Harry, Deborah
Deborah Harry
Singer, songwriter
Referring to the brief fascination the public has with its celebrities before discarding them for a new set, Andy Warhol once said that everyone will have 15 minutes of fame before burning out. If that’s true, Deborah Ann Harry has already had her shot. When she was lead singer for the New Wave group Blondie, which got its name from her distinctive peroxide-colored hair, Harry was the femme fatale of the rock crowd in the early 1980s. With her blonde bombshell good looks, pouty mouth, and come-hither-and-drop-dead expression, Harry was out-Madonnaing them while Madonna was still in pigtails.
But after three years of intense publicity and fame in the early 1980s, Blondie disbanded and Harry seemed to disappear. Her departure from the spotlight had to do with a number of things—fatigue, a life-threatening disease, soul searching—but after having been gone for close to 10 years Harry is undergoing one of those rarest of rock achievements: the comeback. And if the rave reviews of her latest solo album are any indication, Warhol may have been wrong. Perhaps some of us are allotted two 15-minute doses of fame.
Harry was born in Miami in 1945. At three months, she was adopted by Richard and Catherine Harry of Hawthorne, New Jersey. Although she has fantasized about being Marilyn Monroe’s daughter (“A lot of pretty girls have the same fantasy,” she told People magazine), Harry says she has no desire to track down her biological parents. (“I know who I am,” she told People, “and it would be an insult to the Harrys.”) Harry was a shy young girl. “People thought I had a speech impediment,” she told People. “It turned out just to be globs of peanut butter stuck inside my mouth.” A sweet child who sang in the church choir, she made her entertainment debut in a sixth-grade stage show. Yet even then, Harry was a bit of a fashion iconoclast. “I was never really satisfied with how I was supposed to look,” she told Vanity Fair magazine. “My mother and I had huge battles. When we used to go shopping it was hell. She’d want me to wear little blouses with round collars and sweaters and I’d be looking at black turtlenecks. At that age—eight or nine—you can’t be doing that. It was not the look in those days to be so, um, severe.”
In 1963 Harry graduated from Hawthorne High, where she was voted Best Looking Senior. She spent two years at Centenary College, a junior college, but then dropped out, unsure of what she would do with her life. Eventually Harry drifted over to lower Manhattan, to an Italian/Ukrainian neighborhood on St. Marks Place, where she waited on tables at Max’s Kansas City, a hangout for hippies, punk rockers, and Warholites like Nico, Ultra Violet, and the Velvet Underground. It was one of a series of jobs she held down—beautician,
For the Record…
Full name, Deborah Ann Harry; born July 11, 1945, in Miami, Fla.; adopted daughter of Richard and Catherine (Peters; both gift shop proprietors) Harry. Education: Attended Centenary College.
Worked at various jobs in New York City, including beautician, Playboy bunny, clerk, waitress, aerobics instructor, backup singer; formed rock trio the Stilettoes in early 1970s; collaborated with Chris Stein to form rock group Blondie, 1975; singer and songwriter for Blondie, 1975-83; solo artist, 1983—; has appeared in films Union City Blues, 1980, Videodrome, 1980, Roadie, 1980, and Hairspray, 1988; stage appearance in “Teaneck Tanzi: The Venus Flytrap,” 1983; has appeared on television programs Saturday Night Live, The Muppet Show, and Wiseguy.
Member: American Society of Composers Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA), Screen Actors Guild.
Awards: ASCAP Award for song “Heart of Glass.”
Addresses: Home —New York City. Agent —Creative Artists Agency, Inc., 1888 Century Park E., 14th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90047.
exercise instructor, Playboy bunny—and one she was not particularly good at. “I was just a hysterical waitress,” she told Vanity Fair. “I was so timid in those days. They were just all so wild, they’d come in wrecked out of their brains, wanting a zillion things. I was extremely shy, and I was dealing with a lot of things I had to conquer within myself.” One of those demons was a heroin addiction (although she says she never shot up) that she kicked while at an artists’ colony in upstate New York.
When she returned to Manhattan she formed an all-female trio called the Stilettoes, came back to Max’s sporting what she called “serious makeup,” and began singing such original songs as “Dracula, What Did You Do to My Mother?” It was around this time that Harry met Chris Stein, a part-time band roadie from Brooklyn. Stein joined the Stilettoes. When the group broke up, he and Harry collaborated and formed Blondie (which at first was called Angel and the Snakes, then Blondie and the Banzai Babies). Harry and Stein acknowledged that their inspiration came from Buddy Holly, both in music and fashion.
“When we started Blondie in ‘73, our main goal was to be a dance band,” Harry told Vogue. “The idea of performing rock and roll to a stand-up audience that danced was unheard of.” But by 1979, Blondie had reached a level of preeminence in the rock world. Through her group, Harry had advanced the boundaries of the punk music scene. Within three years, Blondie had sold more than 11 million records with such hit songs as “The Tide is High,” “Rapture,” “Heart of Glass” and “Call Me,” the theme from the film American Gigolo. She acted in two films—Videodrome and Union City —and although neither was a box office success, Harry received strong notices for both.
