Song:Genius Of Love
Album:Tom Tom Club
Talking Heads bassist Tina Weymouth and drummer husband Chris Frantz formed Tom Tom Club as something to do when Talking Heads weren't touring. So they were very surprised when Genius Of Love topped the dance charts in 1981. It was a little embarrassing because there was a time when Tom Tom Club did better on the charts than Talking Heads. The Tom Tom Club came out of the Compass Point All Stars built in the Bahamas by Island Records owner Chris Blackwell. The idea was for CPAS to be a Jamaican version of studio groups like Muscle Shoals in Alabama or The Wrecking Crew in Los Angeles. The CPAS worked on albums by Grace Jones and Robert Palmer among others. So the 1981 debut album Tom Tom Club was recorded at CPAS featuring British guitarist Adrian Belew, Tina's three sisters on vocals and CPAS regulars Tyrone Downie on keyboards and Uziah "Sticky" Thompson on percussion. So obviously Tom Tom Club was supposed to have a Reggae vibe that Talking Heads didn't have. The big surprise was when the singles Wordy Rappinghood and Genius Of Love both topped the dance charts and Genius Of Love reached #31 on the Billboard Hot 100. It's also one of the most sampled songs in history, most notably by Mariah Carey on her 1995 hit Fantasy. The song was never intended to be that big. The Tom Tom Club CD is available on CD and it's also available in an expanded Deluxe Edition. Tom Tom Club have recorded occasionally usually when Talking Heads is on hiatus. But none of their albums have had the success of that first album and the single Genius Of Love. Here's the video of Genius Of Love by Tom Tom Club.
Love this song. Listen to it while a field service tech driving around Chicago. Really good, funky beat to it. And it was so positive.
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