David Byrne

American musician (born 1952)

For other people named David Byrne, see David Byrne (disambiguation).

David Byrne

Byrne in April 2018

Born|  (1952-05-14) May 14, 1952 (age 73)

Dumbarton, Dunbartonshire, Scotland

Citizenship|

* United Kingdom
* United States
* Ireland

Occupations|

* Singer
* songwriter
* musician
* record producer
* music theorist
* visual artist
* actor
* writer
* filmmaker

Years active| 1971–present
Spouse|

Adelle Lutz

(m. 1987; div. 2004)​

Children| 1
Musical career
Origin| Arbutus, Maryland, U.S.
Genres|

* Rock
* new wave
* art-punk
* post-punk
* art pop
* worldbeat
* electronic

Instruments|

* Vocals
* guitar
* keyboards

Labels|

* Matador
* Todo Mundo
* Luaka Bop
* Nonesuch
* Thrill Jockey
* Sire
* Warner Bros.

Formerly of| Talking Heads
Website| davidbyrne.com

Musical artist

Signature

David Byrne (/bɜːrn/; born May 14, 1952) is an American musician, writer, visual artist, and filmmaker. He was a founding member, principal songwriter, lead singer, and guitarist of the American new wave band Talking Heads.

Byrne has released solo recordings and worked with various media including film, photography, opera, fiction, and non-fiction. He has received an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, a Special Tony Award, and a Golden Globe Award, and he is an inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as part of Talking Heads.[1]

## Early life and education

[edit]

David Byrne was born on May 14, 1952 in Dumbarton, Dunbartonshire, Scotland,[2][3] the elder of two children born to Tom (from Lambhill, Glasgow) and Emma Byrne. Byrne's mother was Presbyterian and his father Catholic. Two years after his birth, the family moved to Canada, settling in Hamilton, Ontario. The family left Scotland in part because there were few jobs requiring his father's engineering skills and in part because of the tensions in the extended family caused by his parents' interfaith marriage. When Byrne was eight or nine years old they moved to Arbutus, Maryland, in the United States, where his father worked as an electronics engineer at Westinghouse Electric Corporation and his mother later became a teacher.[4][5] Byrne stated that he initially grew up speaking with a Scottish accent but adopted an American one in order to fit in at school. He later recalled "I felt like a bit of an outsider. But then I realized the world was made up of people who were all different. But we're all here."[6]

Before high school, Byrne already knew how to play the guitar, accordion, and violin. He was rejected from his middle school's choir because they said he was "off-key and too withdrawn". From a young age, he had a strong interest in music. His parents say that he would constantly play his phonograph from age three and he learned how to play the harmonica at age five.[7] His father used his electrical engineering skills to modify a reel-to-reel tape recorder so that Byrne could make multitrack recordings.[5]

Byrne graduated from Lansdowne High School in southwest Baltimore County, Maryland. He attended the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) in Providence, Rhode Island, during the 1970–71 term and the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore during the 1971–72 term before dropping out.

## Career

[edit]

### Early career: 1971–1974

[edit]

He started his musical career in a high school band called Revelation. Between 1971 and 1972, he was one half of a duo named Bizadi with Marc Kehoe. Their repertoire consisted mostly of songs such as "April Showers", "96 Tears", "Dancing on the Ceiling" and Frank Sinatra songs. He returned to Providence in 1973 and formed a band called the Artistics with fellow RISD student Chris Frantz.[8] The band dissolved in 1974. Byrne moved to New York City in May that year, and in September of that year, Frantz and his girlfriend Tina Weymouth followed suit. After Byrne and Frantz were unable to find a bass guitar player in New York for nearly two years, Weymouth learned to play the instrument.[9] While working day jobs in late 1974, they were contemplating a band.[citation needed]

### Talking Heads: 1975–1991

[edit]

Main article: Talking Heads

Byrne playing guitar with Talking Heads in May 1978

By January 1975, Talking Heads were practicing and playing together, while still working normal day jobs. They played their first gig in June.[10][11]

In May 1976, Byrne quit his day job, and the three-piece band signed to Sire Records in November of that year. Byrne was the youngest member of the band. Multi-instrumentalist Jerry Harrison, previously of The Modern Lovers, joined the band in 1977. The band released eight studio albums to critical acclaim and commercial success. Four albums achieved gold status (exceeding 500,000 in sales) and two others were certified double-platinum (exceeding two million in sales). Talking Heads were pioneers of the new wave music scene in the late 1970s and early 1980s with popular and creative music videos in regular rotation on MTV.

In 1988 the band quietly went on hiatus during which Byrne launched a solo career and the other members pursued their own projects. Talking Heads reunited in 1991 to record the single "Sax and Violins" and officially split in December 1991.

In 2002, Talking Heads was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, where they reunited to play four tracks: "Psycho Killer", "Burning Down the House", "Once In A Lifetime" and "Life During Wartime".[12]

### Solo album career: 1979–1981, 1989–present

[edit]

Byrne at London's Royal Festival Hall in April 2009

During his time in the band, David Byrne took on outside projects, collaborating with Brian Eno during 1979 and 1981 on the album My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, which attracted acclaim for its early use of sampling and found sounds. Following this record, Byrne focused his attention on Talking Heads. My Life in the Bush of Ghosts was re-released for its 25th anniversary in early 2006, with new bonus tracks. In keeping with the spirit of the original album, stems for two of the songs' component tracks were released under Creative Commons licenses and a remix contest website was launched.

Rei Momo (1989) was the first solo album by Byrne after leaving Talking Heads, and features mainly Afro-Cuban, Afro-Hispanic, and Brazilian song styles, including popular dances such as merengue, son cubano, samba, mambo, cumbia, cha-cha-chá, bomba and charanga. His third solo album, Uh-Oh (1992), featured a brass section and was driven by tracks such as "Girls on My Mind" and "The Cowboy Mambo (Hey Lookit Me Now)". His fourth solo album, David Byrne (1994), was a more proper rock record, with Byrne playing most of the instruments, leaving percussion for session musicians. "Angels" and "Back in the Box" were the two main singles released from the album. The first one entered the US Modern Rock Tracks chart, reaching No. 24. For his fifth studio effort, the emotional Feelings (1997), Byrne employed a brass orchestra called Black Cat Orchestra. His sixth, Look into the Eyeball (2001), continued the same musical exploration of Feelings, but was compiled of more upbeat tracks, like those found on Uh-Oh.

Grown Backwards (2004), released by Nonesuch Records, used orchestral string arrangements, and includes two operatic arias as well as a rework of X-Press 2 collaboration "Lazy". He also launched a North American and Australian tour with the Tosca Strings. This tour ended with Los Angeles, San Diego and New York shows in August 2005. He also collaborated with Selena on her 1995 album Dreaming of You with "God's Child (Baila Conmigo)".[13]

Byrne and Eno reunited for his eighth album Everything That Happens Will Happen Today (2008).[14] He assembled a band to tour worldwide for the album for a six-month period from late 2008 through early 2009 on the Songs of David Byrne and Brian Eno Tour.[15]

In 2012, he released a collaborative album with American singer-songwriter St. Vincent called Love This Giant. The album featured both Byrne and St. Vincent on vocals and guitar, backed by a brass section. To promote the album, both artists travelled throughout North America, Europe, and Australia on the Love This Giant Tour in 2012 and 2013, with each performing pieces from their career in the album's distinctive brass band style alongside those composed for the album.[16]

In January 2018, Byrne announced his first solo album in 14 years. American Utopia was released in March through Todo Mundo and Nonesuch Records. He also released the album's first single, "Everybody's Coming to My House", which he co-wrote with Eno.[17] The subsequent tour – which showcased songs from American Utopia alongside highlights from his Talking Heads and solo career to date – was described by NME as being perhaps "the most ambitious and impressive live show of all time", blurring the lines "between gig and theatre, poetry and dance".[18]

In June 2025, Byrne released a new lead single "Everybody Laughs" and announced his next solo album Who Is the Sky?, with all songs being arranged by Ghost Train Orchestra. The album is set to be released in September via Matador, with the Who Is the Sky? Tour starting the same month. The album will also feature St. Vincent, Hayley Williams, and Tom Skinner.[19][20]

### Work in theatre, film, and television: 1981–present

[edit]

In 1981, Byrne partnered with choreographer Twyla Tharp, scoring music he wrote that appeared on his album The Catherine Wheel for a ballet with the same name, prominently featuring unusual rhythms and lyrics. Productions of The Catherine Wheel appeared on Broadway that same year.

He was chiefly responsible for the stage design and choreography of the concert film Stop Making Sense (1984).

Byrne wrote the Dirty Dozen Brass Band-inspired score Music for "The Knee Plays", released in 1985, for Robert Wilson's vast five-act opera The Civil Wars: A Tree Is Best Measured When It Is Down.

