"Whip It" by DEVO - March 21st 80's Quest Song/Band of the Day

Disclaimer:  The only postable 1980's performance I could find of DEVO performing this song, unfortunately came with a big political statement at the front of it.  Not into politics....just move along to the clip.

"Whip It" was my favorite song in the 8th Grade.  It was played on the radio, it was definitely played at our Junior High School dances and one of the best songs to hop around like a mad person on the dance floor too.  I bought the 45-record and played this one all the time.  Does anyone hate the song, Whip It?  If so, I have not met them.  It is so infectious, and the lyrics are so "yell-able". Whip It is one of those good time songs!

Devo is a new wave band formed in 1972 in Akron, Ohio. Two Kent State University art students, Gerald Casale and Bob Lewis created satirical art pieces surround their idea of the concept of "de-evolution" which was based on the idea that man was not continuing to evolve, but rather, was regressing into a herd mentality. The name Devo was a variation of "de-evolution".

In 1970 Casale and Lewis met Mark Mothersbaugh who showed them a pamphlet titled "Jocko Homo Heavenbound" that included an illustration of a winged devil called D-EVOLUTION. This pamphlet would later inspire the Devo song "Jocko Homo".

On April 30, 1970 Richard Nixon announced the American invasion of Cambodia as part of the Vietnam War. On May 4, 1970 in Kent, Ohio Kent State University students staged a protest against the invasion. The National Guard was sent in and shot at unarmed students firing 67 rounds, killing 4 students and wounding nine others, some of whom became permanently paralyzed. Some of the students shot were part of the protest, yet others were only innocent bystanders who happened to be walking by. As a result there was a national uproar to the shootings, and four million students went on a student strike closing down hundreds of universities and high schools all over America. The Kent State shootings became the impetus for the formation of the band Devo.

The first incarnation of Devo consisting of Gerald Casale, his brother Bob Casale, Bob Lewis, Mark Mothersbaugh, Rod Reisman, and Fred Weber played one performance at the 1973 Kent State performing arts festival.

Devo’s more permanent line-up became a quartet consisting of Gerald Casale, Mark Mothersbaugh and their brothers (both named Bob): Bob Casale and Bob Mothersbaugh.
They produced a 10-minute prize-winning video clip called "The Truth About De-Evoution" which they entered into the Ann Arbor Film Festival in 1975. They started playing gigs. The same year they released a single "Mongoloid" whose b-side was the song "Jocko Homo". The band was very clever and had a wry sense of humor. They sang about America as thought it was a cheery toxic waste site. In concert Devo would often perform as characters such as Booji Boy and The Chinaman. The lineup of Devo was fluid and changing over the years.

In the summer of 1977 Devo released their first single, "Jocko Homo" on their own record label called Booji Boy Records. In 1978 they released an EP on Stiff Records called Be Stiff EP. It contained the single "Be Stiff" and "Mechanical Man". David Bowie and Iggy Pop became fans of the band. At the band’s New York debut at Max’s Kansas City, David Bowie introduced Devo at the beginning of their set. Bowie and Pop helped them get a recording contract with Warner Bros. Records.

Bowie had to back out of producing Devo’s debut album due to prior commitments, but Brian Eno stepped in to produce 1978’s Q: Are We Not Men? A: We are Devo! it featured re-recordings of some of their previous singles including "Mongoloid". The band’s second single was a syncopated cover of The Rolling Stone’s song "Satisfaction". The band went on tour in support of the album. On October 14, 1978 Devo got national exposure when they appear on the American sketch comedy show Saturday Night Lives and performed "Satisfaction" and "Jocko Homo".

In 1979 the band released their follow-up album, Duty Now for the Future. It was not as successful as their first album, but fans responded well, and Devo toured Japan for the first time that same year. In 1979 Devo received further national exposure when they played on American concert television show Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert performing the songs "Blockhead", the "Secret Agent Man" cover, and "Mongoloid".

Their next album 1980’s Freedom of Choice was Devo’s big breakthrough record led by the smash single, "Whip It" which reached the American Top 40. "Girl U Want" was another stand-out single. They created videos for both songs. The video for "Whip It" particularly received a lot of play on the burgeoning music video channel MTV. Devo also performed songs on numerous American television shows including Fridays (1980), Don Kirschner’s Rock Concert, American Bandstand and more. Around this time Devo would often perform wearing yellow jumpsuits and a red hat that resembled a series of flower pots that they became famous for.

The Australian pop television program Countdown also championed Devo from the start and was one of the first shows in the world to broadcast Devo’s videos. One of the first radio stations to play Devo’s songs outside of America was Sydney’s Double Jay (2JJ). As a result Devo was also very popular in Australia.

In 1981 the band released a cover single of Lee Dorsey’s hit "Working in the Coalmine" for the animated rock movie Heavy Metal. They also began appearing at shows dressed in leisure suits which they called "Utopian Boy Scout Uniforms" along with a plastic half wig reminiscent of John F. Kennedy’s hairstyle. In 1981 they released a live EP called New Traditionalists. The band toured to support the EP in an elaborate show complete with treadmills and a large Greek temple set. Around this time Devo sometimes performed as their own opening band under the guise of a Christian soft-rock group called Dove (the Band of Love). The name Dove is an anagram for Devo. In 1980 they appeared as Dove in the spoof Pray TV.

