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{{Short description|1981 single by Talking Heads}}{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2016}}
{{Short description|1981 single by Talking Heads}}
{{Infobox song|name=Once in a Lifetime|cover=Onceinalifetimesingle.jpg|alt=|caption=Cover art of UK 7-inch and 12-inch vinyl singles|type=single|artist=[[Talking Heads]]|album=[[Remain in Light]]|B-side=* "Seen and Not Seen"
{{Infobox song|name=Once in a Lifetime|cover=Onceinalifetimesingle.jpg|alt=|caption=Cover art of UK 7-inch and 12-inch vinyl singles|type=single|artist=[[Talking Heads]]|album=[[Remain in Light]]|B-side=* ''[[Seen and Not Seen]]''
* "[[Crosseyed and Painless]]"
* ''[[Crosseyed and Painless]]''
* "Listening Wind"|released=January 1981<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/greatrockdiscogr00stro/page/808/|title=The Great Rock Discography|year=1995|page=809 |isbn=9780862415419 |last1=Strong |first1=Martin Charles }}</ref>|recorded=July–August 1980|studio=* [[Compass Point Studios|Compass Point]], [[Nassau, Bahamas|Nassau]]
* ''[[Listening Wind]]''|released=* October 1980 (''[[Remain in Light]]'' version)
* [[Sigma Sound Studios|Sigma Sound]], [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|Philadelphia]]|genre=[[New wave music|New wave]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/song/once-in-a-lifetime-mt0011967560 |title=Once In a Lifetime - Talking Heads |last=Huey |first=Steve |publisher=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=November 7, 2017}}</ref> [[Rock music|rock]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ew.com/music/best-rock-songs/|title=The 25 best rock songs of all time|last=Wolfinson|first=Debby|website=Entertainment Weekly|access-date=2024-01-21}}</ref> [[art pop]]<ref>{{cite news|first= Ed |last= Potton |title= David Byrne: composer, curator, cyclist — not just a Talking Head |url= http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/arts/music/article4526801.ece |newspaper= [[The Times]] |date= August 15, 2015 |access-date= February 28, 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last= Pitchfork Staff |title= The 200 Best Songs of the 1980s |website= [[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]] |date= August 24, 2015 |url= https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/9700-the-200-best-songs-of-the-1980s/?page=10|quote= "Lifetime" is also the epitome of 1980s art-pop...|access-date= October 18, 2022|page=10}}</ref>|length=4:19|label=[[Sire Records|Sire]]|writer=* [[David Byrne]]
* January 1981 (7" single)|recorded=July–August 1980|studio=* [[Compass Point Studios|Compass Point]], [[Nassau, Bahamas|Nassau]]
* [[Sigma Sound Studios|Sigma Sound]], [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|Philadelphia]]|genre=New wave, rock, art pop|length=4:19|label=[[Sire Records|Sire]]|writer=* [[David Byrne]]
* [[Brian Eno]]
* [[Brian Eno]]
* [[Chris Frantz]]
* [[Chris Frantz]]
* [[Jerry Harrison]]
* [[Jerry Harrison]]
* [[Tina Weymouth]]|producer=Brian Eno|prev_title=[[Crosseyed and Painless]]|prev_year=1980|next_title=[[Houses in Motion]]|next_year=1980|misc={{Extra chronology
* [[Tina Weymouth]]|producer=[[Brian Eno]]|prev_title=[[Crosseyed and Painless]]|prev_year=1980|next_title=[[Houses in Motion]]|next_year=1980|misc={{Extra chronology
  | artist    =
  | artist    =
  | type      = single
  | type      = single
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  | caption = A-side label of US vinyl single
  | caption = A-side label of US vinyl single
}}
}}
{{External music video|{{YouTube|5IsSpAOD6K8|"Once in a Lifetime"}}
{{External music video|{{YouTube|5IsSpAOD6K8|Once in a Lifetime}}
  | type = single
  | type = single
}}
}}
{{External music video|{{YouTube|CHatn3_UxEU|"Once in a Lifetime"}}
{{External music video|{{YouTube|CHatn3_UxEU|Once in a Lifetime}}
  | type  = single
  | type  = single
  | header = Audio
  | header = Audio
}}}}
}}}}
"'''Once in a Lifetime'''" is a song by the American [[New wave music|new wave]] band [[Talking Heads]], produced and cowritten by [[Brian Eno]]. It was released in January 1981 as the lead single from Talking Heads' fourth studio album, ''[[Remain in Light]]'' (1980), through [[Sire Records]].
'''''Once in a Lifetime''''' is a song by [[Talking Heads]], produced and cowritten by [[Brian Eno]]. It was released in October 1980 on their fourth album [[Remain in Light|''Remain in Light'']], and as a single in January 1981.


