The band emerged from a surrealist musical theatre troupe, The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo, that Elfman had led and written material for in the years previous.

The band experienced multiple line-up changes, with Leon Schneiderman, Dale Turner, Sam Phipps, Danny Elfman, Steve Bartek, and John "Vatos" Hernandez being the constant members for most of their history.

As a rock band, Oingo Boingo started as a ska and punk-influenced[6][7] new wave octet, achieving significant popularity in Southern California.

The group performed an eclectic repertoire, ranging from Cab Calloway covers to instrumentals in the style of Balinese gamelan and Russian ballet music and, later, original songs by Danny Elfman.

[10][11] In 1979, Danny Elfman reformed the group as a dedicated rock band, under the new name Oingo Boingo, at which point most existing members left.

Various reasons were given for the restart as a rock band, notably Danny's emerging musical interests, and reducing the need for transportation and set-up of multiple stage sets and props.

[12][13][7][14] The name Oingo Boingo was settled on in 1979, at which point their early song "I'm Afraid" appeared on the Rhino Records Los Angeles rock and new wave "up and coming" compilation, L.A.

Although the band's sound was termed as new wave, Oingo Boingo's use of exotic percussion, a three-piece horn section, unconventional scales and harmony, and surreal imagery was a genre-skewing combination.

In 1984, bassist Kerry Hatch and keyboardist Richard Gibbs departed to form the short-lived band Zuma II and Oingo Boingo went on temporary hiatus, although this was not known publicly at the time.

[15] Elfman used the 1984 hiatus as an opportunity to release a solo album, co-produced with Steve Bartek, with the remaining members of Oingo Boingo returning as session musicians.

Oingo Boingo continued to regularly perform live, most notably with annual Halloween concerts at Irvine Meadows and the Universal Amphitheatre.

Following a short hiatus in 1992, during which time Elfman was busy scoring films, the band returned in 1993 with an increasingly different, hard-rock musical direction, and debuted new material such as "Insanity", "Helpless" and the unreleased song "Did It There".

[19][20] The previously shelved album was completed with the new 5-piece line-up, including orchestral instrumentation, and several songs improvised in the studio for the first time in the band's history.

[22] The band embarked on a farewell tour in 1995, restoring the original horn trio, and reverting its name to Oingo Boingo, ending with a final Halloween performance at the Universal Amphitheatre.

For a period, John Avila and Johnny "Vatos" Hernandez continued to perform as Food for Feet and in the band Tito & Tarantula in Los Angeles.

Danny Elfman has regularly stated that there will not be an Oingo Boingo reunion, initially citing his worry that playing live would exacerbate his hearing loss.

Several members attended the meeting from across the band's changing line-ups, including Johnny "Vatos" Hernandez, founding keyboardist Richard Gibbs, John Avila, Carl Graves, and Sam "Sluggo" Phipps.

[29] Since Halloween 2005, former drummer Johnny "Vatos" Hernandez has regularly put together an Oingo Boingo tribute band, performing mainly throughout Southern California and Arizona, including the Grove of Anaheim.

[32] The tribute band is joined intermittently by former Oingo Boingo members such as Steve Bartek, Carl Graves, John Avila, and Sam "Sluggo" Phipps, while vocals are usually provided by singer Brendan McCreary.