Blondie “Dreaming” released

 

Dreaming Blondie

Writer(s): Debbie Harry, Chris Stein (see lyrics here) Released: September 14, 1979 First Charted: September 29, 1979 Peak: 27 US, 20 CB, 24 GR, 23 HR, 18 RR, 7 CL, 2 CO, 2 UK, 4 CN, 53 AU, 2 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): -- US, 0.25 UK Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 12.2 video, -- streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: The new wave group Blondie was formed in 1974 by singer Debbie Harry and guitarist Chris Stein. They were an underground band who released their self-titled debut in 1976 and its follow-up, Plastic Letters, the next year. They broke through to the mainstream in 1978 with Parallel Lines and its #1 smash “Heart of Glass.” The next album, Eat to the Beat, didn’t match the top-10 success of the previous album, but its long stay on the charts put it in Billboard magazine’s rankings of the top 10 albums of 1980. It also achieved platinum status, as did its predecessor. The album generated two top-40 hits with “Dreaming” and “Atomic.” “The Hardest Part” reached #84 and “Union City Blues” failed to chart. “The fast-paced new wave song” WK “Dreaming” was the first and most successful single of the four. Its #27 peak in the U.S. was a disappointment to the band, but it has been praised by music writers. Ultimate Classic Rock said the song “wraps everything Blondie did so well – girl-group bounce, big pop hook, [and] the meshing of styles and eras.” WK American Songwriter’s Jim Beviglia said “it’s easy to overlook their depth and the craft behind [Blondie’s songs]. Don’t make that mistake with ‘Dreaming’ or you might miss the hurting yet ultimately hopeful heart beatin inside that pristine pop shell.” WK Billboard described it as a “driving rocker that moves with rollercoaster intensity.” WK That can be partially attributed to what All Music Guide’s Stewart Mason called “possibly the most over-the-top effort by a rock & roll drummer in the entire 1970s.” AMG To be clear, he also referred to it as “a must to hear” and “an amazing performance.” AMG Drummer Clem Burke didn’t expect it to make it to the final recording and even said it “would have been a bigger hit had I not played like that.” WK Harry and Stein were partially inspired by Abba’s “Dancing Queen” in writing the song. Stein wrote the music for the song and “dreamed up” the line “dreaming is free.” SF Harry then wrote the rest of the lyrics. It starts with her “getting propositioned in a restaurant, but it quickly veers off in many directions, simulating a dream where one idea jumps to the next with no real rhyme or reason.” SF Green Day, the Smashing Pumpkins, and Matthew Sweet & Susanna Hoffs have recorded the song. Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Blondie AMG All Music Guide SF Songfacts DT Dave Thompson (2011). 1000 Songs That Rock Your World. Krause Publications: Iola, WI. Page 283. WK Wikipedia First posted 3/11/2023; last updated 4/1/2023.

 

Blondie hit #1 with “Heart of Glass”

Heart of Glass Blondie

Writer(s): Deborah Harry, Chris Stein (see lyrics here) Released: January 3, 1979 First Charted: January 27, 1979 Peak: 11 US, 11 CB, 11 HR, 11 RR, 44 AC, 14 UK, 11 CN, 15 AU, 1 DF (Click for codes to singles charts.) Sales (in millions): 1.0 US, 1.32 UK, 3.72 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 173.0 video, 189.9 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Blondie had been around several years, releasing nine singles from three albums before finding success with “Heart of Glass.” They’d never even charted on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 when that song – the fourth single from their Parallel Lines album – took them all the way to the top. There was some backlash from fans who thought the band had sold out, but Blondie has said they liked the idea of deliberately being uncool by crafting a disco song. SF Lead singer Deborah Harry said, “I don’t think being commercial is totally derogatory.” She saw “Heart of Glass” as helping to “introduce new wave music in a more commercial way.” FB Guitarist Chris Stein said the song was added to the Parallel Lines album as “a novelty item to put more diversity into the album.” FB The band had actually performed a more funk-oriented version of the song for years. FB Harry and Stein wrote an early version called “Once I Had a Love” back in 1974-75. On the show Words and Music, she said “lyrically, it was about a stalker who was pursuing me, and Chris saved me from him.” SF In 1975, they recorded a demo with a slower, funkier sound inspired by the Hues Corporation’s “Rock the Boat.” WK When they started working with producer Mike Chapman in 1978, he asked them to play all the songs they had and he liked that one. The band re-recorded the song with a more pop-oriented, disco vibe. WK “Heart of Glass” marked one of the first uses of a Roland CR-78 drum machine, which was first introduced in 1978. WK Harry said it took more than 10 hours to get the sound down right. SF The band’s decision to combine the drum machine with actual drumming as well as synthesizers alongside guitars – made for one of the first rock/disco fusion hits. WK The song was released as a 12-inch single in December 1978. The nearly six-minute version met with reluctance from radio stations because of the line “pain in the ass” so the song was edited into a 7-inch single version released in January 1979. That version topped the charts in the U.S. and UK. Resources: DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Blondie FB Fred Bronson (2003). The Billboard Book of Number One Hits (5th edition). Billboard Books: New York, NY. Page 502. SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 10/31/2019; last updated 11/12/2022.