Blondie was the name of a band emerged during the new wave/punk movement of the late 1970’s that often was confused as the name of their vocalist Deborah Harry. The band was formed when Chris Stein moved to New York City, joined The Stilettos, and began a romantic relationship with the band's vocalist, Debbie Harry in 1973.
Shortly after, Chris Stein (guitar) and Debbie Harry (vocals) invited Jimmy Destri (keyboards), Gary Valentine (bass), and Clem Burke (drums) to join their own band called Angel and the Snake, renamed "Blondie" in late 1975 after listening to truck drivers shout "Hey, Blondie" to their vocalist.
Blondie began to play at the famous New York's Club 51 and by Decembers 1976, the band released their self-titled debut album on Private Records from which the record company renamed the single "Sex Offender" to "X-Offender" fearing trouble with distribution.
In July 1977, Gary Valentine left the band and Frank Infante replaced him. In August, the British Chrysalis Records made a deal with Private Stock and signed the band, reissuing "Blondie" and releasing the band's second album, "Plastic Letters" before the band added Nigel Harrison as bassist and switched Infante to guitar.
Blondie’s breakthrough into the mainstream with their cover of a 1963 hit "Denis" that hit the UK Top Ten hit charts. Blondie got British producer Mick Chapman to produce their third album "Parallel Lines", released in September that was their ticket to worldwide popularity.
The band was dissolved in 1982 after Stein became seriously ill. Deborah Stein worked on her solo career in 1985 with Stein participating with all of her recordings. Deborah Harry was the most successful solo artist of the band, who eventually rejoined again with Stein and band mates in 1998.
After two new albums added to Blondie's discography, “No Exit" (1999) and "The Curse of Blondie" (2003) the band were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006 during an emotional ceremony attended by the seven members of the band's lineup. Later that year a BBC documentary revealed that Nigel Harrison and Frank Infante had undertaken a legal battle over Blondie's agreements before the ceremony.
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