Eno and Talking Heads developed "Once in a Lifetime" through extensive [[Jam session|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 mind|unconscious]]. The music video, directed by Byrne and [[Toni Basil]], has Byrne dancing erratically over footage of religious rituals.
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 [[Music recording certification|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|''Billboard'' Hot 100]]. [[NPR]] named "Once in a Lifetime" one of the 100 most important American musical works of the 20th century. The [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]] lists it as one of the "[[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll|500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll]]", and ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' ranked it at number 28 on its 2021 list of "[[Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time|The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time]]". The music video has been named among the greatest by several publications.
''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 it one of the 100 most important American musical works of the 20th century. The [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]] lists it as one of the "500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll", and ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' ranked it at number 28 on its 2021 list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". The music video has been named among the greatest by several publications.


== Production ==
== Production ==
Like other songs on ''[[Remain in Light]]'', Talking Heads and the producer [[Brian Eno]] developed "Once in a Lifetime" by recording [[Jam session|jams]], isolating the best parts, and learning to play them repetitively.<ref name=":02">{{Cite journal|last=Lewis|first=John|date=November 2007|title=The Making Of... Once in a Lifetime by Talking Heads|journal=[[Uncut (magazine)|Uncut]]}}</ref> The English musician [[Robert Palmer (singer)|Robert Palmer]] joined the jam on guitar and percussion.<ref name=":02" /> The technique was influenced by early [[Hip hop music|hip hop]] and the [[Afrobeat]] music of artists such as [[Fela Kuti]], which Eno had introduced to the band. The singer, [[David Byrne]], likened the process to modern [[Loop (music)|looping]] and [[Sampling (music)|sampling]], describing the band as "human samplers".<ref name=":02" /> He said the song was a result of the band trying and failing to play [[funk]], inadvertently creating something new instead.<ref name=":02" />
Like other songs on ''[[Remain in Light]]'', Talking Heads and the producer [[Brian Eno]] developed ''Once in a Lifetime'' by recording jams, isolating the best parts, and learning to play them repetitively. The English musician [[Robert Palmer (singer)|Robert Palmer]] joined the jam on guitar and percussion. The technique was influenced by early hip hop and the [[Afrobeat]] music of artists such as [[Fela Kuti]], which Eno had introduced to the band. The singer, [[David Byrne]], likened the process to modern looping and sampling, describing the band as "human samplers". He said the song was a result of the band trying and failing to play funk, inadvertently creating something new instead


The track was initially not one of Eno's favorites, and the band almost abandoned it. According to the keyboardist, [[Jerry Harrison]], "Because there were so few [[Chord progression|chord changes]], and everything was in a sort of trance ... it became harder to write defined choruses."<ref name="NPR">{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2000/03/27/1072131/once-in-a-lifetime|title=Once in a Lifetime|date=March 27, 2000|first1=Rick|last1=Karr|publisher=[[NPR]]|access-date=April 7, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/programs/specials/vote/list100.html#O|title=The 100 most important American musical works of the 20th century|publisher=[[NPR]]|access-date=April 7, 2018|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612143522/https://www.npr.org/programs/specials/vote/list100.html#O|archive-date=Jun 12, 2018}}</ref> However, Byrne had faith in the song and felt he could write lyrics to it. Eno developed the chorus melody by singing wordlessly, and the song "fell into place".<ref name=":02" /> Harrison developed the "bubbly" [[synthesizer]] line and added the [[Hammond organ]] climax, taken from [[the Velvet Underground]]'s "[[What Goes On (Velvet Underground song)|What Goes On]]".<ref name="NPR" />
The track was initially not one of Eno's favorites, and the band almost abandoned it. According to the keyboardist, [[Jerry Harrison]], "Because there were so few chord changes, and everything was in a sort of trance... it became harder to write defined choruses." However, Byrne had faith in the song and felt he could write lyrics to it. Eno developed the chorus melody by singing wordlessly, and the song "fell into place". Harrison developed the "bubbly" synthesizer line and added the Hammond organ climax, taken from [[the Velvet Underground]]'s [[What Goes On (Velvet Underground song)|''What Goes On'']].


