One of the great new wave bands to emerge from New York's '70s punk scene, Blondie formed in 1974, with Chris Stein on guitar and Deborah Harry on vocals, Fred Smith on bass and Billy O'Connor on drums. Smith and O'Connor were soon replaced by bassist Gary Valentine and drummer Clem Burke, and keyboardist James Destri was added. In 1976 the band released the single "X-Offender" on Private Stock Records, followed by their debut album, Blondie. Blondie switched to Chrysalis Records in 1977 and released Plastic Letters, with Frank Infante replacing bassist Valentine. (Later bassist Nigel Harrison was acquired, and Infante moved to guitar.) They had managed to score a few hits on the U.K. charts, but it was with the disco-style "Heart of Glass," off 1978's Parallel Lines, that Blondie finally broke onto the American pop charts. The single went to No. 1 and the album sold platinum. Internal dissention caused Blondie to disband in 1982 at the height of their success. In 1998 Harry, Stein, Burke and Destri reunited to record their comeback album No Exit, and in 2004 they followed up with The Curse of Blondie.

Reviews

• Parallel Lines (Deluxe Collector's Edition)
• Live By Request
• Singles Box
• Parallel Lines
• The Curse of Blondie

Features

• The Greatest Songs Ever! Heart of Glass