What (not what)

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Was (Not Was) is an American pop - dance - and R & B - band from Detroit , Michigan , which had international success during the 1980s and early 1990s.

Band history

Was (Not Was) was founded in Detroit in 1979 by childhood friends Don Was (alias Don Fagenson) and David Was (alias David Weiss). Both were also the creative heads of the band, with Don Was usually responsible for composition, arrangements and production, while David Was wrote the often bizarre lyrics, influenced by jazz and beatnik poetry. In addition to the humorous lyrics, the band was characterized by an eclectic mix of styles of funk , new wave , rock , jazz , pop and disco . Especially in the early years, Was (Not Was) often became a no-wave - and with New York bandsMutant disco scene compared, e.g. B. Material , Defunkt , James Chance and the Contortions or Kid Creole & the Coconuts . Nominal members were - in addition to the fake What brothers - also the singers "Sir" Harry Bowens, "Sweet Pea" Atkinson (who died in 2020) and (from 1983) Donald Ray Mitchell, guitarist Randy Jacobs and saxophonist David McMurray . On their albums, the band was also regularly supported by a large circle of (often celebrity) guest musicians.

In the early 1980s, the band was signed by the New York cult label Ze Records and released their debut album Was (Not Was) . Musical guests were u. a. Wayne Kramer ( MC5 ), Doug Fieger ( The Knack ) and trumpeter Marcus Belgrave . The album received positive reviews in the US and Europe. Three singles were decoupled and reached top positions in the US dance charts, including the song Out Come the Freaks , which became something of a hymn for the band and also appeared in different versions on other albums.

In 1982, Don't Walk Away, a soul- influenced solo album by the singer Sweet Pea Atkinson, was released, in which Was (Not Was) acted as a backing band.

The official second studio album was Born to Laugh at Tornadoes (1983). Here were u. a. Mitch Ryder , Ozzy Osbourne and Mel Tormé guest stars. The credits also mention Madonna (who was still unknown at the time) , but she cannot be heard on the album: She sang a choir part for the song Shake Your Head (Let's Go to Bed) interpreted by Osbourne . However, this version was never officially released for legal reasons and did not find its way into the public until 2008 via the Internet.

The album also received positive reviews, e.g. B. in Rolling Stone magazine , but was a commercial flop. After all, the band reached the top 50 of the British charts for the first time with the single (Return to the Valley Of) Out Come the Freaks . The third album What Up, Dog? stayed - despite top-class guest stars like Frank Sinatra, jr. , Mark Isham and Marcus Miller  - initially not very successful. The breakthrough came with the third release, Walk the Dinosaur : The song first climbed to number 10 in the charts and two years later - after MTV had put the associated video in permanent rotation - to number 7 in the USA . Another single, Spy in the House of Love , reached the top 20 in the UK and the US and even became a number one hit on the American dance charts . The album also contained a new version of Out Come the Freaks , which was also released as a single and again reached the Top 50 in the UK.

In 1990 the band recorded the album Are You Okay? up, this time with guest musicians like Iggy Pop , Leonard Cohen , The Roches and Syd Straw . The first release, Papa Was a Rollin 'Stone , reached number 12 in the UK, but the album went largely unnoticed in the US.

In 1992 Was (Not Was) went on tour in the opening act for Dire Straits . In 1992, Hello Dad… I'm in Jail, a best-of album, was released. A new recording of the song Shake Your Head was also released as a single , on which Kim Basinger can be heard in addition to Ozzy Osbourne . With this song the band reached their highest position in the charts (# 4 in Great Britain), but it also remained the last major success. There is also a remix of this single by DJ Steve "Silk" Hurley , based on the 1983 version produced with Madonna. Several thousand copies of this remix were pressed and delivered without any approval from Madonna's record company. When this was refused, the remix version had to be withdrawn: Today it is a sought-after rarity and occasionally appears in internet auctions.

In 1992 Was (Not Was) dissolved.

After the dissolution

Don Was and David Was had already started building their own musical careers in the last few years of the band. Don Was is now one of America's most sought-after music producers. a. The Rolling Stones , Bob Dylan and Elton John and received a 1995 Grammy for Producer of the Year. He was also the musical director and consultant for numerous cinema and TV films. In 1994 he received a BAFTA Award for the music for the film Backbeat . David Was works (as David Weiss) primarily as a composer and musical advisor for television productions (including the X-Files ) and works as a music critic and journalist for the public broadcaster NPR .

In 1997 Don Was released the album Forever Is a Long Long Time under the project name "Orquestra Was". Some musicians from Was (Not Was) were also involved in the recording of the record - a collection of songs by country singer Hank Williams in jazz and soul arrangements - as well as a large number of guest musicians such as Kris Kristofferson and Herbie Hancock . A short film produced by Francis Ford Coppola was also produced for the album .

In 2004 Don and David Was got together again for some concerts for the first time. In 2008 the fifth Was- (Not-Was) studio album Boo was released , again with numerous guest stars (including Kris Kristofferson, Wayne Kramer and Booker T. Jones ), which, however, was not commercially successful.

Others

The name Was (Not Was) supposedly goes back to a childish habit of Don Was's son Tony, who commented on each term with its opposite. Today Tony Fagenson is himself a successful musician and plays a. a. Drums in the band Eve 6 .