Eno interpreted the rhythm differently from the band, with the third beat of the [[Bar (music)|bar]] as the first. He encouraged the band members to interpret the beat in different ways, thereby exaggerating different rhythmic elements.<ref name="NPR" /> According to Eno, "This means the song has a funny balance, with two centers of gravity – their funk groove, and my dubby, reggae-ish understanding of it; a bit like the way Fela Kuti songs will have multiple rhythms going on at the same time, warping in and out of each other."<ref name=":02" />
Eno interpreted the rhythm differently from the band, with the third beat of the bar as the first. He encouraged the band members to interpret the beat in different ways, thereby exaggerating different rhythmic elements.<ref>https://www.npr.org/2000/03/27/1072131/once-in-a-lifetime</ref> According to Eno, "This means the song has a funny balance, with two centers of gravity – their funk groove, and my dubby, reggae-ish understanding of it; a bit like the way Fela Kuti songs will have multiple rhythms going on at the same time, warping in and out of each other."


According to the bassist, [[Tina Weymouth]], the drummer, [[Chris Frantz]], created the [[bassline]] by yelling during a jam, which she mimicked on bass guitar.<ref name="NPR" /> She wanted to "leave lots of space for the cacophony that surrounded me. I felt like I was pounding away like a carpenter, just nailing away to get it in the groove."<ref name=":02" /> Eno removed the bass note from the first beat of the bar, as he felt it was too "obvious", and rerecorded the part. When Talking Heads returned to New York and Eno had gone home, the engineer had Weymouth record the bassline again. She said: "It wasn't a big fight between me and Brian, as it has sometimes been portrayed, it was just a musical dispute."<ref name=":02" />
According to the bassist, [[Tina Weymouth]], the drummer, [[Chris Frantz]], created the bassline by yelling during a jam, which she mimicked on bass guitar. She wanted to "leave lots of space for the cacophony that surrounded me. I felt like I was pounding away like a carpenter, just nailing away to get it in the groove." Eno removed the bass note from the first beat of the bar, as he felt it was too "obvious", and rerecorded the part. When Talking Heads returned to New York and Eno had gone home, the engineer had Weymouth record the bassline again. She said: "It wasn't a big fight between me and Brian, as it has sometimes been portrayed, it was just a musical dispute."


== Lyrics ==
== Lyrics ==
Byrne improvised lines as if he were giving a [[sermon]], with a [[Call and response|call-and-response]] chorus like a preacher and congregation. His vocals are "half-spoken, half-sung", with lyrics about living in a "beautiful house" with a "beautiful wife" and a "large automobile".<ref name="allmusic">{{cite web|title=Once in a Lifetime|last=Huey|first=S.|url=http://www.allmusic.com/song/once-in-a-lifetime-mt0011967560|publisher=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=March 30, 2014}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web|last=Jack|first=Malcolm|date=21 September 2016|title=Talking Heads – 10 of the best|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2016/sep/21/talking-heads-10-of-the-best|access-date=20 March 2018|website=[[The Guardian]]|language=en}}</ref>
Byrne improvised lines as if he were giving a sermon, with a call-and-response chorus like a preacher and congregation. His vocals are "half-spoken, half-sung", with lyrics about living in a "beautiful house" with a "beautiful wife" and a "large automobile".


The ''[[The Guardian|Guardian]]'' writer Jack Malcolm suggested that the song can be read "as an art-pop rumination on the existential ticking time bomb of unchecked [[consumerism]] and advancing age".<ref name=":2" /> According to the [[AllMusic]] critic Steve Huey, the lyrics address "the drudgery of living life according to social expectations, and pursuing commonly accepted trophies (a large automobile, beautiful house, beautiful wife)".<ref name="allmusic" /> Although the singer has these, he questions whether they are real and how he acquired them, a kind of [[existential crisis]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Talking Heads: Once in a Lifetime: the Stories Behind Every Song|last=Gittens|first=I.|pages=68–71|year=2004|publisher=Hal Leonard|isbn=9780634080333}}</ref>
The ''Guardian'' writer Jack Malcolm suggested that the song can be read "as an art-pop rumination on the existential ticking time bomb of unchecked consumerism and advancing age". According to the AllMusic critic Steve Huey, the lyrics address "the drudgery of living life according to social expectations, and pursuing commonly accepted trophies (a large automobile, beautiful house, beautiful wife)". Although the singer has these, he questions whether they are real and how he acquired them, a kind of existential crisis.


