"Genius of Love" is credited to songwriters Tina Weymouth, Chris Frantz, guitarist Adrian Belew, and producer Steven Stanley.

According to Talking Heads biographer David Bowman, the song originated after Frantz "copped a beat from Zapp's 1980 hit 'More Bounce to the Ounce'."

[9] The lyrics also pay tribute to many notable black musicians and singers, including George Clinton, Bootsy Collins, Smokey Robinson, Bob Marley, Sly and Robbie, Kurtis Blow, Hamilton Bohannon, and James Brown.

Frantz and Weymouth performed the song as Tom Tom Club in the 1984 Talking Heads concert movie Stop Making Sense, as an interlude to allow Talking Heads frontman David Byrne to change into the "big suit" costume for the film's performance of "Girlfriend Is Better".

"[13] The official hand-drawn crayon and colored pencil animated music video for "Genius of Love" was produced by the band along with Cucumber Studios Ltd.[14] On its release in November 1981, "Genius of Love" became a huge hit in clubs and on R&B and dance charts worldwide, soon earning the Tom Tom Club studio album a Gold Sales Award in 1982.

[17] Notable early versions include Dr. Jeckyl & Mr. Hyde's "Genius Rap" (1981) and Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five's "It's Nasty" (1982).

[17] Perhaps the most well-known use of "Genius of Love" is heard on American singer Mariah Carey's "Fantasy", the lead single off her multiplatinum fifth studio album, Daydream (Columbia 1995).