"The B-52s were formed in October 1976 in Athens, Georgia, following a drunken night out at a Chinese restaurant. They were one of the first bands to give the city they were formed in the reputation of a place where college acts could thrive, making it one of the hottest places around for alternative music. The group took their name from the big bouffant wigs that were worn by the two singers of the group, Kate Pierson and Cindy Wilson. They had a unique style of thrift-store camp, and presented themselves as a group to be on the watch for, despite the fact that there was little, if any, musical talent in the group when they first started.The three other members of the group were Fred Schneider, Ricky Wilson who played the guitar and was Cindy's older brother, and Keith Strickland. The group recorded the single ""Rock Lobster"" and then went on to have their first gig at Max's Kansas City Club, a famous joint in New York City. That gig resulted in the band having more opportunities to play at CBGB's, the band was on their way and doing very well for a group with little to none prior experience. They issued their first album, The B-52s in July of 1979 which peaked in the top 60 on the Pop Albums charts.As they gained fame over the following years, they were interrupted by the death of Ricky Wilson, who was later found to have succumbed to the AIDS virus. He died on October 12, 1985. The group was so shaken up by the event that they spent several years in seclusion before returning with the album Cosmic Thing, in 1989, which did not suffer for the band having been out of the picture for so many years. The group has had some on-again-off-again years since then. But they are actually still recording, and on March 25, 2008 they released the album Funplex."