Genius of Love
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| "Genius of Love" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
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| Single by Tom Tom Club | ||||
| from the album Tom Tom Club | ||||
| Released | September 6, 1981 | |||
| Format | Vinyl record (7") | |||
| Recorded | 1980 | |||
| Genre | Post-disco[1] | |||
| Length | 3:36 (7") 5:34 (LP) 7:24 (12") |
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| Label | Sire/Warner Bros. | |||
| Writer(s) | Adrian Belew, Chris Frantz, Steven Stanley, Tina Weymouth | |||
| Tom Tom Club singles chronology | ||||
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"Genius of Love" is a 1981 hit song by Tom Tom Club from their eponymous debut album.
Contents
Song
"Genius of Love" was Tom Tom Club's second single. Although the album had not been released in North America, over a hundred thousand copies of the single sold as imports from Island Records's UK, at which point Sire Records made a deal to release the single and the album in North America in late 1981.
Tom Tom Club appeared in the 1984 Talking Heads concert movie Stop Making Sense performing "Genius of Love," although this incarnation of the group did not include Tina Weymouth's sisters Laura and Lani. Director Jonathan Demme added "Genius of Love" to the concert primarily so that David Byrne could exit the stage and change into his oversized suit, and he assured Weymouth that the performance would not be included on the final cut of the film.[citation needed] When Weymouth saw an early screening of the film she was thus surprised and irritated to see "Genius of Love," but Demme refused to change anything before the official release.[citation needed]
The B-side of the "Genius of Love (Long Version)" 12" vinyl has a lesser-known underground hit called "Yella". On some pressings, the song is sometimes credited to Mr. Yellow and, on others, it is credited to Yella.
Chart performance
"Genius of Love" became a commercial success that performed better than Talking Heads' previous singles. Chris Frantz credited the song for convincing David Byrne to continue with Talking Heads.[2] On its release in November 1981, "Genius of Love" became a huge hit in the clubs and on the R&B and dance charts worldwide, soon earning the Tom Tom Club LP a Gold Sales Award in 1982. Like its predecessor "Wordy Rappinghood", it peaked at #1 in the U.S. Hot Dance Play chart, and also reached #2 on the Hot Soul Singles chart. It later went on to peak at #31 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in April 1982,[3] becoming the Tom Tom Club's only entry on the US Billboard Hot 100. Although primarily associated with the dance club culture of the early 1980s, the track was also a hit on the US Mainstream Rock chart, where it peaked at #24.
"Genius of Love" reached #65 in the UK Singles Chart, while both of the other two singles released from the Tom Tom Club LP achieved Top 30 placings in the UK. A song based on the keyboards-and-bass rhythm in "Genius of Love" was later used in a long-running TV advertising campaign in the UK by the Bird's desserts company between 1985 and 1992, the commercials featuring a spin on the psychedelic animation of the Tom Tom Club video using rudimentary CGI. In 2002, it was also used in a popular TV commercial for Kia Motors.
The single also became a club success all around Europe, and peaked at #28 in New Zealand, the first of three Top 40 hits for the band there.
Samples
The song is one of the most sampled rhythm tracks of the 1980s,[4] particularly within the rap/R&B/hip-hop genre, with dozens of unsolicited remixes and versions, most notably Dr. Jeckyl & Mr. Hyde's "Genius Rap" in 1981; Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five's "It's Nasty" in 1982; Mariah Carey's "Fantasy" in 1995, and The X-Ecutioners' "Genius of Love 2002" in 2002.
Other artists have incorporated "Genius of Love" into their works, including Public Enemy's "Leave This Off Your Fu*kin Charts", Redman's "Brick City Mashin'", Cam'ron's "Me, My Moms & Jimmy", 2nd II None's "Niggaz Trippin'", Fresh Kid Ice's "Roll Call", 2Pac's "High Speed", Seagram's "I Don't Give A Fuck", Busta Rhymes' "One", Ant Banks' "Roll 'Em Phat", P.M. Dawn's "Gotta Be... Movin' On Up", Annie's "Chewing Gum", Menajahtwa's "I Ain't Nasti", 50 Cent's "When I Get Out", Erick Sermon's "Genius E Dub", Mac Dre's "Chop that Ho", Dream Warriors' "And Now the Legacy Begins", T.I.'s "Down Like That", Mark Morrison's "Return of the Mack", Ice Cube's "Bop Gun (One Nation)", Warren G's "What's Love Got to Do with It" and the D-Influence Real Live Mix of Billie's "Girlfriend".
The song's musical bridge, which contains a repeated chant of "Bohannon", was one of several theme songs used for many years by a syndicated US talk radio program hosted by Jim Bohannon. However, the chant was a reference to record producer and disco pioneer Hamilton Bohannon.
In other media
The song has appeared in the films Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013), Shame (2011), and The Family (2013). It appears in the season 19 premiere of South Park named "Stunning and Brave" (2015). It also appears in the 10th episode of season 9 of Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Personnel
- Tina Weymouth: Vocals, Bass Guitar
- Chris Frantz: Vocals, Drum Machine
- Adrian Belew: Guitar
- Tyrone Downie: Synthesizers
- Uziah "Sticky" Thompson: Percussion
- Additional Backing Vocals. By The Weymouth Sisters
Music video
Rocky Morton and Annabel Jankel produced the animated music video based on the pop art work of James Rizzi, featured on the Tom Tom Club album cover. Frank Zappa, in an interview with MTV, mentioned that the music video was his favorite at the time, due to its being "animated and clever." [5]
Singles
- "Genius of Love" / "Lorelei" (Instrumental) UK, 1981 (7"/12")[6]
- "Genius of Love" / "Lorelei" (Instrumental) Netherlands, 1981 (7"/12")[6]
- "Genius of Love" / "Lorelei" (Instrumental) Germany, 1981 (7")[6]
- "Genius of Love" / "Lorelei" (Instrumental) USA, 1981 (7"/12")[6]
Charts
| Chart (1982) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[7] | 26 |
| New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[8] | 28 |
| UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[9] | 65 |
| US Billboard Hot 100[10] | 31 |
| US Hot Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[11] | 1 |
| US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[11] | 2 |
See also
References
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 8th Edition (Billboard Publications)
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eT8Ip5mpZ0
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Discografia - Sítio Oficial
- ↑ "Ultratop.be – Tom Tom Club – Genius of Love" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved May 21, 2013.
- ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Tom Tom Club – Genius of Love". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved May 21, 2013.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ "Tom Tom Club – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Tom Tom Club. Retrieved May 21, 2013.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
External links
| Preceded by
"You Can" / "Fire in My Heart" by Madleen Kane
|
Billboard Hot Dance Club Play number-one single (with "Wordy Rappinghood") January 16, 1982 |
Succeeded by "I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)" by Hall & Oates |
