Funplex
Funplex
Funplex is the seventh studio album by The B-52s, recorded during 2006 and 2007. The album was released on March 25, 2008 by Astralwerks Records with holdings by Go! Discs...

in 2007 and it was released in March 2008. Wilson co-wrote every song on the album with the three other band members. In all, she has co-written much of the band's back catalogue, including "Dance This Mess Around", "Private Idaho" and all of the Cosmic Thing
Cosmic Thing
Cosmic Thing is the fifth studio album by New Wave band The B-52's, released in 1989. It contains the singles "Love Shack" and "Roam", which remain two of their most popular tunes...

album including hit singles "Love Shack
Love Shack
"Love Shack" is a single by rock band The B-52's. Originally released in 1989 from their album Cosmic Thing, the single was the band's biggest hit song and first million-copy seller...

" and "Roam".

Wilson's vocal efforts include the typical B-52s "call-and-response" vocals with Schneider and/or Pierson, as well as her harmonies with Pierson on the band's all-female songs such as "Roam", "52 Girls", "Cake", "Legal Tender", "Summer of Love" and "Juliet of the Spirits". She also sang all vocals on "Hero Worship", "Loveland", "Nip It in the Bud", "Girl From Ipanema Goes to Greenland", "Ain't It a Shame" and the live favorite "Give Me Back My Man
Give Me Back My Man
"Give Me Back My Man" is a song written and recorded by the American rock band The B-52's. It was released as the second single from their 1980 album Wild Planet...

".

Wilson is the band's bongocera, playing the bongos in regular live favorites "Planet Claire
Planet Claire
"Planet Claire" is the second single released by The B-52's from their self-titled debut album The B-52's. The single was their second single to chart anywhere, at #43 in Australia and #24 on the U.S. Hot Dance Club Play chart, along with album tracks "Rock Lobster" and "Dance This Mess Around"...

", "Mesopotamia", "Pump" and "Party Out of Bounds" as well as other songs such as "6060-842" and "Big Bird". Less remarked is her guitar work; she played acoustic guitar
Acoustic guitar
An acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...

 in The Cindy Wilson Band, and made a one-time contribution of electric guitar
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...

 (alongside her brother Ricky) in the song "There's a Moon in the Sky (Called the Moon)" from The B-52s first album
The B-52's (album)
Critical reception for The B-52's was generally favorable; critics praised the album's kitschy lyrics and party atmosphere.-Track listing:-Personnel:*Fred Schneider – cowbell, toy piano, keyboard bass, Vocals, walkie talkie...

. She also played an electronic drum
Electronic drum
An electronic drum is an electronic synthesizer which mimics an acoustic drum kit.The electronic drum usually consists of a set of pads mounted on a stand in a disposition similar to an acoustic drum kit. The pads are discs with a rubber or cloth-like coating. Each pad has a sensor which generates...

kit on a commercial for the WE tv
WE TV
We TV is the third TV channel from Malayalam Communications Ltd, in Kerala and based at Trivandrum. The other two channels of this company are Kairali TV and People TV. WE TV is mainly aimed at the youth and was officially launched on April 14, 2007. Mr...

 network.

Solo work

  • In 2003, Wilson performed original songs with her group, The Cindy Wilson Band, including the oddly-titled "Bee Bee Bee Bow Bee Bee Bee Bee Bom".

Collaborations

  • The Ramones, in the early 1980s on the song "Chop Suey", with Kate Pierson
    Kate Pierson
    Catherine Elizabeth "Kate" Pierson is an American vocalist and one of the lead singers and founding members of The B-52's. One of the multi-instrumentalists in the band, Pierson played guitar, bass and various keyboard instruments...

     and Debbie Harry
    Debbie Harry
    Deborah Ann "Debbie" Harry is an American singer-songwriter and actress, best known for being the lead singer of the punk rock and new wave band Blondie. She has also had success as a solo artist, and in the mid-1990s she performed and recorded as part of The Jazz Passengers...

    ; the title is available as a bonus track on the Ramones' 2002 expanded edition CD re-release of Pleasant Dreams
    Pleasant Dreams
    Pleasant Dreams is the sixth studio album by the American punk rock band the Ramones. It was released on July 20, 1981 through Sire Records. Pleasant Dreams reached #58 on the US Billboard album charts. It was frowned upon by guitarist Johnny Ramone because to him it sounded "too slick" and is...

    .
  • Wilson, Pierson and Keith Strickland
    Keith Strickland
    Julian Keith Strickland is an American multi-instrumentalist, composer, and one of the founding members of the The B-52s. Originally the band's drummer, Strickland switched to guitar after the death of guitarist Ricky Wilson in 1985...

     were part of the group Melon and recorded two songs ("I Will Call You" and "Honeydew") for a Japan
    Japan
    Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

    ese TV show titled "Snakeman Show". The soundtrack LP from 1980 and CD from 1988 was only released in Japan.
  • Martini Ranch
    Martini Ranch
    Martini Ranch is a new wave band conceived in 1982 by Andrew Todd Rosenthal. The band was composed of Andrew and actor Bill Paxton , and featured a similar sound to late 1980s Devo. The Martini Ranch track "How Can the Labouring Man Find Time for Self-Culture?" featured three members of Devo...

