Cynthia Leigh Wilson is a vocalist, songwriter and a founding member of new wave rock band
The B-52s.
She was born in Athens, Georgia.
The B-52's The B-52's were formed when Wilson, her older
brother and guitarist Ricky, organist and vocalist Kate Pierson, drummer and percussionist
Keith Strickland, and vocalist Fred Schneider played an impromptu musical jam session after
sharing a tropical Flaming Volcano drink at a local Chinese restaurant.
They later played their first concert in 1977 at a Valentine's Day party for their friends.
Wilson and the others broke into the music world with their campy, '60s retro band.
Their remarkable, and enduring, "Yellow Album", called simply The B-52's, had the hit singles
"Rock Lobster" and "Planet Claire".
This song launched the band into stardom.
On 21 April 1985, Wilson married Keith Bennett, a successful advertiser who was a long time
friend of the band and Ricky's guitar tech on tour.
However, later that year, her brother Ricky Wilson died, leaving her devastated.
Wilson took a sabbatical from the band in 1990 to concentrate on raising a family, during
which time The B-52's recorded and released the album Good Stuff as a trio of Pierson,
Schneider and Strickland.
During the live tour to promote the Good Stuff album in 1992 and 1993, Julee Cruise sang
as a replacement for Wilson.
Wilson rejoined The B-52's 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.
Wilson then took maternity leave in 1999, later rejoining the band in 2001 for regular
touring of their greatest hits.
The B-52's completed the album Funplex 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 album including hit singles "Love Shack"
and "Roam".
Wilson's vocal efforts include the typical B-52's "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".
One of the band's signature elements is the setup between the three vocalists.
However, Wilson sings the greatest number of solo performances in the band, especially
on their earlier albums.
Examples of Cindy's solo vocal performances in The B-52's include "Hero Worship", "Loveland",
"Nip It in the Bud", "Girl from Ipanema Goes to Greenland", "Ain't It a Shame", "She Brakes
for Rainbows" and the live favorite "Give Me Back My Man".
Wilson is the band's bongocera, playing the bongos in regular live favorites "Planet Claire",
"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 in The Cindy Wilson Band,
and made electric guitar contributions in the songs "There's a Moon in the Sky" from
The B-52's first album and playing the guitar solo for Nip It In the Bud during the band's
1982 Mesopotamia tour.
She has stated that she was encouraged to play guitar by her brother, but experienced
finger pain.
Cindy briefly played a note or two on the keyboard during the band's Whammy tour version
of Private Idaho, and at Rock In Rio 1985.
She also played an electronic drumkit on a commercial for the WE tv network.
Solo work In 2003, Wilson performed original songs with
her group, The Cindy Wilson Band.
Collaborations Ramones, in the early 1980s on the song "Chop
Suey", with Kate Pierson and Debbie Harry; the title is available as a bonus track on
the Ramones' 2002 expanded edition CD re-release of Pleasant Dreams.
Wilson, Pierson and Keith Strickland were part of the group Melon and recorded two songs
for a Japanese TV show titled "Snakeman Show".
The soundtrack LP from 1980 and CD from 1988 was only released in Japan.
Martini Ranch, actor Bill Paxton's short-lived band, on several songs 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 on the song "Appalachee Shoals" which is only available on the fan
club-only released CD Nocturnal Omissions, and on the track "Stand Tall" from their official
1990 album Gloryline.
Kristen Hall on her 1992 album Fact & Fiction has Wilson singing vocals on the track "Too
Long Running".
The soundtrack for The Rugrats Movie, released in 1998, contains the track "The World Is
Something New To Me" and features Pierson, Schneider and Wilson along with other artists.
The Family Fantastic, a side project by Yazoo/Erasure mastermind Vince Clarke; 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's song "Ain't No
Stoppin' Us Now", recorded for the soundtrack to the movie The Associate in 1996.
In 1998, Wilson was involved in recording a children's music album entitled Not Dogs
... Too Simple, which was adapted from a children's book by Mark and Clay Harper.
Wilson appears with Pierson on the Junior Senior song "Take My Time" on their album
Hey Hey My My Yo Yo.
Filmography The Rugrats Movie
Athens, GA: Inside Out One Trick Pony
External links The B-52s official site
Cindy Wilson at the Internet Movie Database