"Bouncing off the Satellites" is the fourth studio album by American new wave band the B-52's, released on September 8, 1986, by Warner Bros. Records. Recorded in July 1985 and produced by Tony Mansfield, the album was completed after the death of founding member and guitarist Ricky Wilson from AIDS. The B-52's had gone on hiatus by the time of the album's release, and it took three years for the band to recover from Wilson's death and release their next album, Cosmic Thing.
Bouncing off the Satellites was recorded in July 1985. The song "Wig" was created after Warner Bros. asked the B-52's to write a hit for the album. The band had long had the title in mind and developed the song during a jam session. Additionally, a backward message in "Detour Thru Your Mind" features Fred Schneider saying, "I buried my parakeet in the backyard. Oh no, you're playing the record backwards. Watch out, you might ruin your needle," which plays during the last 30 seconds of the track.
