Genius of Love

Infobox Single
Name = Genius of Love


Released = 1981
Format = 7" single
12"
Recorded = 1980
Genre = Pop/Rock-New Wave
Length = 5:34 (7")
7:24 (12")
Label = Island
Writer = Adrian Belew, Chris Frantz, Steven Stanley, Tina Weymouth
Producer =
Reviews =
Artist = Tom Tom Club
from Album = Tom Tom Club
Last single =
This single =
Next single =

"Genius of Love" is a 1981 (see 1981 in music) song by Tom Tom Club from their eponymous debut album, "Tom Tom Club".

ong

"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.

"Genius of Love" was a huge hit all around, in the clubs and on the R&B and dance charts, soon earning the "Tom Tom Club" LP a Gold Sales Award in 1982. Despite its relatively low chart position in the United Kingdom, the song received a great deal of airplay on UK radio and became a club favourite in Britain, helped by the popularity of the accompanying video.

The song's narrator implies that her boyfriend is a "maven of funk mutation" and compares him to James Brown, Bob Marley, Smokey Robinson, Hamilton Bohannon, George Clinton, Bootsy Collins, Sly and Robbie, and Kurtis Blow.

The 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. 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.

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. It is assumed that this is really the Tom Tom Club using a pseudonym. This cover repeats the chorus: "You've got to have a strong heart to live in New York...".

amples

This song is one of the most sampled rhythm tracks in all of hip-hop with dozens of unsolicited remixes and versions, most notably Dr. Jeckyl & Mr. Hyde's "Genius Rap" in 1981; GrandMaster Flash & The Furious Five's "It's Nasty" in 1982; and Mariah Carey's "Fantasy" in 1995.
Some other artists who incorporated "Genius of Love" into their own musical creations are as follows: Redman's song "Brick City Mashin!," Cam'Ron's "Me, My Moms & Jimmy," 2nd II None's "Niggaz Trippin'," Fresh Kid Ice's "Roll Call," Tupac Shakur's "High Speed," Mark Morrison's "Return of the Mack," Busta Rhymes' "One," Ant Banks' "Roll 'Em Phat," P.M. Dawns' "Gotta Be... Movin' On Up," Annie's "Chewing Gum," Menajahtwa's "I Ain't Nasti," and "Genius E Dub" by Eric Sermon.

Music video

Rocky Morton and Annabel Jankel produced the animated music video based on the pop art work of James Rizzi, which took off from the cartoony style of the "Tom Tom Club" album cover.

ingles

* Genius of Love / Lorelei (Instrumental) UK, 1981 (7"/12")" [http://www.tomtomclub.net/discography/ Discografia - Sítio Oficial] "]
* Genius of Love / Lorelei (Instrumental) Netherlands, 1981 (7"/12")" [http://www.tomtomclub.net/discography/ Discografia - Sítio Oficial] "]
* Genius of Love / Lorelei (Instrumental) Germany, 1981 (7")" [http://www.tomtomclub.net/discography/ Discografia - Sítio Oficial] "]
* Genius of Love / Lorelei (Instrumental) USA, 1981 (7"/12")" [http://www.tomtomclub.net/discography/ Discografia - Sítio Oficial] "]

Charts

In the media

*The X-Ecutioners covered this song in 2002 in their song "Genius of Love 2002" from their "Built from Scratch" album with rapper Biz Markie.
*Played in a 2003 commercial for the Kia Spectra.
*The part where "Bohannon" is chanted is often used as a bumper for the Jim Bohannon show.

References

ee also

* Talking Heads
* Tina Weymouth
* Chris Frantz

External links

* [http://www.tomtomclub.net/discography/ Official Discography] by Tom Tom Club
* [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=33:by548qbcbtn4 Review] on Allmusic
* [http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=1095 SongFacts] http://lyricwiki.org/Tom_Tom_Club:Genius_Of_Love