"...no one can say Blondie hasn't held out for its 15 minutes of fame."--Take
off on famous Andy Warhol "quote," (McHugh) the exact wording of which
is: "In the future everybody will be world famous for 15 minutes."
'Maybe I'm Lost'/ 'I Can See Clearly': Deborah Harry Goes Solo
These two seemingly contradictory song titles reflect the ups and downs of Deborah Harry's solo musical efforts. Following the demise of Blondie and a few years out of the limelight, Deborah Harry launched a solo career, which at least partially represented her attempt to escape from the character she created--so much like David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust problem, except that Bowie, like Madonna, was able to discard the character and continually reinvent himself. Try as she might, however, she never achieved the notice and success as when she was the lead singer of Blondie and the same is true of the other band members. This relative lack of success is by no means Harry's fault. Rather, it reflects the attitudes of the male-dominated record industry which collectively believed that there was little, if any, room for more than one female artist at a time, which reflected a sexist attitude. Talk about a glass ceiling! Pat Benetar is hot so there is not any room for another female artist like Harry, the reasoning seemed to be. Then, of course, Madonna, who essentially appropriated Harry's act and took it to dizzyingly new heights, overshadowed Harry--made even more apparent since both Madonna and Harry were on the same record label (Sire/Warner), which slighted Harry attention-wise due to the focus on promoting Madonna. And, speaking of promotion, a painful lesson of Harry's was that an artist needs to be constantly in the limelight and to be promoted and promoting herself. Harry's hiatus (largely due to her helping Chris Stein in his long recovery from a rare disease), while saying a lot about her strength of character and personal loyalty, hurt her career. It's hard to come back "cold" into the music industry. Another factor in explaining Harry's solo career is that, first and foremost, she wanted to be an artist above all and to maintain her artistic control and integrity. She did not have that burning desire to be a star as Madonna did. The bottom line is that with Blondie, the whole was greater than the sum of its parts. This is not uncommon. Other great bands like the Rolling Stones (and, perhaps to a lesser extent, The Beatles) have released comparatively mediocre solo material that just can't compete with the spectacular sounds they create together. This observation was true of Blondie originally, during its hiatus period, and now during its reunion.
Blondie's Legacy: 'Screaming Skin'
'Screaming Skin' is a popular song on the No Exit album, which captures the electricity and excitement of being within the Blondie skin--back to the group's roots in a figurative/symbolic sense. And speaking of the current Blondie reunion, it fits right in with Blondie's legacy. All the members of Blondie are acutely aware of their place in music history. As a take off on Andy Warhol (see quotation at the top), they've more than held on for their fifteen minutes of fame. The reunion is an extension of that legacy. The band wants to enhance and sustain that legacy. Their contributions are both musical and cultural, as you'll read in the quotes contained in Part II of this web site. Even while inactive, that legacy gradually grew with the passage of time and thus was particularly evident in the 1990s since their music remained popular with a staying power of its own. This served as motivation to Chris Stein, along with his sense that the time was ripe on the music scene, to reunite the band. To Chris' credit, once he sets his mind on something, he demonstrates a strong will and determination to realize his goal. Chris persuaded an at first reluctant Harry to go along with his scheme and the other original band members agreed. The reunion has generated numerous articles in the music press, particularly in Great Britain where Blondie has always been very popular and which made the band's first single from the No Exit album, the melodious and Blondie-esque 'Maria,' a number one hit. And a common theme in these articles is to reflect on Blondie's past and its accomplishments by placing the reunion in its proper context. Moreover, Blondie produced six albums before its breakup in 1982, came out with its reunion album, No Exit in 1999, and is scheduled to record its next album in the year 2000. Hopefully, there will be more albums to follow. Thus Blondie has created a body of work. In any one concert, there is never enough time to play all of their best-known songs since there are so many to choose from so sometimes fans are a bit disappointed when they don't hear a favorite of their's on a particular night. Although the band lacked artistic control, numerous compilation and remix albums have been produced by Blondie's former record company, Chrysalis, and then EMI, thus further adding to this body of work. The culmination of both Blondie's career and legacy would be their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio. A group or recording artist is eligible to be inducted into the Hall twenty-five years after that group or singer's first record. In Blondie's case, this was 1976 so Blondie would be eligible in the year 2001. As this web site seeks to substantiate, if any group is deserving of this honor, then it would be Blondie since the band was by far the most successful to break out of the New York City punk scene on to the world stage. And Deborah Harry was ranked number twelve in a poll of music experts for VH1's 100 greatest women of rock--more specifically, between Patsy Cline (at number 11) and Ella Fitzgerald (at number 13)--very special musical company. And in a parallel fan poll conducted by VH1, she was ranked even higher at number six, even ahead of Madonna!
