The Tide Is High with Blondie

This band had everyone dancing and singing along. Blondie is an American rock band which was established by singer Deborah Harry and guitarist Chris Stein. They were looked upon as pioneers in early new wave and punk music in America. The band mixed up the sounds of pop, disco, rap, and even reggae. It was actually the Mercer Arts Center music scene that inspired Chris Stein to form the band and Debbie Harry had previously been a member of a folk-rock band called Wind in the Willows.

The band’s first album was released in 1976 titled Blondiewith their first single “X Offender.” With no great success in the very beginning, they switched to Chrysalis Records and finally, the hits started coming in.

In 1978, Blondie came out with their second album Plastic Letters. From this album came the singles “Denis” and “(I’m Always Touched by Your) Presence Dear”. Their third album Parallel Lines brought their biggest bestseller “Heart of Glass” which went on to sell 20 million copies around the globe. Other singles from this album included “Picture This” and “Hanging on the Telephone.”

Blondie’s next single was a somewhat aggressive rock song called “One Way or Another” and became their second hit single in the U.S. Meanwhile their song “Sunday Girl” became a number one hit in the U.K.

Incredibly, this band seemed to have become unstoppable their fourth album Eat to the Beatbrought forth more hits such as “Atomic”, “Dreaming” and “Union City Blue.” Blondie’s next single “Call Me” got the rock band a Grammy nomination. The song sat on the U.S. and Canada charts at number one for six weeks.

Autoamericanthe band's fifth album came out in November of 1980 along with a number one reggae kind of song “The Tide is High” and the rap type of song “Rapture” and this reached number one in the U.S. Then in 1981, The Best of Blondie was released with all of their greatest hits.

When the band started recording again in 1981 they came out with the album The Hunter, however, this album was not as well received as the others had been. From it came two singles “Island of Lost Souls” and “War Child.” It was at this point that Chris Stein was diagnosed with the life-threatening disease pemphigus. Blondie formally announced their break-up in November of 1982.

After releasing their sixth album in 1982, The Hunter, Blondie broke up for a while. Deborah Harry had to help take care of her partner Chris Stein who had contracted pemphigus, which is a rare autoimmune disease of the skin. Then in 1987, Blondie came together once more and had a number one single in the U.K. with “Maria” in 1999.

Coming together once more they released the album No Exit in February of 1999 with the single “Maria.” This album was followed by The Curse of Blondie but it wasn’t as popular but did include the single “Good Boys.” Blondie went on a world tour to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their album Parallel Lines in June of 2008. The band gave concerts all over the U.S. and went overseas to Israel, the U.K., Russia, and Scandinavia finishing up in Copenhagen, Denmark.

With the Christmas holidays coming on, they released the song “We Three Kings” in December of 2009. Another world tour called “Endangered Species Tour” came in June of 2010 and included the U.K. and Ireland and later on Australia and New Zealand.

Blondie was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006 and they are still active today.