David Byrne discography
| David Byrne discography | |
|---|---|
David Byrne speaking at the 2006 Future of Music Policy Summit hosted by the McGill University Schulich School of Music in Montreal, Quebec, Canada | |
| Studio albums | 10 |
| Soundtrack albums | 12 |
| Live albums | 5 |
| Singles | 14 |
| Remix albums | 1 |
This article catalogs the ongoing discography of American musician, writer, visual artist, and filmmaker David Byrne, principal songwriter, lead vocalist, and guitarist of the rock band Talking Heads.
Albums
Studio albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [1] |
AUS [2] |
BEL (Fl.) [3] |
ITA [4] |
NLD [5] |
NZ [6] |
SWE [7] |
UK [8] | ||
| My Life in the Bush of Ghosts (with Brian Eno) |
|
44 | 47 | 62 | 29 | — | 8 | — | 29 |
| Rei Momo |
|
71 | 96 | — | — | 88 | — | 28 | 52 |
| Uh-Oh |
|
125 | 67 | — | — | 52 | 39 | 26 | 26 |
| David Byrne |
|
139 | — | — | — | — | — | 20 | 43 |
| Feelings |
|
155 | — | — | — | — | — | 42 | 91 |
| Look into the Eyeball |
|
120 | — | — | 15 | — | — | — | 58 |
| Grown Backwards |
|
178 | — | 55 | 29 | — | — | — | 88 |
| Everything That Happens Will Happen Today (with Brian Eno) |
|
174 | 66 | 58 | — | — | 31 | — | — |
| Love This Giant (with St. Vincent) |
|
23 | — | 51 | 52 | 83 | — | — | 40 |
| American Utopia |
|
3 | 82 | 19 | 32 | 43 | — | — | 16 |
| Who Is the Sky? (with Ghost Train Orchestra) |
|
172 | 18 [9] |
7 | — | 17 | 17 [10] |
— | 34 |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||||||
Soundtracks and music for theater
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [1] |
BEL (Fl.) [3] |
NLD [5] |
NZ [6] |
SWE [7] |
UK [8] | ||
| The Catherine Wheel |
|
104 | — | — | 32 | 40 | — |
| Music for "The Knee Plays" |
|
141 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Sounds from True Stories |
|
— | — | — | — | — | — |
| The Last Emperor (with Ryuichi Sakamoto and Cong Su) |
|
152 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Your Action World[a] |
|
— | — | — | — | — | — |
| In Spite of Wishing and Wanting |
|
— | — | — | — | — | — |
| E.E.E.I. (Envisioning Emotional Epistemological Information)[b] |
|
— | — | — | — | — | — |
| Lead Us Not into Temptation |
|
— | — | — | — | — | — |
| Big Love: Hymnal |
|
— | — | — | — | — | — |
| Here Lies Love (with Fatboy Slim) |
|
96 | 96 | 83 | — | — | 76 |
| American Utopia on Broadway Original Cast Recording |
|
— | — | — | — | — | — |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||||
In addition to the scores and soundtracks that Byrne recorded have been released as albums, Byrne has written music for several other productions:
- Dead End Kids: A Story of Nuclear Power by Joanne Akalaitis
- Main title theme for Alive from Off Center season 1 (1984)
- Something Wild by Jonathan Demme: "Loco de Amor" song co-written with Johnny Pacheco; sung with Celia Cruz backed by Ray Barretto's band (1986)
- Married to the Mob by Jonathan Demme (1988)
- A Young Man's Dream and a Woman's Secret by Philip Haas (1990)
- The Giant Woman and the Lightning Man by Philip Haas (1990)
Live albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| US World [11] |
PRT [12] | ||
| Between the Teeth |
|
— | — |
| David Byrne Live at Union Chapel |
|
— | — |
| Live from Austin, Texas |
|
— | — |
| Everything That Happens Will Happen on This Tour – David Byrne on Tour: Songs of David Byrne and Brian Eno |
|
— | — |
| Live at Carnegie Hall (with Caetano Veloso) |
|
8 | 28 |
| "...The Best Live Show of All Time" —NME |
|
— | — |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||
Remix albums
| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| The Visible Man |
|
Singles
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MEX | US Alt. [13] |
US AAA [14] |
US Rock and Airplay | |||