    , actor Bill Paxton
    Bill Paxton
    William "Bill" Paxton is an American actor and film director. He gained popularity after starring roles in the films Apollo 13, Twister, Aliens, True Lies, and Titanic...

    's short-lived band, on several songs ("New Deal", World Without Walls", "Hot Dog") off the 1988 album Holy Cow.
  • 1988 was also the year BadBob released his album Now Is Reaction. On several tracks "Bobbie Bennett" was adding her background vocals. Cindy Wilson used that name on this record as a pseudonym.
  • With Dreams So Real
    Dreams So Real
    Dreams So Real were an alternative rock band from Athens, Georgia, who gained some national exposure in the late 1980s and early 1990s. They recorded three albums, including two releases on Arista Records.-History:...

     on the song "Appalachee Shoals" which is only available on the fan club-only released CD Nocturnal Omissions
    Nocturnal Omissions
    Nocturnal Omissions was the final, posthumous release by Athens, Georgia band Dreams So Real. Self-released in 1992, it was a collection of unreleased and rare tracks.-Track listing:# " Today"# "Heaven"# "Window"# "History"...

    , and on the track "Stand Tall" from their official 1990 album Gloryline
    Gloryline
    Gloryline was the third album by Athens, Georgia rock band Dreams So Real. It was their second album for Arista Records, released in 1990. It is generally thought of as more uneven than their Jericho release...

    .
  • Kristen Hall
    Kristen Hall
    Kristen Alyson Hall is an American folk rock singer/songwriter. In 2002, she was a founding member of the country music group Sugarland. She left the group in December 2005.-Lawsuit:...

     on her 1992 album Fact & Fiction has Wilson singing vocals on the track "Too Long Running".
  • The soundtrack for The Rugrats Movie
    The Rugrats Movie
    The Rugrats Movie is a 1998 American animated film, produced by Klasky Csupo and Nickelodeon Movies. The film was distributed by Paramount Pictures and first released in theaters in the United States on November 20, 1998....

    , released in 1998, contains the track "The World Is Something New To Me" and features Pierson, Schneider
    Fred Schneider
    Frederick William "Fred" Schneider III is an American rock singer, 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:Schneider was born in Newark,...

     and Wilson along with other artists.
  • The Family Fantastic, a side project by Yazoo (Yaz)
    Yazoo (band)
    Yazoo are a British synthpop duo from Basildon, Essex. They had a number of Top 10 hits in the UK charts in the early 1980s...

    /Erasure mastermind Vince Clarke
    Vince Clarke
    Vince Clarke is an English synthpop musician and songwriter. Clarke has been involved with a number of successful groups, including Depeche Mode, Yazoo, The Assembly and Erasure....

    ; a short sample of Wilson saying "Uh, gosh, I'm ready to dance" on the track "Doin' This Thing" from the 2000 album ...Nice!.
  • With Kate Pierson on their common cover of the McFadden & Whitehead
    McFadden & Whitehead
    McFadden and Whitehead were an American songwriting, production, and recording duo, best known for their signature tune "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now"...

    's song "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now
    Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now
    "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now" is a disco song performed by R&B duo McFadden & Whitehead from their debut album, McFadden & Whitehead. They wrote and produced this along with keyboard player Jerry Cohen. Released from their self-titled debut album in 1979, the song spent a week at number one on the R&B...

    ", recorded for the soundtrack
    The Associate (soundtrack)
    The Associate is the original motion picture soundtrack of the self-titled movie from 1996, starring Whoopi Goldberg, the winner of a Grammy, seven Emmy Awards, two Golden Globes, a Tony, as well as an Oscar....

     to the movie The Associate
    The Associate
    The Associate is a 1996 film starring Whoopi Goldberg, Dianne Wiest, Eli Wallach, Timothy Daly, Bebe Neuwirth, Austin Pendleton and Lainie Kazan...

    in 1996.
  • In 1998, Wilson was involved in recording a children's music album entitled Not Dogs ... Too Simple (A Tale of Two Kitties), which was adapted from a children's book by Mark and Clay Harper.
  • Wilson appears with Pierson on the Junior Senior
    Junior Senior
    Junior Senior was a pop musical duo from Denmark. The duo consisted of Jesper "Junior" Mortensen and Jeppe "Senior" Laursen ....

     song "Take My Time" (2005) on their album Hey Hey My My Yo Yo
    Hey Hey My My Yo Yo
    Hey Hey My My Yo Yo is the second and final album by Danish pop group Junior Senior, released in Japan and parts of Europe in 2005. It was released in Australia on April 9, 2007. The single "Itch U Can't Skratch" also charted in the UK...

    .

Filmography

  • The Rugrats Movie
    The Rugrats Movie
    The Rugrats Movie is a 1998 American animated film, produced by Klasky Csupo and Nickelodeon Movies. The film was distributed by Paramount Pictures and first released in theaters in the United States on November 20, 1998....

    (1998, voice only)
  • Athens, GA: Inside Out
    Athens, GA: Inside Out
    Athens, GA: Inside/Out is a documentary film about the mid-1980s music scene in Athens, Georgia, USA.The film features interviews and concert footage of local bands who were a part of the scene at the time of the documentation as well as local legends R.E.M., Pylon, and The B-52's. It also features...

    (1987)
  • One Trick Pony (1980)

External links

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