'Nothing is Real But the Girl'
The reunion opens up a series of questions. Is Deborah's resurrection of the Blondie character at the age of 54 something revolutionary? How will her current status as a half-century-plus sex symbol affect the music business and its inherent ageism? Or has the reformation of Blondie been a step back for Deborah in forging a non-Blondie identity? Or is the character of Blondie so close to something in Deborah that she'll never be able to break free from it so why not play it up as only she can? On many of these questions, only time will tell but they can be the subject of speculation, so here goes.
Deborah's resurrection of the Blondie character at the age of 54 is something revolutionary and may contribute to the current trend of women in rock who have resurrected or continued their careers. The names that come readily to mind are Tina Turner, Cher, Donna Summer, and add to that list Deborah Harry, so she is a pioneer in yet another sense. Deborah explains this phenomenon in this way:
"I think perhaps it's a fin de siecle thing--a fin
de millennium thing even. Towards the end of every decade, people
look back and get nostalgic for the music that theyneed
to enjoy." (Jackson)
Regarding the impact of these veteran divas on the music industry, it could be substantial and already has made an impact. Perhaps people are more accepting of established talent since many of their baby boomer fans themselves are aging right along with them. The Rolling Stones seem to have set the tone in this sense and Deborah Harry has noted that rock and roll has accumulated a venerable history and so why shouldn't the artists involved in that medium continue to prosper since they, after all, are "younger" than it. On this point, Deborah Harry has stated:
"'But what am I supposed to do?....Should I suddenly
not do music, or rock, because I'm past a certain age?
That sounds really absurd. But I guess it's all
relative.'" (Vargas, "Pop Talk")
Regarding ageism in general, a parallel may be drawn with the sexism Harry experienced in her first go-around with Blondie. Having fought that battle, she's now poised to take on age-bias.
As for whether the reformation of Blondie represents a step back for Deborah in forging a non-Blondie identity, this assertion is questionable. If there's a legacy (and there certainly is one in Blondie's case), why not reap its benefits? The band could have done this before, but didn't. The band doesn't want to have to look back later and regret not having reconstituted itself when the opportunity was ripe. This is a good segue into the next question posed above regarding whether the Blondie character is so close to something in Deborah that she'll never be able to break free from it, so why not play it up as only she can? One of the meanings that have been attributed to the title of the 1999 album No Exit is that there was "no exit" or escaping from the individual members' identification with Blondie and this reality is particularly true of Deborah Harry. Instead of fighting this identification, as Deborah appeared to be trying to do in her solo career, why not succumb, accept reality, and enjoy it while this reunion lasts?
Blondie and Beyond
There also might be a place in the Blondie legacy for commentary about the newest wave of pop females in the form of Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears, etc. Their music is obviously more Madonna-derived (they're almost a direct descendent of too many hours in front of the TV watching Madonna videos). But, as it brings up the idea of sex selling music (the perfect example being the cover of Mariah Carey's #1's 1998 album), such a discussion might be a good way to close the circle concerning Blondie since this point was made, especially in the Chapter 3, early in Blondie's career. Deborah Harry is DIFFERENT from these new teen dreams, most evidently by the fact that she was in her 30's when Blondie broke but was perceived by the media as having a teen appeal. This point may need to be developed more fully in the future and it may be too early at this point to foresee as the careers of these new stars continue to grow and develop. Even Deborah Harry seems to agree on this point:
"Just don't ask me to predict who among the new girls
will still be here in 25 years' time. God forbid I should
condemn anyone else to longevity!" (Jackson)