He wrote, directed, and starred in True Stories (1986), a musical collage of discordant Americana for which he also produced most of the film's music. He was impressed by the experimental theatre that he saw in New York City in the 1970s and collaborated with several of its best-known representatives. He worked with Robert Wilson on "The Knee Plays" and "The Forest", and invited Spalding Gray (of The Wooster Group) to act in True Stories, while Meredith Monk provided a portion of the film's soundtrack.

Byrne also provided a soundtrack for JoAnne Akalaitis' film Dead End Kids (1986), made after a Mabou Mines theatre production. Byrne's artistic outlook has a great deal in common with the work of these artists.[21] The same year he also added "Loco de Amor" with Celia Cruz to Jonathan Demme's film Something Wild (1986).

His work has been extensively used in film soundtracks, most notably in collaboration with Ryuichi Sakamoto and Cong Su on Bernardo Bertolucci's The Last Emperor (1987), which won an Academy Award for Best Original Score.

Some of the music from Byrne's orchestral album The Forest was originally used in a Robert Wilson–directed theatre piece titled The Forest. The play premiered at the Theater der Freien Volksbühne, Berlin, in 1988. It received its New York premiere in December 1988 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM). The Forestry Maxi-single contained dance and industrial remixes of pieces from The Forest by Jack Dangers, Rudy Tambala, and Anthony Capel. Byrne released his soundtrack album in 1991.

Byrne also directed the documentary Île Aiye (1989) and the concert film of his 1992 Latin-tinged tour titled Between the Teeth (1994).

In Spite of Wishing and Wanting is a soundscape Byrne produced in 1999 for Belgian choreographer Wim Vandekeybus's dance company Ultima Vez.

In 2003, Byrne guest starred as himself on a season 14 episode of The Simpsons. Released the same year, Lead Us Not into Temptation included tracks and musical experiments from his score to film Young Adam (2003).

In late 2005, Byrne and Fatboy Slim began work on Here Lies Love, a disco opera or song cycle about the life of Imelda Marcos, the controversial former First Lady of the Philippines. Some music from this piece was debuted at Adelaide Festival of Arts in Australia in February 2006 and the following year at Carnegie Hall on 3 February 2007.

In 2008, Byrne released Big Love: Hymnal – his soundtrack to season two of Big Love, which aired in 2007. These two albums constituted the first releases on his independent record label Todo Mundo. Byrne and Brian Eno provided the soundtrack for the film Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010).[22]

In 2015, he organized Contemporary Color, two arena concerts in Brooklyn and Toronto, for which he brought in ten musical acts who teamed up with ten color guard groups. The concerts were made into a 2016 documentary film, directed by the Ross brothers, and produced by Byrne.[23]

He collaborated with Stanford University professor Mala Gaonkar in 2016 to co-create NEUROSOCIETY, a guided immersive theater performance.[24]

In October 2019, his American Utopia opened at the Hudson Theatre on Broadway.[25][26] Byrne appeared in comedian John Mulaney's children's musical comedy special John Mulaney & the Sack Lunch Bunch (2019), where he performed the song "Pay Attention!" His song "Tiny Apocalypse" was also featured as the special's end credits song.[27]

On February 29, 2020, after a 30-year absence, Byrne performed as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live with John Mulaney as host. Byrne performed "Once in a Lifetime" and "Toe Jam" with the cast of the Broadway show American Utopia and appears in the "Airport Sushi" sketch singing a parody of "Road to Nowhere". This was Byrne's third appearance on Saturday Night Live. He previously served as the musical guest as part of Talking Heads in 1979, and as a solo musical guest in 1989.[28][29]

In 2022, Byrne again collaborated with Mala Gaonkar on another immersive theater production based on his life,[30] "Theater of the Mind"[31] transforming a 15,000 square-foot warehouse in Denver, Colorado.[32]

### Other contributions: 1990–present

[edit]

Byrne performing at Austin City Limits in September 2008

Byrne has contributed songs to five AIDS benefit compilation albums produced by the Red Hot Organization: Red Hot + Blue: A Tribute to Cole Porter, Red Hot + Rio, Silencio=Muerte: Red Hot + Latin, Onda Sonora: Red Hot + Lisbon, and Offbeat: A Red Hot Soundtrip. He appeared as a guest vocalist/guitarist for 10,000 Maniacs during their MTV Unplugged concert, though the songs in which he is featured were cut from the following album. One of them, "Let the Mystery Be", appeared as the fourth track on 10,000 Maniacs' CD single "Few and Far Between".

On March 24, 1992, he performed with Richard Thompson at St. Ann & The Holy Trinity in Brooklyn Heights, New York. The concert was recorded and released as An Acoustic Evening.[33] Byrne worked with Latin superstar Selena in March 1995; writing, producing and singing a bilingual duet titled "God's Child (Baila Conmigo)". This became the last song Selena recorded before she was murdered on March 31, 1995. The song was included on the singer's posthumous album Dreaming of You.

In 1997, Byrne was the host of Sessions at West 54th during its second of three seasons and collaborated with members of Devo and Morcheeba to record the album Feelings. In 2001, a version of Byrne's single "Like Humans Do", edited to remove its marijuana reference, was selected by Microsoft as the sample music for Windows XP to demonstrate Windows Media Player.[34][35]

In 2002, Byrne co-wrote and provided vocals for "Lazy" by the English house duo X-Press 2, which reached No. 2 in the United Kingdom and number one on the US Dance Chart.[36] Byrne released an orchestral version on his 2004 album Grown Backwards.[37]

In September 2004, Byrne co-authored a CD collection and performed with Gilberto Gil at a benefit concert promoting the Creative Commons license.[38] In 2006, his singing was featured on "The Heart's a Lonely Hunter" on The Cosmic Game by Thievery Corporation. In 2007, he provided a cover of the Fiery Furnaces' song "Ex-Guru" for a compilation to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the founding of Thrill Jockey, a Chicago-based record label.

In April 2008, Byrne took part in the Paul Simon retrospective concert series at BAM performing "You Can Call Me Al" and "I Know What I Know" from Simon's Graceland album.[39] Later that year, Byrne and his production team turned the Battery Maritime Building, a 99-year-old ferry terminal in Manhattan, into a playable musical instrument.[40] The structure was connected electronically to a pipe organ and made playable for a piece called "Playing the Building".[41] This project was previously installed in Stockholm in 2005,[42] and later at the London Roundhouse in 2009. Byrne says that the point of the project was to allow people to experience art first hand, by creating music with the organ, rather than simply looking at it.[43] Also in 2008, he collaborated with the Brighton Port Authority, composing the music and singing the lyrics for "Toe Jam".

Byrne is featured on the tracks "Money" and "The People Tree", on N.A.S.A.'s 2009 album The Spirit of Apollo. In 2009, he also appeared on HIV/AIDS charity album Dark Was the Night for Red Hot Organization. He collaborated with Dirty Projectors on the song "Knotty Pine". In the same year, Byrne performed at the Bonnaroo Music Festival in Manchester, Tennessee. He also was a signator of a letter protesting the decision of the Toronto International Film Festival to choose Tel Aviv as the subject of its inaugural City-to-City Spotlight strand.[44]

In May 2011, Byrne contributed backing vocals to the Arcade Fire track "Speaking in Tongues" which appeared on the deluxe edition of their 2010 album The Suburbs.[45]

Jherek Bischoff's 2012 album Composed features Byrne on the track "Eyes". The same year, he also released a show recorded with Caetano Veloso in 2004 at New York City's Carnegie Hall (Live at Carnegie Hall).

