Maps of Music

Talking Heads: 77 (1977)

Where the lyrics of Talking Heads: 77 take you, and where it was really made.

A producer reportedly handed the singer a knife during the first vocal session, and the singer then asked to be moved out of the room.

Key places

Sundragon Studios, where the album was recorded (1977)

Recording site Sundragon Studios — The album was recorded in April 1977 at Sundragon Studios in New York. Sessions at the same studio had begun in late 1976 with the single Love → Building on Fire. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Talking Heads: 77 is the debut album by the American rock band Talking Heads
• Released 16 September 1977 by Sire Records in the US and UK
• Philips Records released it across continental Europe
• Recorded in April 1977 at Sundragon Studios in New York
• Single "Psycho Killer" reached No. 92 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100

Background

• The trio was approached by several labels from its early days in 1975
• Columbia's Mark Spector invited a demo after seeing the band at CBGB
• Beserkley's Mathew Kaufman recorded a three-song demo, but the band felt it had to improve first
• Seymour Stein offered a contract in November 1975, but the band wanted a second guitarist and a keyboardist
• Lou Reed critiqued the act and offered to produce the debut; Jonny Podell offered a recording contract
• The band declined the deal after lawyer Alan Shulman advised against signing
• Jerry Harrison joined after an introduction by former Modern Lovers bassist Ernie Brooks
• The band signed with Sire on November 1 with an advance that let the trio make music full time

Recording

• Late 1976 sessions at Sundragon produced the track New Feeling and the single Love → Building on Fire
• In January 1977 the trio taught Harrison their songs, and the group became a foursome
• Tony Bongiovi and Lance Quinn acted as co-producers, with Ed Stasium as engineer
• Frantz says Stasium did most of the work on the album
• Bongiovi often asked for seven or eight takes, which the band found condescending
• "Psycho Killer" was the first song to have vocals recorded
• A European tour with the Ramones interrupted the sessions; the band played The Rock Garden in London on May 14
• After returning to the US on June 7, the band booked four days at ODO Studios for vocals, overdubs and mixing

Cover

• Cover art credited to David Byrne; photography by Mick Rock

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · pt.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Talking Heads were an American rock band formed in New York City in 1975.
• Byrne, Frantz, and Weymouth met at the Rhode Island School of Design, where they formed the Artistics in 1973.
• After moving to New York, they took the name Talking Heads, joined the New York punk scene, and recruited Jerry Harrison in January 1977.
• They signed to Sire Records in November 1976 and released their debut album Talking Heads: 77 in 1977.

Members

• David Byrne: lead vocals, guitar, keyboards, percussion (1975–1991, 2002).
• Chris Frantz: drums, percussion, backing vocals (1975–1991, 2002).
• Tina Weymouth: bass guitar, keyboards, backing vocals (1975–1991, 2002).
• Jerry Harrison: keyboards, guitar, backing vocals (1977–1991, 2002).
• Additional musicians including Adrian Belew, Bernie Worrell, and Nona Hendryx joined the band's shows and sessions in the 1980s.

Career

• The band collaborated with producer Brian Eno on More Songs About Buildings and Food (1978), Fear of Music (1979), and Remain in Light (1980).
• Their cover of Al Green's "Take Me to the River" was their first Billboard Top 30 hit.
• Speaking in Tongues (1983) brought mainstream commercial success, including the Top 10 hit "Burning Down the House".
• Stop Making Sense (1984), directed by Jonathan Demme, is often regarded as the greatest concert film of all time.
• Little Creatures (1985) was their best-selling studio album.
• Byrne left in 1991 and the band disbanded; they reunited briefly in 2002 for their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction.
• Four Talking Heads albums appeared on Rolling Stone's 2003 list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Robert Christgau of The Village Voice wrote in 1977 that the band set out to overcome the limits of a debut album
• Christgau said the band succeeded and that the record proves the Heads are punks after all
• State News called Talking Heads' sound true avant-garde art rock that deals with love and good vibes
• Record World called the lead single an r&b-based song with interesting steel drum work
• Mark Kirkeby of Record World described the album as a new wave record blending r&b, English rock and Asian influences

Reappraisal

• Spin described the genre in 2007 with the question punk goes to college
• Ian Gittins categorized the album as an art punk record
• Rolling Stone ranked the album No. 290 in 2003 among its 500 greatest albums and No. 291 in a 2012 revised list
• The album was included in 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die (2006)

Records

• The single Psycho Killer reached No. 92 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100
• The album was voted the year's seventh best album in The Village Voice Pazz & Jop critics' poll

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · pt.wikipedia.org · fr.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Lou Reed, after seeing several Talking Heads shows at CBGB, invited the trio to his New York apartment and critiqued the act
• Reed told David Byrne never to wear short sleeves on stage
• Frantz booked a concert for Jerry Harrison in Cambridge, Massachusetts before Harrison agreed to join
• Bongiovi allegedly never noticed the band recording when he was absent, as he was focused on building Power Station Studios
• The band's recording was interrupted by a European tour, during which John Cale, Brian Eno and Chris Thomas saw them at The Rock Garden

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · pt.wikipedia.org

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