Byrne denied that the lyrics address [[yuppie]] greed and said the song was about the [[Unconscious mind|unconscious]]: "We operate half-awake or on autopilot and end up, whatever, with a house and family and job and everything else, and we haven't really stopped to ask ourselves, 'How did I get here?{{'"}}<ref name="NPR" /> Eno observed that Byrne combined the "blood-and-thunder intonation of the preacher" with optimistic lyrics: "It's saying what a fantastic place we live in, let's celebrate it. That was a radical thing to do when everyone was so miserable and grey!"<ref name=":02" />
Byrne denied that the lyrics address yuppie greed and said the song was about the unconscious: "We operate half-awake or on autopilot and end up, whatever, with a house and family and job and everything else, and we haven't really stopped to ask ourselves, 'How did I get here?' Eno observed that Byrne combined the "blood-and-thunder intonation of the preacher" with optimistic lyrics: "It's saying what a fantastic place we live in, let's celebrate it. That was a radical thing to do when everyone was so miserable and grey!"


== Music video ==
== Music video ==
[[File:Talking-heads-once-in-a-life-time-music-video.jpg|alt=A still from the "Once in a Lifetime" music video. Singer David Byrne, dressed in a suit, bowtie and glasses, mimics the hand movements of a woman performing a ritual dance.|thumb|In the "Once in a Lifetime" music video, singer [[David Byrne]], dressed in a suit, bowtie and glasses, dances erratically over footage of religious rituals.]]
[[File:Talking-heads-once-in-a-life-time-music-video.jpg|alt=A still from the "Once in a Lifetime" music video. Singer David Byrne, dressed in a suit, bowtie and glasses, mimics the hand movements of a woman performing a ritual dance.|thumb|In the "Once in a Lifetime" music video, singer [[David Byrne]], dressed in a suit, bowtie and glasses, dances erratically over footage of religious rituals.]]
In the "Once in a Lifetime" music video, Byrne appears in a large, empty white room, dressed in a suit, bowtie and glasses. In the background, inserted via [[Chroma key|bluescreen]], footage of religious rituals or multiple Byrnes appears. Byrne dances erratically, imitating the movements of the rituals and moving in "spasmic" full-body contortions. At the end of the video, a "normal" version of Byrne appears in a black room, dressed in a white, open-collared shirt, without glasses.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://consequenceofsound.net/2008/11/ridiculously-awesome-music-videos-the-heads-once-in-a-lifetime/|title=Ridiculously Awesome Music Videos: The Heads' "Once in a Lifetime"|date=2008-11-25|work=Consequence of Sound|access-date=May 20, 2018}}</ref>
In the ''Once in a Lifetime'' music video, Byrne appears in a large, empty white room, dressed in a suit, bowtie and glasses. In the background, inserted via bluescreen, footage of religious rituals or multiple Byrnes appears. Byrne dances erratically, imitating the movements of the rituals and moving in "spasmic" full-body contortions. At the end of the video, a "normal" version of Byrne appears in a black room, dressed in a white, open-collared shirt, without glasses.


The video was directed by Byrne and [[Toni Basil]] and choreographed by Basil. They studied [[Stock footage|archive footage]] of religious rituals from around the world, including footage of evangelists, African tribes, Japanese sects and people in trances, for Byrne to incorporate into his performance.<ref name=":02" /> The televangelist [[Ernest Angley]] was another inspiration.<ref>{{Cite book|title=This must be the place: the adventures of Talking Heads in the 20th century|url=https://archive.org/details/thismustbeplacea00bowm_704|url-access=limited|last=Bowman|first=David|date=2001|publisher=Harper Entertainment|isbn=0061955981|edition=1st|location=New York|pages=[https://archive.org/details/thismustbeplacea00bowm_704/page/n207 201]|oclc=651051467}}</ref> According to Basil, "David kind of choreographed himself. I set up the camera, put him in front of it, and asked him to absorb those ideas. Then I left the room so he could be alone with himself. I came back, looked at the videotape, and we chose physical moves that worked with the music. I just helped to stylize his moves a little."<ref name=":02" /> To emphasize Byrne's jerky movements, Basil used an "old-fashioned" [[zoom lens]]. The video was made on a low budget; Basil described it as "about as low-tech as you could get and still be broadcastable".<ref name=":02" />
The video was directed by Byrne and [[Toni Basil]] and choreographed by Basil. They studied archive footage of religious rituals from around the world, including footage of evangelists, African tribes, Japanese sects and people in trances, for Byrne to incorporate into his performance. The televangelist Ernest Angley was another inspiration. According to Basil, "David kind of choreographed himself. I set up the camera, put him in front of it, and asked him to absorb those ideas. Then I left the room so he could be alone with himself. I came back, looked at the videotape, and we chose physical moves that worked with the music. I just helped to stylize his moves a little." To emphasize Byrne's jerky movements, Basil used an "old-fashioned" zoom lens. The video was made on a low budget; Basil described it as "about as low-tech as you could get and still be broadcastable".