Then, in 1983, Harry dropped out of sight. Blondie disbanded. Harry had grown tired of the fast track and of the bottle-blonde, ditzy character she had created. “It was upsetting,” Harry told Savvy magazine, “when business people constantly condescended to me. Sometimes they went right to Chris (Stein) because they thought he was my Svengali. When they did talk to me, they did it as if I was a complete airhead created by some outside force.” By dropping out, Harry was giving up a lot. But her plan wasn’t to stay out of the limelight for long. Just to regroup and establish a more mature character. “I was looking for a short sabbatical,” she told Savvy, “not a permanent retirement.”
But soon months turned to years. Shortly after Blondie disbanded, Stein became gravely ill with pemphigus, a rare genetic disease. During his six-month stay in the hospital Harry would visit him by sneaking past papparazzi and sleeping on a cot in his room. After he was released from the hospital, Stein required years of personal care, and Harry soon found there were other things more important than rock music. “It wasn’t a case of me being a martyr and throwing away my career for my man,” she told Savvy. “I took it as a sign to stop, take a real rest, and see what we were doing. We hadn’t taken a vacation since 1975, and Chris’s illness was partly stress-related. It was a good lesson for both of us to learn.”
While Harry tended to Stein, she watched as a host of other young women, principally Madonna, attempted to fill her pop-trash stiletto shoes. “I always knew that someone would come along, use similar things to what I had used and fit right in the pocket commercially,” she told Savvy. “I always felt that if it wasn’t me playing the blond, sexy nymphet, then it would be somebody else.” Throughout this period Harry remained ephemerally on the consciousness of the Eighties. Through advertisements and small roles in films her distinctive face, with its high cheekbones and sultry mouth, never really vanished from the public eye.
Finally, in 1984, Harry prepared to reenter the pop market, only to face another setback. Legal entanglemerits with her record company forced her to postpone her comeback again. “It became obvious to me during this period how fast pop stars come and pop stars go,” she told Savvy. “When you’re hot like Blondie was hot, you’ve got so much momentum going for you that you don’t realize how fragile it all is—even though the reality of what happens to fame is all around you, and you’re so totally disposable, except to a small, devoted audience. It still sort of amazes me.”
But by 1987, Harry’s life was finally coming back together. First, Stein recovered. It would be nice— storybookish perhaps—if they were still together, but they are not. The two separated, but still collaborate on music projects. The legal problems were resolved, and in 1987 Harry released Rockbird, a comeback album that received rave music reviews. “When I first started the music business wasn’t geared to marketing women,” she told Savvy. “It wasn’t the norm, and it was very difficult to get airplay. This has been the biggest change in the music industry—now, the marketing of women has gotten so sophisticated that practically anything can be sold. I wasn’t alone in helping make that change. But I was one of the few involved in the transition.”
By 1989, Harry was working on another album, Def, Dumb & Blonde. She had appeared to favorable reviews in the television series Wiseguy, playing a has-been rock star making a comeback. And she received positive notices for her work in the John Waters cult movie Hairspray. It is still a long way to the heights she once reached as Blondie, the ditzy yet seductive pop tart that ruled the charts, but Harry says she doesn’t look back. Her return to the limelight is as a new person; more mature, with greater character. “Whatever scene people are involved in, it was always better six months ago,” she told Vanity Fair. “Everybody’s longing for some forgotten situation which was glorious just by the fact that it’s fallen into memory. I’m not into nostalgia.”
Selected discography
With Blondie
Blondie, Chrysalis, 1976.
Plastic Letters, Chrysalis, 1977.
Parallel Lines, Chrysalis, 1978.
Eat to the Beat, Chrysalis, 1979.
Autoamerican, Chrysalis, 1979.
The Best of Blondie, Chrysalis, 1981.
The Hunter, Chrysalis, 1982.
Solo LPs
Koo Koo, Chrysalis, 1981.
Rockbird, Geffen, 1987.
Def, Dumb & Blonde, Sire, 1990.
Sources
Harper’s Bazaar, August 1981; July 1987.
Interview, October 1981; November 1981.
Penthouse, November 1981.
People, September 29, 1980; March 18, 1981; April 11, 1983.
Rolling Stone, December 25, 1980; October 29, 1981.
Savvy, May 1, 1987.
Vanity Fair, July 1989.
Variety, March 2, 1983.
Vogue, July 1980.
—Stephen Advokat
Harry, Deborah 1945–
HARRY, Deborah 1945–
(Debbie Harry)
PERSONAL
Full name, Deborah Ann Harry; born July 1 (some sources cite July 11), 1945, in Miami, FL; raised in Paterson, NJ; daughter of Richard Smith (a gift shop proprietor) and Catherine (a gift shop proprietor; maiden name, Peters) Harry. Education: Attended Centenary College.
Addresses: Agent—Allison Levy, Innovative Artists, 1505 10th St., Santa Monica, CA 90401; 4Star Entertainment, 1675 York Ave., Suite 32C, New York, NY 10128. Manager—Untitled Entertainment, 331 North Maple Dr., Third Floor, Beverly Hills, CA 90210. Contact—Tenth Street Entertainment, 700 San Vicente Blvd., Suite G410, West Hollywood, CA 90069.
