Frederick William Schneider III (born July 1, 1951) is an American singer-songwriter and frontman of the rock band
the B-52s
The B-52s, originally presented as the B-52's (with an errant grocer's apostrophe, apostrophe; used until 2008), are an American band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1976. The original lineup consisted of Fred Schneider (vocals, percussion), Kate ...
, of which he is a founding member. Schneider is well known for his ''
sprechgesang'', which he developed from reciting poetry over guitars.
Early life
Frederick William Schneider III was born on July 1, 1951, in
Newark, New Jersey
Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...
, and lived in
Long Branch, New Jersey, after moving there from
Belleville, New Jersey. He has said that his musical influences included "Halloween songs and nutty Christmas songs", along with
Motown
Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...
.
After graduating from
Shore Regional High School, he attended the
University of Georgia
The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...
, where he wrote a book of poetry for a class project. After college, he was a janitor as well as a
Meals on Wheels driver.
At the time the B-52s formed, he had very little musical experience.
The B-52's
The B-52's got their start in 1976 when founders
Cindy Wilson
Cynthia Leigh Wilson (born February 28, 1957) is an American musician and one of the vocalists, songwriters and founding members of New wave music, new wave rock band the B-52s. She is noted for her distinctive contralto voice and also plays per ...
,
Ricky Wilson,
Kate Pierson,
Keith Strickland
Julian Keith Strickland (born October 26, 1953) is an American singer-songwriter, composer, musician, multi-instrumentalist, and one of the founding members of the B-52s. He was born in Athens, Georgia.
Originally the band's drummer, Strickland ...
, and Schneider played an impromptu number after drinking at a Chinese restaurant in
Athens, Georgia
Athens is a consolidated city-county in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. Downtown Athens lies about northeast of downtown Atlanta. The University of Georgia, the state's flagship public university and an Research I university, ...
.
The band played their first real gig in 1977 at a Valentine's Day party for their friends.
The band's first single was "
Rock Lobster" and was recorded by
DB Records in 1978. It was an underground success, and sold over 20,000 copies in total.
In 1979, the B-52's signed a recording contract with
Warner Bros. Records for South America, North America, Australia, and New Zealand. They also signed with
Island Records
Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in Jamaica by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in 1959, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, another ...
for Europe and Asia. After the death of
Ricky Wilson in 1985, the band went on hiatus.
They reformed in 1989 and went on to mainstream success.
Other music ventures
Schneider has released two solo albums: ''
Fred Schneider and the Shake Society'' (1984, reissued in 1991 as ''Fred Schneider'') and ''
Just Fred'' (1996), the former of which spawned the single and video "Monster", which featured Pierson on backing vocals. He also worked on a side project called
the Superions, who released a self-titled
EP and the album ''
Destination... Christmas!'' in 2010. In February 2011, the band announced they were working on a full-length album,
which was eventually released in 2017 under the title ''The Vertical Mind''.
Radio
Until late 2008, Schneider hosted a show called ''Party Out of Bounds'' that aired on Friday nights, 9pm to 12 am (ET), on
Sirius 33 First Wave. On the show, Schneider played a mix of new wave-era dance, remixes and rarities, interspersed with anecdotes and humor.
Personal life
, Schneider was living on
Long Island
Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...
, New York.
On the February 22, 2010, broadcast of ''
The Howard Stern Show
''The Howard Stern Show'' is an American radio show hosted by Howard Stern that gained wide recognition when it was radio syndication, nationally syndicated on terrestrial radio from WINS-FM, WXRK in New York City, between 1986 and 2005. The sho ...
'', Schneider discussed his experience of
coming out
Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBTQ people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity.
This is often framed and debated as a privacy issue, ...
as gay to his mother. Schneider said that his mother always knew more about him than he knew about himself, and that he came out of the closet while she was vacuuming. His mother replied, "Oh I know, Freddie", and continued vacuuming. Schneider's reaction was, "It's like, well, OK. I guess I'll go back outside and smoke some pot."
Schneider is a lifelong vegetarian and in 2014 appeared in a
PETA
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA; ) is an American animal rights nonprofit organization based in Norfolk, Virginia, and led by Ingrid Newkirk, its international president.
Founded in March 1980 by Newkirk and animal right ...
ad campaign discouraging people from eating lobsters.
In May 2023, Schneider received an honorary doctorate degree from
Five Towns College in
Dix Hills, New York, for his contributions to the music industry.
Discography
Studio albums with the B-52's
* ''
The B-52's
The B-52s, originally presented as the B-52's (with an errant apostrophe; used until 2008), are an American band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1976. The original lineup consisted of Fred Schneider (vocals, percussion), Kate Pierson (vocals, k ...
