Editing The B-52s (section)

===1982–1987: ''Whammy!'', ''Bouncing off the Satellites'', and death of Ricky Wilson===
In December 1982, the band began recording their third album, ''[[Whammy!]]''. According to Pierson, Strickland no longer wanted to play the drums, so the band switched to [[drum machine]]s for this album, with Strickland and Ricky Wilson playing all the music on the album, and the rest of the band providing vocals only. Having originally played guitars, organ, bass guitar and synthesizers, Pierson switched to a mainly vocal role in the studio, but remained behind the keyboards on tour. The band also began experimenting heavily with [[synthesizer]]s during this period.

Released on April 27, 1983, ''Whammy!'' reached No. 29 on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]] chart.<ref name="r1077">{{cite web |website=[[AllMusic]]|title=Whammy! > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums |year=2006 |access-date=May 10, 2010 |url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r1077|pure_url=yes}}}}</ref> "[[Legal Tender (song)|Legal Tender]]" reached the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] chart, as well as the [[Dance Club Songs|''Billboard'' Hot Dance Club Play Singles]] chart alongside "[[Whammy Kiss]]" and "[[Song for a Future Generation]]".<ref name="r1077"/> For the ''Whammy!'' tour, some tracks featured Strickland on the drums while others used a backing track so Strickland could come forward and play other parts. This also freed up the vocalists (now sometimes not playing instruments) to perform some simple choreography. Copyright issues with [[Yoko Ono]] led to the [[cover song]] "Don't Worry"<ref name="Christgau">{{cite web |last=Christgau |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Christgau |year=1983 |title=B-52's: ''Whammy!'' |url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_album.php?id=204 |access-date=March 16, 2010 |website=Robert Christgau}}</ref> being removed from the album and replaced by "Moon 83"—a rearranged version of "There's a Moon in the Sky (Called the Moon)" from their debut album—on future pressings of ''Whammy!''.<ref name="r1077"/>

Before the work on the next album the band took a one-year break during which Fred Schneider released his debut solo album ''[[Fred Schneider and the Shake Society]]''.

In January 1985, the B-52s performed in Brazil at [[Rock in Rio]], for their largest crowd ever. Later in the year, the band struggled to write new material for their next album. The band members all lived together in the same house and felt that collaboration was not working, so they decided to try to write songs separately and began recording in July 1985, again using drum machines and synthesizers extensively. During the recording, guitarist Wilson had been suffering from [[AIDS]],<ref name="MSNBC">{{cite web |url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12648464/site/newsweek/page/14/ |title=AIDS and the Arts: A Lost Generation |publisher=Newsweek Health – MSNBC.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070626021730/http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12648464/site/newsweek/page/14/ |archive-date=June 26, 2007 |access-date=August 12, 2016}}</ref> though none of the other band members were aware of his illness except for Strickland, as Wilson "did not want anyone to worry about him or fuss about him."<ref name="YouTube">{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWByrePQgsA |title=EMP: Experience Music Project: Kate Pierson talking about Ricky Wilson |website=[[YouTube]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100724033727/https://www.youtube.com//watch?v=jWByrePQgsA |archive-date=July 24, 2010 |access-date=August 12, 2016}}</ref> Wilson died from his illness on October 12, 1985, at the age of 32.<ref name="MSNBC"/>

When the band returned to the studio, Strickland had learned how to play the guitar in Wilson's style and switched permanently to the new instrument, leaving session players to complete the rhythm section. The results were released on September 8, 1986, as ''[[Bouncing off the Satellites]]'', a mixture of solo efforts and group efforts. Because of Wilson's death, the band did not tour to promote the album.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Carroll |first=Chris |date=December 1986 |title=Scorched & Naked |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FL-rqqrDxb8C&pg=PA11 |journal=[[Spin (magazine)|SPIN]] |volume=2 |issue=9 |pages=11 |via=Google Books}}</ref> A music video was made for "[[Girl from Ipanema Goes to Greenland]]" and the band appeared on some UK television programs but then took a two-year hiatus. Keith Strickland moved to [[Woodstock, New York]], while Pierson and Schneider stayed in [[New York City]]. In 1987, the band released a [[public service announcement]] in the style of [[the Beatles]]' ''[[Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band]]'' [[album cover]] on behalf of [[amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Metzger |first=Richard |url=http://www.dangerousminds.net/comments/art_against_aids_the_b_52s_and_friends_1987 |title=Art Against AIDS: The B-52s and Friends (1987) |date=February 23, 2012 |publisher=Dangerous Minds |access-date=April 2, 2012}}</ref>