Big suits, big ideas, and a whole lot of creative energy—musician and cultural visionary David Byrne (1952–) was born on this day in Dumbarton, Scotland and raised in Baltimore, Maryland.

He studied photography, performance, and video at Rhode Island School of Design and later said, “Singing is a trick to get people to listen to music for longer than they would ordinarily.”

Best known as the lead singer of the creative and genre-defying band Talking Heads, Byrne helped shape modern rock with hits like Psycho Killer, Burning Down the House, and Road to Nowhere.

Their 1984 concert film Stop Making Sense, directed by Jonathan Demme, is widely considered a masterpiece.

“You are your Superself,” Byrne wrote in Your Action World. “And nothing can stop you now.”

After the band split in 1991, Byrne launched his own record label Luaka Bop, explored global music, photography, and filmmaking. He earned an Oscar for scoring The Last Emperor.

“It’s great to get your head into something else,” he said. “I could let whatever I was hearing and what I was feeling gestate.”