Maria (Blondie song)
Encyclopedia
"Maria" is a song by the American band Blondie
, taken from their 1999 album No Exit
. This song was Blondie's comeback single, their first since "War Child
" in July 1982. In the UK, it was the band's sixth no.1 single, topping the charts exactly 20 years after their first UK no.1 "Heart of Glass
" in 1979. The song was written by the band's keyboardist Jimmy Destri
, who had also penned some of their earlier hits such as "Atomic
". In the US, the single peaked at #82 on the Billboard Hot 100
chart.
In the UK the single was released as a 2 CD set, the first containing remixes of "Maria", and the second containing live versions of "Screaming Skin" (a track from their "No Exit" album) and their very first hit single "In the Flesh".
The line "...like a millionaire/walking on imported air" was used in a previous Blondie song, "Walk Like Me" (also written by Destri), from the album Autoamerican
(1980).
UK CD 1
UK CD 2
UK CD 3 (promo only)
UK Cassette
US CD
US 12"
The music video for the song was directed by an 'Alan Smithee'
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...
, taken from their 1999 album No Exit
No Exit (Blondie album)
No Exit is the seventh studio album by the US rock/new wave group Blondie. It was released in February 1999 and marked the first time the band recorded or performed together since 1982, when they released their previous studio album The Hunter....
. This song was Blondie's comeback single, their first since "War Child
War Child (song)
"War Child" is a 1982 song by the American rock band Blondie, featured on their sixth studio album The Hunter. The song was released as a single in various countries, but not in the band's native US.-Single information:...
" in July 1982. In the UK, it was the band's sixth no.1 single, topping the charts exactly 20 years after their first UK no.1 "Heart of Glass
Heart of Glass (song)
"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...
" in 1979. The song was written by the band's keyboardist Jimmy Destri
Jimmy Destri
Jimmy 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...
, who had also penned some of their earlier hits such as "Atomic
Atomic (song)
"Atomic" is a song by the American New Wave band Blondie, written by Debbie Harry and Jimmy Destri and produced by Mike Chapman. It was released as the third single from the band's 1979 album Eat to the Beat.-Song information:...
". In the US, the single peaked at #82 on the 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...
chart.
In the UK the single was released as a 2 CD set, the first containing remixes of "Maria", and the second containing live versions of "Screaming Skin" (a track from their "No Exit" album) and their very first hit single "In the Flesh".
The line "...like a millionaire/walking on imported air" was used in a previous Blondie song, "Walk Like Me" (also written by Destri), from the album Autoamerican
Autoamerican
Autoamerican is the fifth studio album by the US new wave band Blondie. It was released in November 1980 and reached #3 in the UK charts, #8 in Australia and #7 in the US....
(1980).
Release history
All tracks written by Jimmy Destri unless otherwise noted.UK CD 1
- "Maria" (Radio Edit) – 4:09
- "Maria" (Soul Solution Remix Radio Edit) – 4:08
- "Maria" (Talvin Singh Remix Edit) – 4:39
UK CD 2
- "Maria" (Radio Edit) – 4:09
- "Screaming Skin" (Live) (Ashby, Foxx, Harry, Stein)
- "In the Flesh" (Harry, Stein) (Live)
UK CD 3 (promo only)
- "Maria" (Radio Edit) – 4:09
- "Maria" (Talvin Singh Rhythmic Remix) – 7:26
UK Cassette
- "Maria" (Radio Edit) – 4:09
- "Maria" (Soul Solution Remix Radio Edit) – 4:08
US CD
- "Maria" (Soul Solution Full Remix) – 9:27
- "Maria" (Talvin Singh Remix) – 7:27
- "Maria" (Talvin Singh Rhythmic Remix Edit) – 4:39
- "Maria" (Album Version) – 4:51
US 12"
- "Maria" (Soul Solution Full Remix) – 9:27
- "Maria" (Soul Solution Bonus Beats)
- "Maria (Talvin Singh Remix) – 7:27
- "Maria" (Talvin Singh Rhythmic Remix Edit) – 4:39
- "Maria" (Album Version) – 4:51
The music video for the song was directed by an 'Alan Smithee'
Cover versions and appearances in other media
- Blondie's recording was featured in the film "200 Cigarettes200 Cigarettes200 Cigarettes is a 1999 comedy-drama film starring Ben Affleck, Casey Affleck, Dave Chappelle, Guillermo Díaz, Angela Featherstone, Janeane Garofalo, Gaby Hoffman, Kate Hudson, Courtney Love, Jay Mohr, Martha Plimpton, Christina Ricci and Paul Rudd. The film also features paintings by Sally...
" (1999) - Kim Ah Joong covered the song in the South Korean film 200 Pounds Beauty, with Korean lyrics.
- LoveholicLoveholicLoveholic is a South Korean modern rock group.Their song "Shingiru " was used as the ending theme to the Japanese anime Black Blood Brothers...
, a Korean band, covered the song with the original lyrics. - Colbie CaillatColbie CaillatColbie Marie Caillat is an American pop singer-songwriter and guitarist from Malibu, California. She debuted in 2007 with Coco, which included hit singles "Bubbly", "Realize", and "The Little Things". In 2008, she recorded a duet with Jason Mraz, "Lucky", which won a Grammy. Caillat released her...
, an American popPop musicPop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
singer-songwriterSinger-songwriterSinger-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
and guitaristGuitaristA guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
, covered the song with the original lyrics for Levi's Pioneer Sessions. - EurodanceEurodanceEurodance is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1980s or early 1990s primarily in Europe. It combines many elements from House, Techno, Hi-NRG and especially Italo-Disco...
versions of the song have appeared on the DancemaniaDancemaniaDancemania is a series of remix compilation albums by i-DANCE. The series deals primarily with dance music, especially eurodance. Despite its tracks have been made by various musicians from all over the world mainly from the European continent, the albums have been released exclusively in Japan.The...
series albums, including Dancemania Speed 5Dancemania SpeedDancemania Speed is a sub-series of Toshiba EMI's Dancemania compilation series. This series features faster, further remixed versions of recordings from previously released Dancemania albums or faster remixed covers of various famous songs...
released in 2000.