== Release ==
== Release ==
In February 1981 "Once in a Lifetime" reached {{thinspace|no.|24}} on the [[Dutch Top 40]]<ref name="dutchcharts">{{cite web|url=http://dutchcharts.nl/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Talking+Heads|title=Discografie Talking Heads|publisher=Dutchcharts.nl (in Dutch)|access-date=August 13, 2011}}</ref> and in March peaked at {{thinspace|no.|14}} on the [[UK Singles Chart]].<ref name="chartstats">{{cite web|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/artists/|title=The Official Charts Company – Talking Heads|publisher=[[Official Charts Company]]|access-date=August 13, 2011|df=mdy-all}}.</ref> In the UK it was [[Music recording certification|certified]] silver in January 2018 and gold in April 2021.<ref name="BPI" /> A live version, taken from the 1984 concert film ''[[Stop Making Sense]]'', reached number 91 on the US [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] in 1986.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100/1986-05-03|title=The Hot 100: Week of May 3, 1986|website=Billboard.com|access-date=April 28, 2015}}</ref> At the beginning of [[COVID-19 lockdowns]] in the US, "Once in a Lifetime" reached no. 10 on [[Rock Digital Song Sales]].<ref>{{cite magazine|date=March 14, 2020|title=Rock Digital Song Sales|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/rock-digital-song-sales/2020-03-14/|magazine=Billboard|access-date=October 1, 2022}}</ref>
In February 1981 ''Once in a Lifetime'' reached {{thinspace|no.|24}} on the Dutch Top 40 and in March peaked at {{thinspace|no.|14}} on the UK Singles Chart. In the UK it was certified silver in January 2018 and gold in April 2021. A live version, taken from the 1984 concert film ''[[Stop Making Sense]]'', reached number 91 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1986. In 2020, ''Once in a Lifetime'' reached no. 10 on the US Rock Digital Song Sales.


''[[Record World]]''  called the single "a polyrhythmic journey through his heart of darkness" and said that "the vocal intensity and melodic beauty are enthralling."<ref name="rw">{{cite magazine|magazine=Record World|date=January 24, 1981|page=1|accessdate=2023-02-23|title=Hits of the Week|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Record-World/80s/81/RW-1981-01-24.pdf}}</ref>
''Record World''  called the single "a polyrhythmic journey through his heart of darkness" and said that "the vocal intensity and melodic beauty are enthralling".


A 12-inch promotional dance club mix was released by Sire in October 1984.<ref>{{cite magazine|date=October 13, 1984|title=Dance Trax|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MiQEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PT49|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|volume=96|page=49|issn=0006-2510|number=38}}</ref> An early version of "Once in a Lifetime", "Right Start", was released on the 2006 ''Remain in Light'' reissue.<ref name=":2" />
A 12-inch promotional dance club mix was released by Sire in October 1984. An early version of ''Once in a Lifetime'', ''Right Start'', was released on the 2006 ''Remain in Light'' reissue.


