Whammy!

Whammy!
Studio album by The B-52's
Released	April 27, 1983
Recorded	December, 1982
Genre	New Wave
Length	37:17
Label	Warner Brothers
Producer	Steven Stanley
Professional reviews
Allmusic link Robert Christgau (A−) link Rolling Stone link
The B-52's chronology
Mesopotamia (1982) Whammy! (1983) Bouncing off the Satellites (1986)

Whammy! is the third studio album by New Wave band The B-52's, released in 1983. While not as successful as their two previous records, it spawned the underground hit singles "Legal Tender" and "Song for a Future Generation". It is also the only album to have all five original members of the band producing every song on an album. Originally intended to be mixed into two continuous tracks, like the previous Party Mix! album, Warner Brothers vetoed this decision in favour of the more traditional track order.^[1]

The track "Don't Worry" is not a cover of any song by Yoko Ono. In fact, all the two songs have in common are the two-word "lyrics" — a repetitively chanted "Don't worry". It was removed from later pressings due to legal issues with Ono, who claimed the B-52's had not asked permission or paid her to cover her song. This is controversial; Ono's song, on the 1971 album Fly, is titled "Don't Worry, Kyoko (Mummy's Only Looking For Her Hand in the Snow)" and is musically entirely different from the B-52's track. While the legal fact that she had been credited would suggest she was entitled to profit, The B-52's had credited Ono with songwriting on the track probably more out of tribute than seriousness. On subsequent pressings, the song was replaced with "Legal Tender"'s B-side, "Moon 83" — a remake of their earlier track "There's a Moon in the Sky (Called the Moon)".

Track listing

1. "Legal Tender" (The B-52's, Strickland, Waldrop) – 3:40
2. "Whammy Kiss" (The B-52's) – 5:20
3. "Song for a Future Generation" (The B-52's) – 4:00
4. "Butterbean" (The B-52's) – 4:14
5. "Trism" (The B-52's) – 3:23
6. "Queen of Las Vegas" (The B-52's) – 4:40
7. "Don't Worry" (Yoko Ono) – 3:58 / "Moon 83" (on later pressings)
8. "Big Bird" (The B-52's) – 4:14
9. "Work That Skirt" (The B-52's) – 3:48

Personnel

• David Buck - trumpet
• Ralph Carney - saxophone
• Kate Pierson - vocals
• Fred Schneider - vocals
• Keith Strickland - vocals, multiple instruments
• Cindy Wilson - vocals
• Ricky Wilson - vocals, multiple instruments

Production

• Producer: Steven Stanley
• Engineer: Steven Stanley
• Assistant Engineer: Benji Armbrister, Dennis Halliburton
• Art Direction: Gene Greif
• Mastering: Ted Jensen
• Clothing/Wardrobe: Vikki Warren

Chart performance

References