Ricky Wilson

Ricky Helton Wilson (March 19, 1953 – October 12, 1985) was the original guitarist and founding member of the rock band, The B-52's.

Born in Athens, Georgia, he was the brother of fellow B-52's member Cindy Wilson. Like the other male members of the band, Wilson was quietly gay (his sexual orientation, like those of Keith and Fred, would not be public knowledge until the early 1990s).

As a self-taught guitarist, he invented his own tunings, grouping the strings into a bass course (usually tuned to 5ths for strumming) and a treble course (often tuned in unison), removing the middle two strings entirely, though sometimes he played with 5 strings as well. A blue Mosrite so modified is visible on the back cover of the B-52's self-titled first album. It was an unusual way to tune the guitar, but it worked amazingly well and together with keyboard bass played by organist Kate Pierson, the band achieved a solid rock and roll sound without a bass guitar.

Death

Wilson died on October 12, 1985, aged 32, from health complications related to AIDS. According to Kate Pierson, Wilson had kept his illness secret from his fellow band members because "he did not want anyone to worry about him or fuss about him."

Following his death, fellow B-52's founding member Keith Strickland (originally the drummer for the B-52's live shows) switched to playing guitar.
The epitaph on Wilson's tombstone reads: "The breeze of grace is always blowing; set your sail to catch that breeze."

Collaborations

Ricky Wilson played the guitar on the song "Breakin' In My Heart" on the 1979 self-titled album by Tom Verlaine.
He is rumored to have played bass guitar on XTC's 1979 album Drums and Wires - the album credits list only Colin Moulding for bass, and there are no reliable sources indicating that Ricky actually played any part in this album.