In March 2013, he debuted a fully staged production of his 2010 concept album Here Lies Love at New York's Public Theater, directed by Tony Award-nominee Alex Timbers following its premiere at MoCA earlier in the year. That same month, he and Sakamoto released a re-recording of their 1994 collaboration "Psychedelic Afternoon" to raise money and awareness for children impacted by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.[46]

In May 2014, Byrne announced his involvement with Anna Calvi's EP, Strange Weather, collaborating with her on two songs: a cover of Keren Ann's "Strange Weather" and Connan Mockasin's "I'm the Man, That Will Find You".[47]

In August 2016, he was featured on "Snoopies" on the Kickstarter-funded album, And the Anonymous Nobody... by De La Soul.[48]

In 2022, he co-wrote and provided vocals on the song "This Is a Life" for the original soundtrack to the 2022 film Everything Everywhere All at Once, alongside the film's composers Son Lux and American singer Mitski.[49] Byrne performed the song with Son Lux at the 95th Academy Awards, with Stephanie Hsu providing vocals in place of Mitski.[50]

On July 20, 2023, the stage version of Here Lies Love made its Broadway debut.[51] In the leadup to the premiere, Broadway's musicians' union criticized the show for planning to use a pre-recorded soundtrack and no live musicians.[52] Local 802 of the American Federation of Musicians criticized this choice as "A direct attack on Broadway Audiences — and live music."[53] Statements from the creative team claiming that the decision was inspired by karaoke and that the show "does not believe in artistic gate-keepers [sic]"[54] attracted further criticism from union members, who accused Byrne of "denigrating" and "tossing aside" live musicians and likened his remarks to union busting.[55] Following this, the creative team for Here Lies Love announced that the show would employ twelve live musicians, including three actor-musicians.[56]

On April 19, 2024, Byrne released a cover of Paramore's Talking Heads-inspired 2017 song "Hard Times". This came after Paramore themselves contributed a cover of "Burning Down the House" to the Talking Heads tribute album Everyone's Getting Involved earlier that year. Both covers were released as A-side and B-side respectively on a limited edition twelve-inch single for Record Store Day 2024, for which Paramore were ambassadors.[57][58]

## Other work

[edit]

David Byrne co-founded the world-music record label Luaka Bop with Yale Evelev in 1990. It was originally created to release Latin American compilations, but it has grown to include music from Cuba, Africa, the Far East and beyond, releasing the work of artists such as Cornershop, Os Mutantes, Los De Abajo, Jim White, Zap Mama, Tom Zé, Los Amigos Invisibles, and King Changó.[59][60]

In 2005, he initiated his own internet radio station, Radio David Byrne.[61] Each month, Byrne posts a playlist of music he likes, linked by themes or genres. Byrne's playlists have included African popular music, country music classics, vox humana, classical opera and film scores from Italian movies.

He serves on the board of directors of SoundExchange, an organization designated by the United States Congress to collect and distribute digital performance royalties for sound recordings.[62]

In 2006, Byrne released Arboretum, a sketchbook facsimile of his Tree Drawings, published by McSweeney's. Byrne is a visual artist whose work has been shown in contemporary art galleries and museums around since the 1990s. Represented by the Pace/MacGill Gallery in New York. In 2010 his original artwork was in the exhibition The Record: Contemporary Art and Vinyl at the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University.[63]

### TED Talks

[edit]

David Byrne has also been a speaker at the TED conferences.[64] In June 2010, he spoke at the TED conference about the effects of architecture on music.[65][66] Later in October 2010, he performed a hit from Talking Heads' 1988 album Naked titled "(Nothing But) Flowers" along with Thomas Dolby and string quartet Ethel-the TED2010 house band.[67]

## Personal life

[edit]

Although a resident of the United States since childhood, Byrne was solely a British citizen until 2012, when he became a dual citizen of the United Kingdom and the United States.[68][69] He has also held Irish citizenship since 2020.[70] Speaking of his Scottish origins in a 2014 interview with The Evening Standard, Byrne stated "I have lived in the States pretty much my whole life, but from my parents and everything, there's still an affinity to maybe a Scottish sense of humour, and some of the attitudes that go with that." During the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, Byrne expressed his preference for Scotland to remain part of the United Kingdom.[71]

He lives in New York City. His father, Thomas, died in October 2013. His mother, Emma, died in June 2014.[72]

Byrne describes himself as on the autism spectrum, but has not been professionally diagnosed. In a 2020 interview on Amy Schumer's podcast 3 Girls, 1 Keith, he said that he felt that his condition was a superpower as it allows him to hyperfocus on his creative pursuits.[73] In 2012, he said that he felt that music was his way of communicating when he could not do it face to face because of his autism.[74]

### Relationships

[edit]

Byrne had a brief relationship with Toni Basil in 1981[75] and he dated Twyla Tharp between 1981 and 1982.[75] While visiting Japan in 1982,[76] Byrne met costume designer Adelle Lutz, and they married in 1987.[77] They have a daughter, Malu Abeni Valentine Byrne, born in 1989, and a grandson born in 2018.[78][79] Byrne and Lutz divorced in 2004.[80] After his divorce, he became romantically involved with the art curator and Gagosian Gallery sales director Louise Neri.[81] He also had a relationship with the artist Cindy Sherman from 2007 to 2011.[82] As of 2025, Byrne is in a relationship with writer and hedge fund manager Mala Gaonkar.[83]

### Cycling

[edit]

Byrne is known for his activism in support of increased cycling and for having used a bike as his main means of transport throughout his life, especially cycling around New York.[84] In Los Angeles, Byrne drives a Citroën DS, but in New York, he does not drive a car.[85][86]

A bike rack designed by Byrne outside the Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University

He says that he began cycling while he was in high school and returned to it as an adult in the late 1970s. He likes the freedom and exhilaration cycling gives him. He has written widely on cycling, including a 2009 book, Bicycle Diaries.[87] In August 2009, Byrne auctioned his Montague folding bike to raise money for the London Cycling Campaign.

In 2008, Byrne designed a series of bicycle parking racks in the form of image outlines corresponding to the areas in which they were located, such as a dollar sign for Wall Street and an electric guitar in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Byrne worked with a manufacturer who constructed the racks in exchange for the right to sell them later as art. The racks remained on the streets for about a year.[88]

Two bike racks constructed from the Byrne Bike Rack Alphabet, a system of modular letter segments that can be combined to form various words, remain installed at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.[89]

He arrived at the 2023 Met Gala on a Budnitz single speed bike.[90]

## Discography and other works

[edit]

### Studio albums with Talking Heads

[edit]

Further information: Talking Heads and Talking Heads discography

* Talking Heads: 77 (1977)
* More Songs About Buildings and Food (1978)
* Fear of Music (1979)
* Remain in Light (1980)
* Speaking in Tongues (1983)
* Little Creatures (1985)
* True Stories (1986)
* Naked (1988)

### Solo studio albums and collaborations

[edit]

Main article: David Byrne discography

* My Life in the Bush of Ghosts (1981) (with Brian Eno)
* Rei Momo (1989)
* Uh-Oh (1992)
* David Byrne (1994)
* Feelings (1997)
* Look into the Eyeball (2001)
* Grown Backwards (2004)
* Everything That Happens Will Happen Today (2008) (with Brian Eno)
* Love This Giant (2012) (with St. Vincent)
* American Utopia (2018)
* Who Is the Sky? (2025) (with Ghost Train Orchestra)

### Soundtracks and music for theater

[edit]

Year  | Album details  | Peak chart positions  | Notes

|
|
|

US | UK
1981  | The Catherine Wheel

* Released: November 1981
* Labels: Sire

| 104  | —  | Music for the 1981 Twyla Tharp dance production The Catherine Wheel.
1985  | Music for "The Knee Plays"

* Released: May 1985
* Labels: ECM

| 141  | —  | Music for Philip Glass and Robert Wilson's play The Civil Wars: A Tree Is Best Measured When It Is Down. Re-released as The Knee Plays in 2007.
1986  | Sounds from True Stories

* Released: 1986
* Labels: Sire

| —  | —  | Soundtrack to the film True Stories.
1987  | The Last Emperor

* Released: 1987
* Labels: Virgin

| 152  | —  | Score to the film The Last Emperor, composed with Ryuichi Sakamoto and Cong Su.
1991  | The Forest

* Released: June 1991
* Labels: Luaka Bop/Warner Bros.

| —  | —  | Music for the 1988 Robert Wilson theatre piece The Forest.
1999  | Your Action World

* Released: January 1, 1999
* Labels: Self-released

| —  | —  | Music for Byrne's art presentation of Your Action World.
1999  | In Spite of Wishing and Wanting

* Released: 1999
* Labels: Self-released

| —  | —  | Music for the Ultima Vez dance production In Spite of Wishing and Wanting.
2003  | E.E.E.I. (Envisioning Emotional Epistemological Information)

* Released: July 2, 2003
* Labels: Self-released

| —  | —  | Music for Byrne's speaking tour and PowerPoint presentation.
2003  | Lead Us Not into Temptation

* Released: September 30, 2003
* Labels: Thrill Jockey

| —  | —  | Soundtrack to the film Young Adam.
2008  | Big Love: Hymnal

* Released: August 19, 2008
* Labels: Todo Mundo/HBO/Playtone

| —  | —  | Soundtrack to the second season of Big Love.
2010  | Here Lies Love

* Released: April 6, 2010
* Labels: Todomundo/Nonesuch

| 96  | 76  | With Fatboy Slim. A disco song cycle occasionally given staged performances.
2019  | American Utopia on Broadway Original Cast Recording

* Released: October 25, 2019
* Labels: Nonesuch

| —  | —  | Original cast recording of the Broadway production of American Utopia.

* "—" denotes albums that were released but did not chart, albums not released in a particular territory, or chart information is not available.