Career: Actress, singer, and songwriter. Wind in the Willows, backup singer, beginning 1968; performer with the musical group the Stilettoes; Blondie (previously known as Angel and the Snakes and Blondie and the Banzai Babies), founder, 1974, singer and songwriter, 1974–83, then beginning 1998, on tour, 2003; solo performer, 1981–; also a performer with Blow-Up, the Jazz Passengers, and other groups, including appearances at charity benefits. Poet and performer at poetry readings. Appeared in television commercials. Worked as an artist's model, a Playboy bunny, a waitress at Max's Kansas City, a hairdresser, and an exercise instructor.
Member: Actors' Equity Association, Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers.
Awards, Honors: American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers Award (with Blondie), 1979, for "Heart of Glass"; National Jewish Book Award for fiction, 1979, for Ten Cents a Dance with a Nickel Change!; Golden Globe Award nomination (with Giorgio Moroder), best original song for a motion picture, 1981, for "Call Me," from the film American Gigolo; Independent Spirit Award nomination, best supporting female, Independent Features Project/West, 1989, for Hairspray; named one of the 100 greatest women of rock and roll, VH1, 1999; the tribute compact disc Parallel Lives: A Tribute to Blondie was recorded by Dressed to Kill in 2000; with Blondie, received silver, gold, and platinum records from the Recording Industry Association of America.
CREDITS
Film Appearances:
(Uncredited) Singer, Deadly Hero, Avco-Embassy, 1976.
(With Blondie) The Blank Generation (documentary), Poe Productions, 1976.
(With Blondie) Unmade Beds, filmed 1976, released 2001.
Dee Trick, The Foreigner, Visions, 1978.
Herself, Mr. Mike's Mondo Video, New Line Cinema, 1979.
(With Blondie) Roadie, United Artists, 1980.
(With Blondie) Lillian, Union City, filmed 1980, released 2001.
Fairy godmother, Glenn O'Brien's "New York Beat Movie" (also known as Downtown 81 and New York Beat Movie), 1981.
(As Debbie Harry) Herself, A New Face of Debbie Harry (short documentary film), 1982.
Nicki Brand, Videodrome (also known as Zonekiller), Universal, 1983.
Singing voice of Angel, Rock & Rule (animated; also known as Ring of Power and Rock 'n' Rule), Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Home Entertainment, 1983.
(In archive footage from Videodrome) Terror in the Aisles, Universal, 1984.
Lulu, Forever, Lulu (also known as Crazy Streets), TriStar, 1987.
(As Debbie Harry) Tina, Satisfaction (also known as Girls of Summer), Twentieth Century-Fox, 1988.
(As Debbie Harry) Velma Von Tussle, Hairspray (also known as White Lipstick), New Line Cinema, 1988.
Girl at Blind Alley, "Life Lessons," New York Stories, Buena Vista, 1989.
Betty, Tales from the Darkside: The Movie, Paramount, 1990.
Anneka, The Real Story of "O Christmas Tree," 1991.
Mrs. Kurtz, Dead Beat (also known as The Phony Perfector), Northern Arts Entertainment, 1994.
Herself, Wigstock: The Movie, Hallmark Home Entertainment, 1995.
Delores, Heavy, CFP Distribution, 1995.
Thor Thorvalsen (some sources cite Spazz-O), Drop Dead Rock, 1996.
Sandman (short film), cineMatrix, 1996.
Delores, Copland (also known as Cop Land), Miramax, 1997.
Herself, Who Is Harry Smith?, 1998.
Joe's Day, 1998.
Dorothy the waitress, Zoo, Pilgrims 5, 1999.
Kate Odum, Six Ways to Sunday, Stratosphere Entertainment, 1999.
Night Journey, 1999.
Ezmeralda the psychic, Red Lipstick, Buttin Face Pictures/Rebel Planet Pictures, 2000.
Marcella, The Fluffer, TLA Releasing, 2001.
Ma Mabley, Try Seventeen (also known as All I Want), Try Seventeen Productions, 2002.
Neighbor, Spun, Silver Nitrate Films, 2002.
Wendy, Deuces Wild (also known as Deuces Wild—Wild in den Strassen), United Artists, 2002.
Ann's mother, My Life without Me (also known as Ma vie sans moi and Mi vida sin mi), Sony Pictures Classics, 2003.
(As Debbie Harry) Fastidieux, The Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 1: The Moab Story (also known as Las maletas de Tulse Luper: La historia de Moab and Le valigie di Tulse Luper—La storia di Moab), Laurenfilm, 2003.
Madison, A Good Night to Die, Regent Entertainment, 2003.
Herself, Ghost Light, Lot 47 Films, 2004.
Herself, Mayor of the Sunset Strip (documentary), First Look Pictures Releasing, 2004.
Herself, Picture This: Blondie and Debbie Harry (documentary; companion to the book of the same title), 2004.
(As Debbie Harry) End of the Century (documentary; also known as End of the Century: The Story of the Ramones), Magnolia Pictures, 2004.
Ramones Raw (documentary), Image Entertainment, 2004.
