The Best Of Blondie – USA Press Kit

The Best Of Blondie USA Press Kit – 1981

This kit comprises of 1 black and white photo, four pages of info on the album and Blondie and the package comes in an A4 Chrysalis envelope with The Best Of Blondie album photo printed on the front.

Publicity Profile

THE BEST OF BLONDIE

BLONDIE: FORMED IN 1975 WITH CHRIS STEIN; DEBBIE HARRY; GARY VALENTINE; JAMES DESTRI; CLEMENT BURKE. FIVE INDIVIDUALS WITH MUTUAL MUSICAL AIMS, ASPIRATIONS, A KNACK FOR MEMORABLE MELODIES, HIGH ENERGY PLUS THEIR OWN UNIQUE ASTHETIC, IN THE POP STYLE.

BLONDIE: FIRST STREAKED INTO THE PUBLIC EYE AS “X OFFENDER(S)” WITH THEIR DEBUT SINGLE WHICH WAS INDEPENDENTLY PRODUCED BY RICHARD GOTTEHRER. THE BAND SIGNED WITH PRIVATE STOCK RECORDS WHO RELEASED THE SINGLE.

BLONDIE, THEIR DEBUT (LP OFFERING) WAS PRODUCED AGAIN BY GOTTEHRER AND WAS RELEASED IN DECEMBER OF 1976 BY PRIVATE STOCK. ONE OF THE BEST BANDS TO EMERGE FROM THE BOWERT CIRCUIT (MAX’S, CBGB’S, ETC) ALONG WITH THE RAMONES, TELEVISION, AND THE HEARTBREAKERS. THE BLONDIE LP HAD A DEFINITE FEEL AND WAS HIGHLIGHTED WITH SUCH SONGS AS “RIP HER TO SHREDS”, “IN THE FLESH”, AND “YOU LOOK GOOD IN BLUE”, WITH “IN THE FLESH” RIDING HIGH AT #1 IN AUSTRALIA.

PLASTIC LETTERS. BEFORE THE ALBUM WAS RECORDED, BASSIST GARY VALENTINE, LEFT THE BAND, BUT HIS SONG, “(I’M ALWAYS TOUCHED BY YOUR) PRESENCE DEAR” WAS INCLUDED. PRODUCED BY RICHARD GOTTEHRER, PLASTIC LETTERS, CONTAINED SUCH STANDOUTS AS “DENIS”, “FAN MAIL”, AND “DETROIT 442”. PLASTIC LETTERS RECORDED JULY/AUG 1977, WASN’T RELEASED UNTIL FEBRUARY 1978. HALF WAY RECORDED, BLONDIE BOUGHT OUT OF PRIVATE STOCK TO SIGN WITH CHRYSALIS RECORDS. “DENIS” WENT TO #1 IN THE U.K. “PRESENCE DEAR” FOLLOWED (#3) ADDING MORE EXCITEMENT TO THEIR GROWING WORLDWIDE POPULARITY.

PARALLEL LINES. THEIR THIRD ALBUM RELEASED IN SEPT. OF 1978 AND THE FIRST TO GO PLATINUM TOOK A CHANGE IN DIRECTION, PRODUCTION, AND LINE-UP. PRODUCER MICHAEL CHAPMAN GAVE THE BAND HIS PERFECTIONIST TOUCH, AIMING TO BREAK BLONDIE ON AMERICAN RADIO. WITH EVERYTHING FROM ROBERT FRIPP (FADE AWAY & RADIATE) TO BUDDY HOLLY, THIS LP TOOK BLONDIE TO NEW HEIGHTS. BY ADDING NIGEL HARRISON (BASS) AND FRANK INFANTE (GUITAR) THE BAND EXPANDED THEIR SOUND. WITH SUCH CLASSIC’S AS “ONE WAY OR ANOTHER” (HARRISON/HARRY), “SUNDAY GIRL” (STEIN), AND JIMMY DESTRI’S UNFORGETTABLE KEYBOARD-SYNTHESIZER ON “HEART OF GLASS” GOING TO #1, THE BAND FINALLY BROKE IN AMERICA AS THEY HAD DONE EVERYWHERE ELSE IN THE WORLD. PARALLEL LINES REMAINS ONE OF THE BEST RECORDS ON THE 70’S.

