Heart of Glass (song)
Encyclopedia
"Heart of Glass" is a song by American New Wave
band Blondie
, written by singer Deborah Harry and guitarist Chris Stein
. Featured on the band's third studio album
, Parallel Lines
, it was released as a single in January 1979 and topped the charts in several countries, including the US and UK.
Rolling Stone
ranked the song number 255 on its list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.
-oriented. The band then decided to record the song for the album Parallel Lines, which was produced by Mike Chapman.
Exactly who decided to give the song a more pronounced disco vibe is subject to differing recollections. On some occasions the producer Mike Chapman has stated that he convinced Deborah Harry and Chris Stein to give the song a disco twist. On other occasions Chapman has credited Deborah Harry with the idea. As a band Blondie had experimented with disco before, both in the predecessors to "Heart of Glass" and in live cover songs that the band played at shows. Bassist Gary Valentine noted that the set list for early Blondie shows often included disco hits such as "Honey Bee" or "My Imagination." In an interview published in the February 4, 1978 edition of New Musical Express, Debbie Harry expressed her affinity for the eurodisco music of Giorgio Moroder, stating that "It's commercial, but its good, it says something...that's the kind of stuff that I want to do." A notable example of this type of musical experimentation occurred when Blondie covered Donna Summer's "I Feel Love" at the Blitz Benefit on May 7, 1978. In his history of CBGB, music writer Roman Kozak described this event: "When Blondie played for the Johnny Blitz benefit in May, 1978, they surprised everyone with a rendition of Donna Summer's 'I Feel Love.' It was arguably the first time in New York, in the middle of the great rock versus disco split, that a rock band had played a disco song. Blondie went on to record 'Heart of Glass,' other groups recorded other danceable songs, and dance rock was born."
In any event, no matter who came up with the idea, the song was ultimately given the disco orientation that made the song one of the best-known Blondie recordings. For the single release the track was remixed by Chapman with the double-tracked bass drum even more accentuated.
In reflecting on the development of "Heart of Glass" from its earliest incarnations until the recorded version on Parallel Lines, Chris Stein noted that the earliest versions had a basic conventional disco beat, but that the recorded version incorporated the electronic sound of eurodisco, stating that "The original arrangement of 'Heart of Glass' - as on the [1975] Betrock demos - had doubles on the high-hat cymbals, a more straight-ahead disco beat. When we recorded it for Parallel Lines we were really into Kraftwerk, and we wanted to make it more electronic. We weren't thinking disco as we were doing it; we thought it was more electro-European."
Ironically, the Parallel Lines version (and most others) contained some rhythmic features that were very unusual for the disco context, which typically strictly follows a 4-beats-per-measure pattern for maximum danceablility. The instrumental interludes in "Heart of Glass", in contrast, have a beat pattern of 4-3-4-3-4-3-4-4, totaling 29 beats instead of the usual 32.
The song was released in January 1979, and reached number one in both the US and the UK. The UK B-side was "Rifle Range", from Blondie's self-titled debut album
, while the US single used the Parallel Lines track "11:59". The accompanying music video
for "Heart of Glass" was filmed at Studio 54
in New York City
.
The versions appearing on the 7" single issued in early 1979 varied from country to country. Some used the regular album version (UK, 3:54), others an edited album version (US, 3:22) and others an edited version of the 12" Disco Mix (4:10), which is the one usually found on current hits compilations like the 1994 anthology The Platinum Collection
, Greatest Hits: Sight + Sound
(2005) and Greatest Hits: Sound & Vision (2006). For the band's very first hits compilation, 1981's The Best of Blondie
, producer Mike Chapman
created a special mix including elements from both the 12" Disco Version and the 12" Instrumental (4:33). The 1981 version appears on 2002's Greatest Hits
.
Drum Machine. The CR-78 was first introduced in 1978, the same year that Parallel Lines was recorded, and the use of this device on Heart of Glass was, according to the program, among the earliest uses of this device in popular music. As the program explained, it was also very unusual to use a drum machine in the context of a rock band. In deciding to use the CR-78 for Heart of Glass, the choice was made to combine the sound of the drum machine with the sound of actual drumming. This reflected the hybrid nature of the song, the combination of a drum machine that was typically used in the context of dance music with the actual drum sound that was a traditional aspect of rock recordings. In combining these elements, the sound of the drum machine was first recorded on an individual track. To synchronize the actual drum play with the drum machine, the drums were also recorded on separate tracks, with the bass drum recorded separately from the rest of the drums.
