Ricky Wilson (American musician), Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

    

Ricky Wilson (American musician)

American musician, guitarist with The B52s

Date of Birth: 19-Mar-1953

Place of Birth: Athens, Georgia, United States

Date of Death: 12-Oct-1985

Profession: singer, songwriter, guitarist

Nationality: United States

Zodiac Sign: Pisces


Show Famous Birthdays Today, United States

👉 Worldwide Celebrity Birthdays Today

About Ricky Wilson (American musician)

  • Ricky Helton Wilson (March 19, 1953 – October 12, 1985) was an American musician best known as the original guitarist and founding member of rock band the B-52's.
  • Born in Athens, Georgia, Wilson was the brother of fellow member Cindy Wilson.
  • The B-52's were founded in 1976, when Ricky, his sister Cindy, Kate Pierson, Keith Strickland and Fred Schneider shared a tropical flaming volcano drink at a Chinese restaurant and, after an impromptu music session at the home of their friend, Owen Scott III, played for the first time at a Valentine's Day party for friends.
  • Wilson's unusual guitar tunings were a large contribution to the band's quirky sound.On October 12, 1985, at the age of 32, Wilson died from complications related to AIDS following the recording of the band's fourth studio album Bouncing Off the Satellites.
  • According to Strickland, the album had been completed and mixed before Wilson's death, with only the cover art not yet designed (an illustration by Kenny Scharf was ultimately decided upon).
  • Devastated, the band went into seclusion and did not tour to promote the album, although they did several photo shoots and TV appearances, and filmed a video for "Girl from Ipanema Goes to Greenland". In addition to his work with The B-52's, Wilson played the guitar on the song "Breakin' in My Heart" on Tom Verlaine's self-titled debut album in 1979.
  • This was his only non-B-52's appearance on record.
  • He also appeared in various films, notably One Trick Pony.
  • Posthumously he also appeared in Athens, GA: Inside/Out, The B-52's 1979–1989, and The B-52's Time Capsule: Videos for a Future Generation 1979–1998 through archival footage.

Read more at Wikipedia

See Also