Provenance in Providence: Lost demo tape of Talking Heads’ ‘Psycho Killer’ resurfaces at RISD
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — When the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) acquired a collection of materials from a New York artist, archivists likely had no idea they were also receiving an early piece of music history.
First reported by the Boston Globe, nestled among the documents was a demo tape featuring three songs recorded by members of the Talking Heads, including smash hit “Psycho Killer” — long before they became the legendary band known today.
Now, nearly half a century later, that tape has found its way back to RISD, a full-circle moment for a band with roots planted in Providence.
Band origins
Talking Heads members Chris Frantz and David Byrne met as students at RISD, and made music in their college band called The Artistics.
The band booked only a handful of local gigs, including a Valentine’s Day party in the Bank Building, which was a gymnasium at the time but now serves as studio space for painting majors at RISD.
In the spring semester of 1974, the band gathered in Frantz’s Benefit Street apartment to record a demo tape. The cassette featured three tracks: “Warning Sign,” “Spin Spin” and “Psycho Killer.”
With hopes of gaining exposure, Frantz sent the demo and a handwritten letter to Alan Sondheim, an artist and former RISD instructor/lecturer who had moved to New York City, according to RISD Digital Archivist Douglas Doe.
The enclosed letter ended with a simple request: “Please return tape when through.”
But the tape never made its way back.
Instead, Doe said it became part of a correspondence collection that was eventually consigned to Printed Matter, a New York-based organization.
Frantz and Byrne made the move to New York City, where they formed Talking Heads with fellow RISD student Tina Weymouth. In 1977, the band released its debut studio record, “Talking Heads: 77” which featured the breakout hit “Pyscho Killer” that eventually climbed the charts.
Lost artifact resurfaces
In 2005, the RISD Museum purchased a collection of Sondheim’s materials, including the long-forgotten demo tape, which sat in a drawer unnoticed for almost two decades.
However, legal questions about ownership and copyright mean the museum could not properly archive it.
“The museum library archives documents what they collect and why, and this tape clearly fell outside their scope,” Doe explained. “But it definitely fits within ours because it documents student activity, who went on to become very famous.”
As a result, the tape was transferred to RISD’s archives after a curator stumbled upon it while cleaning out her desk, begging the question: Qu’est-ce que c’est?
Library officials contacted Frantz and Weymouth with the surprising news.
“I’m sure they were stunned that we actually had the tape, that it survived 50 years,” Doe said.
Upon its rediscovery, Frantz and Weymouth had the tape professionally copied and remastered, then returned it to RISD along with the letter that came with it.
“We were thrilled to receive it and took the necessary steps to find out, you know, the ownership of the copyright, and contact Chris and Tina and let them take the ball,” Doe said. “They very graciously gifted it to us, and we’re thrilled to have it.”
Local impact
Last week, RISD welcomed Frantz and Weymouth back to campus for a screening of Talking Heads’ 1984 concert film “Stop Making Sense.” There, they had the opportunity to view the recording.
Q & A with Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz of Talking Heads — Stop Making Sense at RISD (Courtesy: RISD)
Talking Heads’ impact on Rhode Island remains strong. Kevin Morosini, owner of Olympic Records on Wickenden Street, has seen firsthand how beloved the band is locally.
“They’ve always done really well here,” Morosini said. “I buy a lot of their albums, and it’s interesting to see how widespread their popularity was. I think it probably had something to do with them being local favorites.”
Morosini said their records don’t stay in his shop for long.
“These records, I sell them, they come and go. I put them right up on the wall, and people just sort of pluck them down and, I get asked quite a bit for all these records: ‘Talking Heads: 77,’ ‘Stop Making Sense.’ A little bit of everything,” he said.
Morosini owns an original “Psycho Killer” single picture sleeve, but explained that even finding the single itself is difficult.
“Truthfully, this is in great shape,” Morosini said. “This has been the only time I’ve seen this one. I’ve just been hanging onto it forever.”
When it comes to rare recordings, Morosini knows how easily they can be lost — or found.
“This stuff is out there,” he said, referencing other unearthed demos, like a John Coltrane recording discovered at the New York Public Library. “Somebody was looking for something else, stumbled across a box, and they were probably the first person to touch it in 30 or 40 years.”
As for the “Psycho Killer” demo, Morosini is eager to hear it remastered.
“I’ll be interested to see the quality of the tape when they actually get down to mastering it and pressing it,” he said.
According to Doe, Frantz and Weymouth plan to release a record sometime this year featuring that very demo, allowing fans to hear a pivotal moment in Talking Heads history.
While the RISD archives now own the original demo, they will never play it, as Doe said it is “simply an artifact we own.”
But its presence at RISD is a testament to the band’s roots — and to the unexpected journeys objects take through time. Doe is hopeful this isn’t a “Once in a Lifetime” find.
“Provenance can be a fascinating subject,” Doe said. “I get a lot of questions like that from the art museum. You know, paintings they have, they may have had. Researchers come right out and say, ‘Where did this come from?’ Who owned this?’ And they’re just fascinating questions to answer. I like giant puzzles.”