Having combined the drums with the drum machine, another important feature of the CR-78 was that it could be used to send a trigger pulse to the early polymorphic synthesizers. This trigger pulse feature was also used on Heart of Glass. The trigger pulse created by the CR-78 became a distinctive electronic/synth element of the song. The additional synthesizer portions of the song were played separately.
For the guitars, each guitar part was again recorded on separate tracks. For the vocals, a single track and a double track of Debbie Harry’s voice were combined into a single vocal recording.
In an interview in the magazine that is part of the collector’s edition for the ninth Blondie studio album “Panic of Girls,” Debbie Harry explained that band members Chris Stein and Jimmy Destri had purchased the CR-78 from a music store on 47th Street in Manhattan, and that this is how the device had become part of the production of Heart of Glass: “Chris and Jimmy were always going over to 47th Street where all the music stores were, and one day they came back with this little rhythm box, which went ‘tikka tikka tikka’…And the rest is history!”
scene and were accused of "selling out
" for releasing a disco song. According to Blondie frontwoman Deborah Harry, "Heart of Glass" made the band pariahs in the eyes of many of their fellow musicians in the New York music scene. The band was accused of pandering
to the mainstream that many punk/new wave bands at the time were actively rebelling against.
There was also the issue of the use of the expression "pain in the ass" within the lyrics which, at the time, did not sit easily with the BBC
. The radio edit
changed it to "heart of glass." In Australia
, the song was banned from radio for its "strong language."
Despite the controversy, the song was a huge hit and helped propel Blondie from cult group to mainstream icons. The band itself has acknowledged the success of the song in helping their careers and has downplayed criticism of the song, pointing out that Blondie always experimented with different styles of music and that "Heart of Glass" was their take on disco. The band itself has jokingly taken to referring to the song as "The Disco Song" in interviews.
discothèque in New York City with director Stanley Dorfman
. The video begins with footage of New York City in the night before joining Blondie perform at Studio 54. Then, the video alternates between close-ups of Harry's face as she lip-syncs, and mid-distance shots of the entire band. In the video Harry wears a silver asymmetrical dress designed by Stephen Sprouse
. To create the dress, Sprouse photo-printed a picture of television scan lines onto a piece of fabric, and then, according to Harry, "put a layer of cotton fabric underneath and a layer of chiffon on top, and then the scan-lines would do this op-art thing." The popularity of the song helped Sprouse's work earn a lot of exposure from the media.
"Draped in a sheer, silver Sprouse dress," Kris Needs summarized while writing for Mojo Classic, "Debbie sang through gritted teeth, while the boys cavorted with mirror balls". Studying Harry's attitude in the "effortlessly cool" video, music writer Pat Kane
felt she "exuded a steely confidence about her sexual impact ... The Marilyn
do has artfully fallen over, and she's in the funkiest of dresses: one strap across her shoulder, swirling silks around about her. Her iconic face shows flickers of interest, amidst the boredom and ennui of the song's lyrics." Kane also noted that the band members fooling around with disco balls, "taking the mickey out of their own disco fixation." Reviewing the Greatest Hits: Sound & Vision DVD for Pitchfork Media
, Jess Harvell wrote that while "owning your own copy of 'Heart of Glass' may not seem as cool [anymore] ... there's the always luminous Deborah Harry, who would give boiling asparagus an erotic charge, all while looking too bored to live."
, and in the 2011 science fiction film Super 8
and in other various films.
The song was used in the video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
on the fictional new wave station The Wave 103. The song is also a playable song in the music video game Rock Band 3
.
The song is used in episodes of Skins
, Glee
, Ugly Betty
, Gilmore Girls
and more.
It is also heard in a scene with Eva Mendes in the movie "We Own The World", at the beginning of "Endless Love" and many more movies and TV episodes of different genres. Too many to mention here. But the song was sort of a "staple", so to speak....