EAT TO THE BEAT. WITH “EAT TO THE BEAT”, BLONDIE HAS THE DISTINCTION OF BEING THE FIRST BAND TO SIMULTANEOUSLY RELEASE A FULL LENGTH VIDEO ALBUM AND LP. IN SEPT. 1979 EAT TO THE BEAT WAS TASTEFULLY PRODUCED AGAIN BY MICHAEL CHAPMAN AND CONTAINED A MONTAGE OF STYLES RANGING FROM THE REGGAE INFLUENCED “DIE YOUNG, STAY PRETTY”, TO THE RHYTHMIC “ATOMIC”, AND THE HIT SINGLE, “DREAMING”.

AMERICAN GIGOLO. DEBBIE HARRY COLLABORATED WITH NOTED HIT PRODUCER GIORGIO MORODER WRITING THE BIGGEST SINGLE OF 1980. “CALL ME”, THE TITLE TRACK FROM AMERICAN GIGOLO, RECORDED AT THE POWER STATION BY BLONDIE, WENT PLATINUM IN THE SUMMER OF 1980 AND STAYED AT #1 FOR FOUR WEEKS.

AUTOAMERICAN. IN THE SUMMER OF 1980 THE GROUP WENT BACK INTO THE STUDIO FOR THE THIRD TIME WITH MICHAEL CHAPMAN WITH A MYRIAD OF STYLES AND IDEAS THE ALBUM CONTAINED EVERYTHING FROM THE NUMBER ONE REGGAE STYLED SINGLE, “THE TIDE IS HIGH”, AND THE RAP INFLUENCED “RAPTURE”, THE HOT ROCKER, “WALK LIKE ME” AND THE FULLY ORCHESTRATED, “FOLLOW ME”.

“BLONDIE’S GREATEST HITTERS”
CHRIS STEIN: LEAD GUITARIST FOR BLONDIE, STEIN IS MOST INFLUENTIAL IN THE DIRECTION AND IDENTITY OF THE BAND. AND EXCELLENT SONGWRITER HIS SONG CREDITS INCLUDE “IN THE SUN” AND “RAPTURE”. ALWAYS ACTIVE AND INFLUENCED BY HIS NEW YORK ENVIRONMENT, STEIN OFTEN WORKS WITH UNSIGNED BANDS AND ALSO WORKED WITH VIOLINIST WALTER STEDING. MOST RECENTLY HE WROTE SOME OF THE SCORE (WITH DEBBIE HARRY) FOR JOHN WATERS LATEST FILM, “POLYESTER”, WHICH STARS DIVINE AND TAB HUNTER. STEIN ALSO WROTE AND PLAYED GUITAR FOR DEBBIE HARRY’S SOLO LP, KOOKOO.

CLEMENT BURKE: EMULATING THE ENTHUSIASM AND ENERGY OF THE LATE KEITH MOON (HIS MAJOR INFLUENCE), BURKE CONTINUES TO POUND OUT A DRUM BARRAGE THAT IS VERY MUCH A PART OF BLONDIE’S SOUND. AN ORIGINAL MEMBER FROM THE BOWERY DAYS, BURKE HAS BEEN USING HIS TIME PRODUCING LOCAL N.Y. BAND THE COLORS, DRUMMING FOR THE JIMMY DESTRI SOLO LP, AND WORKING WITH FELLOW BLONDIE NIGEL HARRISON RECORDING A NEW MICHAEL DES BARRES ALBUM ON DREAMLAND RECORDS.

