Editing The B-52s (section)

===1979–1982: ''The B-52's'', ''Wild Planet'', and ''Mesopotamia''===
[[File:The B-52's (1980 Warner publicity photo).jpg|thumb|The B-52's in a 1980 publicity shot]]
In 1979, the B-52s signed contracts as they flew over to [[Compass Point Studios]] in [[Nassau, Bahamas]], to record their debut [[studio album]], with Island founder [[Chris Blackwell]] producing. The band was surprised by Blackwell's recording methods; he wanted to keep the sound as close as possible to its live sound, so he used almost no overdubs or additional effects.

Released on July 6, 1979, ''[[The B-52's (album)|The B-52's]]'' contained re-recorded versions of "Rock Lobster" and "52 Girls", six originals recorded solely for the album, and a cover of the [[Petula Clark]] hit "[[Downtown (Petula Clark song)|Downtown]]". The album was a major success, especially in Australia, where it reached No. 3 on the charts alongside its three singles: "[[Planet Claire]]", "Rock Lobster", and "[[Dance This Mess Around]]". In the U.S., the single "Rock Lobster" reached the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] chart,<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/music/the-b-52s|title=The B-52s Rock Lobster Chart History|magazine=Billboard|access-date=2020-02-05|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 15, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191015012600/https://www.billboard.com/music/the-b-52s}}</ref> while the album was certified [[RIAA certification|platinum]] by the [[RIAA]]. In 1980, [[John Lennon]] called the B-52s his favorite band and specifically cited "Rock Lobster" as an inspiration for his ''[[Double Fantasy]]''.<ref name="Larkin">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_NNmFiUnSmUC |title=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music |publisher=Omnibus Press |year=2011 |isbn=9780857125958 |editor-last=Larkin |editor-first=Colin |editor-link=Colin Larkin |edition=5th |location=London |at=B-52's}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |newspaper=Rolling Stone |title=The 100 Best Albums of the Eighties |date=November 16, 1989 |issue=565}} Citation posted at {{cite web |work=rollingstone.com |title=100 Best Albums of the Eighties: 29 &#124; John Lennon and Yoko Ono, 'Double Fantasy' |access-date=October 20, 2009 |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/100-best-albums-of-the-eighties-20110418/john-lennon-and-yoko-ono-double-fantasy-19691231 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071123204115/http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/204269/review/6067626/doublefantasy |archive-date=November 23, 2007 |df=mdy-all }} Originally posted January 21, 1997.</ref>

In April 1980, the B-52s returned to Compass Point Studios to record their next album. Several of the songs on the new album had been concert staples since 1978; the band did not record them for their first album, as they had more songs than could fit in a quality [[LP record]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Creney |first1=Scott |last2=Herron |first2=Brigette A. |title=The Story of the B-52s: Neon Side of Town |publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]] |date=2023 |isbn=978-3031225697 |page=74}}</ref><ref name=Shepard/> [[Rhett Davies]] co-produced the album, which had a more polished production sound than the debut.

Released on August 27, 1980, ''[[Wild Planet]]'' was well received by critics. It reached No. 18 on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]] chart in 1980<ref>{{cite web |website=[[AllMusic]] |title=Wild Planet > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums |year=2006 |access-date=May 10, 2010 |url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r1074|pure_url=yes}}}}</ref> and was certified gold; "[[Private Idaho (song)|Private Idaho]]" became the band's second Hot 100 entry. The B-52s performed on ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' on January 26, 1980, and at the [[Heatwave (festival)|Heatwave]] festival (promoted as the "New Wave Woodstock") in Toronto, Canada, in August 1980. The band also appeared in the [[Paul Simon]] film ''[[One-Trick Pony (film)|One Trick Pony]]''. In July 1981, ''[[Party Mix!]]'' was released, a six-song collection containing songs from the first two albums remixed and sequenced to form two long tracks, one on each side.

In 1981, the band collaborated with [[Talking Heads]]' [[David Byrne]] to produce a third full-length studio album. Reportedly due to differences with Byrne over the album's musical direction, recording sessions for the album were aborted, prompting the band to release ''[[Mesopotamia (EP)|Mesopotamia]]'' in 1982 as an [[extended play|EP]]. (In 1991, ''Party Mix!'' and ''Mesopotamia'', the latter of which had been remixed, were combined and released together on a single [[compact disc]].) Also in 1982, the band appeared at the inaugural [[US Festival]], performing on the first day.