UK 12" (CHS 12 2275)
US 7" (CHS 2295)
US 12" (CDS 2275)
US 1995 Remix CD (7243 858387 2 9)
UK 1995 Remix CD (7243 882236 2 1)
, appeared on the Blondie/Debbie Harry remix compilation Once More into the Bleach
in 1988 and was also issued as a single in certain territories. The song was remix
ed by Diddy
and re-released again in July 1995, reaching number 15 in the UK Singles Chart
and was included on the 1995 remix compilation Beautiful - The Remix Album
. In 2007, Positiva Records
released a seven-track EP
consisting of the original radio and album versions of the song, plus five new remixes by DJ Edison. Missy Elliott
's 2003 hit "Work It" sampled the famous Roland CR-78
drum machine
intro from the track. Natalie Bassingthwaighte
sampled the song on her song "Supersensual", which is from her debut studio album, 1000 Stars
. Celine Dion
sampled the track for the Ric Wake
remix of her 2002 hit, "I'm Alive
". A jazz version of the song is available on These are the Vistas
, a 2003 album by The Bad Plus
. In 2010 Hesta Prynn
released a mash-up
of her own song "You Winding Me Up" with "Heart Of Glass" under the title "Hesta Prynn vs Blondie" as half of the "You Winding Me Up" single from the Can We Go Wrong
EP.
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
band Blondie
Blondie (band)
Blondie is an American rock band, founded by singer Deborah Harry and guitarist Chris Stein. The band was a pioneer in the early American New Wave and punk scenes of the mid-1970s...
, written by singer Deborah Harry and guitarist Chris Stein
Chris Stein
Christopher "Chris" Stein is co-founder and guitarist in the New Wave band, Blondie. He is also a producer and performer for the classic soundtrack of the hip hop film Wild Style....
. Featured on the band's third studio album
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
, Parallel Lines
Parallel Lines
Parallel Lines is the third studio album by American New Wave band Blondie, released in 1978 by Chrysalis Records. Their most popular and best-selling effort, Parallel Lines was the first Blondie album to be produced by Mike Chapman. The album reached number one in the United Kingdom in February 1979...
, it was released as a single in January 1979 and topped the charts in several countries, including the US and UK.
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
ranked the song number 255 on its list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.
History
An early version of "Heart of Glass" called "Once I Had Love" was written by Deborah Harry and Chris Stein in the period 1974/75. This earlier version was initially recorded as a demo in 1975. The song had a slower, funkier sound with a basic disco beat. For this reason it was known as "The Disco Song." The song was re-recorded in a second demo with the same title in 1978, when the song was made a bit more rockRock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
-oriented. The band then decided to record the song for the album Parallel Lines, which was produced by Mike Chapman.
Exactly who decided to give the song a more pronounced disco vibe is subject to differing recollections. On some occasions the producer Mike Chapman has stated that he convinced Deborah Harry and Chris Stein to give the song a disco twist. On other occasions Chapman has credited Deborah Harry with the idea. As a band Blondie had experimented with disco before, both in the predecessors to "Heart of Glass" and in live cover songs that the band played at shows. Bassist Gary Valentine noted that the set list for early Blondie shows often included disco hits such as "Honey Bee" or "My Imagination." In an interview published in the February 4, 1978 edition of New Musical Express, Debbie Harry expressed her affinity for the eurodisco music of Giorgio Moroder, stating that "It's commercial, but its good, it says something...that's the kind of stuff that I want to do." A notable example of this type of musical experimentation occurred when Blondie covered Donna Summer's "I Feel Love" at the Blitz Benefit on May 7, 1978. In his history of CBGB, music writer Roman Kozak described this event: "When Blondie played for the Johnny Blitz benefit in May, 1978, they surprised everyone with a rendition of Donna Summer's 'I Feel Love.' It was arguably the first time in New York, in the middle of the great rock versus disco split, that a rock band had played a disco song. Blondie went on to record 'Heart of Glass,' other groups recorded other danceable songs, and dance rock was born."
In any event, no matter who came up with the idea, the song was ultimately given the disco orientation that made the song one of the best-known Blondie recordings. For the single release the track was remixed by Chapman with the double-tracked bass drum even more accentuated.
