HALL OF FAME FOCUS: BLONDIE (cont.)
Blondie, indeed, broke much musical ground. When the group experienced success with disco and rap, did that change your outlook at the time, or is it only when you look back?
Harry: We knew it was different. We were always experimenting and trying different things -- it was a blessing and a curse. In the very beginning, it left us without a strong identity or strong direction. But in later years, it stood well for us, because we did break some ground.
Burke: With "Heart of Glass," we thought we were being very experimental. We loved Kraftwerk. We all liked the "Saturday Night Fever" soundtrack, too. If you think about it, at the tail end of glitter rock in New York clubs like Club 82 and Max's [Kansas City], the backdrop was disco. It was the music that was played when you were hanging out, between the live shows by the New York Dolls or Wayne County. So, disco obviously seeped into our sound. The early electronic stuff was already in our realm of consciousness.
"Heart of Glass" was buried on the album. The first single from "Parallel Lines" was a cover of "I'm Gonna Love You Too," which was first recorded by Buddy Holly in the '50s, followed by the Hullaballoos in the '60s. The promo people at Chrysalis probably thought that because it was a dance record or something, the timing for "Heart of Glass" could be right. Then, all of a sudden, we were a disco band doing TV shows like "Dance Fever." There was a big paradox: People were trying to figure out what Blondie was and then people around us were saying, "disco sucks."
At the time, were you also thinking that disco sucked? Or were you wondering what the big deal was?
Burke: We always wanted to be successful. We were proud that it became a No. 1 record for us. We made that record and people liked it. That's where we left it. When I think back, and to this day, dance music is a more liberating, more open style of music than other styles. It's more a people's music. It involves black, white, straight, gay and everything in-between. I would love to make a '70s-sounding dance record now. Not a computer record, but one that sounds like "Saturday Night Fever."
You also allowed other artists to experiment with different musical styles. Did you realize how visionary Blondie was at the time?
Harry: I knew that we were changing people's attitudes to music. We were very urban. [Music] was very segmented around the country. We couldn't tour in certain markets in those days, because there were no audiences for us. Our music wasn't being heard everywhere.
1 |
2 | 3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
ALL
