The One-Hit Wonder Band That Came From Talking Heads

Have you ever watched the concert film Stop Making Sense? If not, you totally should. It’s the gold standard when it comes to live band footage and performance. Every other concert film since released has studied it and tried to figure out what gives it its magnetism. Shoot, it’s still played in IMAX theaters around the globe.

Videos by American Songwriter

And one of the reasons for its long life is that the band featured in the film, Talking Heads, actually has another band buried within it. It’s like the toy Russian Nesting Doll of music groups. Let’s explore a bit of their history and their hit song here below.

[RELATED: Checking In With Those That Made It Happen on Anniversary of ‘Stop Making Sense’]

Talking Heads

Not only were Talking Heads a successful group, scoring a Top-10 hit and eight more tracks that were featured on the Billboard Hot 100, but the Rhode Island-born band, which enjoyed its peaks in the 1980s, included another popular band within it, too.

That’s right, Tom Tom Club, which featured Talking Heads members (and married couple) Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth. Known for their hit song “Genius of Love,” which peaked at No. 31 on the Hot 100 in 1981, Tom Tom Club dazzled. The tune, which was released on the their self-titled debut album, was also performed during Stop Making Sense. Check it out here below.

Frantz and Weymouth

The drummer and bass player for Talking Heads, Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth provided energy, rhythm, and largesse to the David Byrne-fronted rock outfit known for songs like “Psycho Killer” and “Burning Down the House.” But love couldn’t keep Frantz and Weymouth apart.

The two married in 1977, some two years after Byrne started Talking Heads. Together, the couple has two sons today. But they also have important songs, most especially “The Genius of Love,” which is a disco-like track meant to get listeners up on their feet and dancing. It also features a number of pop culture references, including lyrics about James Brown, Smokey Robinson, and Bob Marley. On the tune, Weymouth and Frantz sing between synth playing,

What you gonna do when you get out of jail?
I’m gonna have some fun
What do you consider fun?
Fun, natural fun

I’m in heaven
With my boyfriend, my laughing boyfriend
There’s no beginning and there is no end
Time isn’t present in that dimension

Final Thoughts

It’s rare to have a hit group. It’s even rarer to have a hit group within a hit group. That just goes to show you Byrne’s eye for talent and the creative prowess of the Talking Heads’ members. Check out Tom Tom Club’s timeless track “Genius Of Love” here below.

Photo by Jim Dyson/Getty Images