In reflecting on the development of "Heart of Glass" from its earliest incarnations until the recorded version on Parallel Lines, Chris Stein noted that the earliest versions had a basic conventional disco beat, but that the recorded version incorporated the electronic sound of eurodisco, stating that "The original arrangement of 'Heart of Glass' - as on the [1975] Betrock demos - had doubles on the high-hat cymbals, a more straight-ahead disco beat. When we recorded it for Parallel Lines we were really into Kraftwerk, and we wanted to make it more electronic. We weren't thinking disco as we were doing it; we thought it was more electro-European."
Ironically, the Parallel Lines version (and most others) contained some rhythmic features that were very unusual for the disco context, which typically strictly follows a 4-beats-per-measure pattern for maximum danceablility. The instrumental interludes in "Heart of Glass", in contrast, have a beat pattern of 4-3-4-3-4-3-4-4, totaling 29 beats instead of the usual 32.
The song was released in January 1979, and reached number one in both the US and the UK. The UK B-side was "Rifle Range", from Blondie's self-titled debut album
Blondie (album)
Blondie is the eponymous debut album by American New Wave band Blondie, released in 1976 on Private Stock Records. The first single "X Offender" was originally entitled "Sex Offender" but since radio stations would not play a song with such a controversial title, the band renamed the song...
, while the US single used the Parallel Lines track "11:59". The accompanying music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for "Heart of Glass" was filmed at Studio 54
Studio 54
Studio 54 was a highly popular discotheque from 1977 until 1991, located at 254 West 54th Street in Manhattan, New York, USA. It was originally the Gallo Opera House, opening in 1927, after which it changed names several times, eventually becoming a CBS radio and television studio. In 1977 it...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
The versions appearing on the 7" single issued in early 1979 varied from country to country. Some used the regular album version (UK, 3:54), others an edited album version (US, 3:22) and others an edited version of the 12" Disco Mix (4:10), which is the one usually found on current hits compilations like the 1994 anthology The Platinum Collection
The Platinum Collection (Blondie)
The Platinum Collection is a two disc compilation album of recordings by Blondie released by EMI/Chrysalis in 1994. The forty-seven track compilation contains the A- and B-sides of all singles issued by the band in the U.S...
, Greatest Hits: Sight + Sound
Greatest Hits: Sight + Sound
Greatest Hits: Sight + Sound is a two disc compilation album by the band Blondie released in the UK on November 8, 2005. This was the first Blondie hits package to combine the CD and DVD formats...
(2005) and Greatest Hits: Sound & Vision (2006). For the band's very first hits compilation, 1981's The Best of Blondie
The Best of Blondie
- Chart positions :- References :# [ Allmusic]...
, producer Mike Chapman
Mike Chapman (record producer)
Mike Chapman is an Australian born record producer and songwriter who was a major force in the British pop music industry in the 1970s...
created a special mix including elements from both the 12" Disco Version and the 12" Instrumental (4:33). The 1981 version appears on 2002's Greatest Hits
Greatest Hits (Blondie)
Greatest Hits is a compilation album of recordings by the band Blondie released by EMI/Capitol Records in 2002. Following the re-issue of the six original Chrysalis studio albums in 2001, this was the first Blondie "Best of" compilation to be digitally remastered, the first Blondie "Best of" to be...
.
Production
The production of Heart of Glass was discussed in detail by Richard Allinson and Steve Levine on the BBC2 radio program The Record Producers that was aired on May 25, 2009. As explained in the program, the production of Heart of Glass was built around the use of a Roland CR-78Roland CR-78
The Roland CompuRhythm CR-78 is a drum machine launched in 1978. Although primitive by today's standards, the CR-78 represented an important advance in drum machine technology at the time...
Drum Machine. The CR-78 was first introduced in 1978, the same year that Parallel Lines was recorded, and the use of this device on Heart of Glass was, according to the program, among the earliest uses of this device in popular music. As the program explained, it was also very unusual to use a drum machine in the context of a rock band. In deciding to use the CR-78 for Heart of Glass, the choice was made to combine the sound of the drum machine with the sound of actual drumming. This reflected the hybrid nature of the song, the combination of a drum machine that was typically used in the context of dance music with the actual drum sound that was a traditional aspect of rock recordings. In combining these elements, the sound of the drum machine was first recorded on an individual track. To synchronize the actual drum play with the drum machine, the drums were also recorded on separate tracks, with the bass drum recorded separately from the rest of the drums.