| "Regiment" b/w "America Is Waiting" (with Brian Eno) | 1981 | — | — | — | — | My Life In the Bush of Ghosts |
| — | — | — | — | |||
| "The Jezebel Spirit" (with Brian Eno) | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Big Blue Plymouth (Eyes Wide Open)" | — | — | — | — | ||
| "The Last Emperor" (with Ryuichi Sakamoto) | 1987 | — | — | — | — | The Last Emperor |
| "Loco De Amor" (feat. Celia Cruz) | — | — | — | — | Rei Momo | |
| "Make Believe Mambo" (feat. Kirsty MacColl and Willie Colón) | 1989 | — | 11 | — | — | |
| "Dirty Old Town" | — | 8 | — | — | ||
| "Independence Day" (feat. Kirsty MacColl) | 1990 | — | — | — | — | |
| "The Forestry" | 1991 | — | — | — | — | The Forest |
| "Hanging Upside Down" | 1992 | — | — | — | — | Uh-Oh |
| "She's Mad" | — | 3 | — | — | ||
| "Girls on My Mind" | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Angels" | 1994 | — | 24 | — | — | David Byrne |
| "Back in the Box" | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Sad Song" | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Lillies of the Valley" | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Dance on Vaseline" | 1997 | — | — | — | — | Feelings |
| "Miss America" | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Like Humans Do" | 2001 | — | — | 18 | — | Look Into the Eyeball |
| "U.B. Jesus" | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Desconocido Soy" | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Strange Overtones" (with Brian Eno) | 2008 | 36 | — | 14 | — | Everything That Happens Will Happen Today |
| "One Fine Day" | 2009 | — | — | — | — | |
| "Who" (with St. Vincent) | 2012 | — | — | — | — | Love This Giant |
| "I Should Watch TV" | 39 | — | — | — | ||
| "Everybody's Coming to My House" | 2018 | 41 | — | 5 | 49 | American Utopia |
| "This Is That" | — | — | — | — | ||
| "David Byrne Does Hard Times" | 2024 | — | — | — | — | Non-album single |
| "Everybody Laughs" (with Ghost Train Orchestra) | 2025 | — | — | 2 | 32 | Who Is the Sky |
| "She Explains Things To Me" (with Ghost Train Orchestra) | — | — | — | — | ||
| "The Avant Garde" (with Ghost Train Orchestra) | — | — | — | — | ||
| "What Is the Reason For It?" (with Ghost Train Orchestra) (feat. Hayley Williams) | — | — | 26 | — | ||
| "T Shirt" | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | |
| "drivers license" (Olivia Rodrigo cover) | 2026 | — | — | — | — | Non-album single |
Compilation appearances
| Year | Release | Track(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Like a Girl I Want You to Keep Coming | "Song for the Trees (or) I Know Sometimes the World Is Wrong" |
| 1990 | Red Hot + Blue | "Don't Fence Me In" |
| 1993 | Caged/Uncaged: A Rock/Experimental Homage to John Cage | "Cage and the Long Island Expressway" and "Enlightened Whistler" |
| 1994 | Beat the Retreat: Songs by Richard Thompson | "Just the Motion", originally by Richard Thompson |
| 1995 | Afro-Peruvian Classics: The Soul of Black Peru | "Maria Lando" |
| 1996 | Red Hot + Rio | "Waters of March" with Marisa Monte |
| Offbeat: A Red Hot Soundtrip | "It Goes Back" | |
| 1997 | Red Hot + Latin | "Yolonda Niguas" with Café Tacuba |
| 1998 | Red Hot + Lisbon | "Dreamworld: Marco de Canavezes" with Caetano Veloso |
| 2000 | Mantra Mix | "Ain't Got So Far to Go" |
| 2002 | The Only Blip Hop Record You Will Ever Need, Vol. 1 | "Pocket Monster" |
| 2004 | The Wired CD | "My Fair Lady" |
| 2007 | Plum | "Ex-Guru", originally by The Fiery Furnaces |
| The Simpsons: Testify | "Everybody Hates Ned Flanders" medley | |
| 2009 | Dark Was the Night | "Knotty Pine", with Dirty Projectors |
| 2022 | Ocean Child: Songs of Yoko Ono[15] | "Who Has Seen the Wind?" |
Session work
As musician
| Year | Artist | Release | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Dinosaur | "Kiss Me Again" single | Guitar |
