Blondie - Blondie (1976)
Tracklist front / back album covers
Side One
1. "X Offender" Deborah Harry, Gary Valentine 3:14
2. "Little Girl Lies" Harry 2:07
3. "In the Flesh" Harry, Chris Stein 2:33
4. "Look Good in Blue" Jimmy Destri 2:55
5. "In the Sun" Stein 2:39
6. "A Shark in Jets Clothing" Destri 3:39
Side Two
7. "Man Overboard" Harry, Stein 3:22
8. "Rip Her to Shreds" Harry, Stein 3:22
9. "Rifle Range" Stein, Ronnie Toast 3:41
10. "Kung Fu Girls" Harry, Valentine, Destri 2:33
11. "The Attack of the Giant Ants" Stein 3:34
Bonus tracks on 2001 CD re-issue
12. "Out in the Streets (Original Instant Records demo)" Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich 2:20
13. "The Thin Line (Original Instant Records demo)" Harry, Stein 2:16
14. "Platinum Blonde (Original Instant Records demo)" Harry 2:12
15. "X Offender (Original Private Stock single version)" Harry, Valentine 3:13
16. "In the Sun (Original Private Stock single version)" Stein 2:38
Blondie Band Members / Musicians
Deborah Harry – vocals
Chris Stein – guitars, bass on "X Offender"
Gary Valentine – bass guitar, guitar on "X Offender"
Clement Burke – drums
Jimmy Destri – Farfisa organ, grand piano, RMI piano, Roland synthesizer
Richard Gottehrer – production
Rob Freeman – engineering
Don Hunerberg – engineering assistance
Greg Calbi – mastering at Sterling Sound (New York City)
Ellie Greenwich – background vocals on "In the Flesh" and "Man Overboard"
Micki Harris – background vocals on "In the Flesh" and "Man Overboard"
Hilda Harris – background vocals on "In the Flesh" and "Man Overboard"
Marty Thau – cocktail music
Craig Leon – production ("X Offender", "In the Sun"); remix engineering
David Perl – art direction, design
Shig Ikeda – photography
Alan Betrock – original producer of "Out in the Streets", "The Thin Line" and "Platinum Blonde"
Kevin Flaherty – production (2001 reissue)
Blondie is the eponymous debut studio album by American rock band Blondie, released in December 1976 by Private Stock Records. The first single "X Offender" was originally titled "Sex Offender", but since radio stations would not play a song with such a provocative title, the band renamed the song. After disappointing sales and poor publicity, the band ended their contract with Private Stock and signed with Chrysalis Records in 1977. Chrysalis re-released the album in September 1977, along with the single "In the Flesh". The album reached No. 14 in Australia, where the band had already had a Top 3 hit with "In the Flesh". The album also charted at No. 75 in the UK in early 1979, where the band had become immensely popular.
Through the production of Richard Gottehrer, who had worked with the Angels and other artists of the 1950s and 1960s, much of the music is suffused with the girl group sound of that era. Harry told an interviewer in 1978 that the band never intended to be retro and when some journalists described them that way, it was "quite a shock". Likewise she rejected any attempt to brand the music as pop, insisting that Blondie played new wave music.
The album was first digitally remastered by Chrysalis Records UK in 1994. In 2001, the album was again remastered and reissued, this time along with five bonus tracks. "Out in the Streets" (The Shangri-Las cover), "The Thin Line" and "Platinum Blonde" are three of five tracks from a 1975 demo recorded by Alan Betrock; all five were first issued on the 1994 compilation The Platinum Collection. Bonus track "Platinum Blonde" was the first song that Debbie Harry wrote. Original single versions of "X Offender" and "In the Sun" are both sides of Blondie's first single, issued on Private Stock, and are different mixes from the album versions. The two Private Stock versions are both remastered from vinyl.
Blondie is an American rock band co-founded by singer Debbie Harry and guitarist Chris Stein. The band was a pioneer in the American new wave scene of the mid-1970s in New York. Their first two albums contained strong elements of these genres, and although highly successful in the United Kingdom and Australia, Blondie was regarded as an underground band in the United States until the release of Parallel Lines in 1978. Over the next five years, the band achieved several hit singles including "Heart of Glass", "Call Me", "Atomic", "The Tide Is High", and “Rapture”. The band became noted for its eclectic mix of musical styles, incorporating elements of disco, pop, reggae, and early rap music.
Blondie Band Members / Musicians
Debbie Harry – lead vocals (1974–1982, 1997–present)
Chris Stein – guitar, bass (1974–1982, 1997–present)
Clem Burke – drums, percussion, backing vocals (1974–1982, 1997–present)
Leigh Foxx – bass (session and touring musician: 1997–2004; 2004–present)
Matt Katz-Bohen – keyboards (2008–present)
Tommy Kessler – guitar (2010–present)
Fred Smith – bass (1974–1975)
Billy O'Connor – drums (1974-1975)
Ivan Kral – guitar (1974)
Gary Valentine – bass, guitar (1975–1977, 1997)
Jimmy Destri – keyboards, backing vocals (1975–1982, 1997–2004)
Frank Infante – guitar, bass, backing vocals (1977–1982)
Nigel Harrison – bass (1978–1982, 1997)
Paul Carbonara – guitar, backing vocals (1997–2010)
Kevin Patrick (a.k.a. Kevin Topping) – keyboards, backing vocals (2003–2007)
Jimi K Bones – guitar (2003)
Blondie Discography Full
Studio albums
Blondie (1976)
Plastic Letters (1977)
Parallel Lines (1978)
Eat to the Beat (1979)
Autoamerican (1980)
The Hunter (1982)
No Exit (1999)
The Curse of Blondie (2003)
Panic of Girls (2011)
Ghosts of Download (2014)
Pollinator (2017)
