Talking Heads: 77
Encyclopedia
Talking Heads: 77 is the debut album by Talking Heads
. It peaked at #97 in the Billboard Pop Albums chart and the single "Psycho Killer
" made it to #92. In 2003, the album was ranked #290 on Rolling Stone
magazine's The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
list. In his 1995 book, The Alternative Music Almanac, Alan Cross placed it in the #5 spot on his 10 Classic Alternative Albums list.
Recording personnel
Singles
in the United Kingdom and United States and Philips Records
throughout continental Europe.
In 2005, it was re-released and remastered by Warner Music Group
on their Warner Bros.
/Sire Records
/Rhino Records labels in DualDisc
format with five bonus tracks on the CD side (see track listing above). The DVD-Audio
side includes both stereo and 5.1 surround high resolution (96 kHz/24bit) mixes, as well as a Dolby Digital
version and videos of the band performing "Pulled Up" and "I Feel It in My Heart." In Europe, it was released as a CD+DVDA two disc set rather than a single DualDisc. The reissue was produced by Andy Zax
with Talking Heads.
The album was re-released on vinyl on April 18, 2009 for Record Store Day
.
Talking Heads
Talking Heads were an American New Wave and avant-garde band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991. The band comprised David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth and Jerry Harrison...
. It peaked at #97 in the Billboard Pop Albums chart and the single "Psycho Killer
Psycho Killer
"Psycho Killer" is a song by American New Wave band Talking Heads from their 1977 album Talking Heads: 77, written by David Byrne, Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth. The band's "signature debut hit" features lyrics which seem to represent the thoughts of a serial killer. Allmusic calls it a...
" made it to #92. In 2003, the album was ranked #290 on Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine's The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
"The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" is the title of a 2003 special issue of American magazine Rolling Stone, and a related book published in 2005.Related news articles:...
list. In his 1995 book, The Alternative Music Almanac, Alan Cross placed it in the #5 spot on his 10 Classic Alternative Albums list.
Track listing
Personnel
Talking Heads- David ByrneDavid ByrneDavid Byrne may refer to:*David Byrne , musician and former Talking Heads frontman**David Byrne , his eponymous album*David Byrne , Irish footballer*David Byrne , English footballer...
– guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, vocals - Chris FrantzChris FrantzChris Frantz is an American musician and record producer. He was the drummer for both Talking Heads and the Tom Tom Club.-Career:...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person .... - Tina WeymouthTina WeymouthMartina Michèle "Tina" Weymouth is an American musician, best known as a founding member and bassist of the New Wave group Talking Heads and its side project Tom Tom Club .-Profile:Weymouth is of French heritage on her mother's side. Weymouth was a cheerleader in high school...
– bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Jerry HarrisonJerry HarrisonJerry Harrison is an American songwriter, musician and producer...
– guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, keyboards, vocals
Recording personnel
- Tony BongioviTony BongioviTony Bongiovi is a record producer and recording engineer with expertise in Electrical & Acoustical Engineering. He helped to remodel an old building in Manhattan—once a power plant for Edison, and later a television studio—into the Power Station recording studio in 1977.Bongiovi was born in the...
, Lance Quinn and Talking Heads – producersRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music... - Ed StasiumEd StasiumEd Stasium is an American record producer and engineer who has worked on albums by The Ramones, Talking Heads, The Smithereens and Living Colour.- History :Stasium first surfaced in 1970 fronting the band Brandywine, appearing on their sole LP Aged....
– engineerAudio engineeringAn audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including... - Joe Gastwirt – masteringAudio masteringMastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced...
Charts
Album| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... Pop Albums |
97 |
| UK Albums | 60 |
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | "Psycho Killer" | Billboard Pop Singles | 92 |
Release history
The album was released by Sire RecordsSire Records
Sire Records is an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group and distributed through Warner Bros. Records.-Beginnings:The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gottehrer, each investing ten thousand dollars into the new company. Its early releases as a...
in the United Kingdom and United States and Philips Records
Philips Records
Philips Records is a record label that was founded by Dutch electronics company Philips. It was started by "Philips Phonographische Industrie" in 1950. Recordings were made with popular artists of various nationalities and also with classical artists from Germany, France and Holland. Philips also...
throughout continental Europe.
In 2005, it was re-released and remastered by Warner Music Group
Warner Music Group
Warner Music Group is the third largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry, making it one of the big four record companies...
on their Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
/Sire Records
Sire Records
Sire Records is an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group and distributed through Warner Bros. Records.-Beginnings:The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gottehrer, each investing ten thousand dollars into the new company. Its early releases as a...
/Rhino Records labels in DualDisc
DualDisc
DualDisc was a type of double-sided optical disc product developed by a group of record companies including EMI Music, Universal Music Group, Sony/BMG Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group, and 5.1 Entertainment Group and later under the aegis of the Recording Industry Association of America...
format with five bonus tracks on the CD side (see track listing above). The DVD-Audio
DVD-Audio
DVD-Audio is a digital format for delivering high-fidelity audio content on a DVD. DVD-Audio is not intended to be a video delivery format and is not the same as video DVDs containing concert films or music videos....
side includes both stereo and 5.1 surround high resolution (96 kHz/24bit) mixes, as well as a Dolby Digital
Dolby Digital
Dolby Digital is the name for audio compression technologies developed by Dolby Laboratories. It was originally called Dolby Stereo Digital until 1994. Except for Dolby TrueHD, the audio compression is lossy. The first use of Dolby Digital was to provide digital sound in cinemas from 35mm film prints...
version and videos of the band performing "Pulled Up" and "I Feel It in My Heart." In Europe, it was released as a CD+DVDA two disc set rather than a single DualDisc. The reissue was produced by Andy Zax
Andy Zax
Andy Zax is a music historian and producer of CD boxed sets and reissues by Talking Heads, Rod Stewart, Echo & the Bunnymen, Television, Little Richard, Fats Domino, Judee Sill, John Cale, Nico, The Neon Philharmonic, Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band, The Sisters of Mercy,...
with Talking Heads.
The album was re-released on vinyl on April 18, 2009 for Record Store Day
Record Store Day
Record Store Day is an internationally celebrated day observed the third Saturday of April each year. Its purpose, as conceived by independent record store employee Chris Brown, is to celebrate the art of music...
.