Debbie Harry the Soul of Girl Groups in the 1970’s
Debbie Harry the main singer of Blondie was influenced by many issues at the time and the changes in musical style. These influences would include; the introduction of punk rock, glam rockers such as David Bowie, and many social factors at the time. These social factors will be explained in later paragraphs. Harry and the band Blondie took from these influences to create a distinct package with a persona for Harry herself which made the band even more popular.
Debbie Harry set the stage for female glam rockers at the time. Her “dumb blonde” character was unique to the group paired with her strong rocker voice and punk lyrics. The band was made up of five members; Clem Burke, Tommy Kessler, Matt Katz-Bohen, Chris Stein, and Debbie Harry. Chris Stein wrote most of the songs for the band. After Harry left the band, she became less popular. Her popularity and rise to fame was due to her involvement with the band Blondie.
The band Blondie, which included Debbie Harry as its main singer, became a household name after their first hit single “Heart of Glass”. Harry was the persona of the band and the band was named Blondie after the truck drivers that would cat call Harry saying “Hey, Blondie”. This band personified the dumb blond stereotype through Debbie Harry and became a punk rock icon. This band was influenced by many different bands including, David Bowie, Iggy Pop, The Velvet Underground, The Rolling Stones, The Shangri-Las and many other punk rock or glamorous bands (Powers, 1999). These “Glam rock” bands brought about the flashy shows, personas, and packaging. The entire persona of the band which made them stand out from the crowd. With the dumb blond packaging and the punk rock sound and grunge gave the band its distinct package that led it to become one of the major bands at the time. Debbie Harry was the face of the band and the voice. Her vocals and packaging made the band famous. The others in the band wrote the majority of the songs and worked on packaging, producing, and doing interviews. Harry had little say in the band or the music she sang. In the end producers wanted her more than the rest of the band and she began to make a solo career. However many fans of the band did not enjoy her on her own and Harry’s career faded out.
Debbie Harry’s fashion sense helped add to the “dumb blonde” packaging and made a memorable impression on her audience. Many young teenage girls wanted to look like Harry and dress like her according to a New York Times article (Green 2019). Her pink dress from many of her on stage performances was iconic and helped Harry stand out from the crowd. This sense of grunge but feminine fashion is what Harry created out of the outfits she performed in and posed in for magazine shoots throughout the 70’s and 80’s. This created a whole new style of fashion made possible by the popularity of Debbie Harry as the lead singer of Blondie.
Harry’s famous image did not always help her when trying out new career paths including her solo career. While in the band Blondie, “‘’No one really paid attention to Debbie’s singing style and how great a writer she was, because they couldn’t get past the image,’’ said Destri. The idol worship disenchanted the band; at times, Harry must have felt a bit like Denise LeFrak, the object of someone else’s profitable fantasy.” (Powers 1999). This was detrimental to her solo career because many people did not realize her talent as a solo artist or get past her extreme embodiment of femininity. Overall, the persona from the band hurt Debbie Harry’s solo career because fans couldn’t get past her character from her previous band.
Overall Debbie Harry’s fame can be attributed to her position in the band Blondie as the lead singer, “Blondie transcended mere popularity by moving away from blues-based rock and capitalizing on the personality and musical ingenuity of its lead singer’s get-in-your face downtown cool, a persona that provided a template for countless female rockers who followed.” (Salamone, 2013) Her character of the “dumb blonde” helped her stand out from other female lead singers and fit in with other “glam rockers” from the era such as David Bowie and Freddy Mercury. Her fame could only last while she was in the band with Chris Stein as the writer and band member. Sadly, her persona is what gave Harry fame not just her fantastic voice.
Works Cited:
Ann Powers. (February 22, 1999, FINAL). Blondie decides to have more fun: Sixteen years after the NewYork band fell apart, Blondie is put back together for a secondtaste of pop life.. The Vancouver Sun (British Columbia). Retrieved from https://advance.lexis.com/api/document?collection=news&id=urn:contentItem:3VVS-NP10-00KD-653R-00000-00&context=1516831.
“Discover Who Influenced Blondie.” Blondie’s Biggest Music Influences, https://inflooenz.com/?artist=Blondie.
GREEN, PENELOPE. “She Gave Debbie Harry That Immortal Dress.” New York Times, vol. 169, no. 58465, 29 Sept. 2019, p. 7. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=138900673&site=ehost-live.
Frentner, Sean. “Baker, Arthur.” Contemporary Musicians, edited by Luann Brennan, vol. 23, Gale, 1999, pp. 26–29. Gale eBooks, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3494100015/GVRL?u=west41605&sid=GVRL&xid=34f4b374. Accessed 9 Oct. 2019.
Morris, Bill. “The Private Life of DEBBIE HARRY.” Publishers Weekly, vol. 266, no. 41, Oct. 2019, p. (Sp)6-(Sp)7. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=139111248&site=ehost-live.
Salamone, Frank A. “Blondie.” St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture, edited by Thomas Riggs, 2nd ed., vol. 1, St. James Press, 2013, p. 335. Gale eBooks, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX2735800297/GVRL?u=west41605&sid=GVRL&xid=cf7daaeb. Accessed 9 Oct. 2019.