Having combined the drums with the drum machine, another important feature of the CR-78 was that it could be used to send a trigger pulse to the early polymorphic synthesizers. This trigger pulse feature was also used on Heart of Glass. The trigger pulse created by the CR-78 became a distinctive electronic/synth element of the song. The additional synthesizer portions of the song were played separately.
For the guitars, each guitar part was again recorded on separate tracks. For the vocals, a single track and a double track of Debbie Harry’s voice were combined into a single vocal recording.
In an interview in the magazine that is part of the collector’s edition for the ninth Blondie studio album “Panic of Girls,” Debbie Harry explained that band members Chris Stein and Jimmy Destri had purchased the CR-78 from a music store on 47th Street in Manhattan, and that this is how the device had become part of the production of Heart of Glass: “Chris and Jimmy were always going over to 47th Street where all the music stores were, and one day they came back with this little rhythm box, which went ‘tikka tikka tikka’…And the rest is history!”
Controversy
Almost immediately after its release, "Heart of Glass" became the subject of controversy because of its disco sound. At the time, Blondie was one of the bands at the forefront of New York's growing New Wave musicNew Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
scene and were accused of "selling out
Selling out
"Selling out" is the compromising of integrity, morality, or principles in exchange for money or "success" . It is commonly associated with attempts to tailor material to a mainstream audience...
" for releasing a disco song. According to Blondie frontwoman Deborah Harry, "Heart of Glass" made the band pariahs in the eyes of many of their fellow musicians in the New York music scene. The band was accused of pandering
Pandering (politics)
Pandering is the act of expressing one's views in accordance with the likes of a group to which one is attempting to appeal. The term is most notably associated with politics...
to the mainstream that many punk/new wave bands at the time were actively rebelling against.
There was also the issue of the use of the expression "pain in the ass" within the lyrics which, at the time, did not sit easily with the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
. The radio edit
Radio edit
In music, a radio edit is a modification to make a song more suitable for airplay, whether it be adjusted for length, profanity, subject matter, instrumentation, or form...
changed it to "heart of glass." In Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, the song was banned from radio for its "strong language."
Despite the controversy, the song was a huge hit and helped propel Blondie from cult group to mainstream icons. The band itself has acknowledged the success of the song in helping their careers and has downplayed criticism of the song, pointing out that Blondie always experimented with different styles of music and that "Heart of Glass" was their take on disco. The band itself has jokingly taken to referring to the song as "The Disco Song" in interviews.
Music video
The "Heart of Glass" promotional video was filmed at the Studio 54Studio 54
Studio 54 was a highly popular discotheque from 1977 until 1991, located at 254 West 54th Street in Manhattan, New York, USA. It was originally the Gallo Opera House, opening in 1927, after which it changed names several times, eventually becoming a CBS radio and television studio. In 1977 it...
discothèque in New York City with director Stanley Dorfman
Stanley Dorfman
Stanley Dorfman is music director and producer.Dorfman was active in Great Britain throughout the 1960s and 1970s. He was the original co-producer and director for the TV music show Top Of The Pops and created and directed the BBC’s In Concert series....
. The video begins with footage of New York City in the night before joining Blondie perform at Studio 54. Then, the video alternates between close-ups of Harry's face as she lip-syncs, and mid-distance shots of the entire band. In the video Harry wears a silver asymmetrical dress designed by Stephen Sprouse
Stephen Sprouse
Stephen Sprouse was a fashion designer and artist credited with pioneering the 1980s mix of "uptown sophistication in clothing with a downtown punk and pop sensibility" .-Career:...
. To create the dress, Sprouse photo-printed a picture of television scan lines onto a piece of fabric, and then, according to Harry, "put a layer of cotton fabric underneath and a layer of chiffon on top, and then the scan-lines would do this op-art thing." The popularity of the song helped Sprouse's work earn a lot of exposure from the media.
