54 American new wave musicians

Patrick James Grossi, better known by his stage name Active Child, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. His debut album, You Are All I See, was released in 2011 and produced by Ariel Rechtshaid, and garnered substantial reviews from media outlets like Pitchfork Media and Drowned in Sound. In 2011, Active Child opened for British musician James Blake and for the French synthpop band M83. In 2012, his song, "Hanging On," was covered by English pop artist Ellie Goulding and later included on her second album, Halcyon.

Liset Alea is a Cuban-born singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who lives in Paris, best known as a solo artist and lead singer in Nouvelle Vague.

Antonia Christina Basilotta, better known by her stage name Toni Basil, is an American singer, actress, choreographer, dancer, and filmmaker, best known for her multi-million-selling worldwide 1981/2 cover of the smash hit "Mickey," which topped the charts in the US, Canada and Australia and hit the top ten in several other countries. She has collaborated with David Bowie, Elvis Presley, Talking Heads, the Monkees, Frank Sinatra, George Lucas, Quentin Tarantino, Jack Nicholson, Tom Hanks, Bette Midler, and The Muppets.

Steven John Bator, better known by his stage name Stiv Bators, was an American punk rock vocalist and guitarist from Girard, Ohio. He is best remembered for his bands Dead Boys and The Lords of the New Church.

Dale Frances Bozzio is an American rock and pop vocalist. She is best known as co-founder and lead singer of the '80s new wave band Missing Persons and for her work with Frank Zappa. While with Zappa, she performed significant roles in two of his major works, Joe's Garage (1979) and Thing-Fish (1984). In her solo career, Bozzio has released four albums and one EP.

Terry John Bozzio is an American drummer best known for his work with Missing Persons and Frank Zappa.

Clement Burke is an American musician who is best known as the drummer for the band Blondie from 1975, shortly after the band formed, throughout the band's entire career. He also played drums for the Ramones for a brief time in 1987, and performed under the name "Elvis Ramone".

David Byrne is a British-American singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, writer, music theorist, and filmmaker, who was a founding member and the principal songwriter, lead singer, and guitarist of the American new wave band Talking Heads.

Charlotte Irene Caffey is an American rock and roll musician and songwriter, best known for her work in the Go-Go's in the 1980s, including writing "We Got the Beat".

Jon Carin is a Grammy Award winning musician, singer, songwriter and producer who has been a longtime collaborator with the bands Pink Floyd and The Who, and the solo careers of David Gilmour and Roger Waters, Pete Townshend, Eddie Vedder, Kate Bush, and Richard Butler.

Belinda Jo Carlisle is an American singer, musician, and author. She gained fame as the lead singer of the Go-Go's, one of the most successful all-female bands in history, and went on to have a prolific career as a solo artist.

Robert Edward "Bob" Casale, Jr., or "Bob 2", was an American multi-instrumentalist, composer, record producer and audio engineer.

Gerald Vincent "Jerry" Casale is an American musician, composer, music video director, and vintner.

James Cassidy, also known as Jim Cassidy and Jim Kazmeyer, is an American musician and educator who is one of the founding members of the band Information Society (InSoc). He played bass and keyboards with the band from its beginning in the early 1980s until 1992, when the group released its final album as a trio, Peace & Love, Inc.

Warren Bruce Cuccurullo is an American musician, singer-songwriter, restaurant owner and former body builder who first worked with Frank Zappa during the 1970s. He was also a founding member of Missing Persons in the 1980s. In 1986, Cuccurullo joined Duran Duran, becoming a long-term member of the band until 2001.

Elliot Easton is an American musician, guitarist, singer and songwriter. He played lead guitar and sang backing vocals for The Cars. His guitar solos are an integral part of the band's music. He studied music at the Berklee College of Music. He is a left-handed guitarist. After the collapse of the Cars in 1988, Easton played in bands such as the New Cars and the roots rock group Creedence Clearwater Revisited. In 2018, Easton was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Cars.

Daniel Robert Elfman is an American composer, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. He first became well known as the singer-songwriter for the new wave band Oingo Boingo in the early 1980s, and has since garnered international recognition for composing over 100 feature film scores, as well as compositions for television, stage productions, and the concert hall.

Jeffrey D. Erb is an American film producer, director, actor, musician. He is also the Co-Founder and Co-President of the film production company Framelight Productions, the co-founder of Invivid Media and the CEO of Feverpitch Pictures. He has produced or executive produced a wide range of films, including The Speed of Life, which won an award at the Venice Film Festival.

