Artist:Talking Heads
Song:Burning Down the House
Album:The Best of Talking Heads
New Wave music pioneers Talking Heads were already well established when the 1983 single Burning Down the House became their only top ten pop hit. I guess that put an exclamation point on their run. Lead singer David Byrne and drummer Chris Frantz were attending the Rhode Island School of Design in 1973 when they decided to form the band The Artistics. Frantz's girlfriend Tina Weymouth drove them to gigs. After the band split up, they moved to New York. Frantz taught Tina to play bass. The name Talking Heads came from an article in an issue of TV Guide explaining the term. After Talking Heads signed with Sire Records, they added keyboardist Jerry Harrison from The Modern Lovers. Their debut album Talking Heads 77 featured the song Psycho Killer which listeners thought was about Son of Sam but Byrne denied that. He said it was an old song. The 1978 album Songs About Buildings and Food was Talking Heads' first album with producer Brian Eno of Roxy Music. They recorded three albums with Eno. And though they were successful, they still couldn't get that big hit single. The band went on hiatus. Frantz and Tina recorded as Tom Tom Club. Byrne recorded solo. Upon their return for the 1983 album Speaking in Tongues, Talking Heads parted ways with Eno and self produced the album. Burning Down the House reached #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 and the album was certified 2XPlatinum. This was the height of their commercial success. Talking Heads recorded three more albums and went on hiatus after the 1988 album Naked. Byrne left in 1991 and they split up. This budget comp is a good intro to their music. Byrne has had a successful solo career. The other three toured as Shrunken Heads and Tom Tom Club had success. Harrison has had a lot of success as a producer. They reunited for a 2002 show. But Byrne still wasn't getting along with Frantz and Tina. So that was it. Here's the video for Burning Down the House by Talking Heads.
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