Discography

Studio albums

year title Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements
(Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)
Remarks
DE DE AT AT CH CH UK UK US US
1983 Born to Laugh at Tornadoes - - - - US151 (9 weeks)
US
First published: September 1983
Producers: David Was , Don Was , Jack Tann
1988 What Up, Dog? - - - UK47 (6 weeks)
UK
US43 (37 weeks)
US
First published: March 1988
Producers: Gemma Corfield, Jack Tann, John Lewis
1990 Are you okay? DE35 (9 weeks)
DE
AT24 (1 week)
AT
CH22 (9 weeks)
CH
UK35 (6 weeks)
UK
US99 (11 weeks)
US
First published: July 1990
Producers: David Was, Don Was

More studio albums

  • 1982: Was (Not Was)
  • 2003: Out Come the Freaks
  • 2008: Boo!

Live albums

  • 1988: In Concert-438

Compilations

year title Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements
(Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)
Remarks
DE DE AT AT CH CH UK UK US US
1992 Hello, Dad ... I'm in Jail - - - UK61 (3 weeks)
UK
-
First published: June 1992

More compilations

  • 1984: (The Woodwork) Squeaks
  • 2004: The Collection
  • 2009: Pick of the Litter 1980-2010

Singles

year Title
album
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements
(Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes)
Remarks
DE DE AT AT CH CH UK UK US US R&B R&B Dance Dance
1980 Wheel Me Out
Was (Not Was)
- - - - - - Dance34 (13 weeks)
Dance
First published: December 1980
Authors: David Was, Don Was
1981 Out Come the Freaks
Was (Not Was)
- - - - - - Dance16 (14 weeks)
Dance
First published: July 1981
Authors: David Was, Don Was
1982 Tell Me That I'm Dreaming
Was (Not Was)
- - - - - R&B68 (7 weeks)
R&B
Dance3 (19 weeks)
Dance
First published: December 1981
with the voice of Ronald Reagan
Authors: David Was, Don Was
1984 (Return to the Valley Of) Out Come the Freaks (Remix)
Born to Laugh at Tornadoes
- - - UK41 (6 weeks)
UK
- - -
First release: January 1984
Vocals: Harry Bowens
Remix: Don Was, Frank Filipetti, Michael Zilkha
1986 Robot Girl
What Up, Dog?
- - - UK95 (1 week)
UK
- - -
First published: September 1986
Authors: David Was, Don Was
1987 Spy in the House of Love
What Up, Dog?
- - - UK21 (15 weeks)
UK
US16 (17 weeks)
US
R&B77 (10 weeks)
R&B
Dance1 (10 weeks)
Dance
First published: June 13, 1987
Authors: David Was, Don Was
Walk the Dinosaur
What Up, Dog?
DE48 (6 weeks)
DE
- CH9 (9 weeks)
CH
UK10 (10 weeks)
UK
US7 (16 weeks)
US
- Dance11 (11 weeks)
Dance
First published: September 1987
Authors: David Was, Don Was, Randy Jacobs
The Boy's Gone Crazy
What Up, Dog?
- - - UK84 (1 week)
UK
- - -
First published: November 1987
Authors: David Was, Don Was
1988 (Stuck Inside of Detroit with The) Out Come the Freaks (Again)
What Up, Dog?
- - - UK44 (3 weeks)
UK
- - Dance19 (7 weeks)
Dance
First published: April 1988
Mix: Bruce Forest, Frank Heller
Anything Can Happen
What Up, Dog?
- - - UK67 (3 weeks)
UK
US75 (6 weeks)
US
- -
First published: July 1988
Authors: David Was, Don Was, Aaron Zigman
1990 Papa Was a Rolling Stone
Are You Okay?
DE14 (18 weeks)
DE
AT15 (14 weeks)
AT
CH6 (15 weeks)
CH
UK12 (7 weeks)
UK
- R&B60 (8 weeks)
R&B
Dance10 (9 weeks)
Dance
First published: May 1990
Authors: Norman Whitfield , Barrett Strong
Original: The Undisputed Truth , 1972
How the Heart Behaves
Are You Okay?
- - - UK53 (4 weeks)
UK
- - Dance35 (6 weeks)
Dance
First published: July 1990
Authors: David Was, Don Was
I Feel Better Than James Brown
Are You Okay?
- - - UK91 (2 weeks)
UK
- - -
First publication: November 1990
Authors: Ralf Hütter , Florian Schneider ,
Karl Bartos , Maxime Schmitt
Original: Kraftwerk , 1983
including a quote from Paul Hindemith's
Sonata for Flute and Piano, Mvt. 1 from 1936
1992 Listen Like Thieves
Hello, Dad… I'm in Jail
- - - UK58 (2 weeks)
UK
- - -
First published: May 1992
Authors: Andrew Farriss, Michael Hutchence ,
Jon Farriss, Kirk Pengilly, Gary Beers
Original: INXS , 1985
Shake Your Head
Hello, Dad ... I'm in Jail
DE77 (4 weeks)
DE
- - UK4 (9 weeks)
UK
- - -
First release: June 1992
feat. Kim Basinger and Ozzy Osbourne
Authors: David Was, Don Was
Remix: Steve "Silk" Hurley
1992 Somewhere in America (There's a Street Named After My Dad)
Hello, Dad… I'm in Jail
- - - UK57 (1 week)
UK
- - -
First published: September 1992
Authors: David Was, Don Was
Remix: Paul Staveley O'Duffy

More singles

  • 1981: Where Did Your Heart Go? (Release: September)
  • 1983: Smile (release: September)
  • 1983: Knocked Down, Made Small (Treated Like a Rubber Ball) (Release December)
  • 1988: Baby Mine (with Bonnie Raitt ; release: October)
  • 1989: White People Can't Dance
  • 1990: Are You Okay?

swell

  1. a b c Chart sources: Singles Albums [httsp: //www.officialcharts.com/artist/21455/was- (not-was) / UK] US1 US2

Web links