Talking Heads was an American
rock band formed in 1974 in New York City
[ Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, retrieved November 23, 2008] and active until 1991. The band comprised
David Byrne,
Chris Frantz,
Tina Weymouth and
Jerry Harrison. Auxiliary musicians also frequently made appearances in concert and on the group's albums.
The
new wave musical style of Talking Heads combined elements of
punk rock,
avant-garde,
pop,
funk,
world music and
art rock. Frontman and songwriter David Byrne contributed whimsical, esoteric lyrics to the band's songs, and emphasized their showmanship through various multimedia projects and performances. Critic
Stephen Thomas Erlewine describes Talking Heads as being "one of the most critically acclaimed bands of the '80s, while managing to earn several pop hits."
In 2002, the band was inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Four of the band's albums appeared on
Rolling Stone magazine's 2003 list of
the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, and the
Channel 4 100 Greatest Albums poll listed one album (
Fear of Music) at number seventy-six. Their concert film
Stop Making Sense is widely regarded as one of the finest examples of the genre.
History
1974-1977: First years
thumb|220px|Talking Heads at Horseshoe Tavern, Toronto in 1978
David Byrne, Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth were alumni of the
Rhode Island School of Design in
Providence, Rhode Island. There Byrne and Frantz formed a band called "The Artistics" in 1974. Weymouth was Frantz's girlfriend and often provided the band with transportation. The Artistics dissolved within a year, and the three moved to New York, eventually sharing an apartment. Unable to find a bass player in New York City, Frantz encouraged Weymouth to learn to play bass by listening to
Suzi Quatro albums. They played their first gig as "Talking Heads" opening for the
Ramones at
CBGB on June 8, 1975.
In a later interview, Weymouth recalled how the group chose the name Talking Heads: "A friend had found the name in the
TV Guide, which explained the term used by TV studios to describe a head-and-shoulder shot of a person talking as 'all content, no action.' It fit."
Later in 1975, the trio recorded a series of demos for CBS, but the band was not signed to the label. In 1976, they added Jerry Harrison (
guitar,
keyboards,
vocals), formerly of
Jonathan Richman's band
The Modern Lovers. The group quickly drew a following and was signed to
Sire Records in 1977. The group released their first single, "
Love → Building on Fire" in February of that year.
Their first album,
Talking Heads: 77, which did not contain the earlier single, was released soon thereafter.
1978-1982: With Brian Eno
It was with their second album, 1978's
More Songs About Buildings and Food that the band began its long-term collaboration with producer
Brian Eno, who had previously worked with
Roxy Music,
David Bowie and
Robert Fripp; the title of Eno's 1977 song "King's Lead Hat" is an anagram of the band's name. Eno's unusual style meshed well with the group's artistic sensibilities, and they began to explore an increasingly diverse range of musical directions. This recording also established the band's long term recording studio relationship with the famous
Compass Point Studios in
Nassau, Bahamas. Though "
Psycho Killer", from the debut album, had been a minor hit, it was
More Songs... cover of
Al Green's "Take Me to the River" that broke Talking Heads into general public consciousness.
The experimentation continued with 1979's
Fear of Music, which flirted with the darker stylings of
post-punk rock. The single "
Life During Wartime" produced the catchphrase, "This ain't no party, this ain't no disco." 1980's
Remain in Light, heavily influenced by the
Afro-Beat of
Nigerian bandleader
Fela Kuti, to whose music Eno had introduced the band, explored African
polyrhythms, foreshadowing Byrne's later interest in
world music. In order to perform these more complex arrangements the band toured with an expanded group, first at the
Heatwave festival in August, and later in their concert film
Stop Making Sense. During this period,
Tina Weymouth and
Chris Frantz also formed a commercially successful splinter group, the hip-hop influenced
Tom Tom Club, and Harrison released his first solo record. Likewise, Byrne - in collaboration with Eno - released
My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, which incorporated world music, 'found' sounds, and included a number of other prominent international and post-punk musicians. All were released by Sire.
The
Remain in Light album's lead single, "
Once in a Lifetime," became a Top 20 hit in the UK but initially failed to make an impression upon its release in the band's own country. But it grew into a popular standard over the next few years on the strength of its
music video.
After releasing four albums in barely four years, the group went into hiatus and nearly three years passed before their next release, although Frantz and Weymouth continued to record with the Tom Tom Club. In the meantime, Talking Heads released a live album,
The Name of This Band Is Talking Heads, toured the US and Europe as an eight-piece group, and parted ways with Eno, who went on to produce albums with
U2.
