Was (Not Was)
Was (Not Was). From left: Sir Harry Bowens, Don Was, David Was, Sweet Pea Atkinson. Don Was (born Don Fagenson; September 13, 1952) is an American Musician, bassist and Record producer. David Was (born David Weiss; 26 October 1952) is with his stage-brother Don Was, the founder of the influential 1980s pop group
Background information
Origin	Detroit, Michigan
Genre(s)	R&B Dance Rock
Years active	1980 - 1992 2004 - present
Associated acts	Orquestra Was
Website	World Wide Was
Members
David Weiss Don Fagenson "Sweet Pea" Atkinson Harry Bowens Donald Ray Mitchell Randy Jacobs James Gadson David McMurray Jamie Muhoberac

Was (Not Was) is an eccentric pop group founded by David Weiss (a. Michigan ( is a Midwestern state of the United States of America. A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other This article is about music for dancing in general You may also be looking for Electronic dance music. Rock music is a genre of Popular music often though not necessarily employing Electric guitar, Bass guitar, and Drums. David Was (born David Weiss; 26 October 1952) is with his stage-brother Don Was, the founder of the influential 1980s pop group Don Was (born Don Fagenson; September 13, 1952) is an American Musician, bassist and Record producer. Jamie Muhoberac is a session Keyboardist with numerous credits including with Fleetwood Mac, The Rolling Stones ( Bridges to Babylon Pop music as a genre features a noticeable rhythmic element catchy melodies and hooks, a mainstream style and conventional structure A musical ensemble is a group of two or more Musicians who perform instrumental or vocal Music. k. a. David Was) and Don Fagenson (a. David Was (born David Weiss; 26 October 1952) is with his stage-brother Don Was, the founder of the influential 1980s pop group k. a. Don Was) popular in the 1980s and early 1990s. Don Was (born Don Fagenson; September 13, 1952) is an American Musician, bassist and Record producer.

History

Weiss and Fagenson were childhood friends who grew up together in suburban Detroit. South San Jose (cropjpg||thumb|A suburban development in San Jose California. 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 son Zane, who 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. This article is about music for dancing in general You may also be looking for Electronic dance music. ZE Records (originally always written with two capital letters was a New York -based Record label, started in 1978 by

Their first album Was (Not Was) (1981) was an amalgam of rock, disco, Weiss's beat poetry, Reagan-era commentary, and jazz. Rock music is a genre of Popular music often though not necessarily employing Electric guitar, Bass guitar, and Drums. Disco is a Genre of dance-oriented music whose origins are hard to define Jazz is an American Musical art form which originated in the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States On vocals they recruited Harry Bowens and "Sweet Pea" Atkinson, who proved to be distinctive, soulful front men, who frequently found themselves singing absurdist and satirical songs, alongside tender ballads. The MC5's Wayne Kramer, The Knack's Doug Feiger and Mingus trumpeter Marcus Belgrave were among the guest players. The MC5 ( Motor City Five) was an American Hard rock band formed in Lincoln Park Michigan in 1964 and active until Wayne Kramer may refer to Wayne Kramer (guitarist (born 1948 American guitarist Wayne Kramer (filmmaker (born 1965 South African The Knack are a Los Angeles -based rock band that rose to fame with their first single " My Sharona " an international hit in 1979 (see Charles Mingus ( 22 April 1922 &ndash 5 January 1979) was an American Jazz Bassist, Composer, Marcus Belgrave (b June 12, 1936) is a Jazz Trumpet player from Detroit, born in Chester Pennsylvania.

In 1982 the group played on a rare solo album for lead singer "Sweet Pea" Atkinson called Don't Walk Away.

