New York City was booming with different artistic flavors during the 1970’s. There was a lot of artistic expression in all parts of the city, from the Bronx all the way to Brooklyn. During the 1970’s, New York City was dirty, grimy and poverty stricken; crime and bankruptcy rattled the city and no place was safe. However, that never stopped the voice that people had, it wasn’t the glorified happy beat of disco; it was the harsh vocals and guitar riffs of punk rock. A lot of the bands never made it to the big times, but that did not discourage people from trying and one in particular, Blondie, made their hit album based on New York City. Blondie was a unique band that encapsulated the spirit of New York and brought something new to mainstream music.

Blondie was originally an underground band that was only known by a small group of punk lovers. They wished to make it to the big times and play for larger audiences, but their sound faced many challengers such as disco. After the release of their third album, Parallel Lines, they sprung into success and escaped from their little world. Their album was inspired by the New York spirit, scene and the neighborhoods surrounding them.

Originally starting out as a punk band, Blondie only performed in small clubs. The Cavern and CBGB’s were their spots and they shared these with the Ramones and other well known bands at the time. Interestingly, CBGB stood for Country Bluegrass and Blues. The owner, Hilly Kristal, took a bet and allowed a rock band called Television to perform in his club, but they weren’t just any rock band they were original. Their sound was like a riot, so much noise and harsh lyrics with off tune vocals. Kristal was skeptical at first, but soon enough, his club became the most famous rock club on the planet.

These rock bands were different from the mainstream disco scene. Disco had a repetitive beat and a usually happy kind of feel to it, in addition to, the singers were usually dressed well with eye popping colors. For rockers, it was the complete opposite. Rock bands had a hoodlum kind of feel to their clothing; a simple t-shirt, ripped jeans and short platinum blond hair. This difference allowed a small group of people to enjoy themselves with their unique taste of music. Punk and rock bands were usually raw in their lyrics and vocals, not everything needed to be crystal clear. Moreover, the instrumentals were usually had an aggressive edge to them. This type of scene is where Blondie’s career sprouted.

Although they were liked by their peers and fans, no one thought the band was going to make it make it big time. The clubs were usually filled with other bands and their significant others. The community was small and not very known. CBGB’s only got a little more flare in the mid 1970’s when Danny Fields wrote about the club for SoHo Weekly News. When Blondie performed more frequently, they were discovered by Chrysalis Records and what raised them to stardom was when they worked with producer Mike Chapman.

They were all true New Yorkers and captured the style and sound of their surroundings. For instance, Debbie Harry would like to walk down her block once in a while to absorb the character and spirit of her neighborhood. They appreciated the grime and grit of the place. A lot of vivid memories were made in this area and it is presented in their album. There were a lot of different artists that roamed the streets of New York from fashion designers to photographers to rising stars. They were all gathered in this crumbling neighborhood to try and make it to the big time. New York City was a rundown and poor area that many flooded into, which gave it it’s rich diversity. The different characters, styles, and attitude that made up New York City was embraced by the band and they incorporated it into their sound.

During the 1970’s, New York City was a dying society. The crime rate was escalating, people were scared and everything was cheap. Drugs were freely traded on the Lower East Side. For instance, heroin could be scored easily from dilapidated storefronts and apartment buildings. The mayor at the time, Abe Beame, tried to appeal to the government to bail the city out of its bankruptcy, but the President refused. President Ford allowed the market forces to have their way and the Daily News made a headline that read: Ford to City: Drop Dead. Many artists lived on the Lower East Side and Greenwich Village because the rent was cheap. Furthermore, this environment allowed people to be creative and touch their inner thoughts about the society. Because of the turmoil that was occurring in the city. Times Square was filled with crime and every corner made one feel unease. Dead bodies were not concealed but the city was filled with life. The area was full of menace and harsh reality and that scene was depicted in many different art forms.

Music was an outlet and the lyrics that were spoken was a poem that had true meaning and thought. They were both part of the underground scene because what the rest of the world was listening to was mostly disco. However, all the genres strived in different parts of New York City. Blondie was one the only bands that made it to stardom from the underground scene. They knew they made it because their original fans started to despise what they became.

When Mike Chapman produced their album, he saw great potential in the band because of all the talent that illuminated from them, especially Debbie. Debbie Harry was a strong woman that was not only beautiful but also had a punk attitude that inspired many others later on. Her voice was harsh and identifiable the moment one would hear it. She also had a certain way of singing. She wasn’t always in tune and she didn’t need to be, sometimes she would scream out her lyrics more, but that added to the emotion of her songs. Even though Chapman made it so that the album was a pop album, he incorporated a lot of different genres into this album and still held the spirit of New York City.

Debbie was never shy about her attitude and expressed it not only in her shows but also her music videos. She proved herself to not only be a bleached blonde girl that had good looks. She embraced and used her sexuality to her advantage which allowed the band to have its unique style. She designed her own outfits and embraced the simplicity of the punk rock scene. Her clothes were usually more toward a casual sexy. In addition, the lyrics were explicit and unforgiving just like New York. A good example would be Picture This when Debbie says “All I want is a room with view, oh-oh/ I will give you my finest hour/The one I spent watching you shower.” In addition to the lyrics, the different beats and sounds from their instruments really embrace the busy and frustrating nature of the city.

Debbie Harry was a unique person and her attitude was incorporated in her style. Her strong emotions were able to show through her music. For instance, her song One Way or Another was based off of one of her ex-boyfriend’s that would stalk her. Her live performances and strong vocals captured the audience. It’s strong messages and her presentation of the song shows them to be very New York. However, it wasn’t only because of her did the band make it to the big times, her guitarists and drummer also played parts into it. For instance, Gary Valentine also contributed to some of the songs on the album, he wrote them. Jimmy Destri made the base sound for their hit song One Way or Another. These people put their own lives into their music which was what it so original. They were songwriters and singers that poured their memories and experiences of the city into their music. This explains why their lyrics capture the audience.

With Debbie’s presentation and sometimes sing-song voice, it was baffling to hear such crude words at times. For instance, their disco song, Heart of Glass was just that. When you hear it, it has a happy and upbeat tone, but then as she sings in a sort of lullaby voice, and one may drown the real words that she says. “Once I had a love and it was a gas/ soon turned out I had a heart of glass… lost inside adorable illusion and I cannot hide/ I’m the one you’re using please don’t push me aside.” Her voice sugar coats the sadness and aggression that is presented in the lyrics.

Blondie as a band is New York in the 1970’s. They capture a lot of the sounds and spirit that was presented to them in the city at the time. Their unique styles and attitudes melded together to make their biggest album which captured a lot of what the city had to offer. This made them into a big success that is still being mention to this day.

Suggested Reading

Blondie’s New York and the Making of Parallel Lines. Dir. Alan Ravenscroft. Perf. Roberta Bayley, Andrew Bolton, Clem Burke. BBC Documentaries, n.d. Web.

Fletcher, Tony. All Hopped up and Ready to Go: Music from the Streets of New York, 1927-77. New York: W.W. Norton, 2009. Print.