Tina Weymouth

Tina Weymouth
Weymouth smiling
Weymouth at South by Southwest 2010
Background information
Birth nameMartina Michèle Weymouth
Born (1950-11-22) November 22, 1950 (age 73)
Coronado, California, U.S.
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Musician
  • singer
  • songwriter
  • author
Instrument(s)
  • Vocals
  • bass
  • guitar
  • keyboards
Years active1975–present
Labels
Member ofTom Tom Club
Formerly ofTalking Heads
Spouse(s)
(m. 1977)
Websitewww.tomtomclub.com
External videos
video icon "Tina Weymouth Tribute Film, Connecticut Women's Hall of Fame

Martina Michèle "Tina" Weymouth (/ˈweɪməθ/ WAY-məth; born November 22, 1950) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and a founding member and bassist of the new wave group Talking Heads and its side project Tom Tom Club, which she co-founded with her husband, Talking Heads drummer Chris Frantz. In 2002, Weymouth was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Talking Heads.

Early life

Born in Coronado, California, Weymouth is the daughter of Laura Bouchage and U.S. Navy Vice Admiral Ralph Weymouth (1917–2020). The third of eight children, her siblings include Lani and Laura Weymouth, who are collaborators in Tina's band Tom Tom Club, and architect Yann Weymouth, the designer of the Salvador Dalí Museum in Florida. Weymouth is of Breton heritage on her mother's side (she is the great-granddaughter of Anatole Le Braz, a Breton writer).: 10 Her mother was an immigrant from Brittany and her father was American.

When she was 12, Weymouth joined the Mrs. Tufts’ Potomac English Hand Bell Ringers, an amateur music group directed by Nancy Tufts, and toured with them. At 14, she started to teach herself the guitar.

Her early inspirations came from Bob Dylan and Peter, Paul & Mary.

Talking Heads

As a student at the Rhode Island School of Design, she met Chris Frantz and David Byrne, who formed a band called the Artistics.: 30 She began dating Frantz and served as the band's driver. After graduation, the three of them moved to New York City. Since Byrne and Frantz were unable to find a suitable bass guitar player she joined them at the latter's request and began learning and playing the instrument.

As a bass player she combined the minimalist art-punk bass lines of groups such as Wire and Pere Ubu with danceable, funk-inflected riffs to provide the bedrock of Talking Heads' signature sound.

Other musical activities

Weymouth with Talking Heads in Minneapolis, 1977

Full members of the Compass Point All Stars, Weymouth and Frantz formed the Tom Tom Club in 1980, which kept them busy during a fairly long hiatus in Talking Heads activity. When it became obvious that Talking Heads frontman David Byrne had no interest in another Talking Heads album, Weymouth, Frantz, and Jerry Harrison reunited without him for a single album called No Talking, Just Head under the name "The Heads" in 1996, featuring a rotating cast of vocalists. Weymouth has been critical of Byrne, describing him as "a man incapable of returning friendship".

She co-produced the Happy Mondays' 1992 album Yes Please! and contributed backing vocals and percussion for the alternative rock virtual band Gorillaz on their track "19-2000".

Weymouth was a judge for the second annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists' careers. She collaborated with Chicks on Speed on their cover of the Tom Tom Club's "Wordy Rappinghood" for their album 99 Cents in 2003 along with other female musicians such as Miss Kittin, Kevin Blechdom, Le Tigre, and Adult's Nicola Kuperus. "Wordy Rappinghood" became a moderate dance hit in Europe, peaking at number two in the Dutch Top 40, number five on the Belgian Dance Chart, and at number seven on the UK Singles Chart.

Personal life

Weymouth and Chris Frantz married in 1977. They live in Fairfield, Connecticut, and have two sons. Her niece, Katharine Weymouth, served as publisher of The Washington Post.

In March 2022, Weymouth and Frantz were in a car collision with a drunk driver. Weymouth suffered a fractured sternum and three fractured ribs.

Legacy

In 2020, Rolling Stone ranked her as the 29th greatest bass player of all time.

Weymouth has inspired many female bassists including Este Haim and Victoria De Angelis of Måneskin.

Equipment


This page was last updated at 2024-01-10 19:01 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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