"Draped in a sheer, silver Sprouse dress," Kris Needs summarized while writing for Mojo Classic, "Debbie sang through gritted teeth, while the boys cavorted with mirror balls". Studying Harry's attitude in the "effortlessly cool" video, music writer Pat Kane
Pat Kane
Pat Kane is a Scottish musician, and half of the pop duo Hue and Cry with his younger brother Greg.Independently of Hue & Cry, lead singer Kane writes on politics and culture...
felt she "exuded a steely confidence about her sexual impact ... The Marilyn
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, model and showgirl who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s....
do has artfully fallen over, and she's in the funkiest of dresses: one strap across her shoulder, swirling silks around about her. Her iconic face shows flickers of interest, amidst the boredom and ennui of the song's lyrics." Kane also noted that the band members fooling around with disco balls, "taking the mickey out of their own disco fixation." Reviewing the Greatest Hits: Sound & Vision DVD for Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
, Jess Harvell wrote that while "owning your own copy of 'Heart of Glass' may not seem as cool [anymore] ... there's the always luminous Deborah Harry, who would give boiling asparagus an erotic charge, all while looking too bored to live."
Appearance in popular media
The song appeared in the 1981 horror film Just Before DawnJust Before Dawn (1981 film)
Just Before Dawn is a 1981 slasher film from director Jeff Lieberman. Though the film came and went quietly upon its theatrical release the film has now developed a devoted cult following among horror fans. It is praised for its eerie atmosphere, lush cinematography, and above-average cast...
, and in the 2011 science fiction film Super 8
Super 8 (film)
Super 8 is a 2011 American science fiction action film written and directed by J. J. Abrams and produced by Steven Spielberg. The film stars Joel Courtney, Elle Fanning, and Kyle Chandler and was released on June 10, 2011 in conventional and IMAX theaters...
and in other various films.
The song was used in the video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories is a 2006 sandbox-style action video game developed by Rockstar Leeds in association with Rockstar North. It was published by Rockstar Games for the PlayStation Portable in late 2006 and later for the PlayStation 2 in March 2007. The game is the eighth...
on the fictional new wave station The Wave 103. The song is also a playable song in the music video game Rock Band 3
Rock Band 3
Rock Band 3 is a music video game, developed by Harmonix Music Systems. The game was initially published and distributed by MTV Games and Electronic Arts, respectively, with Mad Catz taking over both roles a year later. It is the third main game in the Rock Band series...
.
The song is used in episodes of Skins
Skins (TV series)
Skins is a BAFTA award-winning British teen drama that follows a group of teenagers in Bristol, South West England, through the two years of college. The controversial plot line explores issues such as dysfunctional families, mental illness , adolescent sexuality, substance abuse and death...
, Glee
Glee (TV series)
Glee is an American musical comedy-drama television series that airs on Fox in the United States, and on GlobalTV in Canada. It focuses on the high school glee club New Directions competing on the show choir competition circuit, while its members deal with relationships, sexuality and social issues...
, Ugly Betty
Ugly Betty
Ugly Betty is an American comedy-drama television series developed by Silvio Horta, which premiered on ABC on September 28, 2006, and ended on April 14, 2010. The series revolves around the character Betty Suarez and is based on Fernando Gaitán's Colombian telenovela soap opera Yo soy Betty, la fea...
, Gilmore Girls
Gilmore Girls
Gilmore Girls is an American family comedy-drama series created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, starring Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel. On October 5, 2000, the series debuted on The WB and was cancelled in its seventh season, ending on May 15, 2007 on The CW...
and more.
It is also heard in a scene with Eva Mendes in the movie "We Own The World", at the beginning of "Endless Love" and many more movies and TV episodes of different genres. Too many to mention here. But the song was sort of a "staple", so to speak....
Track listing
UK 7" (CHS 2275)- "Heart of Glass" (Debbie HarryDebbie HarryDeborah Ann "Debbie" Harry is an American singer-songwriter and actress, best known for being the lead singer of the punk rock and new wave band Blondie. She has also had success as a solo artist, and in the mid-1990s she performed and recorded as part of The Jazz Passengers...
, Chris SteinChris SteinChristopher "Chris" Stein is co-founder and guitarist in the New Wave band, Blondie. He is also a producer and performer for the classic soundtrack of the hip hop film Wild Style....
) – 3:54 - "Rifle Range" (Stein, Ronnie Toast) – 3:37
UK 12" (CHS 12 2275)
- "Heart of Glass" (Disco Version) (Harry, Stein) – 5:50
- "Heart of Glass" (Instrumental) (Harry, Stein) – 5:17
- "Rifle Range" (Stein, Toast) – 3:37
US 7" (CHS 2295)
- "Heart of Glass" (Harry, Stein) – 3:22
- "11:59" (Jimmy DestriJimmy DestriJimmy Destri is an American musician. He played keyboards in the rock band Blondie, and is one of the principal songwriters for the band along with Chris Stein and Deborah Harry. Destri stopped touring with the band in 2004, but remained an official member of the band for several more years...
