It would also be their final number one hit for eighteen years after Blondie broke up in 1982, until reuniting and scoring their next smash hit 'Maria' in 1999.īlondie weren't the first band to transform a little-known reggae hit into a mainstream success however - Eric Clapton became the first white artist to record a number one reggae song when he covered Bob Marley's 'I Shot The Sheriff' in 1974.And now this feeling makes you turn aroundĪnd now my feet can hardly touch the ground Their reggae stylings found fans across the world, which resulted in the band's third US chart-topper and their fifth in the UK. 'The Tide Is High' was the first single to be released from Blondie's 1980 album Autoamerican and catapulted the band to the top of the charts in both the UK and the US. 'The Tide Is High' was the first single from Blondie's 1980 album Autoamerican. "When I hear that song, I see my father, unshaven, his hair pulled back into a ponytail, dancing to and fro in a worn-out pair of denim shorts, with me at his feet, trying my best to coordinate tiny limbs." How did ‘The Tide Is High’ perform when it was first released? "The one modern song I remember him listening to was 'The Tide Is High' by Blondie, which he played constantly." It was filled with 45s, mostly Elvis and The Everly Brothers." Sean Lennon revealed that 'The Tide Is High' was the song his dad John "played constantly".Įven before 'The Tide Is High' came out, Blondie were a huge success on both sides of the Atlantic, but it was the reggae number which courted the admiration of the one and only John Lennon.ĭuring a 2006 interview with Rolling Stone magazine, his son Sean Lennon revealed: "My father had an old Wurlitzer in the game room of our house on Long Island. I knew what our position was at the time: If we had the ear of the public and if we did a successful version of this thing, it would be successful." 'The Tide Is High' had an unlikely fan in John Lennon… All I can say is the only song I knew for sure was going to be a hit before we recorded it was 'The Tide Is High.'" "All of our songs are part of a larger movement, so it’s virtually impossible to choose. Whilst Debbie remained tight-lipped about her selection saying it depends on her mood at the time, Chris was adamant that 'The Tide Is High' was his choice. In a 2022 interview, Blondie's Debbie Harry and Chris Stein were asked about their favourite song of theirs they'd ever recorded. (Photo by Allan Tannenbaum/Getty Images). ‘The Tide Is High’ was Blondie’s favourite song they’d recorded.īlondie's Debbie Harry and Chris Stein the roof of their New York City apartment in 1980. The pair were huge fans of the British ska revival during the early 1980s, and even asked The Specials to back Debbie on the recording in the studio, though they declined the offer.Īlthough 'The Tide Is High' was very much an underground hit in Jamaica and the UK, Blondie felt it'd be the perfectly positive song to lead their upcoming album, Autoamerican, to global success. They were awed by the song's infectious melody and thought it was too good of a song not to record with Blondie, despite being a reggae track. Debbie Harry and Chris Stein heard 'The Tide Is High' after hearing it on a compilation tape they bought in London.
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