Once in a Lifetime (Talking Heads song)
1981 single by Talking Heads / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Once in a Lifetime" is a song by the American new wave band Talking Heads, produced and cowritten by Brian Eno. It was released in January 1981 through Sire Records as the lead single from the band's fourth studio album, Remain in Light (1980).
"Once in a Lifetime" | ||||
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![]() Cover art of UK 7-inch and 12-inch vinyl singles | ||||
Single by Talking Heads | ||||
from the album Remain in Light | ||||
B-side |
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Released | January 1981[1] | |||
Recorded | July–August 1980 | |||
Studio |
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Genre | New wave,[2] rock,[3] art pop[4][5] | |||
Length | 4:19 | |||
Label | Sire | |||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) | Brian Eno | |||
Talking Heads singles chronology | ||||
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Alternative release | ||||
![]() A-side label of US vinyl single | ||||
Music video | ||||
"Once in a Lifetime" on YouTube | ||||
Audio | ||||
"Once in a Lifetime" on YouTube | ||||
Eno and Talking Heads developed "Once in a Lifetime" through extensive jams, inspired by Afrobeat musicians such as Fela Kuti. David Byrne's vocals were inspired by preachers delivering sermons, with lyrics addressing existential crisis and the unconscious. The music video, directed by Byrne and Toni Basil, has Byrne dancing erratically over footage of religious rituals.
"Once in a Lifetime" was certified gold in the UK in 2021. A live version, taken from the 1984 concert film Stop Making Sense, charted in 1986 on the Billboard Hot 100. NPR named "Once in a Lifetime" one of the 100 most important American musical works of the 20th century, while the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame listed it as one of the "500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll" . Rolling Stone placed it at number 28 on its 2021 list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".