== Legacy ==
== Legacy ==
In 1996, [[Kermit the Frog]] performed "Once in a Lifetime" on ''[[Muppets Tonight]]'' while wearing Byrne's "big suit" and mimicking his dances from ''[[Stop Making Sense]]''.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.avclub.com/kermit-the-frog-gets-existential-with-this-talking-head-1798249077|title=Kermit The Frog gets existential with this Talking Heads cover|last=Blevins|first=Joe|work=AV Club|access-date=March 26, 2018}}</ref> In 2000, [[NPR]] named "Once in a Lifetime" one of the 100 most important American musical works of the 20th century.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://legacy.npr.org/programs/specials/vote/list100.html|title=NPR 100}}</ref> In 2016, the [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]] listed it as one of the [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll|"500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll]]",<ref name=":1">{{cite web|title=The Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll|url=https://rockhall.com/exhibits/one-hit-wonders-songs-that-shaped-rock-and-roll/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160102080357/https://rockhall.com/exhibits/one-hit-wonders-songs-that-shaped-rock-and-roll/|archive-date=January 2, 2016|access-date=April 9, 2018|publisher=[[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]]}}</ref> and Malcolm Jack wrote in ''[[The Guardian]]'' that the song "is a thing of dizzying power, beauty and mystery [...] it sounds like nothing else in the history of pop."<ref name=":2" />
In 1996, [[Kermit the Frog]] performed ''Once in a Lifetime'' on ''Muppets Tonight'' while wearing Byrne's "big suit" and mimicking his dances from ''[[Stop Making Sense]].'' In 2000, [[NPR]] named ''Once in a Lifetime'' one of the 100 most important American musical works of the 20th century. In 2016, the [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]] listed it as one of the "500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll", and Malcolm Jack wrote in ''The Guardian'' that the song "is a thing of dizzying power, beauty and mystery [...] it sounds like nothing else in the history of pop."


In 2018, the musician [[Travis Morrison]] appeared on NPR's ''[[All Songs Considered]]'', where he selected "Once in a Lifetime" as a "perfect song" and said: "The lyrics are astounding; they are meaningless and totally meaningful at the same time. That's as good as rock lyrics get."<ref name="PerfectSong">{{cite web|title=Perfect Song: Artist Picks|url=https://www.npr.org/programs/asc/archives/perfectsong04/artistpicks.html|access-date=5 May 2018|website=All Songs Considered|publisher=NPR}}</ref> In 2021, ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' ranked "Once in a Lifetime" number 28 on its list of "[[Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time|The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time]]".<ref>{{Cite magazine|date=2021-09-15|title=The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time: #27: Talking Heads, 'Once in a Lifetime'|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-songs-of-all-time-1224767/talking-heads-once-in-a-lifetime-2-1225310/|magazine=Rolling Stone|language=en-US|access-date=2022-05-29}}</ref>
In 2018, the musician Travis Morrison appeared on NPR's ''All Songs Considered'', where he selected ''Once in a Lifetime'' as a "perfect song" and said: "The lyrics are astounding; they are meaningless and totally meaningful at the same time. That's as good as rock lyrics get." In 2021, ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' ranked ''Once in a Lifetime'' number 28 on its list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".


In 1989, ''[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]'' readers voted the "Once in a Lifetime" video the sixth-best of the 1980s.<ref>{{cite magazine|date=October 1989|title=1st Annual Readers Poll|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O5KWH9rNuE4C&pg=PA85|magazine=[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]|volume=5|page=85|issn=0886-3032|number=7}}</ref> In 2003, the [[BBC]] critic Chris Jones described the "Once in a Lifetime" video as "hilarious" and "as compelling as it was in 1981".<ref>{{cite web|last=Jones|first=Chris|date=November 17, 2003|title=Music - Review of Talking Heads - Once In A Lifetime|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/c5zf|access-date=February 12, 2016|publisher=BBC}}</ref> In 2021, ''Rolling Stone'' named it the 81st best music video.<ref>{{cite magazine|date=30 July 2021|title=The 100 greatest music videos|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-music-videos-1194411/talking-heads-once-in-a-lifetime-1196208/|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|publisher=|access-date=August 10, 2021}}</ref>
In 1989, ''Spin'' readers voted the ''Once in a Lifetime'' video the sixth-best of the 1980s. In 2003, the [[BBC]] critic Chris Jones described the ''Once in a Lifetime'' video as "hilarious" and "as compelling as it was in 1981". In 2021, ''Rolling Stone'' named it the 81st best music video.


The music video for [["Weird Al" Yankovic]]'s 1989 song [[UHF – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack and Other Stuff|"UHF"]] contains a segment where Yankovic recreates the music video, wearing a similar suit and doing similar dance moves.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Greene|first=Andy|date=2022-08-16|title=The Lost History of 'Weird Al' Yankovic - From 'UHF' to 'Amish Paradise' and Beyond|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-pictures/weird-al-yankovic-uhf-amish-paradise-1396679/|access-date=2024-01-16|website=Rolling Stone|language=en-US}}</ref>
The music video for [["Weird Al" Yankovic]]'s 1989 song [[UHF – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack and Other Stuff|''UHF'']] contains a segment where Yankovic recreates the music video, wearing a similar suit and doing similar dance moves.


