B-52
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The B-52's
| For The Record... |
| Members include Zachary Alford (joined group, 1989), drums; Pat Irwin (joined group, 1989) keyboards and guitar; Sara Lee (joined group, 1989), bass; Kate Pierson (born c. 1948, in Weehawken, NJ), vocals, keyboards, guitar; Fred Schneider (born c. 1952, in Belleville, NJ), vocals, keyboards, guitar; Keith Strickland (born c. 1954, in Athens, GA; son of bus station managers), drums, percussion; Cindy Wilson (born c. 1957, in Athens, GA, daughter of a fireman and a factory worker; married Keith Bennett), lead vocals, percussion, guitar; Ricky Wilson (born c. 1953, in Athens, GA; died, 1985), guitar. Group formed in Athens, GA, with Kate Pierson, Fred Schneider, Keith Strickland, Cindy Wilson, and Ricky Wilson, 1976; released breakthrough hit "Rock Lobster," signed with Warner Bros. Records, released first album, The B-52's, 1979; released numerous hits in the early 1980s, including "Planet Claire," "Private Idaho," and "Quiche Lorraine;" lost guitarist Ricky Wilson to AIDS, 1985; released last album featuring Ricky Wilson Bouncing off the Satellites, 1986; after three-year hiatus, released Cosmic Thing, which became the group's best-selling album to date, propelled by hit singles "Love Shack," "Roam," and "Deadbeat Club," 1989; recruited Zachary Alford, Pat Irwin, Sara Lee to play on tours, 1989; Cindy Wilson left band, early 1990s; remaining core members released Good Stuff, 1992; Cindy Wilson rejoined band, mid-1990s; released Time Capsule, 1998; released Nude on the Moon: the B-52's Anthology, 2002. Addresses: Management—Direct Management, Ste. G, 947 N. La Cienega Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90069. Website—The B-52's Official Website: http://www.theb52s.com. |
Rock group
The B-52's have been a presence on the new wave music scene since 1979, when their hit "Rock Lobster" started people jumping on dance floors all over the United States and Great Britain. The band, composed of Cindy and Ricky Wilson, Kate Pierson, Fred Schneider, and Keith Strickland, quickly became known for their wacky lyrics and bouncy music. They followed "Lobster" with a string of popular 1980s dance tunes, including "Planet Claire," "Private Idaho," and "Quiche Lorraine." After a three-year dry spell and the loss of Ricky Wilson to AIDS in 1985, the B-52's reemerged with the 1989 album Cosmic Thing and its smash hit single, "Love Shack." Good Stuff followed in 1992, and the compilations Time Capsule in 1998 and Nude on the Moon in 2002.
The Wilsons, who were brother and sister, and Strickland grew up in Athens, Georgia. Schneider and Pierson also lived in Athens for a long time, but are natives of New Jersey. The five became friends in Athens during the mid-1970s and, after an outing together at a Chinese restaurant late in 1976, decided to form a band. Though all had instrumental talent, they had varied levels of experience: the Wilsons had never played with a band before, Strickland had been in a high school rock group, Pierson had worked with a folk group called the Sun Donuts and played classical piano, and Schneider had been in bands with whimsical names like Bridge Mix and Night Soil. Taking their name not from the military airplane but rather from Southern slang for outrageous bouffant hairdos—which the women in the group wore during performances—the B-52's premiered at a friend's Valentine's Day party in 1977. They played for free at this gig and many others in and around Athens, not having the money to buy equipment for professional stints at the time. Until the group felt confident about their ability, they recorded their music before a performance and played it back on tape, miming their instruments—the only live part being the vocals. Apparently this worked all right except for the time someone accidentally pulled the plug on the tape player in the middle of a show.
Eventually the B-52's improved to the point where they decided to press a few of their own records, notably the song that would later become their first big hit, "Rock Lobster." They distributed the disc to reviewers and sold them to the fans at local appearances. The band received sufficient praise for "Lobster" to convince them to try their act in New York City. Late in 1977 they performed at audition night at Max's Kansas City, a Manhattan club where singers such as Patti Smith and Blondie had made their debuts. Schneider recalled for Michael Small in People: "There were only 17 people. We made 17 bucks."
By 1979 the B-52's were making more lucrative club appearances in New York, and had landed a contract with the Warner Bros. record label. In that year, they released their first album, titled simply The B-52's. On the disc, they re-recorded "Rock Lobster," and the song received wide exposure for the first time. Another cut from the album that became popular in dance clubs was "Planet Claire." As Parke Puterbaugh in Rolling Stone put it, the B-52's had "unleashed" these "kitschy classics on a world that had no idea how badly it wanted to have some danceable, unselfconscious fun." The band followed their debut with 1980's Wild Planet.