) – 3:20
US 12" (CDS 2275)
- "Heart of Glass" (Disco Version) (Harry, Stein) – 5:50
- "Heart of Glass" (Instrumental) (Harry, Stein) – 5:17
US 1995 Remix CD (7243 858387 2 9)
- "Heart of Glass" (Diddy's Remix Edit) - 3:57 *
- "Heart of Glass" (Original Single Version) - 3:54
- "Heart of Glass" (MK 12" Mix) - 7:16
- "Heart of Glass" (Richie Jones Club Mix) - 8:42
- "Heart of Glass" (Diddy's Adorable Illusion Mix) - 7:33
UK 1995 Remix CD (7243 882236 2 1)
- "Heart of Glass" (Diddy's Adorable Edit) - 3:57
- "Heart of Glass" (Diddy's Adorable Illusion Mix) - 7:33
- "Heart of Glass" (Richie Jones Club Mix) - 8:42
- "Heart of Glass" (MK 12" Mix) - 7:16
- "Heart of Glass" (Original 12" Mix) - 5:50 **
- * This mix is identical to the UK Diddy's Adorable Edit.
- ** This is the original 1979 Disco Version.
Remixes and samplings
The first official remix of "Heart of Glass", by Shep PettiboneShep Pettibone
Robert E. Pettibone, Jr. is a record producer, remixer, songwriter and club DJ, one of the most prolific of the 1980s. His earliest work known to the public was for one of New York City's top disco/dance radio stations, WRKS 98.7 "Kiss" FM, and later as remixer/producer for the disco label Salsoul...
, appeared on the Blondie/Debbie Harry remix compilation Once More into the Bleach
Once More into the Bleach
Once More into the Bleach is a remix album released in 1988 by the band Blondie and Debbie Harry. The thirteen-track compilation contains remixes of Blondie songs and material from Debbie Harry's solo career. It was issued as a double vinyl album, double cassette, and compact disc...
in 1988 and was also issued as a single in certain territories. The song was remix
Remix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
ed by Diddy
Diddy (dance act)
Richard Dearlove , better known by his stage name Diddy, is an English DJ.He is responsible for the dance hit, and Feverpitch/Positiva release, "Give Me Love", which peaked at #23 in the UK Singles Chart in July 1997. He also undertook a number of Blondie single remixes for the Chrysalis Records...
and re-released again in July 1995, reaching number 15 in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
and was included on the 1995 remix compilation Beautiful - The Remix Album
Beautiful - The Remix Album
Beautiful - The Remix Album is a remix album of recordings by Blondie released by Chrysalis/EMI Records in the UK during 1995. The album spun off a series of remix singles in various formats...
. In 2007, Positiva Records
Positiva Records
Positiva Records is a subsidiary of EMI Records and is one of the biggest dance music labels in the UK. The record label was set up in 1993, by Nick Halkes, who previously ran XL Recordings . Its headquarters are at the EMI offices in Brook Green in West London, where it is currently the only large...
released a seven-track EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
consisting of the original radio and album versions of the song, plus five new remixes by DJ Edison. Missy Elliott
Missy Elliott
Melissa Arnette "Missy" Elliott , is an American rapper, singer-songwriter, record producer, and actressA five-time Grammy Award winner, Elliott, with record sales of over seven million in the United States, is the only female rapper to have five albums certified platinum by the RIAA, including one...
's 2003 hit "Work It" sampled the famous Roland CR-78
Roland CR-78
The Roland CompuRhythm CR-78 is a drum machine launched in 1978. Although primitive by today's standards, the CR-78 represented an important advance in drum machine technology at the time...
drum machine
Drum machine
A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument designed to imitate the sound of drums or other percussion instruments. They are used in a variety of musical genres, not just purely electronic music...
intro from the track. Natalie Bassingthwaighte
Natalie Bassingthwaighte
Natalie Bassingthwaighte is an Australian actress, singer-songwriter and television personality. She began her career as an actress on the television series All Saints. She then starred in the American television movie Counterstrike...
sampled the song on her song "Supersensual", which is from her debut studio album, 1000 Stars
1000 Stars
1000 Stars is the solo debut album by Australian singer and former Rogue Traders lead singer Natalie Bassingthwaighte. It was released as a digital download on 20 February 2009, followed by a physical release on 21 February 2009...
