How Two Members of Talking Heads Hit Big With a Side Project Single Indebted to Hip-Hop

They were known as the rhythm section for Talking Heads, one of the most dynamic bands in the world. And they also happened to be a married couple, one of the few who ever successfully coexisted while in a group together for a long stretch (they’re still married to this day).

In 1981, however, Tina Weymouth and Chris Wentz took on a different identity as Tom Tom Club. Under that name, they delivered the surprise hit single “Genius Of Love”, a forward-looking piece of music that would inspire homages for decades.

Heads on a Break

Talking Heads hit a peak with the 1980 album Remain In Light. The record took their experimental tendencies to new lengths, all while remaining uniquely catchy and captivating. Following a tour where the band expanded their lineup for a bigger sound on stage, they decided to take a little bit of a break.

Lead singer David Byrne announced to the other group members that he was going to do a solo album. Guitarist Jerry Harrison quickly announced that he was following suit. When bassist Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz went to the band’s label (Sire Records) to see if they could do an album together, they were told that two Talking Heads’ side projects were enough.

Undaunted, the pair turned to Chris Blackwell, the head of Island Records. Blackwell gave them the go-ahead to record a single. When he heard the results, a pastiche of hip-hop and dance music called “Wordy Rappinghood”, he told the duo to go make a full album. “Genius Of Love” was the next song they recorded as the follow-up single.

Stroke of “Genius”

Naming themselves Tom Tom Club after their home-away-from-home residence while making the album in the Bahamas, Frantz and Weymouth called in friends and family to help. Steven Stanley, engineer on Remain On Light, played keyboards and co-produced. Adrian Belew, who had just toured with Talking Heads, helped out on guitar.

Weymouth invited her sisters, Laura and Lani, to help her out with the vocals of “Genius Of Love”. Frantz created a beat based on the 1980 Zapp song “Mo’ Bounce To The Ounce”. Keyboard squeaks filled in the gaps around a funky bassline. The Weymouth sisters deadpanned rap-sung vocals. It was a wild mélange that drew in fans almost immediately.

In addition to “Genius Of Love” becoming a hit (peaking at No. 31 on the pop charts) on its own, it quickly became the foundation for many other songs. Rappers immediately began freestyling their own songs using that same beat. And, in 1995, Mariah Carey sampled it for her runaway No. 1 hit “Fantasy”.

Behind the Lyrics of “Genius Of Love”

Much like the music incorporates many elements, the lyrics of “Genius Of Love” go in a thousand different directions. In the beginning, it’s a straightforward paean to that special someone. “I’m in heaven,” Weymouth sings. “With my boyfriend, my laughing boyfriend/There’s no beginning and there is no end/Time isn’t present in that dimension.”

Later in the track, Tom Tom Club veers off into praising artists who influenced them, including Smokey Robinson, Bob Marley, Bootsy Collins, and Sly and Robbie. And then it’s back to praise: “He’s got a greater depth of feeling/He’s the genius of love.”

Incredibly, the Tom Tom Club album sold more than any previous Talking Heads record. Frantz and Weymouth have dusted off the group throughout the years, always with the same tone of innovation and irreverence set by the oft-imitated but never-duplicated “Genius Of Love”.

(Photo by Koh Hasebe/Shinko Music/Getty Images)