Sold Date: September 4, 2021
Start Date: July 30, 2021
Final Price: $17.99 (USD)
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Tom Tom Club - Genius of Love

YELLA - Mr. Yellow

Extended Version 12" Single 45 RPM

Rare Pairing of Side A & Side B Tracks!

Island Records - 1981 - 12WIP 6735

      Side A: Genius of Love (Long Version) - Tom Tom Club    

Side B: Yella - Mr. Yellow

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(See Pictures for NM Vinyl Condition)

"Genius of Love" is Tom Tom Club's second single. Although the album had not been released in North America, over 100,000 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. This unique and rare 12” release of “Genius of Love’ was paired with “Yella” by Mr. Yellow. The side A track “Genius of Love” was an extended, long version at 7 minutes 26 seconds.

Tina Weymouth sings the lead and also co-wrote the song: although she was responsible for writing the bass line and intended to play it on record, she was forced to pass on the latter task to another musician. As she related in a 1997 interview with Bassplayer.com, "we were given extremely limited studio time - just three days - and when it was time to do that track my whole right arm seized up in a terrible cramp, and I couldn't play. I had never played in the studio around the clock like we were doing, so I didn't even know that could happen. I ended up waking the assistant engineer - he was asleep under the console - and I showed him the part, and he played it. Chris (Frantz) was mad, but I really couldn't play; my hand wouldn't even close. So we did what we had to do. These things happen."

The melody is playful and almost child-like, using catchy syncopation. The lyrics and video imply that the singer is in jail although why she's imprisoned is not explained, aside from one reference to illegal drug use, "We went insane when we took cocaine". The singer sings the praises of her sweetheart (whom she describes as the "genius of love") to her fellow inmates.

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