Catherine Elizabeth Pierson (born April 27, 1948)[1] is an American singer, lyricist, and founding member of
the B-52s. She plays
guitar,
bass and various keyboard instruments. In the early years, as well as being a vocalist, Pierson was the main keyboard player and performed on a
keyboard bass during live shows and on many of the band's recordings, taking on a role usually filled by a
bass guitar player, which differentiated the band from their contemporaries. This, along with Pierson's distinctive wide-ranging singing voice, remains a trademark of the B-52s' unique sound. Pierson has also collaborated with many other artists including
the Ramones,
Iggy Pop and
R.E.M. Pierson possesses a
mezzo-sopranovocal range.
In February 2015, Pierson released her first solo album, Guitars and Microphones, featuring material co-written by
Sia.[2] She later released the non-album single "Better Not Sting the Bee", and then she released an April 16, 2016 cover of "
Venus" as a single. Side B included "Radio In Bed" written by Kate and her wife Monica Coleman. Both tracks were produced by Jack White.
Pierson briefly attended
Wheaton College in
Wheaton, Illinois before transferring to
Boston University, where she earned a journalism degree.[6] She then traveled around Europe for a time in the 1970s, including six months working as a
barmaid in The Anson pub in
Wallsend, UK,[7] before returning to the U.S. and moving to
Athens, Georgia, where she lived on a farm and earned a living as a
paste-up artist in the type shop of the local newspaper.[8]
Music career
Pierson met up with the other members of what would become the B-52s while living in Athens, Georgia.[9] The band formed in October 1976 and played a few parties before heading to New York to play some shows.[10] Eventually, Pierson and the other band members began commuting between Athens and New York, playing gigs.[11]
Personal life
Pierson was married to Brian Cokayne, a
Mancunian, whom she met while living in Europe between 1971 and 1973.[12]
From 1981 to 1996, Pierson was in a relationship with artist
Tim Rollins.[13]
In 2003, Pierson started a relationship with artist and designer Monica Coleman. They got married on August 3, 2015.[14]
In a 2015 interview, Pierson stated that she identifies as
bisexual.[18]
Collaborations
The
Ramones, in the early 1980s on the song "Chop Suey", with Cindy Wilson and
Debbie Harry; the title is available as a bonus track on the Ramones' re-release CD Pleasant Dreams.
Pierson, Wilson and Strickland were part of the group Melon, and recorded two songs ("I Will Call You" and "Honeydew") for a Japanese TV show titled Snakeman Show. The soundtrack LP (in 1980) and CD (in 1988) were only released in Japan.
Fred Schneider, on his Fred Schneider & the Shake Society solo album from 1984, on songs "Monster", "Summer in Hell", "I'm Gonna Haunt You" and "Boonga (The New Jersey Caveman)".
The soundtrack for The Rugrats Movie, released in 1998 contains the track "The World Is Something New to Me" and features Pierson, Schneider and Wilson along with other artists.
"
We Are Family", a single released to raise money for the victims of the
September 11 attacks, features Pierson and Schneider in the chorus and on the DVD documentation.
Pierson sang with
Jay Ungar and
Molly Mason on their 2003 album Relax Your Mind, on the track "Bad Attitude".
She was also a member of the Japanese group
NiNa with
Yuki Isoya and co-wrote and performed a complete album, with the hit singles "Happy Tomorrow" and "Aurora Tour". The album and singles were only released in Japan. Two songs were used as the ending theme song to the anime Arc the Lad.
She appeared in
Blondie's music video for "Mother".[20]
The soundtrack album Phineas and Ferb: Rockin' and Rollin' released in September 2013 features Pierson singing: "Let's Spend Half A Day".
One song on
DownesBraide Association's 2017 album Skyscraper Souls.