Blondie

Blondie is an American rock band founded by singer Deborah Harry and guitarist Chris Stein. The band was a pioneer in the early American new wave and punk rock scenes of the mid-1970s. Their first two albums contained strong elements of these genres, and although successful in the United Kingdom and Australia, Blondie was regarded as an underground band in the United States until the release of Parallel Lines in 1978. Over the next three years, the band achieved several hit singles and was noted for its eclectic mix of musical styles incorporating elements of disco, pop and reggae, while retaining a basic style as a new wave band.

The band broke up after the release of their 1982 album The Hunter. Debbie Harry continued to pursue a solo career with varied results (though she took a few years off to care for partner Chris Stein, who had developed a life-threatening illness). Keyboardist Jimmy Destri also embarked on a solo career of his own with somewhat less success than Harry.

The group reformed in 1997, achieving renewed success and a number one single in the United Kingdom with "Maria" in 1999. The group toured and performed throughout the world over the following years, and was inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the RockWalk of Fame in 2006.Blondie.net - Official site. Retrieved September 7, 2006. Blondie has so far sold 40 million records worldwide.

History

Early career (1975–1978)

In the early 1970s, Chris Stein moved to Manhattan from Brooklyn

. There, inspired by the burgeoning new music scene New York Dolls, et al., aimed to join a similar band. He joined The Stilettos in 1973 as their guitarist and formed a romantic relationship with the band's vocalist, Debbie Harry. A former waitress and Playboy Bunny, Harry had been a member of the folk-rock band, The Wind in the Willows, in the late 1960s. In 1974, Stein parted ways with The Stilettos and Elda Gentile, the band's originator. Stein and Harry formed a new band with drummer Billy O'Connor and bassist Fred Smith. After some personnel turnover (other early members included sisters Tish Bellomo and Eileen Bellomo on backing vocals) by 1975, Stein and Harry were joined by drummer Clem Burke, keyboard player Jimmy Destri and bass player Gary Valentine. Originally billed as Angel and the Snake the band renamed themselves Blondie in late 1975. The name was derived from comments made by truck drivers who called "Hey, Blondie" to Harry as they drove by. Later, band members were bemused to learn that the name was shared by Adolf Hitler's dog 'Blondi'. Blondie recorded one song semi-anonymously under the name 'Adolf's Dog'. This is on an Iggy Pop tribute album.
ing." It also noted that Harry was the "possessor of a bombshell zombie's voice that can sound dreamily seductive and woodenly Mansonite within the same song".

Blondie, 1976. L-R: Gary Valentine, Clem Burke, Deborah Harry, Chris Stein and Jimmy Destri.
The band's first commercial success occurred in Australia in 1977, when the music television program Countdown mistakenly played their video "In the Flesh", which was the B-side of their current single "X-Offender". Jimmy Destri later credited the show's Molly Meldrum for their initial success, commenting that "we still thank him to this day" for playing the wrong song. In a 1998 interview, bandmember Clem Burke recalled seeing the episode in which the wrong song was played, but he and Chris Stein suggested that it may have been a deliberate subterfuge on the part of Meldrum. Stein asserted that "X-Offender" was "too crazy and aggressive become a hit", while "In the Flesh" was "not representative of any punk sensibility. Over the years, I've thought they probably played both things but liked one better. That's all." In retrospect, Burke described "In the Flesh" as "a forerunner to the power ballad".last= Cashmere

The single and album each reached the Australian top five in October 1977, and a subsequent double-A release of "X-Offender" and "Rip Her to Shreds" was also popular. A successful Australian tour followed in December, though it was marred by an incident in Brisbane when disappointed fans almost rioted after Harry canceled a performance due to illness.

In 1977, Blondie released their second album, "Plastic Letters" (UK #10, US #78). The album was recorded as a four-piece band because Gary Valentine had left.Citation needed
Allmusic later described Plastic Letters as inferior to its predecessor, saying that with the exception of the two singles, it appeared to have been constructed from "leftovers" from the Blondie album. It noted that Gottehrer's production could not compensate for the "pedestrian musical tracks" or save the album from "general mediocrity".

Mainstream success (1978–1981)

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The reformed band released the follow-up album The Curse of Blondie (UK #36, US #160) in October 2003. Curse proved to be Blondie's lowest-charting album since their debut in 1976, although the single "Good Boys" managed to reach number 12 on the UK charts. In 2004, Jimmy Destri retired from touring, leaving only Harry, Stein and Burke (from the original line-up) appearing at live shows, though Destri continued to work as a member of the band in the studio.

Legacy and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction (2006)

By 1982, the year the band broke up, Blondie had released six studio albums, each exhibiting a stylistic progression from the last. The band is known not only for the striking stage persona and vocal performances of Harry but also for incorporating elements in their work from numerous subgenres of popular music, reaching from their punk roots to embrace New Wave, disco, and hip hop.Citation needed
In March 2006, Blondie, following an introductory speech by Shirley Manson of Garbage, were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Seven members were invited to the ceremony, which led to an on-stage spat between the extant group and their former bandmates Nigel Harrison and Frank Infante, who asked during the live broadcast of the ceremony to be allowed to perform with the group, a request refused by Harry. On May 22, 2006, Blondie were inducted into the Rock Walk of Fame at Guitar Center on Hollywood's Sunset Boulevard. New inductees are voted on by previous Rock Walk inductees.

Blondie undertook a North American tour of mid-sized venues with Pat Benatar and The Donnas in the summer of 2009, where they premiered a new song called "Love Doesn't Frighten Me".

Band members

Current members

Debbie Harry - lead vocals (1975–1982, 1997–present)
Chris Stein - guitar, bass (1975–1982, 1997–present)
Clem Burke - drums, percussion, backing vocals (1975–1982, 1997–present)
Paul Carbonara - guitar (1997–present)
Leigh Foxx - bass (1997–present)
Jimmy Destri - keyboards, piano, synthesizer, organ, backing vocals (1975–1982, 1997–present) - Not touring since 2003

Touring members

Matt Katz-Bohen - keyboards, piano, organ (2008–present)

Former members

Frank Infante - guitar, backing vocals (1977–1982), bass, backing vocals (1977)
Nigel Harrison - bass (1977–1982)
Gary Valentine - bass, guitar (1975–1977)
Kevin Topping - keyboards, piano (2004–2007)
Fred Smith - bass (1975)
Billy O'Connor - drums, percussion (1975)
Eddie Martinez - guitar (1982)

Signed Music Artists