| 1980 | Love of Life Orchestra | "Extended Nicities" single | Guitar |
| Robert Fripp | God Save the Queen/Under Heavy Manners | Vocals on "Under Heavy Manners"; credited as Absalam el Habib | |
| 1984 | The Staple Singers | "Slippery People" single | Guitar, Talking Heads cover version |
| 1986 | Philip Glass | Song from Liquid Days | Lyrics on "Liquid Days" and "Open the Kingdom" |
| 1988 | Tom Tom Club | Boom Boom Chi Boom Boom | Vocals on "Femme Fatale" |
| "Femme Fatale" (Marshall Jefferson remix) | Vocals | ||
| 1990 | Margareth Menezes | Elegibô | Vocals and production on "Canto pra Subir" and "Abra a Boca" |
| Bernie Worrell | Funk of Ages | Co-writing and vocals on "Sing" | |
| 1992 | Richard Thompson | An Acoustic Evening | Recorded live at St. Ann & The Holy Trinity, Brooklyn Heights, March 24, 1992. (Red Phantom: RPCD 1100) |
| Balanescu Quartet | Byrne/Moran/Lurie/Torke | Composition on "High Life for Strings" | |
| Tom Zé | Brazil Classics, Vol. 5: The Hips of Tradition | Vocals and guitar on "Jingle do Disco", released on Luaka Bop | |
| 1994 | Ryuichi Sakamoto | Sweet Revenge | Lyrics on "Psychedelic Afternoon" |
| 1995 | Selena | Dreaming of You | Vocals, co-writing, and production on "God's Child (Baila Conmigo)" |
| 1996 | Café Tacuba | Avalanche de Exitos | Vocals on "No Controles" |
| John Cale | Walking on Locusts | Guitar on "Crazy Egypt" | |
| 2000 | Peret and Carol C | Tributo a Peret | Vocals on "Si Fulano" |
| 2001 | Vinicius Cantuária | Vinicius | Lyrics and vocals on "Rio" |
| 2002 | X-Press 2 | Muzikizum | Co-writing and vocals on "Lazy", later rearranged and released on Grown Backwards |
| 2004 | 10,000 Maniacs | Campfire Songs: The Popular, Obscure and Unknown Recordings | Vocals "Let the Mystery Be", originally recorded for 1993's MTV Unplugged, along with cover versions of "Dallas" and "Jolene" |
| Thievery Corporation | The Cosmic Game | Lyrics and vocals on "The Heart's a Lonely Hunter" | |
| 2005 | Fischerspooner | Odyssey | Lyrics on "Get Confused" |
| 2006 | Forro in the Dark | Bonfires of São João | Vocals on "Asa Branca" and "I Wish (Bundle of Contradictions)" |
| La Portuaria | La Portuaria | Lyrics and vocals on "Hoy no le temo a la muerte" | |
| 2007 | Baby Elephant | Turn My Teeth Up! | Vocals on "How Does the Brainwave?" |
| Marisa Monte | Universo Ao Meu Redor | Vocals on "State of Liberty" | |
| David Shrigley | Worried Noodles | Vocals on "For You" | |
| Paul Van Dyk | In Between | Vocals on "Fall with Me" | |
| 2008 | The BPA and Dizzee Rascal | I Think We're Gonna Need a Bigger Boat | Vocals on "Toe Jam" |
| 2009 | N.A.S.A. | The Spirit of Apollo | Vocals on "The People Tree" and "Money" |
| Brazilian Girls | "I'm Losing Myself" | Vocals | |
| 2010 | If By Yes | "Salt on Sea Glass" | Vocals on "Eliza" |
| Maximum Balloon | Maximum Balloon | Vocals on "Apartment Wrestling" | |
| 2011 | Arcade Fire | The Suburbs (Deluxe Edition) | Vocals on "Speaking in Tongues" |
| 2013 | Jun Miyake | Lost Memory Theatre - act-1 | Vocals on "A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes" |
| Ryuichi Sakamoto | "Psychedelic Afternoon" | Re-recording of a 1994 collaboration; new lyrics and vocals | |
| 2014 | Anna Calvi | Strange Weather | Vocals on "I'm the Man, That Will Find You (Connan Mockasin)" and "Strange Weather (Keren Ann)" |
| 2016 | De La Soul | And the Anonymous Nobody... | Co-writing and vocals on "Snoopies" |
| 2022 | Montaigne | "Always Be You" single | Vocals |
| "Gravity" single | Vocals | ||
| 2022 | Son Lux | Everything Everywhere All At Once soundtrack | Co-writing and vocals on "This Is a Life" |
As producer
| Year | Artist | Release | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | The B-52's | Mesopotamia | Also played fretless bass, synthesizer, guitar, percussion |
