# David Byrne discography

This article catalogs the ongoing discography of Scottish-American recording artist, composer, musician, and producer David Byrne, former singer for Talking Heads.

## Albums
### Studio albums

| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions |
| Title | Album details | US | AUS | BEL (Fl.) | ITA | NLD | NZ | SWE | UK |
| My Life in the Bush of Ghosts (with Brian Eno) | Released: February 1981 Rereleased: March 27, 2006 Label: Sire | 44 | 47 | 62 | 29 | — | 8 | — | 29 |
| Rei Momo | Released: October 3, 1989 Label: Luaka Bop, Sire | 71 | 96 | — | — | 88 | — | 28 | 52 |
| Uh-Oh | Released: March 3, 1992 Label: Luaka Bop, Warner Bros. | 125 | 67 | — | — | 52 | 39 | 26 | 26 |
| David Byrne | Released: May 24, 1994 Label: Luaka Bop, Warner Bros. | 139 | — | — | — | — | — | 20 | 43 |
| Feelings | Released: June 17, 1997 Label: Luaka Bop, Warner Bros. | 155 | — | — | — | — | — | 42 | 91 |
| Look into the Eyeball | Released: May 8, 2001 Label: Virgin | 120 | — | — | 15 | — | — | — | 58 |
| Grown Backwards | Released: March 16, 2004 Label: Nonesuch, Warner Bros. | 178 | — | 55 | 29 | — | — | — | 88 |
| Everything That Happens Will Happen Today (with Brian Eno) | Released: August 18, 2008 Label: Todo Mundo | 174 | 66 | 58 | — | — | 31 | — | — |
| Love This Giant (with St. Vincent) | Released: September 10, 2012 Label: 4AD, Todo Mundo | 23 | — | 51 | 52 | 83 | — | — | 40 |
| American Utopia | Released: March 9, 2018 Label: Nonesuch | 3 | 82 | 19 | 32 | 43 | — | — | 16 |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. ||||||||||

### Soundtracks and music for theater

| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions |
| Title | Album details | US | BEL (Fl.) | NLD | NZ | SWE | UK |
| The Catherine Wheel | Released: December 1981 Label: Sire | 104 | — | — | 32 | 40 | — |
| Music for "The Knee Plays" | Released: May 1985 Label: ECM | 141 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Sounds from True Stories | Released: 1986 Label: Sire | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| The Last Emperor (with Ryuichi Sakamoto and Cong Su) | Released: 1987 Label: Virgin | 152 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Your Action World | Released: January 1, 1999 Self-released | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| In Spite of Wishing and Wanting | Released: 1999 Self-released | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| E.E.E.I. (Envisioning Emotional Epistemological Information) | Released: July 2, 2003 Self-released | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Lead Us Not into Temptation | Released: September 30, 2003 Label: Thrill Jockey | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Big Love: Hymnal | Released: August 19, 2008 Label: Todo Mundo, HBO, Play Tone | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Here Lies Love (with Fatboy Slim) | Released: April 6, 2010 Label: Todomundo, Nonesuch | 96 | 96 | 83 | — | — | 76 |
| American Utopia on Broadway Original Cast Recording | Released: October 25, 2019 Label: Nonesuch | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. ||||||||
In addition to the scores and soundtracks that Byrne recorded have been released as albums, Byrne has written music for several other productions:
* Dead End Kids: A Story of Nuclear Power by Joanne Akalaitis
* Main title theme for Alive from Off Center season 1 (1984)
* Something Wild by Jonathan Demme: "Loco de Amor" song co-written with Johnny Pacheco; sung with Celia Cruz backed by Ray Barretto's band (1986)
* Married to the Mob by Jonathan Demme (1988)
* A Young Man's Dream and a Woman's Secret by Philip Haas (1990)
* The Giant Woman and the Lightning Man by Philip Haas (1990)

### Live albums

| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Peak chart positions |
| Title | Album details | US World | PRT |
| Between the Teeth | Released: 1993 Format: VHS | — | — |
| David Byrne Live at Union Chapel | Released: October 26, 2004 Label: Nonesuch Format: DVD | — | — |
| Live from Austin, Texas | Released: October 2, 2007 Label: New West Format: CD, DVD | — | — |
| Everything That Happens Will Happen on This Tour – David Byrne on Tour: Songs of David Byrne and Brian Eno | Released: May 11, 2009 Label: Todo Mundo Format: CD, digital download | — | — |
| Live at Carnegie Hall (with Caetano Veloso) | Released: March 12, 2012 Label: Nonesuch | 8 | 28 |
| "...The Best Live Show of All Time" —NME | Released: December 11, 2018 Label: Nonesuch, Todo Mundo | — | — |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. ||||