### Film and television

[edit]

Concert films

Year  | Title  | Role  | Notes

|
|
|

1984 | Stop Making Sense | Himself | Concert film from Talking Heads tour; also composer
1992 | Between the Teeth – Live | Himself | VHS release; also composer
2004 | David Byrne Live at Union Chapel | Himself |
2010 | Ride, Rise, Roar | Himself | Concert documentary[91]
2020 | American Utopia | Himself |

Other film and television

Year  | Title  | Role  | Notes

|
|
|

1979 | Saturday Night Live | Himself | Episode: "Cicely Tyson/Talking Heads"
1986 | True Stories | The Narrator | Feature film; also director, writer, composer
1987 | The Last Emperor | — | Feature film; composer
1988 | Married to the Mob | — | Feature film; composer
1989 | Heavy Petting | — | Documentary; interviewed subject
1989 | Ile Aiye (The House of Life) | — | Documentary; composer
1989 | Saturday Night Live | Himself | Episode: "Woody Harrelson/David Byrne"
1995 | Space Ghost Coast to Coast | Himself | Episode: "Fire Drill"
2003 | Young Adam | — | Feature film; composer
2003, 2012 | The Simpsons | Himself (voice) | Episodes: "Dude, Where's My Ranch?", "How I Wet Your Mother"
2007 | Big Love | — | 12 episodes; composer
2011 | This Must Be the Place | Himself | Feature film
2016 | Contemporary Color | — | Feature film; composer
2019 | John Mulaney & the Sack Lunch Bunch | Himself | Children's musical comedy special
2020 | Saturday Night Live | Himself | Episode: "John Mulaney/David Byrne"
2025 | Étoile | Himself | (S01:E05) "The Rat"

## Awards and nominations

[edit]

Main article: List of awards and nominations received by David Byrne

## Bibliography

[edit]

Sources:[92]

* True Stories (1986)
* Preface for Occupied Territory Archived 26 October 2019 at the Wayback Machine by Lynne Cohen, Aperture Foundation (1987)
* Strange Ritual, Chronicle Books (1995)
* Your Action World (1999)
* The New Sins (Los Nuevos Pecados) (2001)
* David Byrne Asks You: What Is It? Smart Art Press (2002)
* Envisioning Emotional Epistemological Information with DVD (2003)
* Arboretum (2006)
* Bicycle Diaries (2009)
* How Music Works (2012)
* American Utopia (2020)[93]
* A History of the World (in Dingbats): Drawings & Words (2022)