The eclectic Born to Laugh at Tornadoes (1983) had even more guest musicians, including Ozzy Osbourne rapping over electro, Mitch Ryder belting out a techno-rockabilly number, Mel Tormé crooning an odd ballad about asphyxiation, and an abstract funk piece called "Man vs. Born To Laugh At Tornadoes is a 1983 eccentric pop Album by the progressive pop band Was (Not Was. John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born December 3 1948) is a British singer Electro ( electro-boogie, electro-funk) is a Genre of Electronic music directly influenced by the use of TR-808 and Funk Mitch Ryder (born William S Levise Jr, February 26 1945, in Hamtramck Michigan) is Melvin Howard Tormé ( September 13, 1925 &ndash June 5, 1999) nicknamed The Velvet Fog, was an American musician known as Funk is an American musical style that originated in the mid- to late-1960s when African American musicians blended Soul music, Soul the Empire Brain Building". Singer Donald Ray Mitchell joined the group as third lead vocalist.

In 1988 they found their biggest hit with the album What Up, Dog?, which featured the singles "Walk the Dinosaur" and "Spy in the House of Love". What Up Dog? is a 1988 Album by Was (Not Was. It spawned the hit singles "Spy in the House of Love" (US #16 and "Walk the Dinosaur" Special guests included Stevie Salas, John Patitucci, Frank Sinatra Jr., and a writing credit for Elvis Costello. Stevie Salas is a Guitarist. He was hand-picked by George Clinton as the guitarist for Clinton’s albums John Patitucci (born December 22, 1959) is an American Jazz Double bass and electric bass player specializing in Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra Jr (born January 10, 1944) is an American Singer and conductor. Elvis Costello (born Declan Patrick MacManus 25 August 1954 is an English Musician and Singer-songwriter, with Irish ancestry Artist/animator Christoph Simon created videos to accompany some of their songs, such as "What Up Dog?", "Dad I'm in Jail", and the Tom Waits-style "Earth to Doris". Thomas Alan Waits (born 7 December 1949) is an American Singer-songwriter, Composer, and Actor. These appeared on MTV's Liquid Television and in various film festivals, including the Spike & Mike festival. Liquid Television is an Emmy Award winning 1990s Animation showcase that appeared on MTV. Mellow Manor Productions Inc was founded by Craig ‘Spike’ Decker and Mike Gribble popularly known as “Spike & Mike About this time, the Was Brothers developed separate careers as producers, film scorers, and music supervisors.

The group followed up with Are You Okay? in 1990, spearheaded by a cover of "Papa Was a Rolling Stone". " Papa Was a Rollin' Stone " is a soul song written by Motown Songwriters Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong as a single Guest musicians included Iggy Pop, Leonard Cohen, The Roches, and Syd Straw. James Newell Osterberg Jr (born April 21, 1947) better known by his Stage name Iggy Pop, is an American rock singer Songwriter Leonard Norman Cohen CC GOQ (born September 21, 1934 in Westmount, Quebec) is a Canadian Singer-songwriter The Roches ( Maggie, Terre and Suzzy Roche) are a female Vocal group of three songwriting Irish-American sisters from Syd Straw is an American rock singer and songwriter The daughter of actor Jack Straw (" The Pajama Game " she began her career singing backup for Pat After a tour with Dire Straits in 1992 and a UK Top 5 single with "Shake Your Head" (vocals from Ozzy Osbourne and Kim Basinger), Weiss and Fagenson drifted apart and nothing was heard from the band but a compilation album Hello Dad. Dire Straits was a British rock band, formed in 1977 by Mark Knopfler (guitar and vocals his brother David Knopfler (guitar " Shake Your Head " is a song by the band Was (Not Was. John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born December 3 1948) is a British singer Kimila Ann "Kim" Basinger (ˈbeɪsɪŋɚ bay-sing-er often mispronounced /ˈbæsɪndʒɚ/ bass-in-jer) (born December 8, 1953) . . I'm in Jail. 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. Hank Williams ( September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American Singer-songwriter and Musician who has

In 1997, Steve Winwood released a tune which borrowed not just the title of Was (Not Was)'s single "Spy in the House of Love" but also the bass line and other elements. Stephen Lawrence "Steve" or "Stevie" Winwood (born 12 May 1948 in Handsworth, Birmingham) is an English Singer-songwriter However, no lawsuits ensued (or were settled out of court).