The Road, 2004.
Belinda, Patch (short film), Christopher Romero Studio, 2005.
Herself, All We Are Saying (documentary), DeMann Filmed Entertainment/Flower Child Productions, 2005.
Herself, Kiki and Herb Reloaded, Sniper, 2005.
Lawyer, Honey Trap (short film), 149 Wooster Productions, 2005.
Margaret, I Remember You Now (short film), Darinka Productions, 2005.
Face Addict (documentary), Funny Balloons, 2005.
Beauty, Full Grown Men, Grottofilms, 2006.
Performer of songs that have been featured in films, television broadcasts, and video collections.
Television Appearances; Miniseries:
Rock and Roll, PBS, 1995.
100 Greatest Women of Rock & Roll, VH1, 1999.
100 Greatest Songs of Rock and Roll, VH1, 2000.
(In archive footage; with Blondie) "Pure Pop," Walk On By: The Story of Popular Song, ABC, 2001.
(As Debbie Harry) And You Don't Stop: 30 Years of Hip-Hop, VH1, 2004.
Television Appearances; Movies:
Cory Wheeler, Intimate Stranger (also known as After Midnight), Showtime, 1991.
Nurse, "Hair," John Carpenter Presents "Body Bags" (also known as Body Bags and John Carpenter Presents "Mind Games"), Showtime, 1993.
Jacqueline (Madam Jacq), L.A. Johns (also known as Confessions and Johns), Fox, 1997.
Television Appearances; Specials:
Blondie: Live at the Apollo Theatre (also known as Blondie Live in Glasgow), 1979.
Women Who Rate a 10, NBC, 1981.
Blondie, HBO, 1983.
(In archive footage) Rolling Stone Presents Twenty Years of Rock & Roll, ABC, 1987.
Cohost, 120 Minutes New Year's Countdown, MTV, 1989.
(Uncredited) Member of audience, Saturday Night Live: 15th Anniversary, NBC, 1989.
Rapido, BBC-2, 1989.
Title role, "The Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe," Mother Goose Rock 'n' Rhyme (musical), 1990.
Red Hot and Blue, ABC, 1990.
Homemaker, The Adventures of Pete and Pete: New Year's Pete, Nickelodeon, 1993.
In a New Light '94, ABC, 1994.
Dancing Barefoot, 1995.
The State's 43rd Annual Halloween Special, CBS, 1995.
MTV's Fashionably Loud, MTV, 1996.
Herself, Unauthorized Biography: Milo, Death of a Supermodel, Comedy Central, 1997.
Herself, In Bad Taste: The John Waters Story (also known as In Bad Taste), Independent Film Channel, 1999.
Blondie: Beneath the Bleach, BBC, 1999.
Blondie's Back Live in NYC '99 (also known as Live in New York), VH1, 1999.
The Bunny Years, Arts and Entertainment, 1999.
Saturday Night Live: 25th Anniversary Primetime Special, NBC, 1999.
Where Music Meets Film: Live from Sundance, VH1, 1999.
Crossover, Independent Film Channel, 2001.
(In archive footage) Heart-throbs of the 70s, Sky One, 2001.
25 Years of Punk, VH1, 2001.
(In archive footage) Herself, Hollywood Rocks the Movies: The 1970s, 2002.
I Love Muppets, BBC, 2002.
Herself, Totally Gay! (also known as VH1's "Totally Gay!"), VH1, 2003.
Absolutely Fabulous New York Special, Comedy Central, 2003.
Stormy Weather: The Music fo Harold Arlen, BBC, CBC, and Trio, 2003.
Herself, Totally Gayer, VH1, 2004.
Herself, The Ultimate Pop Star, Channel 4 (England), 2004.
Herself, When Playboy Ruled the World, VH1, 2004.
Class of '80 Debbie Harry, 2004.
The Fifth Annual Women Rock, 2004.
Live by Request: Blondie (also known as Blondie Live by Request), Arts and Entertainment, 2004.
VH1 Divas 2004, VH1, 2004.
(In archive footage) Live from New York: The First Five Years of Saturday Night Live, NBC, 2005.
When Disco Ruled the World, VH1, 2005.
Television Appearances; Awards Presentations:
The 22nd Annual Grammy Awards, CBS, 1980.
The British Comedy Awards 2001, Independent Television, 2001.
(As Debbie Harry) Presenter, Hip-Hop Honors, VH1, 2004.
Television Appearances; Episodic:
(With Blondie) Rock Concert, 1978.
(With Blondie) Musikladen, multiple appearances, between 1978 and 1979.
(With Blondie) Top of the Pops (also known as All New Top of the Pops and TOTP), BBC, multiple appearances between 1978 and 2003.
Host and musical guest (with Blondie), The Midnight Special, NBC, 1979.
(With Blondie) Disco, 1979.
(With Blondie) The Old Grey Whistle Test (also known as OGWT and Whistle Test), BBC-2, 1979.
(With Blondie) Saturday Night Live (also known as NBC's "Saturday Night," Saturday Night, and SNL), NBC, 1979.
Host, The Muppet Show, syndicated, 1980.
