Private Idaho The B52s

Private Idaho Album: Wild Planet (1980)
by The B-52s

In this song, the fine state of Idaho is used to represent a case of paranoia - the lyrics "get out of that state" meaning to get out of that state of mind. B-52s singer Fred Schneider came up with the title, which was a play on the phrase "Private Eye" well before Hall and Oates used it in a song with a similar theme, but with hand claps.

Why Idaho? Schneider explained to the Idaho Statesman that it was the wacky reputation of the state, saying, "Idaho is pretty mysterious to all of us. I know it's a beautiful state, but then I know there's also a lot of crazy right-wingers and all that stuff." He added, "The song's about all different things. It's not like a parody of Idaho or anything."

There's an interesting history lesson built into the lyrics, "swimming 'round and 'round like the deadly hand of a radium clock." In the 1920s, the radioactive element radium was used to paint the dials of glow-in-the-dark watches. The women who painted the radium onto the dials would put the brushes in their mouths and get them to a point for the delicate application. This lead to a high rate of cancer, and a 1928 lawsuit that led to a settlement for the girls.

Gus Van Sant used the title of this song for his 1991 movie My Own Private Idaho. He thanked the B-52s in the credits, but that's all they got out of it.

It wasn't until September 13, 2011 that the B-52s finally played in Idaho. They headlined a show at the Eagle River Pavilion in Eagle, which is outside of Boise.

Kate Pierson told Q magazine that it was Keith Strickland who came up with the band's name. She explained: "Keith thought of the name. He had a dream, like a vision of a little lounge band and they all played organs and had bouffant hairdos, and someone said, 'Look, it's the B-52s.' B-52 was slang for a nosecone-shaped hairdo, named after the bomber. We thought, This is a great name: It's a number and a letter, it's really different and snappy. But now there's this plan to prolong the life of the B-52 bomber, and we're lending our name to a campaign to stop it."

In 1985, Ricky Wilson (Cindy's brother) became one of the first prominent entertainers to die of AIDS. The band was devastated and didn't work together until 1987, at which point they got back together to write songs and jam. The long grieving process helped them move forward with upbeat material, resulting in Cosmic Thing, their most successful album. They never replaced Wilson; their drummer Keith Strickland switched to guitar, and touring musicians were used for live shows.

Until 2008, their band name was rendered "B-52's". The apostrophe shouldn't be there, as it's not a possessive, but when a friend designed the logo, it was included in the design and incorporated into their name. This grammar foul was corrected with the release of their Funplex album.

They didn't use a bass guitar (played by Sara Lee of Gang of Four) until their 1989 album Cosmic Thing. But wait, you say. What about "Rock Lobster"? That famous bass riff came from a Korg synthesizer.

Cindy Wilson is the only member who is not a vegetarian.

The band is from Athens, Georgia, where R.E.M., The Black Crowes and Drive-By Truckers also formed.

There is no real leader of the group, and since every member was there from the start, they are all on equal footing. Ricky Wilson was their main songwriter and handled most of the logistics.

Pierson began a long-term relationship with the artist Tim Rollins in 1981. In 2003, she began dating Monica Coleman; in 2015, the couple were married.

All male members are openly gay. Strickland came out publicly in 1992 in Q magazine.

The B-52's played their first gig at a Valentine's Day party for their friends on February 14, 1977. "It was a hobby," Fred Schneider recalled to New York Times. "We'd jammed once or twice. We didn't even have the money to buy guitar strings."

The quintet played their first proper concert at Max's Kansas City in New York later that year. The nightclub paid them $17 for their performance.