In late 2004, Was (Not Was) reformed and were back on stage for a two-month club tour through the Northeast and East Coast of the US, as well as California, Missouri, Ohio, Illinois (including stops at the House of Blues in Cleveland and Chicago), Maryland, New York, and Pennsylvania (in the Trocadero in Philadelphia). The Northeast is a region of the United States. As defined by the U The Eastern Half of The United States, the American East, or simply the East is traditionally defined as the states east of the Mississippi River. California ( is a US state on the West Coast of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. Missouri ( or) is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee Ohio ( is a Midwestern state of the United States. As part of the Great Lakes region, Ohio has long been a cultural and geographical crossroads The State of Illinois ( roughly ill-i-NOY is a state of the United States of America, the 21st to be admitted to the Union. House of Blues (HOB is a corporate chain of music halls and restaurants founded in 1992 by Hard Rock Cafe founder Isaac Tigrett and his friend and investor Dan Cleveland is a City in the US state of Ohio and the County seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state Chicago (ʃɪˈkɑːgoʊ is the largest City by population in the state of Illinois and the American Midwest of the United States. New York ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania ( often colloquially referred to as PA (its abbreviation by natives and Northeasterners is a state located in the Northeastern For the origins of the word Trocadero and other places where it has been used see Trocadero (disambiguation. Philadelphia (ˌfɪləˈdɛlfiə In October 2005, they played four gigs at the Jazz Café in London. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom.

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. Wayne Kramer may refer to Wayne Kramer (guitarist (born 1948 American guitarist Wayne Kramer (filmmaker (born 1965 South African Marcus Miller (born June 14, 1959 in Brooklyn, New York) is a Grammy Award-winning Jazz musician composer producer and multi-instrumentalist Booker T Jones (born November 12 1944) is a multi- Instrumentalist, Songwriter, Record producer and Arranger, best Bob Dylan (born Robert Zimmerman, May 24 1941 in Duluth, Minnesota) is an American singer-songwriter author poet and painter who has been a major

Detroit's Metro Times described the band as "an endearing mess. The Metro Times (originally Detroit Metro Times) is the largest circulating weekly newspaper in the metro Detroit area . . . . . 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. "^[1] On April 22, 2008, they performed on the British show Later... with Jools Holland, and on May 2. Events 1500 - Portuguese Navigator Pedro Álvares Cabral becomes the first European to sight Brazil. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Later with Jools Holland is a contemporary British Music television show hosted by Jools Holland. Events 1194 - King Richard I of England gives Portsmouth its first Royal Charter. they were the musical guest on Late Night with Conan O'Brien. Late Night with Conan O'Brien is an Emmy Award -winning American late-night Talk show hosted by Conan O'Brien on NBC

The band kicked off its American tour on April 30, 2008, performing a well-received 2-hour set at Johnny D's in Somerville, Massachusetts. Somerville (pronunciation ˈsʌmərvɪl is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, just north of Boston.

Discography

Studio Albums

Compilations

Singles

See also

• List of number-one dance hits (United States)
• List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart

References

1. ^ Bowe, Brian J. " Shake Your Head " is a song by the band Was (Not Was. This is a list of recording artists who have reached number one on Billboard magazine 's Hot Dance Club Play chart "Out Come the Freaks", Metro Times. The Metro Times (originally Detroit Metro Times) is the largest circulating weekly newspaper in the metro Detroit area December 29, 2004. Events 1170 - Thomas Becket: Thomas Becket Archbishop of Canterbury is assassinated inside Canterbury Cathedral by followers of King Henry II "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again "

Audio sample

Was (Not Was) - Professor Night excerpt

An excerpt from Professor Night taken from the Born to Laugh at Tornadoes album

Problems listening to the file? See media help.

External links

• World Wide Was
• Was (Not Was) Message Board
• Trouser Press entry
• Was (Not Was) at www.musicianguide.com
• Was (Not Was) at the Open Directory Project