Talking Heads
Talking Heads were an American new wave band that formed in 1975 in New York City.[2] The band was composed of David Byrne (lead vocals, guitar), Chris Frantz (drums), Tina Weymouth (bass) and Jerry Harrison (keyboards, guitar). Described as "one of the most critically acclaimed bands of the '80s," Talking Heads helped to pioneer new wave music by combining elements of punk, art rock, funk, and world music with an anxious, clean-cut image.[6]
For other uses, see Talking Heads (disambiguation).
Talking Heads
The Artistics, Shrunken Heads, the Heads
- Providence, Rhode Island, U.S.[1]: 24
- New York City, U.S.
- 1975–1991
- 2002
Byrne, Frantz, and Weymouth met as freshmen at the Rhode Island School of Design, where Byrne and Frantz were part of a band called the Artistics.[1]: 24 The trio moved to New York City in 1975, adopted the name Talking Heads, joined the New York punk scene, and recruited Harrison to round out the band.
Their debut album, Talking Heads: 77, was released in 1977 to positive reviews.[8] They collaborated with the British producer Brian Eno on the acclaimed albums More Songs About Buildings and Food (1978), Fear of Music (1979), and Remain in Light (1980), which blended their art school sensibilities with influence from artists such as Parliament-Funkadelic and Fela Kuti.[6] From the early 1980s, they included additional musicians in their recording sessions and shows, including guitarist Adrian Belew, keyboardist Bernie Worrell, singer Nona Hendryx, and bassist Busta Jones.
Talking Heads reached their commercial peak in 1983 with the U.S. Top 10 hit "Burning Down the House" from the album Speaking in Tongues. In 1984, they released the concert film Stop Making Sense, directed by Jonathan Demme. For these performances, they were joined by Worrell, the guitarist Alex Weir, the percussionist Steve Scales and the singers Lynn Mabry and Ednah Holt.[6] In 1985, Talking Heads released their best-selling album, Little Creatures. They produced a soundtrack album for Byrne's film True Stories (1986), and released their final album, worldbeat-influenced Naked (1988), before disbanding in 1991. Without Byrne, the other band members performed under the name Shrunken Heads, and released an album, No Talking, Just Head, as the Heads in 1996.
In 2002, Talking Heads were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Four of their albums appeared in Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time in 2003, and three of their songs ("Psycho Killer", "Life During Wartime", and "Once in a Lifetime") were included among the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll.[9] Talking Heads were also number 64 on VH1's list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time".[10] In the 2011 update of Rolling Stone's "100 Greatest Artists of All Time", they were ranked number 100.[11]
History[edit]
1973–1977: Early years[edit]
In 1973, Rhode Island School of Design students David Byrne (guitar and vocals) and Chris Frantz (drums) formed a band, the Artistics.[1]: 28 [12] Fellow student Tina Weymouth, Frantz's girlfriend, often provided transportation. The Artistics dissolved the following year, and the three moved to New York City, eventually sharing a communal loft.[13] After they were unable to find a bassist, Weymouth took up the role. Frantz encouraged Weymouth to learn to play bass by listening to Suzi Quatro albums.[14] Byrne asked Weymouth to audition three times before she joined the band.[15]
Influence[edit]
AllMusic stated that Talking Heads, one of the most celebrated bands of the 1970s and 1980s,[6] by the time of their breakup "had recorded everything from art-funk to polyrhythmic worldbeat explorations and simple, melodic guitar pop".[6] Talking Heads' art pop innovations have had a long-lasting impact.[65] Along with other groups such as Devo, Ramones, and Blondie, they helped define the new wave genre in the United States.[66] Meanwhile, their more cosmopolitan hits like 1980's Remain in Light helped bring African rock to the western world.[67]
Talking Heads have been cited as an influence by many artists, including Eddie Vedder,[68] LCD Soundsystem,[69] Foals,[70] the Weeknd,[71] Vampire Weekend,[72] Primus,[73] Bell X1,[74] the 1975,[75] the Ting Tings,[76] Nelly Furtado,[77] Kesha,[78] St. Vincent,[79] Danny Brown,[80] Trent Reznor[81] and Franz Ferdinand.[82] Radiohead took their name from the 1986 Talking Heads song "Radio Head",[83] and cited Remain in Light as a critical influence on their 2000 album Kid A.[84] The Italian filmmaker and director Paolo Sorrentino, receiving the Oscar for his film La Grande Bellezza in 2014, thanked Talking Heads, among others, as his sources of inspiration.[85]