== Personnel ==
== Personnel ==
'''Talking Heads'''
'''Talking Heads'''


* [[David Byrne]] – [[Lead vocalist|lead vocals]], [[guitar]]
* [[David Byrne]] – lead vocals, guitar
* [[Jerry Harrison]] – [[synthesizer]], [[Organ (music)|organ]], [[Backing vocalist|backing vocals]]
* [[Jerry Harrison]] – synthesizer, organ, backing vocals
* [[Tina Weymouth]] – [[Bass guitar|bass]]
* [[Tina Weymouth]] – bass
* [[Chris Frantz]] – [[Drum kit|drums]]
* [[Chris Frantz]] – drums


'''Additional personnel'''
'''Additional personnel'''


* [[Brian Eno]] – [[synthesizer]], [[Percussion instrument|percussion]], [[Backing vocalist|backing vocals]]
* [[Brian Eno]] – synthesizer, percussion, backing vocals
* [[Nona Hendryx]] – [[Backing vocalist|backing vocals]]
* [[Nona Hendryx]] – backing vocals
* [[Adrian Belew]] – [[guitar]]
* [[Adrian Belew]] – guitar
 
== References ==
 
{{Reflist}}

Latest revision as of 14:19, 21 May 2024

Once in a Lifetime
File:Onceinalifetimesingle.jpg
Cover art of UK 7-inch and 12-inch vinyl singles
Single by Talking Heads
from the album Remain in Light
B-side
Released
RecordedJuly–August 1980
Studio
GenreNew wave, rock, art pop
Length4:19
LabelSire
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Brian Eno
Talking Heads singles chronology
Crosseyed and Painless
(1980)
Once in a Lifetime
(1980)
Houses in Motion
(1980)

"And She Was"
(1985)

"Once in a Lifetime (Live)"
(1985)

"Wild Wild Life"
(1986)
Alternative release
A-side label of US vinyl single
Music video
Template:YouTube
Audio
Template:YouTube

Once in a Lifetime is a song by Talking Heads, produced and cowritten by Brian Eno. It was released in October 1980 on their fourth album Remain in Light, and as a single in January 1981.

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 it one of the 100 most important American musical works of the 20th century. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame lists it as one of the "500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll", and Rolling Stone ranked it at number 28 on its 2021 list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". The music video has been named among the greatest by several publications.

Production

Like other songs on Remain in Light, Talking Heads and the producer Brian Eno developed Once in a Lifetime by recording jams, isolating the best parts, and learning to play them repetitively. The English musician Robert Palmer joined the jam on guitar and percussion. The technique was influenced by early hip hop and the Afrobeat music of artists such as Fela Kuti, which Eno had introduced to the band. The singer, David Byrne, likened the process to modern looping and sampling, describing the band as "human samplers". He said the song was a result of the band trying and failing to play funk, inadvertently creating something new instead

The track was initially not one of Eno's favorites, and the band almost abandoned it. According to the keyboardist, Jerry Harrison, "Because there were so few chord changes, and everything was in a sort of trance... it became harder to write defined choruses." However, Byrne had faith in the song and felt he could write lyrics to it. Eno developed the chorus melody by singing wordlessly, and the song "fell into place". Harrison developed the "bubbly" synthesizer line and added the Hammond organ climax, taken from the Velvet Underground's What Goes On.

Eno interpreted the rhythm differently from the band, with the third beat of the bar as the first. He encouraged the band members to interpret the beat in different ways, thereby exaggerating different rhythmic elements.[1] According to Eno, "This means the song has a funny balance, with two centers of gravity – their funk groove, and my dubby, reggae-ish understanding of it; a bit like the way Fela Kuti songs will have multiple rhythms going on at the same time, warping in and out of each other."

According to the bassist, Tina Weymouth, the drummer, Chris Frantz, created the bassline by yelling during a jam, which she mimicked on bass guitar. She wanted to "leave lots of space for the cacophony that surrounded me. I felt like I was pounding away like a carpenter, just nailing away to get it in the groove." Eno removed the bass note from the first beat of the bar, as he felt it was too "obvious", and rerecorded the part. When Talking Heads returned to New York and Eno had gone home, the engineer had Weymouth record the bassline again. She said: "It wasn't a big fight between me and Brian, as it has sometimes been portrayed, it was just a musical dispute."