Though the singles from that album, "Private Idaho" and "Quiche Lorraine" did not match the success of "Rock Lobster," they were still featured numbers in dance clubs.
But even with "Rock Lobster," the B-52's had not received much airplay on mainstream radio stations. As Small explained, "the … quintet had an eccentric musical style that only the underground truly appreciated." He elaborated in a different People article that the group sounds "as if they might be the illegitimate offspring of [futuristic cartoon character] George Jetson and [early 1960s pop group] the Shirelles." Schneider had a different response: "Radio stations wouldn't play us," he told Small, "because the people who listened to us didn't buy $30,000 cars."
When Michael Tearson reviewed Bouncing Off the Satellites, the group's 1986 album, in Audio, he noted that it seemed "subdued." If it was, it might have been because while the group was recording it, Ricky Wilson was dying of AIDS. Shortly after the studio sessions for Bouncing were completed in 1985, the band's lead guitarist passed away. As Puterbaugh reported, "his death devastated the members of the band," and the remaining B-52's did not work together again for about three years.
But, as Pierson confided to Puterbaugh, "it was really a healing thing to get together and be creative again." In 1988, they decided to compose and record a new album. Pierson talked of their composition techniques to Small: "We go into a creative netherworld where you don't monitor yourself. In jam sessions, we're all singing at the same time, bouncing off each other." Further, Strickland explained to Puterbaugh that the album that was released as Cosmic Thing in 1989 was a low-pressure activity: "We unanimously agreed that we wanted to have fun with this record and not worry about what was on the radio or what was current." As Puterbaugh pointed out, however, "ironically, radio has been extremely receptive to Cosmic Thing," and Schneider believes it is due to the fact that the professional disc jockeys of the late 1980s were working in the college stations that used to play the B-52's music when they first became popular, and still like the band. At any rate, "Love Shack," a single from the album, has proved the B-52's most mainstream, and therefore best-selling hit so far. The title track was featured in the motion picture "Earth Girls Are Easy," and another single, "Roam," received a great deal of airplay on pop stations.
Following these successes, the group recruited drummer Zachary Alford, keyboardist/guitarist Pat Irwin, and bassist Sara Lee to join them on tour, and this lineup remained stable into the 2000s. The group returned to the studio after the Cosmic Thing tour to put together 1992's Good Stuff. Compilation albums followed in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Selected discography
Albums
The B-52's, Warner Bros., 1979.
Wild Planet, Warner Bros., 1980.
Party Mix! (EP), Warner Bros., 1981.
Mesopotamia (EP), Warner Bros., 1982.
Whammy!, Warner Bros., 1983.
Bouncing Off the Satellites, Warner Bros., 1986.
Love Shack (EP), Warner Bros., 1989.
Cosmic Thing, Reprise, 1989.
Good Stuff, Reprise, 1992.
Singles
"Rock Lobster," Warner Bros., 1989.
"Deadbeat Club," Reprise, 1989.
"Love Shack," Warner Bros., 1989.
"Roam," Warner Bros., 1989.
"Channel Z," Reprise, 1990.
"Is That You Mo-Dean?," Reprise, 1992.
"Tell It Like It T-I-Is," Warner Bros., 1992.
"Revolution Earth," Warner Bros., 1992.
"Good Stuff," Warner Bros., 1992.
"Hot Pants Explosion," Reprise, 1993.
"Meet the Flintstone," MCA, 1994.
"Love Shack '98," Wea, 1998.
"Love Shack '99," Warner Bros., 1999.
Compilations
The B-52's/Wild Planet, Warner Bros., 1980.
Best of the B-52's: Dance This Mess Around, Polygram, 1990.
Party Mix!/Mesopotamia, Warner Bros., 1991.
The Best of the B-52's, Spectrum, 1994.
Planet Claire, Polygram, 1995.
Pop Giants, Polydor, 1997.
Time Capsule, Warner Bros., 1998.
Nude on the Moon: The B-52's Anthology, Rhino, 2002.
Sources
Periodicals
Audio, January 1987.
Guitar Player, April 2002.
New York Times, February 6, 2002.
People, August 21, 1989; December 11, 1989.
Rolling Stone, July 13, 1989; November 30, 1989.
Stereo Review, January 1987.
Online
"The B-52s," All Music Guide, http://www.allmusic.com (April 16, 2004).
The B-52's Official Website, http://www.theb52s.com/ (April 16, 2004).
