Talking Heads were an American rock band formed in New York City in 1975. It consisted of vocalist-guitarist David Byrne, drummer Chris Frantz, bassist Tina Weymouth, and guitarist-keyboardist Jerry Harrison. Described as "one of the most critically acclaimed groups of the '80s," Talking Heads helped to pioneer new wave music by combining elements of punk, art rock, funk, and world music with "an anxious yet clean-cut image".

Byrne, Frantz, and Weymouth met as freshmen at the Rhode Island School of Design, where Byrne and Frantz were part of a band called the Artistics. The trio moved to New York City in 1975, adopted the name Talking Heads, joined the New York punk scene, and recruited Harrison to round out the band; this lineup remained the same for the rest of Talking Heads' career. Signing to Sire Records in 1976, the band's debut album, Talking Heads: 77, was released in the following year to positive reviews. They collaborated with the British producer Brian Eno on the acclaimed albums More Songs About Buildings and Food (1978), Fear of Music (1979), and Remain in Light (1980), which blended their art school sensibilities with influence from artists such as Parliament-Funkadelic and Fela Kuti. From the early 1980s, they included additional musicians in their recording sessions and shows, including guitarist Adrian Belew, keyboardist Bernie Worrell, singer Nona Hendryx, and bassist Busta Jones.

Talking Heads reached their commercial peak in 1983 with the U.S. Top 10 hit "Burning Down the House" from the album Speaking in Tongues. In 1984, they released the concert film Stop Making Sense, which was directed by Jonathan Demme. For these performances, they were joined by Worrell, guitarist Alex Weir, percussionist Steve Scales, and singers Lynn Mabry and Ednah Holt. In 1985, Talking Heads released their best-selling album, Little Creatures. They produced a soundtrack album for Byrne's film True Stories (1986), and released their final album, the worldbeat-influenced Naked (1988), before disbanding in 1991. Without Byrne, the other band members performed under the name Shrunken Heads, and released an album, No Talking, Just Head, as the Heads in 1996, featuring various singers in place of Byrne.

In 2002, Talking Heads briefly reunited for a one-off performance for their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Four of their albums appeared on Rolling Stone's 2003 list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time", and three of their songs—"Psycho Killer", "Life During Wartime", and "Once in a Lifetime"—were included among the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll. The band was also ranked number 64 on VH1's list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". In the 2011 update of Rolling Stone's list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time", they were ranked number 100.

In 1973, Rhode Island School of Design students David Byrne (guitar and vocals) and Chris Frantz (drums) formed a band, the Artistics. Frantz has described the Artistics as a "prototype punk band" that would perform a number of covers, including "Psycho" by the Sonics, the Who's "I Can't Explain" and Al Green's "Love and Happiness", live. Fellow student Tina Weymouth, Frantz's girlfriend, often provided transportation. The Artistics dissolved the following year, and the three moved to New York City, eventually sharing a communal loft. After they were unable to find a bassist, Weymouth took up the role. Frantz encouraged Weymouth to learn to play bass by listening to Suzi Quatro albums. Byrne asked Weymouth to audition three times before she joined the band.

The band played their first gig as Talking Heads—opening for the Ramones at CBGB in the East Village—on June 5, 1975. According to Weymouth, the name Talking Heads came from an issue of TV Guide, which "explained the term used by TV studios to describe a head-and-shoulder shot of a person talking as 'all content, no action'. It fit." Later that year, the band recorded a series of demos for CBS, but did not receive a record contract. However, they drew a following and signed to Sire Records in November 1976. They released their first single in February the following year, "Love → Building on Fire". In March 1977, they added Jerry Harrison, formerly of the Modern Lovers, on keyboards, guitar, and backing vocals. Gary Kurfirst started managing Talking Heads in 1977.

The first Talking Heads album, Talking Heads: 77, received acclaim and produced their first charting single, "Psycho Killer". Many connected the song to the serial killer known as the Son of Sam, who had been terrorizing New York City months earlier; however, Byrne said he had written the song years prior. Weymouth and Frantz married in 1977.

More Songs About Buildings and Food (1978) was Talking Heads' first collaboration with producer Brian Eno, who had previously worked with Roxy Music, David Bowie, John Cale, and Robert Fripp; the title of Eno's 1977 song "King's Lead Hat" is an anagram of the band's name. Eno's unusual style meshed with the group's artistic sensibilities, and they began to explore an increasingly diverse range of musical directions—from psychedelic funk to Afrobeat, influenced prominently by Fela Kuti and Parliament-Funkadelic. This recording also established the band's relationship with Compass Point Studios in Nassau, The Bahamas. More Songs About Buildings and Food included a cover of Al Green's "Take Me to the River", which brought Talking Heads into the public consciousness and gave them their first Billboard Top 30 hit.