1983-1991: Post–Brian Eno
1983 saw the release of
Speaking in Tongues, a commercial breakthrough that produced the band's only American Top 10 hit, "
Burning Down the House." Once again, a striking video was inescapable owing to its heavy rotation on
MTV. The following tour was documented in
Jonathan Demme's
Stop Making Sense, which generated another live album of the same name. The Speaking in Tongues tour would be their last.
Three more albums followed: 1985's
Little Creatures (which featured the prominent hit singles "
And She Was" and "
Road to Nowhere"), 1986's
True Stories (Talking Heads covering all the soundtrack songs of Byrne's
musical comedy film, in which the band also appeared), and 1988's
Naked. The sound of
Little Creatures and
True Stories was much more American pop-rock, while
Naked showed heavy African influence with polyrhythmic styles like those seen on
Remain in Light. During that time the group was falling increasingly under David Byrne's control, and after
Naked the band went on "hiatus".
It took until 1991 for an official announcement to be made that Talking Heads had broken up. A brief reunion occurred, however, later that year for "Sax and Violins," an original single that appeared on the soundtrack to
Wim Wenders'
Until the End of the World. Only Byrne and Harrison appear in the song's video, however, lending doubt to Frantz and Weymouth's participation on the track. During this breakup period, Byrne continued his solo career, releasing
Rei Momo in 1989 and
The Forest in 1991. This period also saw a revived flourish from both Tom Tom Club (
Boom Boom Chi Boom Boom and
Dark Sneak Love Action) and Harrison (the
Casual Gods album/band).
1992-present: Post break-up
Despite David Byrne's lack of interest in another album, Tina Weymouth, Chris Frantz, and Jerry Harrison reunited for a one-off album called
No Talking, Just Head under the name
The Heads in 1996. The album featured a number of vocalists, representing some of the most distinctive voices of '80s and '90s
alternative rock, including
Debbie Harry of
Blondie,
Johnette Napolitano of
Concrete Blonde,
Andy Partridge of
XTC,
Gordon Gano of
Violent Femmes,
Michael Hutchence of
INXS,
Ed Kowalczyk of
Live,
Shaun Ryder of
Happy Mondays,
Richard Hell, and
Maria McKee. The album was accompanied by a tour which featured Johnette Napolitano as the vocalist. Byrne took legal action against the rest of the band because of "The Heads" abbreviation—something he saw as "a pretty obvious attempt to cash in on the Talking Heads name."
Byrne has continued his solo career, while Harrison has become a producer of some note – the latter's résumé includes the
Violent Femmes'
The Blind Leading the Naked, the
Fine Young Cannibals'
The Raw and the Cooked,
General Public's
Rub It Better,
Crash Test Dummies'
God Shuffled His Feet,
Live's
Throwing Copper,
No Doubt's song "New" from
Return of Saturn, and most recently work by
The Black and White Years and
Kenny Wayne Shepherd. Frantz and Weymouth, who were married in 1977, had been recording on the side as
Tom Tom Club since 1981. Tom Tom Club's self-titled debut album sold almost as well as Talking Heads themselves, leading to the band appearing in
Stop Making Sense. They achieved several pop/rap hits, particularly in the UK. Their single "Genius of Love" has been sampled numerous times, notably on
old school hip hop classic "It's Nasty (Genius of Love)" by
Grandmaster Flash and on
Mariah Carey's 1995 hit "
Fantasy." They also have produced several artists, including
Happy Mondays and
Ziggy Marley. The Tom Tom Club has continued to record intermittently.
Reunion
The band played together on March 18, 2002, at the ceremony of their induction into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, however reuniting for a concert tour is unlikely.
David Byrne states: "We did have a lot of bad blood go down. That's one reason, and another is that musically we're just miles apart."
Weymouth has been critical of David Byrne, describing him as "a man incapable of returning friendship"
and that he doesn't "love" her, Frantz, and Harrison.
Discography
Influence
Talking Heads have been cited as influences by many artists, including
Kate Bush. The band
Radiohead took their name from the Talking Heads song "Radio Head" from the 1986 album
True Stories.
For their 1996 Halloween concert,
Phish covered
Remain in Light in its entirety for their second set annual "musical costume."
In a 2009 interview with
NME, British
post-punk band
White Lies stated Talking Heads as not only one of their biggest influences but also one of the few bands they ever listened to.
Modest Mouse are also heavily Talking Heads influenced by admission. The
Pixies song "
Dig for Fire" was a tribute to Talking Heads.
Living Colour are admitted devotees of Talking Heads, having covered "Memories Can't Wait" on their debut album, and made subsequent uses of TH material live, like 'Born Under Punches'.