Douglas Lars Fieger was an American singer-songwriter-musician. He was the rhythm guitarist and lead vocalist of the rock band The Knack. He co-wrote "My Sharona", the biggest hit song of 1979 in the U.S., with lead guitarist Berton Averre.

Jeremiah Griffin Harrison is an American songwriter, musician, producer, and entrepreneur. He achieved fame as the keyboardist and guitarist for the new wave band Talking Heads and as an original member of the Modern Lovers. In 2002, Harrison was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Talking Heads.

Deborah Ann Harry is an American singer, songwriter and actress, known as the lead vocalist of the band Blondie. Her recordings with the band reached No. 1 in the US and UK charts on many occasions from 1979 to 2017.

Vanessa Briscoe Hay is an American singer for the Athens, Georgia bands Pylon, Supercluster and Pylon Reenactment Society.

Nona Hendryx, is an American vocalist, record producer, songwriter, musician, author, and actress.

Kristian Hoffman is an American musician.

Amanda Kramer is an England-based American composer and touring musician.

Jennifer "Jenny" Lee Lindberg is an American musician, singer-songwriter and record producer, best known as the bassist of the indie rock band Warpaint. In 2015, Lindberg released her first solo album, Right On!, under the name "Jennylee".

Patrick Lee "Pat" MacDonald is an American musician and songwriter. He is the singer, guitarist, and main songwriter for Timbuk3, nominated for a Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1987. He formed the duo with his wife, Barbara K. MacDonald, in Madison, Wisconsin in 1984 before moving to Austin, Texas, that same year. Their breakup in 1995 spurred a solo career that has steadily produced releases in both Europe and the US. "MacDonald is long known for his playful, edgy songs," says Guitar Player magazine.

Ronald David Mael is an American musician, songwriter, composer and record producer. He is the keyboard player and principal songwriter in the band Sparks which he founded with vocalist, occasional songwriter and younger brother Russell Mael in 1971. Mael is known for his quirky and idiosyncratic approach to songwriting, his intricate and rhythmic keyboard playing style and for his deadpan and low key, scowling demeanour onstage often remaining motionless over his keyboard in sharp contrast to Russell's animated and hyperactive frontman antics. Ron Mael is also noted for his conservative clothes and unfashionable moustache. The Mael brothers are the founders of Lil' Beethoven Records.

Aimee Elizabeth Mann is an American singer-songwriter. In the 1980s Mann was the bassist and a vocalist for 'Til Tuesday, and wrote their top-ten single "Voices Carry". She released her debut solo album, Whatever, in 1993, and has released many albums since. In 1999, Mann recorded songs for the soundtrack to the Paul Thomas Anderson film Magnolia, which earned Academy Award and Grammy Award nominations for the song "Save Me". She has won two Grammy Awards and was named one of the world's ten greatest living songwriters by NPR in 2006.

Robert Leroy Mothersbaugh, Jr., or by his stage name "Bob 1", is an American songwriter, composer, musician and singer.

Mark Allen Mothersbaugh is an American singer, songwriter, composer, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, author and visual artist.

Alan Myers was an American rock drummer whose music career spanned more than 30 years. He came to prominence in the late 1970s as the third and most prominent drummer of the new wave band Devo, replacing Jim Mothersbaugh.

Terri Kathleen Nunn is an American singer and actress. She is best known as the vocalist for the new wave/synthpop band she fronts, Berlin, and is also known by that band name.

Richard Theodore Otcasek, known as Ric Ocasek, was an American singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. He was co-lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist and songwriter for the rock band the Cars. In addition to his work with the Cars, Ocasek recorded seven solo albums, and his song "Emotion in Motion" was a top 20 hit in the United States in 1986. Ocasek also worked as a record producer for artists such as Suicide, Bad Brains, Weezer, Nada Surf, Guided by Voices, and No Doubt. In 2018, Ocasek was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Cars.

Patrick O'Hearn is an American multi-instrumentalist, composer, and recording artist.

Benjamin Orzechowski, known professionally as Benjamin Orr, was an American musician best known as the bassist, co-founder, and co-lead vocalist of the rock band the Cars. He sang lead vocals on several of their best known songs, including "Just What I Needed", "Let's Go" and "Drive". He also scored a moderate solo hit with "Stay the Night."

