Conceived by Talking Heads' bassist Tina Weymouth and drummer Chris Frantz as a project to explore new musical turf, Tom Tom Club became an innovative hit-making ensemble in their own right following the September 1981 release on their self-titled debut album.

Recorded at Compass Point Studios in the Bahamas, where Chris and Tina maintain a home, Tom Tom Club reflects both the sleepy tropical pulse of the caribbean and the distinctly urban rhythms percolating from ghetto blasters and Manhattan dance clubs.

It's music one critic has called 'a playful mesh of funk bump, reggae stride, punk moxie and lilting lover's rock'. The Tom Tom club music is very easy to get into. Chris said about it: ' We weren't into musical revolution. We wanted to make an easy, accessible record'.

The eight breezy, bright and wryly humorous original cuts on The Tom Tom Club were indeed instantly appealing, with 3 singles becoming major dance and radio hits.

'Wordy Rappinghood' was built around the staccato beat of a typewriter, while 'Genius Of Love' evoked, musically and by name, an honor roll of black music greats from Bob Marley to James Brown to Smokey Robinson. The third hit single was 'Under The Boardwalk', a track that replaced 'Booming And Zooming' on the second edition of the album.

Tracks:
- Wordy Rappinghood
- Genius Of Love
- Tom Tom Theme
- L'Elephant
- As Above, So Below
- Lorelei
- On, On, On, On
- Booming And Zooming (later replaced by 'Under The Boardwalk')
- Under The Boardwalk *
- Lorelei (Remix) *
- Wordy Rappinghood (Remix) *
- Genius Of Love (Long Version) *

*) Bonus track on the American CD-edition of the album. Both 'Booming' and 'Boardwalk' are on it as well.

A DeLuxe edition was released in 2009. Besides all tracks from the different edition of the album, it contains remixes and the bands second album "Close to the Bone" on a bonus disk.