Lyrics

Byrne improvised lines as if he were giving a sermon, with a call-and-response chorus like a preacher and congregation. His vocals are "half-spoken, half-sung", with lyrics about living in a "beautiful house" with a "beautiful wife" and a "large automobile".

The Guardian writer Jack Malcolm suggested that the song can be read "as an art-pop rumination on the existential ticking time bomb of unchecked consumerism and advancing age". According to the AllMusic critic Steve Huey, the lyrics address "the drudgery of living life according to social expectations, and pursuing commonly accepted trophies (a large automobile, beautiful house, beautiful wife)". Although the singer has these, he questions whether they are real and how he acquired them, a kind of existential crisis.

Byrne denied that the lyrics address yuppie greed and said the song was about the unconscious: "We operate half-awake or on autopilot and end up, whatever, with a house and family and job and everything else, and we haven't really stopped to ask ourselves, 'How did I get here?' Eno observed that Byrne combined the "blood-and-thunder intonation of the preacher" with optimistic lyrics: "It's saying what a fantastic place we live in, let's celebrate it. That was a radical thing to do when everyone was so miserable and grey!"

Music video

A still from the "Once in a Lifetime" music video. Singer David Byrne, dressed in a suit, bowtie and glasses, mimics the hand movements of a woman performing a ritual dance.
In the "Once in a Lifetime" music video, singer David Byrne, dressed in a suit, bowtie and glasses, dances erratically over footage of religious rituals.

In the Once in a Lifetime music video, Byrne appears in a large, empty white room, dressed in a suit, bowtie and glasses. In the background, inserted via bluescreen, footage of religious rituals or multiple Byrnes appears. Byrne dances erratically, imitating the movements of the rituals and moving in "spasmic" full-body contortions. At the end of the video, a "normal" version of Byrne appears in a black room, dressed in a white, open-collared shirt, without glasses.

The video was directed by Byrne and Toni Basil and choreographed by Basil. They studied archive footage of religious rituals from around the world, including footage of evangelists, African tribes, Japanese sects and people in trances, for Byrne to incorporate into his performance. The televangelist Ernest Angley was another inspiration. According to Basil, "David kind of choreographed himself. I set up the camera, put him in front of it, and asked him to absorb those ideas. Then I left the room so he could be alone with himself. I came back, looked at the videotape, and we chose physical moves that worked with the music. I just helped to stylize his moves a little." To emphasize Byrne's jerky movements, Basil used an "old-fashioned" zoom lens. The video was made on a low budget; Basil described it as "about as low-tech as you could get and still be broadcastable".

Release

In February 1981 Once in a Lifetime reached Template:Thinspace on the Dutch Top 40 and in March peaked at Template:Thinspace on the UK Singles Chart. In the UK it was certified silver in January 2018 and gold in April 2021. A live version, taken from the 1984 concert film Stop Making Sense, reached number 91 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in 1986. In 2020, Once in a Lifetime reached no. 10 on the US Rock Digital Song Sales.

Record World called the single "a polyrhythmic journey through his heart of darkness" and said that "the vocal intensity and melodic beauty are enthralling".

A 12-inch promotional dance club mix was released by Sire in October 1984. An early version of Once in a Lifetime, Right Start, was released on the 2006 Remain in Light reissue.

Legacy

In 1996, Kermit the Frog performed Once in a Lifetime on Muppets Tonight while wearing Byrne's "big suit" and mimicking his dances from Stop Making Sense. In 2000, NPR named Once in a Lifetime one of the 100 most important American musical works of the 20th century. In 2016, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame listed it as one of the "500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll", and Malcolm Jack wrote in The Guardian that the song "is a thing of dizzying power, beauty and mystery [...] it sounds like nothing else in the history of pop."

In 2018, the musician Travis Morrison appeared on NPR's All Songs Considered, where he selected Once in a Lifetime as a "perfect song" and said: "The lyrics are astounding; they are meaningless and totally meaningful at the same time. That's as good as rock lyrics get." In 2021, Rolling Stone ranked Once in a Lifetime number 28 on its list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".

In 1989, Spin readers voted the Once in a Lifetime video the sixth-best of the 1980s. In 2003, the BBC critic Chris Jones described the Once in a Lifetime video as "hilarious" and "as compelling as it was in 1981". In 2021, Rolling Stone named it the 81st best music video.

The music video for "Weird Al" Yankovic's 1989 song UHF contains a segment where Yankovic recreates the music video, wearing a similar suit and doing similar dance moves.

Personnel

Talking Heads

Additional personnel

References