Blondie

Blondie is an American rock band formed in New York City in 1974 by singer Debbie Harry and guitarist Chris Stein. The band was a pioneer of the new wave genre emerging from the CBGB scene of the mid-1970s. They achieved global commercial success with their third album, Parallel Lines (1978), and a string of multi-genre hit singles including "Heart of Glass", "Call Me", and "Rapture". Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006, the band has sold over 40 million records worldwide.

While Blondie's self-titled debut album, Blondie (1976), remained a strictly underground release, their second album, Plastic Letters (1978), brought the band their first commercial success in the United Kingdom and Australia. However, they remained largely unknown to mainstream audiences in their native United States until the release of their third studio album, Parallel Lines (1978). The record became an international breakthrough, selling an estimated 20 million copies worldwide. Over the next three years, the band achieved global chart dominance, releasing a string of hit singles through their follow-up albums Eat to the Beat (1979) and Autoamerican (1980). Their most successful tracks from this era included "Heart of Glass" (US and UK No. 1), "One Way or Another", "Dreaming", "Call Me" (from the American Gigolo soundtrack; US and UK No. 1), "Atomic", "The Tide Is High" (US and UK No. 1), and "Rapture" (US No. 1), which became the first "Billboard" number-one singles to feature rap vocals.

Blondie disbanded in late 1982 following the commercial failure of their sixth studio album, The Hunter (1982), which was compounded by internal tensions, financial difficulties, and the severe illness of co-founder and guitarist Chris Stein. Harry subsequently paused her career to care for Stein, who was diagnosed with pemphigus, a rare and life-threatening autoimmune disease of the skin. The band re-formed in 1997, achieving renewed success with their seventh album No Exit (1999) and their sixth number one single in the UK with "Maria" in 1999, exactly 20 years after their first UK number one single, "Heart of Glass".

The group toured and performed throughout the world during the following years, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006. Blondie has sold over 40 million records worldwide and continues to actively perform. The band's eleventh studio album, Pollinator, was released on May 5, 2017, charting at number 4 in the UK. A new studio album, High Noon, has been announced for release on February 26, 2027.