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Was (Not Was)

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This article is about the band. For their debut album, see Was (Not Was) (album). For the Eric Prydz and Steve Angello song, see Woz Not Woz.
Was (Not Was)
OriginDetroit, Michigan, United States
GenresDance-pop, post-disco, dance-rock, college rock[1]
Years active1979–1992, 2004–present
LabelsZE Records, Geffen, Chrysalis Records, Fontana Records
Members
Past members
WebsiteWorld Wide Was

Was (Not Was) is an American pop rock group founded in 1979 in Detroit, Michigan, by David Weiss and Don Fagenson, who adopted the stage names David Was and Don Was.[2] Their song catalog features an eclectic mix of pop and rock styles, often featuring guest musicians from across the musical spectrum. The band's most popular period was during the 1980s and early 1990s, with their highest charting hit, the song "Walk the Dinosaur", released in 1987 as the lead single from their 1988 album What Up, Dog?, which became a world-wide top-40 hit and peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. The band went on indefinite hiatus in the mid-1990s, but has returned sporadically since the turn of the millennium. Their most recent release was the 2008 album Boo!

Career

Beginnings

Weiss and Fagenson were childhood friends who grew up together in suburban Detroit, Michigan, United States.[2] Partly due to Fagenson's poverty they decided to form Was (Not Was) in 1979. The name of the band was derived from Fagenson's then-infant son Tony, who was just beginning to talk and enjoyed contradicting words such as "Blue" with "Not Blue". Their first recording was "Wheel Me Out", a 12-inch dance record for the avant-garde ZE Records. David's mother Elizabeth Elkin Weiss, an actress and radio pioneer in their native Detroit, provided the outré vocals. The track was later included on the 2000 compilation album Disco Not Disco.

Their first album Was (Not Was) (1981) was an amalgam of rock, disco, Weiss's beat poetry, Reagan-era political-social commentary, and jazz.[2] On vocals they recruited Harry Bowens and "Sweet Pea" Atkinson, who frequently found themselves singing absurdist and satirical songs alongside tender ballads.[2] Wayne Kramer of MC5, The Knack's Doug Fieger, and Charles Mingus trumpeter Marcus Belgrave were among the guest players.[3][4]

In 1982, the group played on Don't Walk Away, a solo album for lead singer "Sweet Pea" Atkinson.[5]

Development

Born to Laugh at Tornadoes (1983)[2] had even more guest musicians, including Ozzy Osbourne rapping over electro, Mitch Ryder singing a techno-rockabilly number, Mel Tormé performing a ballad about asphyxiation, and an abstract funk piece called "Man vs. the Empire Brain Building". Singer Donald Ray Mitchell joined the group as third lead vocalist.[6]

In 1988, they found their biggest hit with the album What Up, Dog?, which featured the singles "Walk the Dinosaur"[7] and "Spy in the House of Love".[2] Special guests included Stevie Salas, John Patitucci, Frank Sinatra Jr., and a writing credit from Elvis Costello.[8]

Film and animation work

Artist/animator Christoph Simon[9] created videos to accompany some of their stranger album tracks, such as "What Up, Dog?",[10] "Dad I'm in Jail,"[11] and the Tom Waits-style "Earth to Doris."[12] The videos appeared on MTV's Liquid Television and in various film festivals, including the Spike & Mike festival. Around this time, the Was Brothers developed separate careers as producers, film scorers, and music supervisors.

Hiatus

The group followed up with Are You Okay? in 1990,[2] spearheaded by a cover of "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone". Guest musicians included Iggy Pop, Leonard Cohen, The Roches, and Syd Straw. After a tour with Dire Straits in 1992 and a UK Top 5 single with "Shake Your Head", which included vocals from Ozzy Osbourne and Kim Basinger, Weiss and Fagenson drifted apart, subsequently releasing only a compilation album Hello Dad... I'm in Jail.[2] Some members, however, did appear on Don's Orquestra Was project Forever Is a Long Long Time (1997), which re-interpreted Hank Williams in a jazz/R&B vein.

Reunion

In late 2004, Was (Not Was) reformed for a two-month club tour through the US, including stops at the House of Blues in Cleveland and Chicago and the Trocadero in Philadelphia. In October 2005, they played four gigs at the Jazz Café in London.

In 2008, they released their fifth studio album, Boo!, featuring guest appearances from Kris Kristofferson, Wayne Kramer, Marcus Miller and Booker T. Jones, plus a song originally co-written with Bob Dylan nearly 20 years earlier. On April 22, they performed on the British show Later... with Jools Holland, and on May 2, they were the musical guest on Late Night with Conan O'Brien. The band toured the US that year, beginning on April 30.