### Remix albums

| Title | Album details |
| The Visible Man | Released: 1998 Label: Luaka Bop |

## Singles

* "Regiment" b/w "America Is Waiting" (with Brian Eno) – 1981
* "The Jezebel Spirit" (with Brian Eno) – 1981
* "Big Blue Plymouth (Eyes Wide Open)" – 1981
* "The Last Emperor" (with Ryuichi Sakamoto) – 1987
* "Make Believe Mambo" – 1989
* "Dirty Old Town" – 1989
* "The Forestry" – 1991
* "Hanging Upside Down" – 1992
* "She's Mad" – 1992
* "Girls on My Mind" – 1992
* "Angels" – 1994
* "Back in the Box" – 1994
* "Miss America" – 1997
* "Like Humans Do" – 2001
* "U.B. Jesus" – 2001
* "Strange Overtones" (with Brian Eno) – 2008
* "Who" (with St. Vincent) – 2012
* "Everybody's Coming to My House" – 2018
* "David Byrne Does Hard Times (with Paramore) – 2024

### Compilation appearances

| Year | Release | Track(s) |
| 1989 | Like a Girl I Want You to Keep Coming | "Song for the Trees (or) I Know Sometimes the World Is Wrong" |
| 1990 | Red Hot + Blue | "Don't Fence Me In" |
| 1993 | Caged/Uncaged: A Rock/Experimental Homage to John Cage | "Cage and the Long Island Expressway" and "Enlightened Whistler" |
| 1994 | Beat the Retreat: Songs by Richard Thompson | "Just the Motion", originally by Richard Thompson |
| 1995 | Afro-Peruvian Classics: The Soul of Black Peru | "Maria Lando" |
| 1996 | Red Hot + Rio | "Waters of March" with Marisa Monte |
| 1996 | Offbeat: A Red Hot Soundtrip | "It Goes Back" |
| 1997 | Red Hot + Latin | "Yolonda Niguas" with Café Tacuba |
| 1998 | Red Hot + Lisbon | "Dreamworld: Marco de Canavezes" with Caetano Veloso |
| 2000 | Mantra Mix | "Ain't Got So Far to Go" |
| 2002 | The Only Blip Hop Record You Will Ever Need, Vol. 1 | "Pocket Monster" |
| 2004 | The Wired CD | "My Fair Lady" |
| 2007 | Plum | "Ex-Guru", originally by The Fiery Furnaces |
| 2007 | The Simpsons: Testify | "Everybody Hates Ned Flanders" medley |
| 2009 | Dark Was the Night | "Knotty Pine", with Dirty Projectors |
| 2022 | Ocean Child: Songs of Yoko Ono | "Who Has Seen the Wind?" |