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Talking Heads". Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
2. ^ Tam, Leo Nardo. "The Dumbarton Road to Nowhere". Retrieved December 21, 2012. "one of Scotland's most famous expats"
3. ^ Grant, Richard (March 16, 2009). "David Byrne: stay hungry". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved December 21, 2012. "born in Dumbarton, Scotland (a point of pride, like his British passport)"
4. ^ Dunn, Jancee (August 11, 1994). "Q&A: David Byrne". Rolling Stone. "I think a lot of places I lived – Glasgow; Hamilton, Ontario; and Baltimore – at the time were all industrial towns."
5. ^ a b "BBC Radio 4 – Desert Island Discs, David Byrne". BBC. Retrieved November 23, 2018.
6. ^ "2020 Great Immigrants Recipient". Retrieved October 12, 2022.
7. ^ "Rock's Renaissance Man". Time. 27 October 1986. Archived from the original on 15 January 2008. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
8. ^ Gittins, Ian, Talking Heads: Once in a Lifetime : the Stories Behind Every Song, Hal Leonard Corporation, 2004, p. 140 ISBN 0-634-08033-4, ISBN 978-0-634-08033-3.
9. ^ Courogen, Carrie (September 15, 2017). "40 Years Later, Talking Heads' Most Valuable Member Is Still Its Most Under-Recognized". Paper. Archived from the original on July 15, 2022. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
10. ^ Isola, Gregory (March 1997). "Tina Talks Heads, Tom Toms, and How to Succeed at Bass Without Really Trying". Bass Player. Archived from the original on February 10, 2009. Retrieved May 15, 2013.
11. ^ Talking Heads Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Retrieved 15 May 2013
12. ^ "2002 Induction Ceremony". Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. Retrieved May 15, 2013.
13. ^ "God's Child (Baila Conmigo)". Discogs. Retrieved January 22, 2019.
14. ^ "Tour Dates for David Byrne – Songs of David Byrne and Brian Eno". David Byrne. August 4, 2008. Archived from the original on August 22, 2008. Retrieved January 11, 2010.
15. ^ "DavidByrne.com – Tours". March 16, 2009. Archived from the original on March 16, 2009.
16. ^ "Exclusive: Byrne & Clark Go Indie". The Daily Beast. August 23, 2012. Retrieved February 15, 2022.
17. ^ "David Byrne's New Album, American Utopia, Due March 9 on Todomundo / Nonesuch Records". Nonesuch Records. January 8, 2018.
18. ^ "David Byrne's American Utopia tour might be the most ambitious and impressive live show of all time". NME. June 15, 2018.
19. ^ Aswed, Jem (June 10, 2025). "David Byrne Announces New Album, 'Who Is the Sky?', and World Tour". Variety. Retrieved June 10, 2025.
20. ^ Corcoran, Nina (June 10, 2025). "David Byrne Announces Tour and New Album, Shares Video for New Song". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 16, 2025.
21. ^ Steenstra, Sytze (2010). Song and Circumstance. New York and London: Continuum Books. pp. 93–137\. ISBN 978-08264-4168-3.
22. ^ Legel, Laremy (23 September 2010). "Review: Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps". Film.com. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013.
23. ^ "About". Contemporary Color. Retrieved September 2, 2018.
24. ^ THE MAKERS SERIES DAVID BYRNE AND MALA GAONKAR Stanford Arts. Access February 9, 2023.
25. ^ "broadway-production". ibdb. Retrieved October 20, 2019.
26. ^ Aswad, Jem (October 20, 2019). "Broadway Review: David Byrne's 'American Utopia'". Variety. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
27. ^ "Behind John Mulaney's 24-hour race to get David Byrne for a 'Sack Lunch Bunch' cameo". EW.com. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
28. ^ "'SNL': David Byrne Makes a Triumphant Return After Over 30 Years With Talking Heads Classic". Music. March 2020. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
29. ^ "David Byrne To Return To 'Saturday Night Live' After 31 Years". JamBase. February 6, 2020. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
30. ^ "Theater of the Mind" Invites Audiences to Revisit—and Rethink—Their Past The New Yorker. Access February 9, 2023.
31. ^ Take a Trip Through David Byrne's Mind Smithsonian Magazine. Access February 9, 2023.
32. ^ "Radiolab: The Theater of David Byrne's Mind on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
33. ^ "Richard Thompson & David Byrne – 24 March 1992: New York". Archive.today. April 19, 2015. Archived from the original on April 19, 2015. Retrieved November 23, 2018.
34. ^ David Byrne to Provide Promotional Music for Windows XP: "Like Humans Do" to Give Music Fans a Taste of the Digital Music Experience in Windows XP Archived 12 February 2007 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 11 January 2010.
35. ^ You May Find Yourself On Windows XP Forbes.com by Davide Dukcevich, 21 August 2001. Retrieved 11 January 2010.
36. ^ Smith, Jon (April 21, 2002). "Single Review: X-Press 2, David Byrne – Lazy". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on December 1, 2020. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
37. ^ Lynskey, Dorian (March 12, 2004). "David Byrne, Grown Backwards". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved March 10, 2025.
38. ^ "WIRED Concert and CD: A Study in Collaboration". Creative Commons. September 28, 2004. Retrieved April 18, 2020.
39. ^ "David Byrne joins Paul Simon on stage in New York". NME. Archived from the original on 22 June 2008. Retrieved 14 April 2008., NME. Retrieved 11 January 2010.
40. ^ Thill, Scott (May 12, 2008). "David Byrne Converts Building into Giant Instrument". Wired.com. Advance Publications. Archived from the original on May 19, 2008. Retrieved January 11, 2010.
41. ^ Kennedy, Randy (May 30, 2008). "David Byrne's New Band, With Architectural Solos". The New York Times. Retrieved May 30, 2008.
42. ^ "David Byrne Playing the Building". October 8, 2005. Archived from the original on July 29, 2014. Retrieved January 11, 2010.
43. ^ Baiker, Brian (2 June 2008). "A Building for a Song". Newsweek. Archived from the original on 2 August 2008. Retrieved 1 November 2010.
44. ^ Toronto film festival hit by protest over Tel Aviv strand by Ben Walters, 7 September 2009. Retrieved 11 January 2010.
45. ^ Cragg, Michael (May 24, 2011). "Arcade Fire feat David Byrne – Speaking in Tongues". The Guardian. London.
46. ^ Mineo, Mike (March 12, 2013). "Ryuichi Sakamoto + David Byrne – "Psychedelic Afternoon"". Obscure Sound. Archived from the original on February 1, 2016. Retrieved February 1, 2016.
47. ^ "Anna Calvi Announces 'Strange Weather' EP, Listen to 'Papi Pacify' Cover". Domino. May 13, 2014. Retrieved May 13, 2014.
48. ^ Sendra, Tim (August 2016). "And the Anonymous Nobody". AllMusic. Retrieved November 23, 2016.
49. ^ Krol, Charlotte (February 24, 2022). "André 3000, Mitski and more to feature on 'Everything Everywhere All At Once' soundtrack". NME. Archived from the original on April 10, 2022. Retrieved April 10, 2022.
50. ^ Denise Petski, Anthony D'Alessandro. "Oscars: David Byrne, Stephanie Hsu & Son Lux To Perform "This Is A Life" During Ceremony". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on March 5, 2023. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
51. ^ "David Byrne & Fatboy Slim Disco Musical 'Here Lies Love' Heading To Broadway". January 12, 2023.
52. ^ Paulson, Michael (May 30, 2023). "Broadway Musicians Object to David Byrne's 'Here Lies Love'". The New York Times. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
53. ^ Gagliardi, Tino (May 30, 2023). "A direct attack on Broadway audiences — and live music". Retrieved May 31, 2023.
54. ^ Here Lies Love (May 30, 2023). "An update on the musical genesis of Here Lies Love". Instagram. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
55. ^ Culwell-Block, Logan (May 31, 2023). "Musicians Union Responds After Here Lies Love Characterizes Them as 'Artistic Gatekeepers'". Playbill. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
56. ^ Culwell-Block, Logan (June 9, 2023). "Broadway's Here Lies Love Changes Course, Is Now Hiring Live Union Musicians". Playbill. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
57. ^ Deville, Chris (April 19, 2024). "David Byrne – "Hard Times" (Paramore Cover)". Stereogum. Archived from the original on June 10, 2024. Retrieved June 11, 2025.
58. ^ Duran, Anagricel (March 5, 2024). "David Byrne to cover Paramore's 'Hard Times' for Record Store D". NME. Archived from the original on April 22, 2024. Retrieved June 11, 2025.
59. ^ "LUAKA BOP". Luakabop.com. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
60. ^ NPR audio interview 8 July 2000. Npr.org, Retrieved 11 June 2010.
61. ^ "Radio David Byrne". David Byrne.com. Retrieved January 11, 2010.
62. ^ "Board of Directors". SoundExchange. Retrieved May 19, 2022.
63. ^ Visual art listing at Byrne's website. Retrieved 11 June 2010.
64. ^ Byrne, David. "David Byrne | Speaker | TED". Retrieved November 7, 2018.
65. ^ Byrne, David (June 11, 2010). "How architecture helped music evolve". Ted.com. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
66. ^ "TED Talks: 10 Music-Related Lectures That Will Enrich Your Day – NME". NME. September 1, 2014. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
67. ^ Byrne, David; Dolby, Thomas; Ethel (October 22, 2010), "(Nothing But) Flowers" with string quartet, retrieved November 7, 2018
68. ^ "David Byrne Can't Vote But Hopes You Will". Rolling Stone. 4 November 2008. Retrieved 11 January 2010.
69. ^ Lynskey, Dorian (March 4, 2018). "David Byrne: 'I'm able to talk in a social group now – not retreat into a corner'". The Guardian. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
70. ^ "U2 X-Radio – Close to The Edge: Feat. David Byrne" (video). youtube.com. July 2, 2020.
71. ^ "David Byrne warns Scottish referendum voters of danger of independence". NME. August 28, 2014. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
72. ^ "Journal – EMMA BYRNE". Davidbyrne.com. July 31, 2014. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
73. ^ "Performance With David Byrne". Spotify. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
74. ^ "Front Row – David Byrne: 'I identify with Susan Boyle' – BBC Sounds". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
75. ^ a b Bowman, David (2001). This Must Be the Place: The Adventures of Talking Heads in the 20th Century. New York: HarperCollins. p. 202. ISBN 978-0-380-97846-5.
76. ^ Bowman, p. 235.
77. ^ Sella, Marshall (April 29, 2001). "Same as He Ever Was". The New York Times. Retrieved January 15, 2014.
78. ^ Bowman, p. 336.
79. ^ Laudato, Anthony (January 5, 2020). "David Byrne on "American Utopia," and living an optimistic life". CBS News Sunday Morning. Retrieved January 23, 2022.
80. ^ Grant, Richard (March 16, 2009). "David Byrne: Stay Hungry". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved January 15, 2014.
81. ^ Sandall, Robert (February 28, 2004). "How the Talking Head Learnt To Sing from the Heart". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on January 11, 2022. Retrieved January 15, 2014.
82. ^ Hattenstone, Simon (January 15, 2011). "Cindy Sherman interview". The Guardian. London. Retrieved November 2, 2011.
83. ^ Hasan, Sadiba. "Their Friend Rigged the Gala Seating Chart. It Worked". The New York Times. The New York Times. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
84. ^ "Bicycle Diaries". davidbyrne.com. Retrieved July 20, 2016.
85. ^ Schnabel, Tom (November 5, 2011). "David Byrne & Barry White: What Cars They Drove". KCRW Rhythm Planet. Archived from the original on August 9, 2016. Retrieved July 20, 2016.
86. ^ Sutter, John D. (April 1, 2010). "David Byrne: Song lyrics are overrated". CNN. Retrieved May 15, 2013.
87. ^ Jonathan Maus (July 23, 2009). "Rocker/bike activist David Byrne announces Portland event". BikePortland.org. Retrieved May 15, 2013.
88. ^ Kaminer, Ariel (August 8, 2008). "David Byrne, Cultural Omnivore, Raises Cycling Rack to an Art Form". The New York Times.
89. ^ "David Byrne Bike Racks". bam.org. Brooklyn Academy of Music. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
90. ^ "David Byrne Rode His Bike to the Met Gala, Of Course". Bicycling. May 2, 2023. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
91. ^ "David Byrne website film listing". Davidbyrne.com. Retrieved June 25, 2010.
92. ^ "Byrne's bibliography on Byrne's Website". Davidbyrne.com. Retrieved June 25, 2010.
93. ^ "American Utopia: David Byrne: Bloomsbury Publishing". Bloomsbury. December 10, 2020. Retrieved November 19, 2024.

## Further reading

[edit]

* Gittins, Ian (2004), Talking Heads Once in a Lifetime: The Stories Behind Every Song, Carlton, ISBN 978-1-84442-671-3
* Howell, John; Byrne, David (1992), David Byrne, Thunder's Mouth Press, ISBN 978-1-56025-031-9
* Steenstra, Sytze (2010), Song and Circumstance: The Work of David Byrne from Talking Heads to the Present, Continuum, ISBN 978-0-8264-4168-3

## External links

[edit]

David Byrne at Wikipedia's sister projects

* Media from Commons
* Quotations from Wikiquote
* Data from Wikidata

* Official website
* David Byrne at AllMusic. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
* David Byrne discography at Discogs
* David Byrne at IMDb
* David Byrne on Charlie Rose
* David Byrne interview on Fresh Air, November 1, 2023

* v
* t
* e

David Byrne

* Awards and nominations
* Discography

Studio albums|

* My Life in the Bush of Ghosts (with Brian Eno)
* Rei Momo
* Uh-Oh
* David Byrne
* Feelings
* Look into the Eyeball
* Grown Backwards
* Everything That Happens Will Happen Today (with Brian Eno)
* Love This Giant (with St. Vincent)
* American Utopia
* Who Is the Sky? (with Ghost Train Orchestra)

Live albums|

* David Byrne Live at Union Chapel
* Live from Austin, TX
* Live at Carnegie Hall

Soundtrack albums|

* The Catherine Wheel
* Music for "The Knee Plays"
* Sounds from True Stories
* The Last Emperor
* The Forest
* In Spite of Wishing and Wanting
* Lead Us Not into Temptation
* Big Love: Hymnal
* Here Lies Love (with Fatboy Slim)

Remix albums|

* The Visible Man

Singles|

* "The Jezebel Spirit"
* "Like Humans Do"
* "Strange Overtones"

Featured singles|

* "Lazy"
* "Toe Jam"

Concert tours|

* Songs of David Byrne and Brian Eno Tour
* Love This Giant Tour

Other works|

* True Stories
* Playing the Building
* How Music Works

Related articles|

* Talking Heads
* Luaka Bop
* Ride, Rise, Roar
* American Utopia

Awards for David Byrne

* v
* t
* e

Academy Award for Best Original Score

1930s|

* Louis Silvers (1934)
* Max Steiner (1935)
* Leo F. Forbstein (1936)
* Charles Previn (1937)
* Erich Wolfgang Korngold / Alfred Newman (1938)
* Herbert Stothart / Richard Hageman, W. Franke Harling, John Leipold and Leo Shuken (1939)