Pink Lady, NBC, 1980.
(With Blondie) Solid Gold, syndicated, c. 1980.
Host and musical guest, Saturday Night Live (also known as NBC's "Saturday Night," Saturday Night, and SNL), NBC, 1981.
Host, Solid Gold, syndicated, 1981.
(In archive footage) La edad de oro, 1984.
(As Debbie Harry) Saturday Night Live (also known as NBC's "Saturday Night," Saturday Night, and SNL), NBC, 1986.
Bambi, "Top of the World," Crime Story, NBC, 1987.
Sybil, "The Moth," Tales from the Darkside, syndicated, 1987.
Diana Price, "And It Comes Out Here," Wiseguy, CBS, 1989.
Diana Price, "Dead Dog Lives" (also known as "The Dead Dog Arc"), Wiseguy, CBS, 1989.
Diana Price, "The Rip-Off Stick," Wiseguy, CBS, 1989.
Guest, The Arsenio Hall Show, syndicated, 1989.
Night Music, syndicated, 1989.
"Desirable Alien," Monsters, syndicated, 1991.
Voice of Vaingloria, Phantom 2040: The Ghost Who Walks (animated; also known as Phantom 2040 and P2040), syndicated, 1994.
Guest, Lauren Hutton and …, syndicated, 1995.
Live from the House of Blues, TBS, 1995.
The Music Biz, BBC-2, 1995.
(As Debbie Harry) Guest, Die Harald Schmidt Show, 1996.
Guest, The RuPaul Show, VH1, 1996.
Herself, "Andy Warhol: A Life at the Edge," Biography (also known as A&E Biography: Andy Warhol), Arts and Entertainment, 1998.
Herself, "Andy Kaufman's Really Big Show," Biography (also known as A&E Biography: Andy Kaufman), Arts and Entertainment, 1999.
"The Films of David Cronenberg," The Directors, Encore, 1999.
Guest, Mad TV, Fox, 1999.
Guest, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, NBC, 2000.
Herself, "Blondie," Behind the Music (also known as Behind the Music: Blondie, BtM, and VH1's "Behind the Music"), VH1, c. 2000.
Herself, "Gay," Absolutely Fabulous, Comedy Central, 2002.
Guest, Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, BBC, 2002.
Guest, V Graham Norton, Channel 4 (England), 2002.
Herself, "Dames at Sea," Will & Grace, NBC, 2003.
Herself, "24," Will & Grace, NBC, 2003.
Guest, Enough Rope with Andrew Denton, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 2003.
Guest, Rage, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 2003.
(As Debbie Harry) Guest, San kvaell med Luuk, 2003.
(As Debbie Harry) Guest, Tout le monde en parle, 2003.
(With Blondie) Pulse, Fox, 2003.
Top of the Pops 2 (also known as TOTP), BBC, 2003.
The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn, CBS, 2003, 2004.
Guest, Breakfast with the Arts, Arts and Entertainment, 2004.
Guest, Good Day Live, Fox, 2004.
(As Debbie Harry) Guest, Jeremy Vine Meets …, BBC, 2004.
Guest, Last Call with Carson Daly, NBC, 2004.
Guest, The View, ABC, 2004.
Guest, Weekend Today, NBC, 2004.
(With Blondie) Today (also known as NBC News Today and The Today Show), NBC, 2004.
(As Debbie Harry) Herself, Tubridy Tonight, Radio Telefis Eireann (Ireland), 2005.
Guest, The Paul O'Grady Show, Independent Television, 2005.
(Uncredited) Cuando Espana se desnudo, [Spain], 2005.
(In archive footage) Loops!, Television de Catalunya (Spain), 2005.
(With Blondie) Sugar Rush, Channel 4, 2005.
Also appeared in Bravo Profiles, Bravo; Musicians, Bravo; New Visions, VH1; and RollerGames, syndicated.
Television Appearances; Pilots:
Music Central, syndicated, 1981.
Cassandra, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch (also known as Sabrina), ABC, 1996.
Television Song Performer; Series:
Main theme song, Absolutely Fabulous (also known as Ab Fab), BBC-2, beginning 1992.
Stage Appearances:
Teaneck Tanzi, Teaneck Tanzi: The Venus Flytrap, Nederlander Theatre, New York City, 1983.
M, Crave, Axis Theatre Company, New York City, 2000.
Performer at various events, including concerts, tribute concerts, and benefit concerts.
RECORDINGS
Albums:
Koo Koo, Chrysalis, 1981.
Rockbird, Geffen, 1986.
Def, Dumb, and Blonde, Sire, 1989.
Debravation, Sire/Reprise, 1993.
Most of All: The Best of, Chrysalis, 1999.
Albums with Blondie:
Blondie, Chrysalis, 1977.
Plastic Letters, Chrysalis, 1977.
Parallel Lines, Chrysalis, 1978.
Eat to the Beat, Chrysalis, 1979.
Autoamerican, Chrysalis, 1980.
Best of Blondie, Chrysalis, 1981.
The Hunter, Chrysalis, 1982.
Live!, MCA, 1988.
Once More into the Bleach, Chrysalis, 1988.