The next album 1982’s album Oh No!) did not produce hit singles (neither did New Traditionalists). It was a little darker than previous albums. On the tour for this album Devo performed in front of a 12-foot high rear-projection screen with synchronized video and blue screen effects.

They had their last hit in 1983 with a theme song they wrote for the soundtrack of the comedy movie "Doctor Detroit" starring comedian Dan Akroyd. They also contributed one other song "Luv-Luv" to the soundtrack.

Devo’s 6^th album, 1984’s Shout got mixed reviews. The album includes a cover of The Jimi Hendrix Experience’s hit "Are You Experienced" and an accompanying video was made. The album got mixed reviews and was a commercial failure. Warner Bros. dropped Devo from the label. There was no tour. The band went on hiatus for four years. During the hiatus, Mark Mothersbaugh worked composing and producing music for American television show Pee Wee’s Playhouse (CBS).

In 1988 Devo reunited. Drummer Alan Myers was replaced by David Kendrick formerly of the band Sparks. Their first project was a soundtrack for an uncommercially successful horror movie starring singer Toni Basil (see 80’s Quest post of January 22) called Slaughterhouse Rock (they had also previously collaborated with her on her 1982 album Word of Mouth). Then Devo released a new album called Total Devo. The album was not a commercial success and the critics panned it. The band did a tour of small clubs and halls which they recorded and released as a live album Now It Can Be Told (1987).

Their next album Smooth Noodle Maps (1989) failed to chart at all. They tried to launch a European tour, but it had to be cancelled due to poor ticket sales. The band had a falling out, but played two shows in 1991 before they broke up. The band would not release another album again for 20 years.

After the break up Mark Mothersbaugh started a music production studio called Mutato Muzika and brought Bob Mothersbaugh on board to work as a composer and Bob Casale to work as a record engineer. Mark became very successful composing and producing music for U.S. commercials and television shows including, Rugrats (on the Nickelodeon channel), and Liquid Television (MTV). He also scored created music for video games, among them Crash Bandicoot and Interstate ’82.

After the break up Gerald Casale started a career directing music videos for the likes of Rush, Silverchair and The Foo Fighters video for their song "I’ll Stick Around".

Devo reunited in 1991 for European tour through 30 cities. In 1995 they did a new recording of the song "Girl U Want" for the movie soundtrack to Tank Girl. In January 1996 they did a one-off show at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. They played several dates on the Lollapalooza tour in 1996 and were so well-received they came on as a headlining act for the 1997 portion of the tour.

Devo recorded more songs for various film soundtracks including a cover of Nine Inch Nails hit "Head Like A Hole" for the film Supercop. In 2000 Mark Mothersbaugh and Bob Casale produced an album (Heroes and Villains) of music inspired by the Cartoon Network’s animated hit show Powerpuff Girls. In 2005 Devo recorded a new version of "Whip It" for a Swiffer television commercial, which they later regretted doing. The band continued touring from 2005-2006 and returned to tour Europe in 2007.

In December 2007 Devo released their first new single since 1990 called "Watch Us Work It". It was featured in a television commercial for Dell computers. They played shows in America, Japan, Australia, France and Spain in the Summer of 2008. On October 17, 2008 Devo played a concert to promote Democratic presidential candidate, Barack Obama at the Akron Civic Theater in Ohio. They were joined by fellow Akron-area musicians The Black Keys and Chrissie Hynde from The Pretenders.

In March 2009 they performed 3 news songs "Don’t Shoot, I’m a Man!", "What We Do" and "Fresh" at the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas. The songs were due to appear on their next album. In April 2009 the band previewed the video for "Don’t Shoot, I’m a Man!" on their website. In March 2010 Devo appeared as the musical guest on the children’s televison program, Yo Gabba Gabba! In June 2010 the album Something for Everybody was finally released.

Devo has donated several objects to the Ohio Historical Society including an energy dome, jumpsuit, stickers and t-shirts. In a March 2011 interview Gerald Casale revealed that he is working on a script for a Devo musical that he hopes will appear on Broadway.

Devo has inspired many other bands who have covered their singles including Nirvana who did "Turnaround", Soundgarden, and Superchunk who covered "Girl U Want".

Lyrics:

Crack that whip
Give the past the slip
Step on a crack
Break your momma's back
When a problem comes along
You must whip it
Before the cream sits out too long
You must whip it
When something's going wrong
You must whip it

Now whip it
Into shape
Shape it up
Get straight
Go forward
Move ahead
Try to detect it
It's not too late
To whip it
Whip it good

When a good time turns around
You must whip it
You will never live it down
Unless you whip it
No one gets away
Until they whip it

I say whip it
Whip it good
I say whip it
Whip it good

Crack that whip
Give the past the slip
Step on a crack
Break your momma's back
When a problem comes along
You must whip it
Before the cream sits out too long
You must whip it
When something's going wrong
You must whip it

Now whip it
Into shape
Shape it up
Get straight
Go forward
Move ahead
Try to detect it
It's not too late
To whip it
Into shape
Shape it up
Get straight
Go forward
Move ahead
Try to detect it
It's not too late
To whip it
Whip it good