1940s|

* Leigh Harline, Paul J. Smith and Ned Washington / Alfred Newman (1940)
* Bernard Herrmann / Frank Churchill and Oliver Wallace (1941)
* Max Steiner / Ray Heindorf and Heinz Roemheld (1942)
* Alfred Newman / Ray Heindorf (1943)
* Max Steiner / Morris Stoloff and Carmen Dragon (1944)
* Miklos Rozsa / Georgie Stoll (1945)
* Hugo Friedhofer / Morris Stoloff (1946)
* Miklos Rozsa / Alfred Newman (1947)
* Brian Easdale / Johnny Green and Roger Edens (1948)
* Aaron Copland / Roger Edens and Lennie Hayton (1949)

1950s|

* Franz Waxman / Adolph Deutsch and Roger Edens (1950)
* Franz Waxman / Johnny Green and Saul Chaplin (1951)
* Dimitri Tiomkin / Alfred Newman (1952)
* Bronislau Kaper / Alfred Newman (1953)
* Dimitri Tiomkin / Adolph Deutsch and Saul Chaplin (1954)
* Alfred Newman / Robert Russell Bennett, Jay Blackton and Adolph Deutsch (1955)
* Victor Young / Alfred Newman and Ken Darby (1956)
* Malcolm Arnold (1957)
* Dimitri Tiomkin / Andre Previn (1958)
* Miklos Rozsa / Andre Previn and Ken Darby (1959)

1960s|

* Ernest Gold / Morris Stoloff and Harry Sukman (1960)
* Henry Mancini / Saul Chaplin, Johnny Green, Sid Ramin and Irwin Kostal (1961)
* Maurice Jarre / Ray Heindorf (1962)
* John Addison / Andre Previn (1963)
* Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman / Andre Previn (1964)
* Maurice Jarre / Irwin Kostal (1965)
* John Barry / Ken Thorne (1966)
* Elmer Bernstein / Alfred Newman and Ken Darby (1967)
* John Barry / Johnny Green (1968)
* Burt Bacharach / Lennie Hayton and Lionel Newman (1969)

1970s|

* Francis Lai / The Beatles (John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr) (1970)
* Michel Legrand / John Williams (1971)
* Charlie Chaplin, Raymond Rasch and Larry Russell / Ralph Burns (1972)
* Marvin Hamlisch / Marvin Hamlisch (1973)
* Nino Rota and Carmine Coppola / Nelson Riddle (1974)
* John Williams / Leonard Rosenman (1975)
* Jerry Goldsmith / Leonard Rosenman (1976)
* John Williams / Jonathan Tunick (1977)
* Giorgio Moroder / Joe Renzetti (1978)
* Georges Delerue / Ralph Burns (1979)

1980s|

* Michael Gore (1980)
* Vangelis (1981)
* John Williams / Henry Mancini and Leslie Bricusse (1982)
* Bill Conti / Michel Legrand, Alan and Marilyn Bergman (1983)
* Maurice Jarre / Prince (1984)
* John Barry (1985)
* Herbie Hancock (1986)
* Ryuichi Sakamoto, David Byrne and Cong Su (1987)
* Dave Grusin (1988)
* Alan Menken (1989)

1990s|

* John Barry (1990)
* Alan Menken (1991)
* Alan Menken (1992)
* John Williams (1993)
* Hans Zimmer (1994)
* Luis Bacalov / Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz (1995)
* Gabriel Yared / Rachel Portman (1996)
* James Horner / Anne Dudley (1997)
* Nicola Piovani / Stephen Warbeck (1998)
* John Corigliano (1999)

2000s|

* Tan Dun (2000)
* Howard Shore (2001)
* Elliot Goldenthal (2002)
* Howard Shore (2003)
* Jan A. P. Kaczmarek (2004)
* Gustavo Santaolalla (2005)
* Gustavo Santaolalla (2006)
* Dario Marianelli (2007)
* A. R. Rahman (2008)
* Michael Giacchino (2009)

2010s|

* Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (2010)
* Ludovic Bource (2011)
* Mychael Danna (2012)
* Steven Price (2013)
* Alexandre Desplat (2014)
* Ennio Morricone (2015)
* Justin Hurwitz (2016)
* Alexandre Desplat (2017)
* Ludwig Göransson (2018)
* Hildur Guðnadóttir (2019)

2020s|

* Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross and Jon Batiste (2020)
* Hans Zimmer (2021)
* Volker Bertelmann (2022)
* Ludwig Göransson (2023)
* Daniel Blumberg (2024)

* v
* t
* e

Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music

1969–2000|

* Al Carmines / Burt Bacharach (1969)
* Stephen Sondheim / Kurt Weill (1970)
* Stephen Sondheim (1971)
* Galt MacDermot (1972)
* Stephen Sondheim (1973)
* Al Carmines (1974)
* Charlie Smalls (1975)
* Marvin Hamlisch (1976)
* Cy Coleman (1977)
* Cy Coleman / Carol Hall (1978)
* Stephen Sondheim (1979)
* Andrew Lloyd Webber (1980)
* Maury Yeston (1982)
* Andrew Lloyd Webber (1983)
* Jerry Herman (1984)
* Larry Grossman (1985)
* Rupert Holmes (1986)
* Noel Gay / Claude-Michel Schönberg (1987)
* Andrew Lloyd Webber (1988)
* Cy Coleman (1990)
* Cy Coleman (1991)
* Erik Frandsen, Michael Garin, Paul Lockheart, and Robert Hipkins (1992)
* Marvin Hamlisch (1993)
* Stephen Sondheim (1994)
* Jonathan Larson (1996)
* Cy Coleman (1997)
* Stephen Flaherty (1998)
* Jason Robert Brown (1999)
* Andrew Lippa (2000)

2001–present|

* David Yazbek (2001)
* Jason Robert Brown (2002)
* Marc Shaiman (2003)
* Jeanine Tesori (2004)
* Adam Guettel (2005)
* Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison (2006)
* Duncan Sheik (2007)
* Stew and Heidi Rodewald (2008)
* Elton John (2009)
* David Bryan (2010)
* Trey Parker, Robert Lopez, and Matt Stone (2011)
* Alan Menken (2012)
* David Byrne and Fatboy Slim (2013)
* Jason Robert Brown (2014)
* Lin-Manuel Miranda (2015)
* Steve Martin and Edie Brickell (2016)
* David Yazbek (2017)
* David Friedman (2018)
* David Yazbek (2019)
* Dave Malloy (2020)
* No Award (2021)
* Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss (2022)
* Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally (2023)
* Shaina Taub (2024)
* Will Aronson and Hue Park (2025)

* v
* t
* e

Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score

1940s|

* Life with Father – Max Steiner (1947)
* The Red Shoes – Brian Easdale (1948)
* The Inspector General – Johnny Green (1949)

1950s|

* Sunset Boulevard – Franz Waxman (1950)
* September Affair – Victor Young (1951)
* High Noon – Dimitri Tiomkin (1952)
* On the Beach – Ernest Gold (1959)

1960s|

* The Alamo – Dimitri Tiomkin (1960)
* The Guns of Navarone – Dimitri Tiomkin (1961)
* To Kill a Mockingbird – Elmer Bernstein (1962)
* (1963)
* The Fall of the Roman Empire – Dimitri Tiomkin (1964)
* Doctor Zhivago – Maurice Jarre (1965)
* Hawaii – Elmer Bernstein (1966)
* Camelot – Frederick Loewe (1967)
* The Shoes of the Fisherman – Alex North (1968)
* Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid – Burt Bacharach (1969)

1970s|

* Love Story – Francis Lai (1970)
* Shaft – Isaac Hayes (1971)
* The Godfather – Nino Rota (1972)
* Jonathan Livingston Seagull – Neil Diamond (1973)
* The Little Prince – Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe (1974)
* Jaws – John Williams (1975)
* A Star is Born – Kenneth Ascher and Paul Williams (1976)
* Star Wars – John Williams (1977)
* Midnight Express – Giorgio Moroder (1978)
* Apocalypse Now – Carmine Coppola and Francis Ford Coppola (1979)

1980s|

* The Stunt Man – Dominic Frontiere (1980)
* No Award (1981)
* E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial – John Williams (1982)
* Flashdance – Giorgio Moroder (1983)
* A Passage to India – Maurice Jarre (1984)
* Out of Africa – John Barry (1985)
* The Mission – Ennio Morricone (1986)
* The Last Emperor – David Byrne, Ryuichi Sakamoto and Cong Su (1987)
* Gorillas in the Mist – Maurice Jarre (1988)
* The Little Mermaid – Alan Menken (1989)