'' (1979)
* ''
Wild Planet
''Wild Planet'' is the second studio album by American new wave band the B-52's, released in August 1980 by Warner Bros. (US) and Island Records (Europe, Japan).
As with their first album, the B-52's traveled to Compass Point Studios in the Ba ...
'' (1980)
* ''
Whammy!
''Whammy!'' is the third studio album by American New wave music, new wave band the B-52's, released on April 27, 1983, by Warner Records, Warner Bros. (US) and Island Records (Europe, Japan). It was recorded at Compass Point Studios in Nassau, B ...
'' (1983)
* ''
Bouncing Off the Satellites'' (1986)
* ''
Cosmic Thing
''Cosmic Thing'' is the fifth studio album by American New wave music, new wave band the B-52's, released in 1989 by Reprise Records. It contains the hit singles "Love Shack", "Roam" and "Deadbeat Club". The music video for "Love Shack" won the a ...
'' (1989)
* ''
Good Stuff'' (1992)
* ''
Funplex'' (2008)
Solo studio albums
* ''
Fred Schneider and the Shake Society'' (aka ''Fred Schneider'') (1984/1991)
* ''
Just Fred'' (1996)
Studio albums with the Superions
* ''
Destination... Christmas!'' (2010)
* ''The Vertical Mind'' (2017)
Collaborations
* Schneider is featured on the track "Mr. Used-to-Be", from
Richard Barone's 1990 album, ''Primal Dream''. Barone co-wrote and arranged songs on ''Just Fred'' and produced Schneider's version of
Harry Nilsson
Harry Edward Nilsson III (June 15, 1941 – January 15, 1994), sometimes credited as Nilsson, was an American singer-songwriter who reached the peak of his success in the early 1970s. His work is characterized by pioneering vocal overdub experi ...
's "
Coconut
The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (biology), family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, ...
" from the Nilsson tribute album ''For the Love of Harry.'' Schneider co-wrote and sang on Barone's "Don't Open 'Til Doomsday", from the 2004 album ''Collection: An Embarrassment of Richard''.
* He was a guest vocalist on the song "The Power of Pussy" from
Bongwater's 1990
album of the same name.
* He worked with
Captain Planet on the "Eco Rap", an updated theme song used for ''
The New Adventures of Captain Planet''.
* He co-wrote and sang on "Stinky Dinky" from
RuPaul
RuPaul Andre Charles (born November 17, 1960) is an American drag queen, television host, singer, producer, writer, and actor. He produces, hosts, and judges the reality competition series ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' and has received List of awards ...
's 1993 debut album ''
Supermodel of the World''.
* He appears on the 1994 track "Do the Funky Something" by Godchildren of Soul, found on their ''Anyone Can Join'' album and on the
Rufus Thomas
Rufus C. Thomas, Jr. (March 26, 1917 – December 15, 2001) was an American rhythm-and-blues, funk, soul and blues singer, songwriter, dancer, DJ and comic entertainer from Memphis, Tennessee. He recorded for several labels, including Chess Re ...
compilation ''Do the Funky Somethin''.
* The 1994 compilation ''Elvira Presents Monster Hits'' features the track "Here Comes the Bride (The Bride of Frankenstein)", sung by
Elvira. Schneider co-wrote the song and sang guest vocals.
*
Possum Dixon's 1998 album ''
New Sheets'' features the song "Firecracker", co-written by Schneider.
* The
soundtrack
A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...
for ''
The Rugrats Movie'', released in 1998, contains the track "The World is Something New to Me", featuring Schneider, Pierson, and Wilson, along with other artists.
* He was a guest vocalist on the track "National Anthem of Love" from
Joe McIntyre's album ''
Meet Joe Mac'' (2001).
* He provided the vocals for the
Foo Fighters
The Foo Fighters are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Seattle in 1994. Initially founded as a one-man project by former Nirvana (band), Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl, the band comprises vocalist/guitarist Grohl, bassist Nate Mendel, gu ...
' cover of the B-52's' "
Planet Claire", released as a
B-side
The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...
of the Foo Fighters single "
Times Like These" (2003).
* The compilation album ''
Wig in a Box: Songs From & Inspired by Hedwig and the Angry Inch'', released in 2003, features a collaboration between Schneider and
Sleater-Kinney, "Angry Inch".
* The 2004 soundtrack album for the film ''
Trekkies 2'' features Schneider's collaboration with B-52's part-time keyboardist
Pat Irwin, "Beam Me Up".
* He worked with
Sophie Ellis-Bextor on some songs for her 2007 album ''
Trip the Light Fantastic''. The song "Supersonic", which he co-wrote and provided backing vocals for, appeared as a bonus track on the UK and Australian versions of the album.