The Complete Picture: The Very Best of Deborah Harry and Blondie, Chrysalis, 1991.
Blonde and Beyond, Chrysalis, 1993.
Platinum Collection (boxed set), Chrysalis/EMI, 1994.
The Ultimate Collection, Chrysalis, 1994.
Blondie—Atomic; The Very Best of Blondie, Chrysalis/EMI, 1995.
Remixed, Remade, and Remodeled (also known as Remix Project), Chrysalis, 1995.
Back to Back Hits, Capitol, 1996.
Essential Blondie: Picture This Live, EMD/Capitol, 1997.
Essential Collection (compilation), EMI Gold, 1997.
Live, Beyond, 1999.
No Exit, Beyond/BMG, 1999.
The Curse of Blondie, Sanctuary, 2004.
Recorded other albums with Blondie.
Albums with Others:
(With Wind in the Willows) Wind in the Willows, Capitol, 1968.
Jimmy Destri, Heart on the Wall, Chrysalis, 1981.
(As Debbie Harry; with Chris Stein) At Home with Debbie Harry and Chris Stein, 1987.
The Ramones, Halfway to Sanity, Sire, 1987.
Thompson Twins, Big Trash, Warner Bros., 1989.
Just Say Da/Volume IV of Just Say Yes, Sire, 1989.
Die Haut, Head On, Triple X Records, 1993.
Cash Cow, Giorno Poetry Systems Records, 1993.
DIY Blank Generation: The New York Scene, Rhino, 1993.
Heck on Wheels Volume 3, Warner Bros./Reprise, 1993.
Smack My Crack, Giorno Poetry Systems Records, 1993.
Brace Yourself! A Tribute to Otis Blackwell, Shanachie, 1994.
(With the Jazz Passengers) In Love, High Street Records, 1994.
Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, Rey azucar, Sony Discos, 1995.
Sedated in the Eighties No. 4, The Right Stuff, 1995.
Groove Thing, This Is No Time, Eightball/Lightyear, 1997.
Closed on Account of Rabies: Poems and Tales of Edgar Allan Poe, Mercury/Universal, 1997.
(With Blondie as Adolph's Dog) We Will Fall: The Iggy Pop Tribute, Royalty Records, 1997.
(With the Jazz Passengers) Individually Twisted, 32 Records, 1997.
Like a Girl, I Want You to Keep Coming, Visionary Records, 1999.
Singles:
"Backfired," Chrysalis, 1981.
"The Jam Was Moving," Chrysalis, 1981.
"Now I Know You Know," 1981.
"Rush Rush," Chrysalis, 1983.
"Feel the Spin," Geffen, 1985.
"French Kissin' (in the USA)," Geffen, 1986.
"Free to Fall," 1987.
"In Love with Love," Geffen, 1987.
"Liar Liar," 1988.
"Brite Side," 1989.
"I Want That Man," Atlantic, 1989.
"Sweet and Low," Atlantic, c. 1990.
(With Iggy Pop) "Well, Did You Evah!," Chrysalis, 1990.
"I Can See Clearly Now," Sire/Reprise, 1993.
"Strike Me Pink," 1993.
Other singles include "Strawberry Fields Forever."
Singles with Blondie:
"In the Flesh," Private Stock, 1976.
"X Offender," Private Stock, 1976.
"Denis, Denis," Chrysalis, 1977.
"In the Sun," 1977.
"Rip Her to Shreds," Chrysalis, 1977.
"Detroit 442," 1978.
"(I'm Always Touched by Your) Presence Dear," 1978.
"Hanging on the Telephone," Chrysalis, 1978.
"Heart of Glass," Chrysalis, 1978.
(As the New York Blondes Featuring Madame X) "Little GTO," 1978.
"Picture This," 1978.
"Accidents Never Happen," 1979.
"Die Young Stay Pretty," 1979.
"Dreaming," Chrysalis, 1979.
"Eat to the Beat," 1979.
"The Hardest Part," Chrysalis, 1979.
"Living in the Real World," 1979.
"One Way or Another," Chrysalis, 1979.
"Shayla," 1979.
"Slow Motion," 1979.
"Sound-a-Sleep," 1979.
"Sunday Girl," 1979.
"Union City Blue," 1979.
"Victor," 1979.
"Atomic," Chrysalis, c. 1979.
(With Giorgio Moroder) "Call Me," Chrysalis, 1980.
"Number 1," 1980.
"The Tide Is High," Chrysalis, 1980.
(With Fab Five Freddie) "Yuletown Throwdown" (first version of "Rapture"), Flexipop, 1981.
(With Fab Five Freddie) "Rapture," Chrysalis, 1981.
"Island of Lost Souls," Chrysalis, 1982.
"Atomic" (version two: remix), 1994.
"Union City Blue," Chrysalis/EMI, 1995.
"Maria," 1999.
"Nothing Is Real but the Girl," 1999.
(With Coolio and the Loud All-Stars) "Rapture/Maria/No Exit," 1999.
"Good Boys," c. 2003.
Singles with Others:
"Spirit of the Forest," Atlantic, 1989.
