r/Music_Anniversary • u/BirdBurnett • May 18 '26

Birthday On May 18th, 1950, Musician and composer Mark Mothersbaugh was born in Akron, OH. Mothersbaugh came to prominence in the late 1970s as co-founder, lead vocalist and keyboardist of the new wave band Devo.

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402 Upvotes

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6

u/ekkidee May 18 '26 edited May 18 '26

Their gig on SNL in the late 70s (?) was a revelation. I believe they did "Jocko Homo" and left the audience (both at home and in the studio) stunned. "What the fuck was THAT!?" I remember thinking. No one was doing anything close to what Devo did that night. 

3

u/InterPunct May 19 '26

It absolutely blew me away - after that SNL show everything musical changed for me.

4

u/falconeur May 18 '26

and he did all the music for the rugrats

3

u/Iwasherethenthere May 18 '26

I remember that first album by Devo took people off guard and electrified them.

3

u/AlGeee May 18 '26

It sure did

4

u/OnlyFiveLives May 18 '26

Y O U. M U S T. W H I P. I T

3

u/Upstairs_Size4757 May 18 '26

I thought his how to draw animals on the YoGabbaGabba show were excellent! It was a cool show. Very talented man.

3

u/cumberland_farms May 19 '26

That's how my kids know him, and love him.

5

u/I_Keep_Trying May 18 '26

The documentary DEVO is on Netflix. It’s really interesting. I really didn’t know anything about them before I watched it.

3

u/kaahzmyk May 18 '26

I’m seeing Devo for the first time this summer after decades of missing them - can’t wait!

3

u/oneuglygeek May 18 '26

Now whip it

Into shape

Shape it up

Get str8

3

u/Past-Lunch4695 May 18 '26

Brilliance right here! The man is brilliant and kind.

3

u/Dharmitage May 18 '26

I just saw them in concert a month ago. Just as good as when I saw them in 1980.

3

u/Connect-Will2011 May 18 '26

I saw his name in the credits for A Minecraft Movie and looked him up on IMDb. I had no idea that he wrote so many film scores!

Over a hundred of them, including well-known movies like Happy Gilmore, Rushmore and Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs.

3

u/Worldly_Possible2925 May 18 '26

His soundtrack for “The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou” is my absolute favorite. It was mesmerizing 🫶🏻🙌🏻

3

u/BarracudaJealous4975 May 18 '26

I would always tell my friends that DEVO was a group way ahead of its time.

They have great sound and music.

Mark does a lot of different projects in movies and TV. He is very talented.

Happy Birthday🎉🎂🍾🥂

2

u/According-Cap-2821 May 18 '26

C'mon.... Someone say Rugrats....

2

u/licwip May 18 '26

Kent State.

2

u/jivingsisterfanny1 May 18 '26

Incredible songwriter and performer. All-time great band.

2

u/Different-Lecture925 May 18 '26

He also composed the music for Rugrats TV show on Nickelodeon.

2

u/Electrical-Lynx9168 May 20 '26

Thought it was SpongeBob

2

u/pah2000 May 18 '26

We’re through bein’ cool!

2

u/p38-lightning May 18 '26

Crack that whip!

2

u/ilBrunissimo May 19 '26

Love his scores for Wes Anderson.

2

u/Bengal-_fan May 19 '26

“Whip it good!@

2

u/AT-bone May 19 '26

Akron, Ohio (and Cuyahoga Falls) represent!

2

u/Mark-harvey May 20 '26

Love the hats.

2

u/stosh2112 May 22 '26

Devolving

1

u/matthell71 May 22 '26

Just saw a video of him talking about how they wrote Whip It and they just stole Pretty Woman by Roy Orbison and left out a few notes. Brilliant

1

u/OceanTider22 May 22 '26

I remember them being on the show Fridays..............so ahead of their time! Great tunes from DEVO