. Celine Dion
Celine Dion
Céline Marie Claudette Dion, , , is a Canadian singer. Born to a large family from Charlemagne, Quebec, Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband René Angélil mortgaged his home to finance her first record...
sampled the track for the Ric Wake
Ric Wake
Ric Wake is a record producer who has won an Academy Award and two Grammy Awards. During his tenure as staff producer with Sony Music Entertainment he has worked with vocalists such as Celine Dion, Mariah Carey, Jennifer Lopez, Jessica Simpson, Barry Manilow, and Marc Anthony...
remix of her 2002 hit, "I'm Alive
I'm Alive (Celine Dion song)
"I'm Alive" is the second hit single from Céline Dion's album A New Day Has Come, released on August 12, 2002.The song was written and produced by Kristian Lundin and Andreas Carlsson, who already worked with Céline Dion in 1999 on "That's the Way It Is." "I'm Alive" was also featured in the Stuart...
". A jazz version of the song is available on These are the Vistas
These Are the Vistas
These Are the Vistas was the second studio album released by the jazz trio The Bad Plus, and the band's first album for a major label...
, a 2003 album by The Bad Plus
The Bad Plus
The Bad Plus are a jazz trio from the United States, consisting of pianist Ethan Iverson, bassist Reid Anderson, and drummer Dave King, originating from Minneapolis, MN.-History:...
. In 2010 Hesta Prynn
Hesta Prynn
Julie Potash also known as Hesta Prynn , is an American musician, singer/rapper from Long Island, New York. She began her career in music as one-third of the all-female hip-hop group Northern State. After the band broke up she started focusing on solo material and, in July 2010, released an EP,...
released a mash-up
Mashup (music)
A mashup or bootleg is a song or composition created by blending two or more pre-recorded songs, usually by overlaying the vocal track of one song seamlessly over the instrumental track of another...
of her own song "You Winding Me Up" with "Heart Of Glass" under the title "Hesta Prynn vs Blondie" as half of the "You Winding Me Up" single from the Can We Go Wrong
Can we go wrong
Can We Go Wrong is the first solo EP by Hesta Prynn, formerly of the band Northern State. It was officially released on July 6, 2010, but was available weeks earlier through her own website and at her live concerts as the support act for Tegan and Sara...
EP.
Chart performance
| Chart (1979) | Peak Position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
1 |
| US Billboard Disco Top 80 | 58 |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
1 |
| Australia ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
1 |
| Austria Austria Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the... |
1 |
| Canada RPM (magazine) RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,... |
1 |
| New Zealand | 1 |
| Germany Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... |
1 |
| Switzerland Switzerland Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition.... |
1 |
| Ireland Ireland Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth... |
2 |
| Sweden | 3 |
| Norway Norway Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million... |
5 |
| Netherlands Netherlands The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders... |
8 |
| Italy Italy Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and... |
3 |
| Chart (1995) | Peak position |
| U.S. Hot Dance Club Songs | 7 |
| U.S. Hot Dance Singles Sales Hot Dance Singles Sales Hot Dance Singles Sales is a chart released weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States, established in 1985. It measures the sale of commercially released singles that deal with dance music and remixes... |
11 |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
15 |
Chart successions
Further reading
- Debbie Harry, Victor Bockris, Chris Stein (1982): Making Tracks: The Rise of Blondie. Horizon Book Promotions. ISBN 0440551501
- Cathay Che (1999): Deborah Harry: Platinum Blonde. André Deutsch Publications. ISBN 0233999574
External links
- Fred Bronson (1988): "Heart of Glass". The Billboard Book of Number One Hits. BillboardBillboard (magazine)Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
. - Tom Maginnis: "[ 'Heart of Glass': Song Review]". Allmusic.
- Douglas Wolk (March 2006): "The Greatest Songs Ever! 'Heart of Glass'". BlenderBlender (magazine)Blender was an American music magazine that billed itself as "the ultimate guide to music and more". It was also known for sometimes steamy pictorials of celebrities....
magazine.