Ricky Wilson (Ricky Helton Wilson, March 3, 1953-October 12, 1985) was the original guitarist in the rock band The B-52's, which he helped to form in 1976. He was the brother of fellow B-52's member Cindy Wilson. Ricky died from health complications related to AIDS.

Among guitar aficionados, Ricky's most salient feature must surely be his highly original approach to playing the instrument. Because at first The B-52's did not have a bass, 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.

His style has some resemblance with the British band The Shadows, possibly Syd Barrett's Lucifer Sam and other Batman-style sixties music. A blue Mosrite so modified is visible on the back cover of the B-52's self-titled first album.

Following his death, fellow B-52's member Keith Strickland (originally the drummer for The B-52's) learned how to play the guitar in a similar fashion to Ricky.

Filmography

• Athens, GA.: Inside/Out (1987), archive footage
• One Trick Pony (1980)