Was (Not Was) is an American band founded in 1979 in Detroit, Michigan, by David Weiss and Don Fagenson, who adopted the stage names David Was and Don Was. 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?'', becoming a worldwide top-40 hit and peaking at on the

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), ...

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 Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, United States. 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 Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

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 Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

, Weiss's beat poetry, Reagan-era

political Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...

social Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not. Etymology The word "social" derives fro ...

commentary, and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

. On vocals they recruited Harry Bowens and "Sweet Pea" Atkinson, who frequently found themselves singing absurdist and satirical songs alongside tender ballads. Wayne Kramer of MC5, The Knack's Doug Fieger, and trumpeter Marcus Belgrave were among the guest players. In 1982, the group played on ''Don't Walk Away'', a solo album for lead singer "Sweet Pea" Atkinson.

Development

'' Born to Laugh at Tornadoes'' (1983) had even more guest musicians, including

Ozzy Osbourne John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and media personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead singer of the heavy metal music, heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which per ...

rapping over electro, Mitch Ryder singing a techno-rockabilly number, Mel Tormé performing a ballad about asphyxiation, and an abstract

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

piece called "Man vs. 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". Special guests included Stevie Salas, John Patitucci, Frank Sinatra Jr., and a writing credit from

Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, author and television host. According to ''Rolling Stone'', Costello "reinvigorated the literate, lyrical ...

Film and animation work

Artist/animator Christoph Simon created videos to accompany some of their stranger album tracks, such as "What Up, Dog?", "Dad I'm in Jail," and the

Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on society's underworld and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He began in the American folk music, fo ...

-style "Earth to Doris." 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, spearheaded by a cover of " Papa Was a Rollin' Stone". Guest musicians included

Iggy Pop James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter, actor and radio broadcaster. He was the vocalist and lyricist of proto-punk band the Stooges, who were formed in 1 ...

Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian songwriter, singer, poet, and novelist. Themes commonly explored throughout his work include faith and mortality, isolation and depression, betrayal and redemption, soc ...

, 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

and actress Kim Basinger, Weiss and Fagenson drifted apart, subsequently releasing only a compilation album '' Hello Dad... 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 Hiram "Hank" Williams (September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. An early pioneer of country music, he is regarded as one of the most significant and influential musicians of the 20th century. W ...

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 Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

and

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

and the Trocadero in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. In October 2005, they played four gigs at the Jazz Café in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. In 2008, they released their fifth studio album, ''Boo!'', featuring guest appearances from

Kris Kristofferson Kristoffer Kristofferson (June 22, 1936 – September 28, 2024) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was a pioneering figure in the outlaw country movement of the 1970s, moving away from the polished Nashville sound and toward a m ...

, Wayne Kramer, Marcus Miller and Booker T. Jones, plus a song originally co-written with

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

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.

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."

Discography

Studio albums

Compilation albums

Singles

Contributions

* '' A Christmas Record'' (1981, ZE Records) - "Christmas Time in the Motor City" * ''That's the Way I Feel Now: A Tribute to Thelonious Monk'' (1984, A&M Records) - "Ba-Lue-Bolivar-Ba-Lues-Are" * '' Stay Awake: Various Interpretations of Music from Vintage Disney Films'' (1988, A&M Records) - " Baby Mine"

References

External links

World Wide Was

Was (Not Was) collection
at the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

's live music archive * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Was Not Was American funk musical groups American post-disco music groups Rykodisc artists Geffen Records artists Chrysalis Records artists Musical groups from Detroit Musical groups established in 1979 Musical groups reestablished in 2004 ZE Records artists Fontana Records artists