Blondie

The seminal punk/ new wave band Blondie formed in New York City in 1974 after guitarist Chris Stein and singer-songwriter Debbie Harry parted company from their band The Stilettos. Together they recruited drummer Clem Burke and bass player Gary Valentine and began gigging around New York, quickly becoming regulars at many of New York's legendary clubs including Club 51, CBGB and Max's Kansas City. Blondie's mix of American punk and new wave sounds from the burgeoning club scenes helped the band build a strong fanbase and led to them securing a record contract with short-lived label Private Stock.

Their 1976 eponymous debut was largely overlooked at the time however in retrospect it is considered an early template for the emerging sounds. Between Blondie's first and second albums they lost bassist Gary Valentine and their record company was purchased by the UK based company Chrysalis Records. However, despite this turbulence their second studio album, Plastic Letters, produced two Top 10 hits in the UK -- "Denis" and "(I'm Always Touched by Your) Presence, Dear" -- and won them a Grammy for Best Female Rock Vocals Performance for "Denis". Before Blondie returned to the studio it was decided to bring on board two new guitarists, Frank Infante and Nigel Harrison, to replace Valentine, as well as adding keyboardist Jimmy Destri.

It was Destri's influence and love of technology that led the band to make their disco-inspired seminal third album Parallel Lines. The disco elements and a more mainstream pop sound resulted in significant success: from Parallel Lines spun many of Blondie's biggest and most enduring hit singles including "Hanging on the Telephone", "Sunday Girl", "One Way or Another" and "Heart of Glass". The album also won them several Grammys (Best Disco Recording, Best Rock Album and Best Female Rock Vocals Performance) and brought them mainstream media recognition in the USA, something that had previously eluded them. However, much of the attention was directed at Harry as many mistook Blondie as her solo project. This put undue stress on relationships within the band.

Their fourth album Eat to the Beat (1979) continued Blondie's musical and commercial progress. The band used a diverse range of styles like funk, punk and reggae and it was the first ever video album (a simultaneously released home video, with a music video for every song on the album). Eat to the Beat produced four Top 10 hits: "The Hardest Part" (US only), "Union City Blue" (UK only), "Dreaming" and "Atomic". With tensions rising over Harry's increased media attention the band produced their most famous and successful single, "Call Me", for the film American Gigolo. On the heels of that success the band released their fifth album Autoamerican (1980), which spawned two huge hits: the Caribbean flavoured "The Tide is High", and one of the first ever mainstream singles to contain a rap, "Rapture".

Blondie would release one more album, The Hunter (1982), which was both a commercial and critical flop, before breaking up. Blondie later reunited - minus Harrison and Infante after an unsuccessful lawsuit to stop the reunion - and released the hit album No Exit. In 2006 Blondie were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Rock Walk of Fame at Guitar Centre in Hollywood, California. They continue to tour and play together today.