Blondie
Blondie is an iconic American rock band that emerged from the vibrant New York City music scene in the 1970s, originally formed by singer Deborah Harry and guitarist Chris Stein. The group took its name from a common catcall directed at Harry, a former Playboy Bunny. Blondie became a significant player in the punk rock movement, gaining attention at venues like CBGB. Their breakthrough came with the album *Parallel Lines* in 1978, featuring hit singles such as "Heart of Glass," which showcased their unique blend of punk, disco, and New Wave influences. Throughout the late 1970s and early 1980s, Blondie achieved commercial success with albums like *Eat to the Beat* and *Autoamerican*, producing chart-topping hits including "Call Me" and "The Tide Is High." Despite internal discord and eventual disbandment in the early 1980s, the band reunited in the late 1990s and continues to tour and release new music. With their pioneering sound and cultural impact, Blondie remains a celebrated figure in rock history, recognized for influencing a generation of artists and shaping the New Wave genre.
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Blondie
Identification American New Wave musical group
Date Initially active 1975–1982; reunited 1997
Blondie’s groundbreaking eclectic style increased the group’s worldwide popularity. Several hit singles achieved legendary status, and singer Debbie Harry’s glamorous image influenced the musical scene during the 1980s and beyond.
Blondie emerged from the fertile New York City music scene of the 1970s, initially formed by singer Deborah Harry and guitarist Chris Stein in 1974 as Harry's group the Stilettos fell apart. They took the name "Blondie" in reference to a common catcall Harry—a former Playboy Bunny—heard from passing truck drivers. Various members came and went over the next few years, with the lineup eventually settling in with drummer Clem Burke, bassist Gary Valentine, and keyboardist Jimmy Destri. The group played at some of the most notable venues of New York's punk rock scene, especially CBGB. As the mostly underground music of the scene began to attract commercial and critical notice, Blondie became one of the first regular performers to earn a record deal. However, their first release, Blondie (1976), failed to perform commercially.
In 1977 Valentine left Blondie and guitarist Frank Infante joined, splitting bass and guitar duties with Stein. Meanwhile, the band's contract was moved to Chrysalis Records. The new label reissued the group's first record and released its followup, Plastic Letters (1978), finding greater success, especially in Great Britain. Critics began to note the band's original sound, which departed from the basic sound of punk as an early example of what would become known as post-punk or New Wave. The group soon added bassist Nigel Harrison, allowing both Stein and Infante to focus on guitar and completing the band's classic lineup.
Blondie released their third album, Parallel Lines, later in 1978. It turned out to be the band's breakthrough, powered by the single "Heart of Glass," which became an international hit with its catchy, disco-influenced rhythm. The earlier singles "Picture This" and "Hanging on the Telephone" were also successful, but it was "Heart of Glass" and then "One Way or Another" that made Blondie a major band in the United States. The album was critically acclaimed, held as a prime example of New Wave and power pop and credited with helping to bring those rock subgenres into the mainstream. It would eventually go on to sell well over 20 million copies.
The music of the group’s last 1970s album, Eat to the Beat (1979), seemed by comparison uneven to many listeners, although the album was still certified platinum, selling more than one million copies by 1980. It included the remarkable single "Dreaming," as well as Blondie’s third number-one hit in the United Kingdom, "Atomic." In 1980, the group also released its greatest hit and the number-one single of the year, "Call Me," originally written as the theme for the film American Gigolo (1980). A collaboration pairing Harry’s lyrics with music by Italian songwriter and producer Giorgio Moroder, "Call Me" was an early example of Europop. The single remained at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart for six weeks.
By this time, Blondie was world famous for its successful mix of glam rock, power pop, punk, and disco. The band released two original albums during the 1980s, Autoamerican (1980), the group’s third platinum hit, and The Hunter (1982). The diversity of Autoamerican added to Blondie’s reputation as a trendsetter, and two of the album’s songs proved to be chart toppers in the United States. The reggae strains of "The Tide Is High" and the rap coda to "Rapture" brought Blondie credit for introducing new sounds to mainstream audiences. Although Autoamerican sold well, internal disagreements and individual interests in outside projects damaged the group’s cohesiveness.
The release of Debbie Harry’s solo album KooKoo (1981) may have compounded the problem. An earlier advertising campaign claiming "Blondie is a group" had failed to persuade the public that the band was more than a backup for the blond vocalist, and the confusion worsened as the vocalist’s reputation grew. Further complications emerged, as Clem Burke worked as a producer for another group and Jimmy Destri prepared to record his own solo album. Infante also pursued a lawsuit against the rest of the group, alleging that he had been excluded from the Autoamerican sessions; the suit was settled out of court and the guitarist remained a band member. With some reluctance on the part of Harry, the group recorded The Hunter in 1982, a musical failure that ended the 1980s career of Blondie as a group. The sextet disbanded when Chris Stein became ill with pemphigus, a genetic skin disease, and Harry, who had long been romantically involved with Stein, suspended her career to nurse him back to health.
Two Blondie compilations were released to round out the 1980s, The Best of Blondie (1981) and Once More into the Bleach (1988). Harry and other members pursued solo careers, but none found as much success as Blondie. In 1998, Harry and Stein reunited with Burke and Destri to form a new version of the band with additional new members, and the next year they released the album No Exit. The revamped Blondie continued to tour, and released the album The Curse of Blondie in 2003. The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006, and released another compilation, Greatest Hits: Sound & Vision, the same year. Subsequent studio albums included Panic of Girls (2011), Ghosts of Download (2014), and Pollinator (2017).
Impact
Although Blondie’s importance in the music world faded after their initial breakup, several of the group’s hit singles became classics. A music video of "Rapture" appeared on MTV soon after the network began broadcasting in 1981, and Debbie Harry’s edgy, platinum-blond sexuality influenced many other female lead singers of the times. The group remains considered a pioneer of the New Wave sound and an icon of late 1970s and 1980s rock music.
Key Figures
Debbie Harry (1945- ), Blondie’s cofounder and lead singerChris Stein (1950- ), Blondie’s cofounder and guitaristFrank Infante (1951- ), guitarist of Blondie’s classic lineupJimmy Destri (1954- ), keyboardist of Blondie’s classic lineupClem Burke (1955- ), drummer of Blondie’s classic lineupNigel Harrison (1951- ), bassist of Blondie’s classic lineup
Bibliography
Che, Cathay. Deborah Harry: The Biography. Revised and updated edition, Andre Deutsch, 2014.
Harry, Debbie, Chris Stein, and Victor Bockris. Making Tracks: The Rise of Blondie. Da Capo Press, 1998.
McLeod, Kembrew. Parallel Lines. Bloomsbury, 2016.
Rock, Mick. Picture This. London: Sanctuary, 2004.
Ruhlmann, William. "Blondie." AllMusic, 2017, www.allmusic.com/artist/blondie-mn0000044764/biography. Accessed 19 Oct. 2017.