Tom Tom Club

Tom Tom Club
Tina Weymouth with Tom Tom Club, 1986
Background information
Origin	Greenwich, Connecticut
Genres	New wave, dance rock, synthpop, alternative rock, post-punk
Years active	1981–present
Labels	Sire/Reprise/Warner Bros., Rykodisc, Island, Fontana/PolyGram, Nacional
Associated acts	Talking Heads
Website	www.tomtomclub.com
Members	Chris Frantz Tina Weymouth Bruce Martin Victoria Clamp Pablo Martin
Past members	Adrian Belew Monte Browne Tyrone Downie Mark Roule Gary Pozner Steve Scales Steven Stanley Alex Weir Mystic Bowie Laura Weymouth Charles Pettigrew Wally Badarou

Tom Tom Club is an American new wave band founded in 1981 by husband-and-wife team Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz, both also known for being members of Talking Heads. Their best known hits include "Wordy Rappinghood," "Genius of Love," and a cover of The Drifters' "Under the Boardwalk," all released on their 1981 debut album Tom Tom Club.

Originally established as a side project from Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club comprised a loose aggregation of musicians, sound engineers, and artists of the Compass Point All Stars family, including Tina Weymouth's sisters and guitarist Adrian Belew, the latter of whom toured with Weymouth and Frantz in the expanded version of Talking Heads in 1980 and 1981. Named after the dancehall in the Bahamas where they rehearsed for the first time while on hiatus from Talking Heads in 1980, Tom Tom Club enjoyed early success in the dance club culture of the early 1980s with the hits "Genius of Love" and "Wordy Rappinghood," both of which were taken from their self-titled first album released on Sire and Warner Bros. Records in the US and Island Records elsewhere in 1981.

"Genius of Love" has been sampled or reinterpreted by many artists, including L'Trimm, Redman, Funkdoobiest, Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers in "Tumblin' Down," the 12" Remix, and Mariah Carey in her hit single "Fantasy." "It's Nasty" (1982) by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five was one of the early hip-hop versions of the song; however, it was re-recorded by a live band, thus interpolation and not sampling (which refers to using the actual original digital recording) as was common practice at the time. Another version, "Genius Rap" (1981), by Dr. Jeckyll & Mr. Hyde, was the first cover version. Max B also sampled "Genius of Love" in his single "Get Outta Jail."