MTSU will hear plenty of good stuff from B-52s frontman Fred Schneider when he visits campus Thursday, Sept. 29, for a special lecture sponsored by the universityâs Department of Recording Industry and the Center for Popular Music.
Known for his distinctive spoken-singing style, the poet-musician will discuss his nearly four-decade career in new-wave rock at 4:30 p.m. in the State Farm Lecture Hall in MTSU’s Business and Aerospace Building, Room BAS S-102.
The event is free and open to the public, and a searchable campus parking map is available at http://tinyurl.com/MTSUParkingMap.
Schneider and friends Keith Strickland, Ricky Wilson, Cindy Wilson and Kate Pierson formed the B-52s in Athens, Georgia, in 1976 and released their first single, âRock Lobster,â in 1978.
Taking their name from Piersonâs and Cindy Wilsonâs bouffant hairstyles, the B-52s helped launch Athensâ international reputation for iconoclastic bands and became a staple of New York Cityâs punk clubs, where fans quickly spread the word about the bandâs stream-of-consciousness lyrics, dance-party beats, retro outfits and irrepressible performance style.
Schneider and Ricky Wilson co-wrote âRock Lobster,â and the entire band collaborated on other B-52s classics, including âPrivate Idaho,â âPlanet Claire,â âDance This Mess Around,â âRoam,â âGood Stuff,â “Is That You Mo-Dean?” and their biggest hit, âLove Shack.â
âLove Shack,â which was the bandâs first charting single after Ricky Wilsonâs death in 1985 and their subsequent two-year hiatus, was one of the 365 âSongs of the Centuryâ list by the Recording Industry Association of America and the National Endowment for the Arts and included in Rolling Stoneâs list of the â500 Greatest Songs of All Time.â
Schneider, a New Jersey native, attended the University of Georgia intending to major in forestry. He earned an âAâ for a book of poetry he impulsively wrote for a final class project and has admitted that he had little musical experience when the B-52s began; his enthusiastic cowbell playing is part of the bandâs charm.
Along with his years with the B-52s, Schneiderâs had a successful solo music career as well as doing a bit of acting in films that include âThe Flintstonesâ and âThe Rugrats Movie.â His newest project is a comedic synth-pop band, The Superions, but heâs still busy touring with the B-52s.
Schneider also recently helped organize a Nashville fundraiser for the family of the late Paul Gordon, a respected guitarist for bands such as the B-52s and the Goo Goo Dolls.
âIâm not wealthy. We only started making money after âCosmic Thing,ââ Schneider said in a 2010 radio interview, referring to the B-52sâ fifth album, which was released in 1989 and included âLove Shackâ and âRoam.â
MTSU recording industry professor Charlie Dahan helped bring Schneider to campus.
“Fred and the B-52s have been a part of and led so many musical movements and produced hits in the 1980s and 1990s,â Dahan said. âIt’s a rare treat for our students to hear from such an innovator with longevity.â
You can enjoy Schneiderâs work with the B-52s with the award-winning âLove Shackâ video at http://youtu.be/9SOryJvTAGs and with the Superionsâ âWho Threw That Ham at Me?â video at http://youtu.be/LoePXkHWdw4.
The Center for Popular Music and the Department of Recording Industry are part of MTSUâs College of Media and Entertainment.
For more information on MTSUâs Center for Popular Music and its projects and special events, visit http://www.mtsu.edu/popmusic. For information on the college and its departments, visit http://www.mtsu.edu/media.
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