Known for timeless hits such as "Genius Of Love" and "Wordy Rappinghood",
Tom Tom Club was formed by Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth of Talking Heads.
Tom Tom Club was an early inspiration to many seminal Hip Hop artists.
Album features guest appearances by Toots Hibbert and Bernie Worrell.
Record Store Day Color Vinyl Exclusive - June 12th
Tom Tom Club's classic album "The Good, the Bad, and the Funky" makes
its vinyl debut as an exclusive, limited-edition aqua marble color vinyl
for Record Store Day. The album was originally released only on CD in
2000 and was the band's fifth and last full-length studio album.
The album features Tom Tom Club's characteristic upbeat fusion of
electro and funk and includes versions of Donna Summer's "Love to Love
You Baby" and Lee Perry's "Soul Fire" with guest appearances from the
late reggae great Toots Hibbert and legendary funk keyboardist and
Talking Heads collaborator Bernie Worrell.
In addition to the vinyl release for Record Store Day, "The Good, the
Bad and the Funky" will be available for the first time on digital
platforms on July 16th.
Tom Tom Club was formed by Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth. Graduates
from the Rhode Island School of Design, they moved to New York City
where they founded Talking Heads as a trio with David Byrne. Chris
played drums, Tina played bass and David sang and played guitar. In
early 1981, Talking Heads took a hiatus after five years of touring
internationally and four studio albums. Chris and Tina began the Tom Tom
Club.
When legendary reggae producer Lee "Scratch" Perry failed to show up
for the scheduled recording sessions in the Bahamas, Chris Blackwell
gave the OK for Chris and Tina to produce the album themselves. Tom Tom
Club's first single was "Wordy Rappinghood," an original mix of
schoolyard rap over a funky groove that went to the top of the charts in
17 countries. "Wordy Rappinghood" turned out to be seminal in bringing
mainstream attention to the new spirit of hip-hop.
The group's second single was the remarkable "Genius of Love." Released
in the UK before North America, the track was bubbling up in the
underground with dozens of unsolicited remixes and versions - most
notably, Grandmaster Flash's "It's Nasty/Genius of Love" in 1982—a
massive hit in the clubs and on the R&B and dance charts, soon
earning the Tom Tom Club debut a Gold sales award. In 1995, Mariah Carey
hit #1 with "Fantasy," her version of "Genius of Love" featuring Ol'
Dirty Bastard. "Genius of Love" continues to be frequently sampled by
artists including Tupac Shakur and many others.
Frantz and Weymouth were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
and earlier this year Talking Heads received a GRAMMY Lifetime
Achievement Award. Chris Frantz continues to promote his internationally
best-selling memoir "Remain in Love", while Tina Weymouth works on
an upcoming book.