Material loss

Was (Not Was) was among hundreds of artists whose material was destroyed in the 2008 Universal fire.[13]

Commentary

Writing in Detroit's Metro Times, Brian J. Bowe described the band as "an endearing mess....a sausage factory of funk, rock, jazz and electronic dance music, all providing a boogie-down backdrop for a radical (and witty) political message of unbridled personal freedom and skepticism of authority."[14]

Discography

Was (Not Was) discography
Studio albums5
Compilation albums4
Singles19

Studio albums

Year Information Chart positions
US
[1] 		NL
[15] 		NZ
[16] 		UK
[17]
1981 Was (Not Was)
  • Released: 1981 (Expanded and reissued 2004 as Out Come the Freaks)
  • Labels: ZE/Island
 – – – –
1983 Born to Laugh at Tornadoes
  • Released: September 1983
  • Labels: ZE/Geffen
 134 – – –
1988 What Up, Dog?
  • Released: April 1988
  • Labels: Chrysalis Records (US), Phonogram (Europe)
 43 57 41 47
1990 Are You Okay?
  • Released: July 1990
  • Labels: Chrysalis Records (US), Fontana (Europe)
 99 82 34 35
2008 Boo!
  • Released: April 8, 2008
  • Labels: Ryko
 – – – –

Compilation albums

Year Information
1984 The Woodwork Squeaks
  • Remixes and B-sides
  • Released: 1984 (Reissued and expanded in 2004)
  • Labels: ZE/Island
1989 New Steak Trend
  • Remixes and B-sides
  • Released: 1989
  • Label: Fontana (Japan only)
1992 Hello Dad... I'm in Jail
2004 The Collection
  • LP tracks and B-sides
  • Released: May 2004
  • Labels: Spectrum Music
2010 Hey, King Kong!!!: Pick of the Litter 1980-2010
  • Career retrospective
  • Released: February 23, 2010
  • Labels: Micro Werks

Singles

Year Title Chart positions Album
US Hot 100
[1] 		US Club Play
[1] 		US R&B
[1] 		AUS
[18] 		IRL
[19] 		NL
[15] 		NZ
[16] 		UK
[17] 		SA
[20]
1980 "Wheel Me Out" – 34 – – – – – – – Mutant Disco: A Subtle Discolation of the Norm
1981 "Out Come the Freaks" – 16 – – – – – – – Was (Not Was)
"Where Did Your Heart Go?" – – – – – – – – -
1982 "Tell Me That I'm Dreaming" – 3 68 – – – – – –
1983 "Smile" 106 – – – – – – – – Born to Laugh at Tornadoes
"Knocked Down, Made Small (Treated Like a Rubber Ball)" 109 – – – – – – – –
1984 "(Return to the Valley of) Out Come the Freaks" – – – – – – – 41 –
1986 "Robot Girl" – – – – – – – 95 – What Up, Dog?
1987 "Spy in the House of Love" 16 1 77 79 – 16 41 51 –
"Walk the Dinosaur" 7 11 – 9 11 10 16 10 10
"Boy's Gone Crazy" – – – – – – – 84 –
1988 "Spy in the House of Love" (re-issue) – – – – 13 – – 21 26
"Out Come the Freaks (Again)" – – – – – 86 – 44 –
"Anything Can Happen" 75 19 – – – – – 67 –
1990 "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" – 10 60 75 11 14 22 12 – Are You Okay?
"How the Heart Behaves" – 35 – – – – – 53 –
"I Feel Better Than James Brown" – – – – – – – 91 –
1992 "Listen Like Thieves" – – – – – – – 58 – Hello Dad...I'm in Jail
"Shake Your Head" – – – 47
[21] 		8 – – 4 –
"Somewhere in America (There's a Street Named after My Dad)" – – – – – – – 57 –

Contributions

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Allmusic - Billboard Awards – Was (Not Was)". Billboard. Retrieved 2008-12-04.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Colin Larkin, ed. (2003). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Eighties Music (Third ed.). Virgin Books. p. 491. ISBN 1-85227-969-9.
  3. ^ "Was (Not Was) - Was (Not Was) | Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved November 10, 2019.
  4. ^ "Was and Its Madness". The New York Times. July 15, 1981.
  5. ^ "Don't Walk Away - Sweet Pea Atkinson | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved November 10, 2019.
  6. ^ "Born to Laugh at Tornadoes - Was (Not Was) | Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved November 10, 2019.
  7. ^ "Was Not Was Walk The Dinosaur". YouTube. Retrieved November 10, 2019.
  8. ^ "What Up, Dog? - Was (Not Was) | Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved November 10, 2019.
  9. ^ "Christoph Simon". Scad.edu. Retrieved November 10, 2019.
  10. ^ "What Up Dog?". YouTube.
  11. ^ "Hello Dad, I'm In Jail". YouTube. Retrieved November 10, 2019.
  12. ^ "Earth To Doris". YouTube. Retrieved November 10, 2019.
  13. ^ Rosen, Jody (25 June 2019). "Here Are Hundreds More Artists Whose Tapes Were Destroyed in the UMG Fire". The New York Times. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
  14. ^ Bowe, Brian J. "Out Come the Freaks", Metro Times. December 29, 2004.
  15. ^ a b "Discografie Was (Not Was)". 2003-2012 Hung Medien. Retrieved 2012-12-28.
  16. ^ a b "Discography Was (Not Was)". 2003-2012 Hung Medien. Retrieved 2012-12-28.
  17. ^ a b c "The Official Charts Company - Was (Not Was)". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2008-11-09.
  18. ^ David Kent (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970 - 1992. Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  19. ^ "The Irish Charts". IRMA. Retrieved 2008-10-02. Searchable database
  20. ^ "South African Rock Lists Website - SA Charts 1965 - 1989 Acts (W)". Rock.co.za. Retrieved November 10, 2019.
  21. ^ "Discography Was (Not Was)". 2003-2012 Hung Medien. Retrieved 2012-12-28.
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