Now interestingly I post this because of course I bought the album 'More Songs About Buildings & Food' as soon as it came out but never this single and it stands alongside 'Psycho Killer' as one of my least favourite songs from TH. Now let's be clear it merely means there are tracks I appreciate WAY above these two, it's not that I don't like them, I just find them more obvious than many of David's own songs (in tha case of this single which is fascinating in their hands) and other more much more fascinating themes the band would cover.

On this day in music history: November 4, 1978 - “Take Me To The River” by Talking Heads is released. Written by Al Green and Mabon “Teenie” Hodges, it is the first US top 40 single for the New York based band. Issued as the first single from their second album “More Songs About Buildings And Food”, the song was co-written and originally recorded by Al Green on his album “Al Green Explores Your Mind” in 1974. Green’s version was not released as a single at the time, and another version by his label mate Syl Johnson is released in 1975, hitting #7 on the R&B singles chart and #48 on the Hot 100. David Bryne hears Al Green’s original version, and be intrigued by the songs mixture of gospel flavored spirituality and implied sexuality, and suggests to his bandmates that they record it. Talking Heads version produced by the band and Brian Eno, is recorded in mid 1978. Their version peaks at #26 on the Billboard Hot 100 on February 10, 1979, becoming their first major hit and a staple of their live performances.

thanks to Jeff Harris' Behind The Grooves