Blondie is a Group! hailed the merch for their April 1978 gigs, when the 5-member band (give or take a bandmate or 2, time-wise) had a cult following in the U.S. (especially in their hood, NYC), after two critically lauded albums with bona fide hits in the UK and Australia.

Vocalist/songwriter Debbie Harry, a non-blonde raised in Jersey, delivered captivating stage presence as a (bleached) blonde spunky bombshell front-woman. Singing clever, eclectic songs with hooks (thanks to primary songwriter and guitarist Chris Stein, along with other bandmates) the band’s NYC “underground” cred proved to be a win-win-smash, commensurately: from the eponymous debut, plastic-lettered album 2, to the parallel lines with a touché of glass (as in “Heart of”).

Vintage Blondie songs were punk/proto-punk, but with synths, e.g., “Rip Her to Shreds”; more than a few gave a retro girl-group 1960s feel, with signature ennui, like “In The Flesh”. Many tracks were drenched in cinematic flair; take the spy-thrill ride, “Contact in Red Square”. Critics who stamped Blondie as “retro” were stomped on by Debbie Harry, who affirmed Blondie, the band, was new wave in 1978.

Later that year, the band’s third LP, Parallel Lines]] would turn Blondie platinum. Hit producer Mike Chapman pushed the band to deliver a more polished pop-sensibility. Adding his electronic-loop to an old song in their repertoire finally made the cut shine as an album-worthy studio gem. Dubbed “Heart of Glass”, it blew up 1979’s airwaves as the 3rd U.S. single from the album (and as the 4th one in the UK and most other countries).

In the U.S., Chrysalis initially released the two cover-songs on the record as singles, which failed to scratch the HOT 100. In the UK, 1st single “Picture This“, penned by Harrry/Stein/Destri, shot to # 12 (charting quite well in other European countries).

“Heart of Glass“ and Parallel Lines turned the band into a brand, despite being critically acclaimed. It hurled out 2 more hits, ”One way or another“ in North America, by Debbie Harry and Nigel Harrison, their English bassist. ”Sunday Girl“ by Chris Stein, became their 2nd #1 in the UK.

The 4th record, served in September 1979 Eat to the Beat did not disappoint, despite or because of more eclectic and experimental tunes. It moved steadily into U.S. platinum; for that it didn’t need to break out another “Heart of Glass”. Album sales weren’t hurt when February 1980’s soon-to-be monster hit ate the beat, pimped out of the main theme of a movie, American Gigolo. “Call Me”“, penned and produced by Giorgio Moroder, with lyrics by Debbie Harry, was a world-wide smash, becoming Billboard’s #1 single of 1980.

In November 1980 Blondie spawned a more daringly eclectic album. Some cuts smacked of classic Broadway show tunes, and the LP bows-out with an alluring siren-song cover, Follow Me from the 1960 musical “Camelot”. The opening track, dramatically cinematic, is a string-laden piece with an Ennio Morricone-esqe edge culminating in a space-age garble narrated by Harry’s dystopian deadpan words of a future history doomed by cars. Panned by critics despite its sheer musicality, Autoamerican drove it through: the cover-song, done reggae-style, “The Tide Is High”, broke waves to #1 in the U.S. (and other countries). And the next single broke records in an urban-sense, particularly in the U.S., rapping it up to #1. “Rapture“ was Blondie’s 3rd and last #1 (in the U.S., that is), and the 2nd penned by Harry/Stein. A Chris Stein quote sums it up well, from Biography,

“Rapture” was the first time many Americans were exposed to this new art form. U-God and Inspectah Deck from the Wu-Tang Clan once told me that ‘Rapture’ was the first rap song they ever heard as kids,” Stein told the New York Post. “That’s mind-boggling.”

Autoamerican was recorded in L.A. at the insistence of their producer. The music and painted album cover still attested to the band’s roots, musically and physically, firmly, NYC. Along with quintessential bands such as Ramones, Talking Heads, and Television, Blondie gained underground grounding by regularly gigging at CBGB’S and Live at Max’s Kansas City- the venue’s 2nd phase in 1975

1982 brought on the band’s sixth studio album, a commercial flop compared to its predecessors: The Hunter yielded a couple of semi-hits, primarily the Harry/Stein song “Island of Lost Souls”.

After that, Blondie, the band, fizzled-out. Debbie Harry would continue putting out solo records (Chris Stein’s chops contributing when possible), the first of which arrived before The Hunter, 1981’s Kookoo, produced and co-written by Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards.

Not until 1999 did Blondie yield a “comeback album”, sort of: No Exit had one big international hit, Blondie’s sixth #1 in the UK, “Maria”, penned by keyboardist Jimmy Destri. Since then, the band (or variations thereof, always with “Harry/Stein”) have continued releasing albums.

In 2006, Blondie was inducted into The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Mick Rock, photographer, took the best shots of Debbie Harry, or was it Andy Warhol, who turned them into…paintings?. Picture this: