Beginnings Weiss and Fagenson were childhood friends who grew up together in suburban
Detroit,
Michigan, United States. 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 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, Weiss's
beat poetry, Reagan-era
political-
social commentary, and
jazz. 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) 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".
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-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,
Leonard Cohen,
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
Ozzy Osbourne 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 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 and
Chicago and the
Trocadero in
Philadelphia. In October 2005, they played four gigs at the Jazz Café in
London. 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. 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==