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B-52
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B-52 (cocktail)
| IBA Official Cocktail | |
|---|---|
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| Type | Layered shooter |
| Primary alcohol by volume | |
| Served | Neat; undiluted and without ice |
| Standard garnish |
Stirrer |
| Standard drinkware |
.svg){kind=small} |
| IBA specified ingredients* |
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| Preparation | Layer ingredients into a shot glass. Serve with a stirrer. |
| * B-52 recipe at International Bartenders Association | |
The B-52 (also B52 or Bifi) is a layered shot composed of a coffee liqueur (Kahlúa), an Irish Cream (Baileys Irish Cream), and a triple sec (Grand Marnier). When prepared properly, the ingredients separate into three distinctly visible layers. The layering is due to the relative densities of the ingredients.
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Contents
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History
The name refers to the US B-52 Stratofortress long-range bomber. This bomber was used in the Vietnam War for the release of incendiary bombs, which likely inspired today's flaming variant of the cocktail; another hypothesis centers on B-52 combat losses ("Burns like a B-52 over Hanoi").
The origin of the B-52 is uncertain. One school of thought is that the B-52 was invented at the Keg Steakhouse in Calgary, Alberta in 1977.[1]
The B-52's widespread popularity has resulted in many variations, each earning a slightly different designation (see variations below for a small sampling). All together, the drinks are referred to as the B-50 series of layered cocktails.
The drink became a North London favourite in late 2009 when Arsenal striker Nicklas Bendtner changed his shirt number from 26 to 52, earning himself the nickname "B52" in the process. After the tall Dane scored the winner in a league cup tie with Liverpool on 28 October 2009, local Islington bars reported a huge surge in the popularity of the shooter. A barmaid at The Bailey pub on Holloway Road recounted a story from the night: "It was mayhem. One lanky bloke ordered shots for the whole bar after he [Bendtner] scored. I didn't even know how to make a B52."[citation needed]
Preparation
There are special machines that can prepare a B-52 (or other multi-layered cocktails) in only a few seconds.[2] However, an experienced bartender usually relies on the traditional, hand-made preparation. This method of the preparation is called "building", as opposed to blending or shaking, thus, B-52s are "built".
B-52s are usually served in a shot glass or sherry glass, although a heatproof glass is required when a "flaming B-52" is served. First, a coffee liqueur, such as Tia Maria or Kahlúa, is poured into the glass. Next, Bailey's Irish Cream is poured very slowly over the back of a cold bar spoon, taking care to avoid disturbing the lower layer as the second liquor is poured on top. Just as carefully, Grand Marnier is poured atop the Irish Cream using the bar spoon.
Flaming B-52
For a Flaming B-52, the top layer is ignited, producing a blue flame. Filling the glass to the top reduces the amount of glass exposed to the flames, making the glass less likely to break, but the drink easier to spill. It is best to leave the flaming B-52 on the bartop and drink it through a straw. Once lit the drink should be finished quickly to avoid overheating the glass and burning the straw. Unless the flame is extinguished before drinking, a fireproof straw—such as one made of metal—may be preferred.
Grand Marnier at room temperature will not ignite easily, so it should be warmed up beforehand or topped with an additional layer of a dark overproof rum with 65-85% alcohol by volume. Such a preparation can be referred to as a "B-52 On a Mission".
Variant drinks
- B-28, a B-52 with Amaretto almond liqueura rather than Grand Marnier, and 4th layer of butterscotch schnapps.
- B-51, a B-52 with Frangelico hazelnut liqueur rather than Grand Marnier.
- B-52 with Bombay Doors, a B-52 with Bombay gin
- B-52 in the Desert, a B-52 with tequila rather than Bailey's Irish cream.
- B-52 with a full payload, a B-52 with a 4th layer of Frangelico and a 5th layer of Bacardi 151 rum lit on fire.
- B-53, a B-52 with Sambuca rather than Irish cream.
- B-54, a B-52 with Amaretto almond liqueura rather than Grand Marnier.
- B-55, a B-52 with absinthe rather than Grand Marnier, also known as B-52 Gunship.
- B-57, a B-52 with peppermint schnapps rather than Irish cream.
See also
 |
The Wikibook Bartending/Cocktails has a page on the topic of |
References
- ^ Mulligan, Shawn M. (2005). Mulligan's Bar Guide. Harper Collins. ISBN 0-00-200722-3.
- ^ Youtube video of B52 machine
- Cross, Robert (2003) [1996]. The Classic 1000 Cocktail Recipes. Foulsham. ISBN 0-572-02852-0.
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Mentioned in
Party Mix!
(1981 Album by The B-52's)
The B-52's/Wild Planet
(1980 Album by The B-52's)
The Black Box Affair
(1966 Action Film)
War in the Gulf: First Strike!... USAF
(1991 Film)
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