* Schneider is featured on the
Tiny Masters of Today
Tiny Masters of Today are an United States, American indie punk rock band, consisting of siblings Ivan (born February 21, 1994) and Ada Wolin (born March 4, 1996) and their friend Jackson Pollis. All members are from Brooklyn, New York.
Histo ...
song "Disco Bomb", from their album ''
Bang Bang Boom Cake'' (2007).
* Schneider provided guest vocals on
Deni Bonet's 2010 single "Girl Party", later released on her 2013 album ''It's All Good''. The album was produced by Richard Barone, an artist with which Schneider and Pierson had previously collaborated.
* Schneider appears on the Ursula 1000 songs "Hey You!" from the album ''Mondo Beyondo'' (2011) and "The Neptune Freeze" from the album "Esoterique" (2019). Schneider and Ursula later formed a one-off project called the Fangs, who released a song called "Vampire Vamp" for Halloween 2012.
* Schneider appears on "The Ladies in Drag" and "The Bacon Shake" from the
Jinkx Monsoon album ''The Inevitable Album'' (2014). He later appeared on "She Evil" from Monsoon's album ''The Ginger Snapped'' (2018).
* Elvira released a 7-inch single, "2 Big Pumpkins / 13 Nights of Halloween", in the U.S. for Halloween 2014. Both tracks are co-written by Schneider.
* Schneider sang on
Mini Mansions' "Cheap Leather", the B-side of their 2015 single "Vertigo".
Other works
Film
* ''
One Trick Pony'' (1980)
* ''
Athens, GA: Inside/Out'' (1987)
* ''Funny'' (1989)
* ''
A Matter of Degrees'' (1990)
* ''
The Flintstones
''The Flintstones'' is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera, Hanna-Barbera Productions, which takes place in a romanticized Stone Age setting and follows the titular family, the Flintstones, and their next-door neighbors, the R ...
'' (1994)
* ''
The Rugrats Movie'' (1998, voice only)
* ''
Desert Blue'' (1998, voice only)
* ''Godass'' (2000)
* ''
Each Time I Kill'' (2002)
* ''
Trekkies 2'' (2004)
Television
* He is credited alongside
Kate Pierson for singing the theme song to the
Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...
cartoon ''
Rocko's Modern Life'' (1992).
* He is credited for singing the new theme song to the final season of ''
Captain Planet and the Planeteers'' (1996).
* He was a guest in an episode of ''
Space Ghost Coast to Coast
''Space Ghost Coast to Coast'' is an American live-action/ adult animated hybrid television series created by Mike Lazzo for Cartoon Network and first broadcast in 1994. It takes the form of a surreal parody of talk shows, hosted by a reimagi ...
'' in 1997.
* He appeared in an episode of ''
The L Word
''The L Word'' is a television drama series that aired on Showtime in the United States from 2004 to 2009. The series follows the lives of a group of lesbian and bisexual women who live in West Hollywood, California. The premise originated wit ...
'' in 2006.
* He guest-starred in an episode of ''
Lil' Bush'' in 2008.
* He appeared in an episode of ''
The Daily Show
''The Daily Show'' is an American late-night talk show, late-night talk and news satire television program. It airs each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central in the United States, with extended episodes released shortly after on Paramount+ ...
'' on June 2, 2008.
* He briefly sang a line in an episode of ''
The Cleveland Show'' in 2011 (voice only).
Books
* In 1975–76, Schneider hand-wrote approximately 100 copies of a short book of his poems entitled ''Bleb''. The book included a poem called "There's a Moon in the Sky (Called the Moon)", which later appeared as a song on the B-52's 1979
debut album.
* In 1987, Schneider wrote a paperback book of mostly poetry entitled ''Fred Schneider and Other Unrelated Works'', which was published by Arbor House, New York. The book is approximately 96 pages and out of print. The book was a compilation of new material and reprinted poems from his independent release ''Bleb'', with illustrations by
Kenny Scharf, who also designed the cover art for the B-52's' 1986 album ''
Bouncing Off the Satellites''. Approximately 6,000 copies were printed.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schneider, Fred
1951 births
20th-century American LGBTQ people
20th-century American male singers
20th-century American songwriters
21st-century American LGBTQ people
21st-century American male singers
21st-century American songwriters
American gay musicians
American LGBTQ singers
American LGBTQ songwriters
American male new wave singers
American male rappers
American male songwriters
American new wave musicians
American post-punk musicians
American rock singers
The B-52's members
Gay singer-songwriters
LGBTQ people from New Jersey
Living people
Musicians from Long Branch, New Jersey
Musicians from Newark, New Jersey
People from Belleville, New Jersey
Shore Regional High School alumni
Songwriters from New Jersey