1990s|

* The Sheltering Sky – Richard Horowitz and Ryuichi Sakamoto (1990)
* Beauty and the Beast – Alan Menken (1991)
* Aladdin – Alan Menken (1992)
* Heaven & Earth – Kitarō (1993)
* The Lion King – Hans Zimmer (1994)
* A Walk in the Clouds – Maurice Jarre (1995)
* The English Patient – Gabriel Yared (1996)
* Titanic – James Horner (1997)
* The Truman Show – Burkhard Dallwitz and Philip Glass (1998)
* The Legend of 1900 – Ennio Morricone (1999)

2000s|

* Gladiator – Lisa Gerrard, Hans Zimmer (2000)
* Moulin Rouge! – Craig Armstrong (2001)
* Frida – Elliot Goldenthal (2002)
* The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King – Howard Shore (2003)
* The Aviator – Howard Shore (2004)
* Memoirs of a Geisha – John Williams (2005)
* The Painted Veil – Alexandre Desplat (2006)
* Atonement – Dario Marianelli (2007)
* Slumdog Millionaire – A. R. Rahman (2008)
* Up – Michael Giacchino (2009)

2010s|

* The Social Network – Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (2010)
* The Artist – Ludovic Bource (2011)
* Life of Pi – Mychael Danna (2012)
* All Is Lost – Alex Ebert (2013)
* The Theory of Everything – Jóhann Jóhannsson (2014)
* The Hateful Eight – Ennio Morricone (2015)
* La La Land – Justin Hurwitz (2016)
* The Shape of Water – Alexandre Desplat (2017)
* First Man – Justin Hurwitz (2018)
* Joker – Hildur Guðnadóttir (2019)

2020s|

* Soul – Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, and Jon Batiste (2020)
* Dune – Hans Zimmer (2021)
* Babylon – Justin Hurwitz (2022)
* Oppenheimer – Ludwig Göransson (2023)
* Challengers – Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (2024)

* v
* t
* e

Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media

1950s|

* Anatomy of a Murder – Duke Ellington (1959)

1960s|

* Exodus – Ernest Gold (1961)
* Breakfast at Tiffany's – Henry Mancini (1962)
* Tom Jones – John Addison (1964)
* Mary Poppins – Richard M. Sherman & Robert B. Sherman (1965)
* The Sandpiper – Johnny Mandel (1966)
* Doctor Zhivago – Maurice Jarre (1967)
* Music from Mission: Impossible – Lalo Schifrin (1968)
* The Graduate – Dave Grusin & Paul Simon (1969)

1970s|

* Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid – Burt Bacharach (1970)
* Let It Be – The Beatles (John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison & Ringo Starr) (1971)
* Shaft – Isaac Hayes (1972)
* The Godfather – Nino Rota (1973)
* Jonathan Livingston Seagull – Neil Diamond (1974)
* The Way We Were: Original Soundtrack Recording – Alan and Marilyn Bergman & Marvin Hamlisch (1975)
* Jaws – John Williams (1976)
* Car Wash – Norman Whitfield (1977)
* Star Wars – John Williams (1978)
* Close Encounters of the Third Kind – John Williams (1979)

1980s|

* Superman – John Williams (1980)
* The Empire Strikes Back – John Williams (1981)
* Raiders of the Lost Ark – John Williams (1982)
* E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial – John Williams (1983)
* Flashdance – Michael Boddicker, Irene Cara, Kim Carnes, Doug Cotler, Keith Forsey, Richard Gilbert, Jerry Hey, Duane Hitchings, Craig Krampf, Ronald Magness, Dennis Matkosky, Giorgio Moroder, Phil Ramone, Michael Sembello & Shandi Sinnamon (1984)
* Purple Rain – Prince and the Revolution (1985)
* Beverly Hills Cop – Marc Benno, Harold Faltermeyer, Keith Forsey, Micki Free, John Gilutin Hawk, Howard Hewett, Bunny Hull, Howie Rice, Sharon Robinson, Danny Sembello, Sue Sheridan, Richard Theisen & Allee Willis (1986)
* Out of Africa – John Barry (1987)
* The Untouchables – Ennio Morricone (1988)
* The Last Emperor – David Byrne, Cong Su & Ryuichi Sakamoto (1989)

1990s|

* The Fabulous Baker Boys – Dave Grusin (1990)
* Glory – James Horner (1991)
* Dances with Wolves – John Barry (1992)
* Beauty and the Beast – Alan Menken (1993)
* Aladdin – Alan Menken (1994)
* Schindler's List – John Williams (1995)
* Crimson Tide – Hans Zimmer (1996)
* Independence Day – David Arnold (1997)
* The English Patient – Gabriel Yared (1998)
* Saving Private Ryan – John Williams (1999)

2000s|

* A Bug's Life – Randy Newman (2000)
* American Beauty – Thomas Newman (2001)
* Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon – Tan Dun (2002)
* The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring – Howard Shore & John Kurlander (engineer/mixer) (2003)
* The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers – Howard Shore, John Kurlander (engineer/mixer) & Peter Cobbin (engineer/mixer) (2004)
* The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King – Howard Shore, John Kurlander (engineer/mixer) & Peter Cobbin (engineer/mixer) (2005)
* Ray – Craig Armstrong (2006)
* Memoirs of a Geisha – John Williams (2007)
* Ratatouille – Michael Giacchino (2008)
* The Dark Knight – Hans Zimmer & James Newton Howard (2009)

2010s|

* Up – Michael Giacchino (2010)
* Toy Story 3 – Randy Newman (2011)
* The King's Speech – Alexandre Desplat (2012)
* The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross (2013)
* Skyfall – Thomas Newman (2014)
* The Grand Budapest Hotel – Alexandre Desplat (2015)
* Birdman – Antonio Sánchez (2016)
* Star Wars: The Force Awakens – John Williams (2017)
* La La Land – Justin Hurwitz (2018)
* Black Panther – Ludwig Göransson (2019)

2020s|

* Chernobyl – Hildur Guðnadóttir (2020)
* Joker – Hildur Guðnadóttir (2021)
* The Queen's Gambit – Carlos Rafael Rivera / Soul – Jon Batiste, Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross (2022)
* Encanto – Germaine Franco (2023)
* Oppenheimer – Ludwig Göransson (2024)
* Dune: Part Two – Hans Zimmer (2025)

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Guild of Music Supervisors Award for Best Song Written and/or Recording Created for a Film

2010s|

* "See You Again" – Written by DJ Frank E, Charlie Puth, Wiz Khalifa, and Andrew Cedar (2015)
* "City of Stars" – Written by Justin Hurwitz, Benj Pasek, and Justin Paul (2016)
* "Mystery of Love" – Written by Sufjan Stevens (2017)
* "Shallow" – Written by Stefani Germanotta, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando, and Andrew Wyatt (2018)
* "One Little Soldier" – Written by Regina Spektor (2019)

2020s|

* "Hear My Voice" – Written by Celeste Waite and Daniel Pemberton (2020)
* "Dos Oruguitas" – Written by Lin-Manuel Miranda (2021)
* "This Is a Life" – Written by Ryan Lott, David Byrne, and Mitski Miyawaki (2022)
* "What Was I Made For?" – Written by Billie Eilish O'Connell and Finneas O'Connell (2023)
* "Like a Bird" – Written by Abraham Alexander, Brandon Marcel, and Adrian Quesada (2024)

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Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award

* The Beatles and Richard Lester (1984)
* David Bowie (1984)
* David Byrne (1985)
* Russell Mulcahy (1985)
* Godley & Creme (1985)
* Madonna (1986)
* Zbigniew Rybczyński (1986)
* Peter Gabriel (1987)
* Julien Temple (1987)
* Michael Jackson (1988)
* George Michael (1989)
* Janet Jackson (1990)
* Bon Jovi and Wayne Isham (1991)
* Guns N' Roses (1992)
* The Rolling Stones (1994)
* Tom Petty (1994)
* R.E.M. (1995)
* LL Cool J (1997)
* Mark Romanek (1997)
* Beastie Boys (1998)
* Red Hot Chili Peppers (2000)
* U2 (2001)
* Duran Duran (2003)
* Hype Williams (2006)
* Britney Spears (2011)
* Justin Timberlake (2013)
* Beyoncé (2014)
* Kanye West (2015)
* Rihanna (2016)
* Pink (2017)
* Jennifer Lopez (2018)
* Missy Elliott (2019)
* Nicki Minaj (2022)
* Shakira (2023)
* Katy Perry (2024)

