Martina Michèle Weymouth ( ; 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.][
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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
Bretons heritage on her mother's side (she is the great-granddaughter of Anatole Le Braz, a Breton writer). 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.[
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Her early inspirations came from Bob Dylan and Peter, Paul & Mary.[
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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. 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.[
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Other musical activities
Full members of the Compass Point All Stars, Weymouth and Frantz formed Tom Tom Club in 1980, which kept them busy during a fairly long hiatus in Talking Heads activity. Later on, when it became obvious that Talking Heads frontman David Byrne had no interest in making more Talking Heads albums, 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".
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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".[Reddington, Helen (2021), She’s at the Controls: Sound Engineering, Production and Gender Ventriloquism in the 21st Century. Equinox Publishing, Paperback, ]
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 Ultratop,][ and at number seven on the UK Singles Chart.][
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Personal life
Weymouth and Chris Frantz married in 1977. They live in Fairfield, Connecticut, and have two sons.[
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Tina's paternal niece, Katharine Weymouth, daughter of prominent architect Yann Weymouth, was named publisher and chief executive officer of The Washington Post in 2008 until her resignation in 2014.
In March 2022, Weymouth and Frantz were in a car collision with a drunk driver. Weymouth suffered a fractured sternum and three fractured ribs.[
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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
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Höfner 500/2 Club Bass
[ – Two pickup with single-cutaway hollowbody, purchased in 1978
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Fender Musicmaster Bass Used in early Talking Heads performances including
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Fender Mustang Bass Used in early Talking Heads performances, seen on Saturday Night Live performance
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Joe Veillette Standard 4 String – Neck Through, teal green
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Fender Precision Bass – Used in early Talking Heads performances
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Gibson Les Paul Triumph Bass - used in early Talking Heads performances
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Fender Jazz Bass – Used for Tom Tom Club live performances
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Steinberger L-Series Bass – Seen during Little Creatures period
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Fender Swinger Guitar – Seen in Stop Making Sense during the performance of "This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)"
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Chapman Stick
Further reading
External links