Blondie

Inducted into the prestigious Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006, Blondie emerged as the great pop icon of New York's celebrated late '70s new wave punk scene by defying easy categorization. They wrote great rock hooks and brilliant, ironic lyrics. They had the hippest clothes and the coolest hair. Debbie Harry went from the pages of Punk magazine to being on the cover of just about every mainstream publication on the newsstands. The band has won numerous awards over the years, including the NME Godlike Genius Award in 2014, the Q Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music in 2016, and the Silver Clef Outstanding Achievement Award in 2017. They were also nominated for a Best Historical Album Grammy Award for their Blondie Archival Box Set "Against The Odds" in 2022.

The original Blondie was formed in 1974 by art student/guitarist Chris Stein and ex-folkie and ex-Max's Kansas City waitress, vocalist/songwriter Deborah Harry. Drummer Clem Burke and keyboard player Jimmy Destri joined in 1975. The band played the fabled New York downtown circuit of CBGB's, Max's Kansas City, and Mothers, amassing a major following before recording their first album, "Blondie," in 1976 for the Private Stock label. It was released in 1977 and was well received as the band toured in support of Iggy Pop and David Bowie. Their first commercial success occurred in Australia in 1977 when their video "In the Flesh" was mistakenly played on the music television program "Countdown," which Blondie credits Molly Meldrum for their initial success.

In the summer of 1977, they released their second album, Plastic Letters, and toured Europe and Asia. In March '78, the single "Denis" hit 2 in the U.K. That summer, the band worked with producer Mike Chapman to hone their radio sound and create the album Parallel Lines, with the single "Picture This" going 12 in the U.K. and the follow-up, "Hanging on the Telephone," hitting 5. Blondie had their first 1 record in the U.S. with "Heart of Glass," which also sold over a million copies in the U.K., with the album moving more than 20 million copies worldwide. The fourth single from Parallel Lines, "Sunday Girl," also hit 1 in the U.K.

In September 1979, the band's fourth album, "Eat to the Beat," was released, along with the first-ever album-length video. Before year's end, Blondie continued their chart presence in the U.K. with the 2 hit "Dreaming." By February '80, they landed another 1 U.K. single in "Atomic" and two months later scaled the U.S. charts a second time with "Call Me," from the Paul Schrader film, American Gigolo. Before the end of the year, "Eat to the Beat" was certified platinum. The next single, "Call Me," spent six consecutive weeks at number one in the US and Canada.

The fifth Blondie album, "Autoamerican," produced the 1 U.K. smash, "The Tide Is High," which duplicated that feat in the U.S. The band appeared on the popular TV show Solid Gold, and soon the album was solid platinum. Debbie released her first solo album, "Koo Koo," produced by Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards of Chic and featuring a cover by H.R. Giger, the Academy Award-winning sci-fi artist who created the Alien creature. They continued their success, releasing several hit singles, including "Dreaming," "One Way or Another," and "Rapture."

The band produced "The Hunter" in 1982, which included the single "Island of Lost Souls," their final U.S. hit before Chris was felled by a rare and often fatal genetic disease, which led to a sudden hiatus for the group. They returned to the scene in 1997 and achieved renewed success with their single "Maria" in 1999. The band's 11th studio album, "The Curse of Blondie," featured 14 powerful new songs, probably the most musically varied and experimental album in the group's history. As of now, Blondie is working on their twelfth studio album in preparation for a new documentary film and scripted feature slated for 2024, proving that the band's creative energy is still very much alive.

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