* v
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* e

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame – Class of 2002

Performers|

* Isaac Hayes
* Brenda Lee
* Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
* Ron Blair, Mike Campbell, Howie Epstein, Stan Lynch, Tom Petty, Benmont Tench
* Gene Pitney
* Ramones
* Dee Dee Ramone, Joey Ramone, Johnny Ramone, Marky Ramone, Tommy Ramone
* Talking Heads
* David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Jerry Harrison, Tina Weymouth

Non-performers
(Ahmet Ertegun Award)|

* Jim Stewart

Sidemen|

* Chet Atkins

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Special Tony Award

1947–1975|

* Dora Chamberlain / Ira and Rita Katzenberg / Jules Leventhal / Burns Mantle / P. A. MacDonald / Vincent Sardi Sr. (1947)
* Vera Allen / Paul Beisman / Joe E. Brown / Cast of The Importance of Being Earnest / Robert W. Dowling / Experimental Theatre Inc. / Rosalind Gilder / June Lockhart / Mary Martin / George Pierce / James Whitmore (1948)
* No Award (1949)
* Maurice Evans / Philip Faversham / Brock Pemberton (1950)
* Ruth Green (1951)
* Charles Boyer / Judy Garland / Edward Kook (1952)
* Danny Kaye / Beatrice Lillie (1953)
* No Award (1954)
* Proscenium Productions (1955)
* Fourth Street Chekov Theatre / City Center / The New York Public Library Theatre Collection / The Shakespearewrights / The Threepenny Opera (1956)
* American Shakespeare Festival / Jean-Louis Barrault / Robert Russell Bennett / William Hammerstein / Joseph Harbuck / Paul Shyre (1957)
* Mrs. Martin Beck / New York Shakespeare Festival (1958)
* Russel Crouse and Howard Lindsay / John Gielgud / Cast of La Plume de Ma Tante (1959)
* Burgess Meredith and James Thurber / John D. Rockefeller III (1960)
* David Merrick / The Theatre Guild (1961)
* Brooks Atkinson / Richard Rodgers / Franco Zeffirelli (1962)
* Alan Bennett, Peter Cook, Jonathan Miller and Dudley Moore / Irving Berlin / W. McNeil Lowry (1963)
* Eva Le Gallienne (1964)
* Gilbert Miller / Oliver Smith (1965)
* Helen Menken (1966)
* No Award (1967)
* APA-Phoenix Theatre / Pearl Bailey / Carol Channing / Maurice Chevalier / Marlene Dietrich / Audrey Hepburn / David Merrick (1968)
* Leonard Bernstein / Carol Burnett / Rex Harrison / The National Theatre Company of Great Britain / The Negro Ensemble Company (1969)
* Noël Coward / Lynn Fontanne and Alfred Lunt / New York Shakespeare Festival / Barbra Streisand (1970)
* Ingram Ash / Elliot Norton / Playbill / Roger L. Stevens (1971)
* Fiddler on the Roof / Ethel Merman / Richard Rodgers / The Theatre Guild-American Theatre Society (1972)
* The Actors Fund of America / John Lindsay / Shubert Organization (1973)
* Actors' Equity Association / A Moon for the Misbegotten / Candide / Peter Cook and Dudley Moore / Harold Friedlander / Bette Midler / Liza Minnelli / Theatre Development Fund / John F. Wharton (1974)
* Al Hirschfeld (1975)

1976–2000|

* George Abbott / Richard Burton / Circle in the Square Theatre / Thomas H. Fitzgerald / Mathilde Pincus (1976)
* Cheryl Crawford / Equity Liberty Theatre / Barry Manilow / National Theatre of the Deaf / Diana Ross / Lily Tomlin (1977)
* Irving Berlin / Stan Dragoti and Charles Moss (1978)
* Walter F. Diehl / Eugene O'Neill Memorial Theater Center / Henry Fonda / Richard Rodgers (1979)
* Richard Fitzgerald / Helen Hayes / Mary Tyler Moore / Hobe Morrison (1980)
* Lena Horne (1981)
* Radio City Music Hall / The Actors Fund of America / Warner Communications (1982)
* No Award (1983)
* A Chorus Line / Peter Feller / La Tragedie de Carmen (1984)
* Yul Brynner / New York State Council on the Arts (1985)
* No award (1986)
* George Abbott / Jackie Mason (1987)
* Brooklyn Academy of Music (1988)
* No Award (1989)
* No Award (1990–1992)
* Oklahoma! (1993)
* Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy (1994)
* Carol Channing / National Endowment for the Arts / Harvey Sabinson (1995)
* No Award (1996)
* Bernard B. Jacobs (1997)
* Edward E. Colton / Ben Edwards (1998)
* Uta Hagen / Arthur Miller / Isabelle Stevenson (1999)
* Dame Edna: The Royal Tour / T. Edward Hambleton (2000)

2001–present|

* Paul Gemignani (2001)
* Julie Harris / Robert Whitehead (2002)
* Cy Feuer / Russell Simmons' Def Poetry Jam on Broadway (2003)
* James M. Nederlander (2004)
* Edward Albee (2005)
* Sarah Jones / Harold Prince (2006)
* No Award (2007)
* Robert Russell Bennett / Stephen Sondheim (2008)
* Jerry Herman (2009)
* Alan Ayckbourn / Marian Seldes (2010)
* Athol Fugard / Philip J. Smith (2011)
* Actors' Equity Association / Hugh Jackman (2012)
* Bernard Gersten / Ming Cho Lee / Paul Libin (2013)
* Jane Greenwood (2014)
* John Cameron Mitchell / Tommy Tune (2015)
* Sheldon Harnick / Marshall W. Mason / National Endowment for the Arts / Miles Wilkin (2016)
* James Earl Jones (2017)
* John Leguizamo / Andrew Lloyd Webber / Chita Rivera / Bruce Springsteen (2018)
* Rosemary Harris / Marin Mazzie / Terrence McNally / Sonny Tilders and Creature Technology Company / Jason Michael Webb / Harold Wheeler (2019)
* The Broadway Advocacy Coalition / David Byrne's American Utopia / Freestyle Love Supreme / Graciela Daniele (2020/21)
* Angela Lansbury / James C. Nicola (2022)
* Joel Grey / John Kander (2023)
* Jack O'Brien / George C. Wolfe / Alex Edelman / Abe Jacob / Nikiya Mathis (2024)
* Harvey Fierstein / Marco Paguia, David Oquendo, Renesito Avich, Gustavo Schartz, Javier Días, Román Diaz, Mauricio Herrera, Jesus Ricardo, Eddie Venegas, Hery Paz, and Leonardo Reyna / Jamie Harrison, Chris Fisher, Gary Beestone, and Edward Pierce (2025)

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Talking Heads

* David Byrne
* Chris Frantz
* Jerry Harrison
* Tina Weymouth

Studio albums|

* Talking Heads: 77
* More Songs About Buildings and Food
* Fear of Music
* Remain in Light
* Speaking in Tongues
* Little Creatures
* True Stories
* Naked

Live albums|

* The Name of This Band Is Talking Heads
* Stop Making Sense

Compilations|

* Popular Favorites 1976–1992: Sand in the Vaseline
* Once in a Lifetime: The Best of Talking Heads
* Once in a Lifetime
* The Best of Talking Heads
* Talking Heads
* Bonus Rarities and Outtakes

Singles|

* "Love → Building on Fire"
* "Psycho Killer"
* "Take Me to the River"
* "Life During Wartime"
* "I Zimbra"
* "Cities"
* "Crosseyed and Painless"
* "Once in a Lifetime"
* "Houses in Motion"
* "Burning Down the House"
* "This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)"
* "Girlfriend Is Better"
* "Road to Nowhere"
* "And She Was"
* "Wild Wild Life"
* "Blind"
* "(Nothing But) Flowers"
* "Sax and Violins"

Other songs|

* "Thank You for Sending Me an Angel"
* "Heaven"
* "Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On)"

Filmography|

* Stop Making Sense
* True Stories
* Storytelling Giant

Tribute albums|

* Live Phish Volume 15
* Everyone's Getting Involved

Related articles|

* Discography
* Songs
* How Music Works
* "King's Lead Hat"
* My Life in the Bush of Ghosts
* No Talking, Just Head
* "Damage I've Done"
* Sounds from True Stories
* Tom Tom Club

* Category

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF
* FAST
* WorldCat

National|

* Germany
* United States
* France
* BnF data
* Japan
* Italy
* Czech Republic
* Spain
* Portugal
* Netherlands
* Korea
* Sweden
* Poland
* Israel
* Finland
* Catalonia
* Belgium

Academics|

* CiNii

Artists|

* ULAN
* MusicBrainz
* RKD Artists
* Museum of Modern Art
* Photographers' Identities
* Grammy Awards
* FID

People|

* Deutsche Biographie
* DDB

Other|

* IdRef
* SNAC
* Yale LUX

*[m.]: married
*[div.]: divorced
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