DEBBIE HARRY: WITH HARRY SINGING ALL THE VOCALS FOR THE BAND, IT IS HER INTERPRETING AND PRESENTATION WHICH IS SO VITAL TO BLONDIE. SHE’S ALSO A GIFTED SONGWRITER, PENNING SUCH TUNES AS “RIP HER TO SHREDS”, AND “CALL ME”. WITH SUCH DIVERSE TALENTS, HARRY HAS ALSO ACTED IN SUCH FLICKS AS “UNION CITY” AND “ROADIE”. SHE HAS ALSO BEEN CALLED THE “WORLDS MOST PHOTOGRAPHED ROCK STAR”. MOST RECENTLY HARRY RELEASED HER DEBUT SOLO ALBUM, “KOOKOO”, WHICH WAS PRODUCED BY NILE ROGERS AND BERNARD EDWARDS OF CHIC. HARRY ALSO WAS THE LYRICIST FOR TWO SONGS FOR THE ORIGINAL SCORE TO JOHN WATERS LATEST FILM, “POLYESTER”.

JIMMY DESTRI: HIS DISTINCT FARFISA SOUND HAS ALWAYS BEEN A BACKBONE OF BLONDIE. COMBINING 60’S SIMPLICITY WITH MODERN THEMES AND ATTITUDES, HIS CONTRIBUTIONS ARE ENDLESS BUT HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE: “ATOMIC”, “SLOW MOTION”, AND “PICTURE THIS”. ALSO AN ORIGINAL MEMBER, DESTRI FIRST MET HARRY AND STEIN ON THE MUSIC SCENE IN NEW YORK. CURRENTLY DESTRI IS WORKING ON HIS DEBUT SOLO EFFORT FOR CHRYSALIS RECORDS, PRODUCED BY MICHAEL KAMEN.

NIGEL HARRISON: AFTER A STINT WITH NITE CITY (RAY MANZAREK), HARRISON JOINED BLONDIE AS BASS PLAYER. HARRISON HAS CONTRIBUTED SUCH KEY SONGS AS, “ONE WAY OR ANOTHER”, “UNION CITY BLUE”, AND THE TITLE SONG FROM EAT TO THE BEAT. CURRENTLY LIVING IN LOS ANGELES (THE REST OF THE BAND LIVES IN NEW YORK), HARRISON IS WORKING WITH MICHAEL DES BARRES AND MICHAEL CHAPMAN ON A PROJECT FOR DREAMLAND.

FRANK INFANTE: LIKE HARRISON, INFANTE OFFICIALLY JOINED THE BAND BEFORE THE RECORDING OF PARALLEL LINES, BUT ALSO PLAYED ON PLASTIC LETTERS.

BEST OF BLONDIE:
SIDE ONE

HEART OF GLASS (HARRY/STEIN)
DREAMING (HARRY/STEIN)
THE TIDE IS HIGH (J. HOLT)
IN THE FLESH (HARRY/STEIN)
SUNDAY GIRL (STEIN)
HANGING ON THE TELEPHONE (J. LEE)

BEST OF BLONDIE:
SIDE TWO

RAPTURE (HARRY/STEIN)
ONE WAY OR ANOTHER (HARRY/HARRISON)
(I’M ALWAYS TOUCHED BY YOUR) PRESENCE DEAR (VALENTINE)
CALL ME (HARRY/MORODER)
ATOMIC (HARRY/DESTRI)
RIP HER TO SHREDS (HARRY/STEIN)

ULS. STATISTICS:

GOLD RECORDS SINGLES:

HEART OF GLASS
CALL ME
THE TIDE IS HIGH
RAPTURE

GOLD RECORDS ALBUMS:

PARALLEL LINES
EAT TO THE BEAT
AUTOAMERICAN

PLATINUM RECORDS ALBUMS:

PARALLEL LINES
EAT TO THE BEAT
AUTOAMERICAN