B-52s Celebrate 35th Anniversary

Celebrity Q&A, People
on February 27, 2012
b52s
https://americanprofile.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/b52s-150x150.jpg

What are the B-52s up to these days?

—Carlos Fuentes, Tampa, Fla.

The "world's greatest party band," which hails from Athens, Ga., recently celebrated its 35th anniversary with a concert in its hometown. The B-52s, which performed its first live show on Valentine's Day 1977, recently filmed a PBS special, set to air this month, in which it performs a long list of its hits, including "Love Shack," "Rock Lobster," "Roam," "Planet Claire" and "Private Idaho."

The band continues to tour with recent concert dates in California, Arizona, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Georgia. Its members credit the group's longevity to their ability to get along.

"We share everything equally: credit, writing, royalties, everything. We decided from the beginning we're all in it together. We were friends before, and we're even better friends now, I think," says singer/songwriter Fred Schneider, 60, one of the group's founders. Adds vocalist Cindy Wilson, 55, "It's a good job to have. It's definitely good karma to put out there, you know. So many people have told me stories how we've helped them make it through tough times, going through puberty or whatever."