Deantoni Parks is an American new wave/avant-garde/experimental drummer, songwriter, actor and record producer. He is the founder, producer and drummer of the New York band KUDU, and one half of the writing duo We Are Dark Angels with composer, producer and keyboardist Nicci Kasper, also a member of KUDU. He was a member of progressive rock band the Mars Volta, and is currently a member of the alternative rock band Bosnian Rainbows.

Catherine Elizabeth Pierson is an American singer, lyricist, and one of the singers and founding members of the B-52's. A multi-instrumentalist, she plays guitar, bass and various keyboard instruments. In the B-52s, she has performed alongside Cindy Wilson, Fred Schneider, Ricky Wilson, and Keith Strickland. In the early years, as well as being a vocalist, Pierson was the main keyboard player and was notable for performing on a keyboard bass during many 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-52's unique sound. Pierson has also collaborated with many other artists including The Ramones, Iggy Pop and R.E.M.

Paul Jason Robb is a synthesizer player, producer, songwriter and one of the founding members of the synthpop-freestyle band Information Society.

Frederick William Schneider III is an American singer, songwriter, arranger, and musician, best known as the frontman of the rock band The B-52's, of which he is a founding member.

Regina Ann "Gina" Schock is an American musician. She is best known as the drummer in the all-woman rock band The Go-Go's.

Chevel Shepherd is an American singer. She is the winner of season 15 of the American talent competition The Voice at the age of 16. On May 26, 2019, Shepherd performed God Bless America before the 103rd running of the Indianapolis 500.

Gwen Renée Stefani is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. She is a co-founder, lead vocalist, and the primary songwriter of the band No Doubt, whose singles include "Just a Girl", "Spiderwebs", and "Don't Speak", from their 1995 breakthrough studio album Tragic Kingdom, as well as "Hey Baby" and "It's My Life" from later albums.

Christopher Stein is the co-founder and guitarist of the new wave band Blondie. He is also a producer and performer for the classic soundtrack of the hip hop film, Wild Style, and writer of the soundtrack for the film Union City. as well as an accomplished photographer.

Julian Keith Strickland is an American singer-songwriter, composer, musician, multi-instrumentalist, and one of the founding members of The B-52s. He was born in Athens, Georgia.

Kasim Sulton is an American bass guitarist, keyboardist and vocalist. Best known for his work with Utopia, Sulton sang lead on 1980s "Set Me Free," Utopia's only top 40 hit in the United States. As a solo artist, Sulton hit the Canadian top 40 in 1982 with "Don't Break My Heart".

Greg Suran is the lead guitarist in the B-52s, a role he has performed since 2013. He replaced Keith Strickland on the road after Strickland announced in December 2012 that he would no longer be touring with the B-52s but would continue as a member of the band.

Kathryn Valentine is an American musician and songwriter. She made music history as a member of the Go-Go's, the first all-female band to have a #1 album in the U.S.

Sarine Voltage is an American musician, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer. She is best known for her work with San Francisco "now wave" hip-pop band The Power of 3, as well as industrial goth rockers, 'universal black'.

Aurelio Voltaire Hernández, professionally known as Aurelio Voltaire or simply as Voltaire, is a Cuban-American singer, songwriter, and musician. His professional name is his given middle name.

Martina Michèle Weymouth is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and author, best known as a founding member and bassist of the new wave group Talking Heads and its side project Tom Tom Club, which she co-founded with husband and Talking Heads drummer, Chris Frantz, and David Byrne. In 2002, Weymouth was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Talking Heads.

Jane Marie Genevieve Wiedlin is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and actress best known as the rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist of the new wave band the Go-Go's. Wiedlin has also had a solo musical career.

Cynthia Leigh Wilson is an American singer, and is one of the vocalists, songwriters and founding members of new wave rock band the B-52s. She is noted for her distinctive contralto voice and also plays percussion during live shows. Wilson is the younger sister of the late guitarist Ricky Wilson, who was also a founding member of the band.

Ricky Helton Wilson was an American musician best known as the original guitarist and founding member of rock band the B-52's. Born in Athens, Georgia, Wilson was the brother of fellow member Cindy Wilson. The B-52's were founded in 1976, when Ricky, his sister Cindy, Kate Pierson, Keith Strickland and Fred Schneider shared a tropical flaming volcano drink at a Chinese restaurant and, after an impromptu music session at the home of their friend, Owen Scott III, played for the first time at a Valentine's Day party for friends. Wilson's unusual guitar tunings were a large contribution to the band's quirky sound.