Groove Thing, "Command and Obey," Chrysalis/EMI, 1997.
Music Videos:
"Backfired," 1981.
"Now I Know You Know," 1981.
"Rush Rush," 1983.
"French Kissin' (in the USA)," Geffen, 1986.
"Free to Fall," 1987.
"In Love with Love," 1987.
"Liar Liar," 1988.
"Brite Side," 1989.
"I Want That Man," 1989.
"Sweet and Low," c. 1990.
(With Iggy Pop) "Well, Did You Evah!," 1990.
"I Can See Clearly Now," 1993.
"Strike Me Pink," 1993.
Other music videos include "Strawberry Fields Forever."
Music Videos with Blondie:
"In the Flesh," 1976.
"X Offender," 1976.
"Denis, Denis," 1977.
"In the Sun," 1977.
"Detroit 442," 1978.
"Hanging on the Telephone," 1978.
"(I'm Always Touched by Your) Presence Dear," 1978.
"Picture This," 1978.
"Accidents Never Happen," 1979.
"Die Young Stay Pretty," 1979.
"Dreaming," 1979.
"Eat to the Beat," 1979.
"The Hardest Part," 1979.
"Heart of Glass," 1979.
"Living in the Real World," 1979.
"Shayla," 1979.
"Slow Motion," 1979.
"Sound-a-Sleep," 1979.
"Sunday Girl," 1979.
"Union City Blue," 1979.
"Victor," 1979.
"Atomic" (version one), c. 1979.
"Call Me" (version one), 1980.
"Number 1," 1980.
"The Tide Is High," Chrysalis, 1980.
(With Fab Five Freddie) "Rapture," Chrysalis, 1981.
"Island of Lost Souls," 1982.
"Call Me" (version two), 1990.
"Atomic" (version two: remix), 1994.
"Maria," 1999.
"Nothing Is Real but the Girl," 1999.
(With Coolio and the Loud All-Stars) "Rapture/Maria/No Exit," 1999.
"Good Boys," c. 2003.
Videos:
Eat to the Beat, 1979.
Best of Blondie: The Videos, Pacific Arts, 1981.
Blondie Live!, 1982.
(In archive footage; as Debbie Harry) Muppet Video: Rock Music with the Muppets, Playhouse Home Video, 1985.
Live in Concert (also known as Blondie: Live!), MCA, 1987.
The Complete Picture: The Very Best of Deborah Harry & Blondie, 1991.
We're Outta Here! (also known as The Ramones: We're Outta Here!), 1997.
The Nova Convention Revisited (also known as The Nova Convention Revisited: William S. Burroughs and the Arts), 1998.
Blondie: Best of Musikladen Live, 1999.
Blondie: Live, 1999.
Blondie: Greatest Video Hits (also known as Greatest Video Hits), EMI Distribution, 2004.
Blondie: Video Hits (also known as Video Hits), EMI Distribution, 2005.
Disco: Spinning the Story (documentary), Koch Vision, 2005.
TV Party, BrinkDVD, 2005.
Video Games:
Voice of Elizabeth, Double Switch, 1993.
Voice, Penn & Teller's Smoke and Mirrors, 1995.
Voice of Delores, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (also known as Vice City), Rockstar Games, 2002.
WRITINGS
Albums:
Koo Koo, Chrysalis, 1981.
Rockbird, Geffen, 1986.
Def, Dumb, and Blonde, Sire, 1989.
Debravation, Sire/Reprise, 1993.
Most of All: The Best of, Chrysalis, 1999.
Albums with Blondie:
Blondie, Chrysalis, 1977.
Plastic Letters, Chrysalis, 1977.
Parallel Lines, Chrysalis, 1978.
Eat to the Beat, Chrysalis, 1979.
Autoamerican, Chrysalis, 1980.
Best of Blondie, Chrysalis, 1981.
The Hunter, Chrysalis, 1982.
Live!, MCA, 1988.
Once More into the Bleach, Chrysalis, 1988.
The Complete Picture: The Very Best of Deborah Harry and Blondie, Chrysalis, 1991.
Blonde and Beyond, Chrysalis, 1993.
Platinum Collection (boxed set), Chrysalis/EMI, 1994.
The Ultimate Collection, Chrysalis, 1994.
Blondie-Atomic; The Very Best of Blondie, Chrysalis/EMI, 1995.
Remixed, Remade, and Remodeled (also known as Remix Project), Chrysalis, 1995.
Back to Back Hits, Capitol, 1996.
Essential Blondie: Picture This Live, EMD/Capitol, 1997.
Essential Collection (compilation), EMI Gold, 1997.
Live, Beyond, 1999.
No Exit, Beyond/BMG, 1999.
The Curse of Blondie, Sanctuary, 2004.
Recorded other albums with Blondie.
Singles:
"Backfired," Chrysalis, 1981.
"The Jam Was Moving," Chrysalis, 1981.
"Now I Know You Know," 1981.
"Rush Rush," Chrysalis, 1983.
"Feel the Spin," Geffen, 1985.
"French Kissin' (in the USA)," Geffen, 1986.
"Free to Fall," 1987.
"In Love with Love," Geffen, 1987.
