 Blondie was the most commercially successful band to emerge
from the much-vaunted punk/new wave movement of the late '70s. The group was
formed in New York City in August 1974 by singer Deborah Harry (b. July 1, 1945,
Miami), formerly of Wind in the Willows, and guitarist Chris Stein (b. January
5, 1950, Brooklyn) out of the remnants of Harry's previous group, the Stilettos.
The lineup fluctuated over the next year. Drummer Clement Burke (b. November 24,
1955, New York) joined in May 1975. Bassist Gary Valentine joined in August. In
October, keyboard player James Destri (b. April 13, 1954) joined, to complete
the initial permanent lineup. They released their first album, Blondie, on
Private Stock Records in December 1976. In July 1977, Valentine was replaced by
Frank Infante.In August, Chrysalis Records bought their contract from Private
Stock and in October reissued Blondie and released the second album, Plastic
Letters. Blondie expanded to a sextet in November with the addition of bassist
Nigel Harrison (born in Princes Risborough, Buckinghamshire, England), as
Infante switched to guitar. Blondie broke commercially in the U.K. in March
1978, when their cover of Randy and the Rainbows' 1963 hit "Denise," renamed
"Denis," became a Top Ten hit, as did Plastic Letters, followed by a second U.K.
Top Ten, "(I'm Always Touched By Your) Presence, Dear." Blondie turned to U.K.
producer/songwriter Mike Chapman for their third album, Parallel Lines, which
was released in September 1978 and eventually broke them worldwide. "Picture
This" became a U.K. Top 40 hit, and "Hanging on the Telephone" made the U.K. Top
Ten, but it was the album's third single, the disco-influenced "Heart of Glass,"
that took Blondie to number one in both the U.K. and the U.S. "Sunday Girl" hit
number one in the U.K. in May, and "One Way or Another" hit the U.S. Top 40 in
August. Blondie followed with their fourth album, Eat to the Beat, in October.
Its first single, "Dreaming," went Top Ten in the U.K., Top 40 in the U.S. The
second U.K. single, "Union City Blue," went Top 40. In March 1980, the third
U.K. single from Eat to the Beat, "Atomic," became the group's third British
number one. (It later made the U.S. Top 40.)
Meanwhile, Harry was collaborating with German disco producer Giorgio Moroder on
"Call Me," the theme from the movie American Gigolo. It became Blondie's second
transatlantic chart-topper. Blondie's fifth album, Autoamerican, was released in
November 1980, and its first single was the reggaeish tune "The Tide Is High,"
which went to number one in the U.S. and U.K. The second single was the
rap-oriented "Rapture," which topped the U.S. pop charts and went Top Ten in the
U.K. But the band's eclectic style reflected a diminished participation by its
members -- Infante sued, charging that he wasn't being used on the records,
though he settled and stayed in the lineup. But in 1981, the members of Blondie
worked on individual projects, notably Harry's gold-selling solo album, KooKoo.
The Best of Blondie was released in the fall of the year. The Hunter, Blondie's
sixth and last new album, was released in May 1982, preceded by the single
"Island of Lost Souls," a Top 40 hit in the U.S. and U.K. "War Child" also
became a Top 40 hit in the U.K., but The Hunter was a commercial disappointment.
At the same time, Stein became seriously ill with the genetic disease pemphigus.
As a result, Blondie broke up in October 1982, with Deborah Harry launching a
part-time solo career while caring for Stein, who eventually recovered. In 1998,
the original lineup of Harry, Stein, Destri, and Burke reunited to tour Europe,
their first series of dates in 16 years; a new LP, No Exit, followed early the
next year.
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