AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Devo

Artist:Devo

Song:Whip It

Album:Greatest Hits

Whip It was a top 20 hit in 1980. It was the only big hit for Devo. Some of their other songs charted so it was not a one hit wonder. Of course the video was memorable. The genesis of Devo came at Kent State University in Ohio. Gerald Casale and Bob Lewis were art students and were in a band. They met Mark Mothersbaugh in 1970. Mothersbaugh was known for his sense of humor. Everything was a joke to him including the band name which was short for De-evolution and the winged devil logo. Devo performed once at Kent State in 1973. The band was Casale, Lewis, Mothersbaugh and Casale's brother Bob Casale on guitar and a couple of guys who didn't stay. Mothersbaugh brought in his brothers Bob Mothersbaugh on guitar and Jim Mothersbaugh on electronic drums. They continued to play gigs wearing weird costumes. They were more of a punk band in those days. Mark decided he needed a real drummer so he replaced his brother with Alan Meyers. That was the lineup for the next ten years: the Mothersbaugh brothers, the Casale brothers and Meyers. Lewis had become more of a manager. After releasing an EP on the British new wave label Stiff, David Bowie and Iggy Pop got Devo a record deal with Warner Bros. Bowie was supposed to produce the 1978 album Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! but he couldn't make it and Brian Eno was brought in. Devo appeared on Saturday Night Live. So they got some exposure but no hit single. Lewis sued after he couldn't work out a deal for his contributions to Devo. They ended up settling out of court. Mothersbaugh started experimenting with electronic instruments and that resulted in the 1980 album Freedom of Choice. Except for Bob Mothersbaugh's guitar, this album was all electronic. Whip It was the third single. Warners didn't think it was going to be a hit. DJ Kal Rudman liked the song and got it played on radio. It reached #14 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album was certified Platinum. Jerry Casale's lyrics are nonsense but the video had sadomasochistic overtones. Mothersbaugh did this as a gag. And they wore those red hats on stage. Warners was going to drop Devo if there was no hit single. So Whip It got them three more albums on Warners. Subsequent albums weren't as successful. Meyers left in 1988 and Devo moved to Enjgma Records. Meanwhile Mothersbaugh scored the TV show Pee-Wee's Adventure. Devo split up in 1991 and that's when Mothersbaugh opened his studio to produce music for films, TV and video games. He has been very successful doing that. Gerald Casale got into directing music videos. Devo has reunited occasionally since 1996. They released a couple of albums but they tour occasionally. Mothersbaugh is very busy composing for film and TV. Here's the video for Whip It by Devo.