"Liar Liar," 1988.
"Brite Side," 1989.
"I Want That Man," Atlantic, 1989.
"Sweet and Low," Atlantic, c. 1990.
(With Iggy Pop) "Well, Did You Evah!," Chrysalis, 1990.
"Strike Me Pink," 1993.
Wrote "Dracula, What Did You Do to My Mother?" and other songs.
Singles with Blondie:
"In the Flesh," Private Stock, 1976.
"X Offender," Private Stock, 1976.
"Denis, Denis," Chrysalis, 1977.
"In the Sun," 1977.
"Rip Her to Shreds," Chrysalis, 1977.
"Detroit 442," 1978.
"(I'm Always Touched by Your) Presence Dear," 1978.
"Hanging on the Telephone," Chrysalis, 1978.
"Heart of Glass," Chrysalis, 1978.
(As the New York Blondes Featuring Madame X) "Little GTO," 1978.
"Picture This," 1978.
"Accidents Never Happen," 1979.
"Die Young Stay Pretty," 1979.
"Dreaming," Chrysalis, 1979.
"Eat to the Beat," 1979.
"The Hardest Part," Chrysalis, 1979.
"Living in the Real World," 1979.
"One Way or Another," Chrysalis, 1979.
"Shayla," 1979.
"Slow Motion," 1979.
"Sound-a-Sleep," 1979.
"Sunday Girl," 1979.
"Union City Blue," 1979.
"Victor," 1979.
"Atomic," Chrysalis, c. 1979.
(With Giorgio Moroder) "Call Me," Chrysalis, 1980.
"Number 1," 1980.
"The Tide Is High," Chrysalis, 1980.
(With Fab Five Freddie) "Yuletown Throwdown" (first version of "Rapture"), Flexipop, 1981.
(With Fab Five Freddie) "Rapture," Chrysalis, 1981.
"Island of Lost Souls," Chrysalis, 1982.
"Atomic" (version two: remix), 1994.
"Union City Blue," Chrysalis/EMI, 1995.
"Maria," 1999.
"Nothing Is Real but the Girl," 1999.
(With Coolio and the Loud All-Stars) "Rapture/Maria/No Exit," 1999.
"Good Boys," c. 2003.
Screenplays:
(With Mick Rock) Picture This: Blondie and Debbie Harry (documentary; companion to the book of the same title), 2004.
Film Music; Songs:
"Polyester," "Be My Daddy Baby (Lu-Lu's Theme)," and "The Best Thing (Love Song)," Polyester, New Line Cinema, 1981.
"Karma," Very Bad Things, PolyGram Filmed Entertainment, 1998.
Picture This: Blondie and Debbie Harry (documentary; based on her book of the same title), 2004.
Harry's songs have been featured in films, television broadcasts, video collections, and video games.
Television Music:
Intimate Stranger (movie; also known as After Midnight), Showtime, 1991.
Main theme song, Absolutely Fabulous (series; also known as Ab Fab), BBC-2, beginning 1992.
L.A. Johns (movie; also known as Confessions and Johns), Fox, 1997.
Video Music with Others:
Eat to the Beat, 1979.
Best of Blondie: The Videos, Pacific Arts, 1981.
Blondie Live!, 1982.
(In archive footage; as Debbie Harry) Muppet Video: Rock Music with the Muppets, Playhouse Home Video, 1985.
Live in Concert (also known as Blondie: Live!), MCA, 1987.
The Complete Picture: The Very Best of Deborah Harry & Blondie, 1991.
Blondie: Best of Musikladen Live, 1999.
Blondie: Live, 1999.
Blondie: Greatest Video Hits (also known as Greatest Video Hits), EMI Distribution, 2004.
Blondie: Video Hits (also known as Video Hits), EMI Distribution, 2005.
Disco: Spinning the Story (documentary), Koch Vision, 2005.
TV Party, BrinkDVD, 2005.
Fiction:
Ten Cents a Dance with a Nickel Change!, c. 1979.
Also the author of poetry.
Nonfiction:
(With others) Making Tracks: The Rise of Blondie, photographs by Chris Stein, Dell, 1982.
(Author of foreword; as Debbie Harry) Mick Rock, Picture This: Blondie and Debbie Harry, Sanctuary Publishing, 2004.
OTHER SOURCES
Books:
Contemporary Musicians, Gale, Volume 4, 1990, Volume 27, 2000.
Metz, Allan, Blondie, from Punk to the Present: A Pictorial History, Musical Legacy Publications, 2002.
Periodicals:
Attitude, September, 2003, pp. 50-52.
Billboard, April 4, 2004, p. 90.
Esquire, March, 1999, p. 56.
Interview, June, 1990, p. 110; May, 2000, p. 65; March, 2004, pp. 162-67.
Mojo, February, 1999, pp. 64-76; March, 2002, p. 154.
Partner, June, 1982, pp. 58-60.
People Weekly, February 18, 1997, p. 30.
Playboy, June, 1999, p. 120.
Time Out New York, June 5, 1996.
Electronic:
Blondie: The Official Web Site, http://www.blondie.net (December 10, 2005.