## Session work
### As musician

| Year | Artist | Release | Notes |
| 1978 | Dinosaur | "Kiss Me Again" single | Guitar |
| 1980 | Love of Life Orchestra | "Extended Nicities" single | Guitar |
| 1980 | Robert Fripp | God Save the Queen/Under Heavy Manners | Vocals on "Under Heavy Manners"; credited as Absalam el Habib |
| 1984 | The Staple Singers | "Slippery People" single | Guitar, Talking Heads cover version |
| 1986 | Philip Glass | Song from Liquid Days | Lyrics on "Liquid Days" and "Open the Kingdom" |
| 1988 | Tom Tom Club | Boom Boom Chi Boom Boom | Vocals on "Femme Fatale" |
| 1988 | Tom Tom Club | "Femme Fatale" (Marshall Jefferson remix) | Vocals |
| 1990 | Margareth Menezes | Elegibô | Vocals and production on "Canto pra Subir" and "Abra a Boca" |
| 1990 | Bernie Worrell | Funk of Ages | Co-writing and vocals on "Sing" |
| 1992 | Richard Thompson | An Acoustic Evening | Recorded live at St. Ann & The Holy Trinity, Brooklyn Heights, March 24, 1992. (Red Phantom: RPCD 1100) |
| 1992 | Balanescu Quartet | Byrne/Moran/Lurie/Torke | Composition on "High Life for Strings" |
| 1992 | Tom Zé | Brazil Classics, Vol. 5: The Hips of Tradition | Vocals and guitar on "Jingle do Disco", released on Luaka Bop |
| 1994 | Ryuichi Sakamoto | Sweet Revenge | Lyrics on "Psychedelic Afternoon" |
| 1995 | Selena | Dreaming of You | Vocals, co-writing, and production on "God's Child (Baila Conmigo)" |
| 1996 | Café Tacuba | Avalanche de Exitos | Vocals on "No Controles" |
| 2000 | Peret and Carol C | Tributo a Peret | Vocals on "Si Fulano" |
| 2001 | Vinicius Cantuária | Vinicius | Lyrics and vocals on "Rio" |
| 2002 | X-Press 2 | Muzikizum | Co-writing and vocals on "Lazy", later rearranged and released on Grown Backwards |
| 2004 | 10,000 Maniacs | Campfire Songs: The Popular, Obscure and Unknown Recordings | Vocals "Let the Mystery Be", originally recorded for 1993's MTV Unplugged, along with cover versions of "Dallas" and "Jolene" |
| 2004 | Thievery Corporation | The Cosmic Game | Lyrics and vocals on "The Heart's a Lonely Hunter" |
| 2005 | Fischerspooner | Odyssey | Lyrics on "Get Confused" |
| 2006 | Forro in the Dark | Bonfires of São João | Vocals on "Asa Branca" and "I Wish (Bundle of Contradictions)" |
| 2006 | La Portuaria | La Portuaria | Lyrics and vocals on "Hoy no le temo a la muerte" |
| 2007 | Baby Elephant | Turn My Teeth Up! | Vocals on "How Does the Brainwave?" |
| 2007 | Marisa Monte | Universo Ao Meu Redor | Vocals on "State of Liberty" |
| 2007 | David Shrigley | Worried Noodles | Vocals on "For You" |
| 2007 | Paul Van Dyk | In Between | Vocals on "Fall with Me" |
| 2008 | The BPA and Dizzee Rascal | I Think We're Gonna Need a Bigger Boat | Vocals on "Toe Jam" |
| 2009 | N.A.S.A. | The Spirit of Apollo | Vocals on "The People Tree" and "Money" |
| 2009 | Brazilian Girls | "I'm Losing Myself" | Vocals |
| 2010 | If By Yes | "Salt on Sea Glass" | Vocals on "Eliza" |
| 2010 | Maximum Balloon | Maximum Balloon | Vocals on "Apartment Wrestling" |
| 2011 | Arcade Fire | The Suburbs (Deluxe Edition) | Vocals on "Speaking in Tongues" |
| 2013 | Jun Miyake | Lost Memory Theatre - act-1 | Vocals on "A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes" |
| 2013 | Ryuichi Sakamoto | "Psychedelic Afternoon" | Re-recording of a 1994 collaboration; new lyrics and vocals |
| 2014 | Anna Calvi | Strange Weather | Vocals on "I'm the Man, That Will Find You (Connan Mockasin)" and "Strange Weather (Keren Ann)" |
| 2016 | De La Soul | And the Anonymous Nobody... | Co-writing and vocals on "Snoopies" |
| 2022 | Montaigne | "Always Be You" single | Vocals |
| 2022 | Montaigne | "Gravity" single | Vocals |
| 2022 | Son Lux | Everything Everywhere All At Once soundtrack | Co-writing and vocals on "This Is a Life" |

### As producer

| Year | Artist | Release | Notes |
| 1982 | The B-52's | Mesopotamia | — |
| 1983 | Fun Boy Three | Waiting | — |
| 1986 | Various artists | Something Wild | Co-produced, also co-write and sang on "Loco de Amor" |
| 1990 | Margareth Menezes | Elegibô | "Canto pra Subir" and "Abra a Boca" also performs vocals |
| 1995 | Selena | Dreaming of You | "God's Child (Baila Conmigo)" also performs vocals and co-wrote |

## Compositions

* The Forest (1991) – orchestral music for the 1988 Robert Wilson theatre piece of the same name, released as an album.

## Other projects

Byrne has released a handful of books, including Arboretum, a collection of sketches of some of his favorite trees, and The New Sins, a work about sin in the 21st century. He has also made several public art installations, speaking engagements on art and technology, and PowerPoint presentations. In addition to a recording career as a solo artist, he also founded the record Label Luaka Bop and Todo Mundo.