| 1983 | Fun Boy Three | Waiting | Also played guitar |
| 1986 | Various artists | Something Wild | Co-produced, also co-write and sang on "Loco de Amor" |
| 1990 | Margareth Menezes | Elegibô | "Canto pra Subir" and "Abra a Boca" also performs vocals |
| 1995 | Selena | Dreaming of You | "God's Child (Baila Conmigo)" also performs vocals and co-wrote |
Compositions
- The Forest (1991) – orchestral music for the 1988 Robert Wilson theatre piece of the same name, released as an album.
- "We're Not Like Ev'ryone Else", "Lullaby" (performed by Natalie Portman), "The Problem Is You", and "Open the Door" (with Hayley Williams) for the soundtrack of the 2025 film The Twits.[16]
Other projects
Byrne has released a handful of books, including Arboretum, a collection of sketches of some of his favorite trees, and The New Sins, a work about sin in the 21st century. He has also made several public art installations, speaking engagements on art and technology, and PowerPoint presentations. In addition to a recording career as a solo artist, he also founded the record Label Luaka Bop and Todo Mundo.
Notes
- ^ Music for Byrne's art presentation of the same name.
- ^ Music for Byrne's speaking tour and PowerPoint presentation of the same name.
References
- ^ a b "David Byrne Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard. Archived from the original on September 15, 2023. Retrieved September 16, 2025.
- ^ Australian chart positions:
- Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, New South Wales: Australian Chart Book. p. 52. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- Everything That Happens Will Happen Today: "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 9 February 2010" (PDF). ARIA Charts. No. 989. February 20, 2009. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 19, 2009. Retrieved January 5, 2015 – via Trove.
- American Utopia: "ARIA Chart Watch #464". auspOp. March 17, 2018. Archived from the original on December 24, 2019. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
- ^ a b "Discografie David Byrne". Ultratop Flanders (in Dutch). Retrieved September 14, 2025.
- ^ "Discography David Byrne". Italian Charts. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
- ^ a b "Discografie David Byrne". Dutch Charts (in Dutch). Retrieved September 17, 2025.
- ^ a b "Discography David Byrne". New Zealand Charts. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
- ^ a b "Discography David Byrne". Swedish Charts. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
- ^ a b "David Byrne". Official Charts. Retrieved September 13, 2025.
- ^ "ARIA Top 50 Albums Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. September 15, 2025. Retrieved September 12, 2025.
- ^ "Official Top 40 Albums". Recorded Music NZ. September 12, 2025. Retrieved September 12, 2025.
- ^ "David Byrne Chart History: World Albums". Billboard. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
- ^ "Discography David Byrne". Portuguese Charts. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
- ^ "David Byrne – Chart History: Alternative Songs". Billboard. Retrieved September 30, 2025.
- ^ "David Byrne - Chart History: Triple A". Billboard. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
- ^ "Various Artists: Ocean Child: Songs of Yoko Ono". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
- ^ "Netflix's 'The Twits' to Feature Original Songs by David Byrne and Original Score by Oli Julian". Film Music Reporter. Retrieved August 5, 2025.
- Discography from DavidByrne.com
- Discography from Discogs
- further reading: Sytze Steenstra: Song and Circumstance. The Work of David Byrne from Talking Heads to the Present. New York and London: Continuum, 2010.