Heart of Glass - Blondie (1979) 1/21/21

In 1974, Debbie Harry and Chris Stein of Blondie wrote today's “Great Song of the '70s.” It was slow and funky with lyrics that –in Debbie's words—were “nothing but a plaintive moan about lost love.” Accordingly, they titled it, “Once I Had a Love.”

In the end, they didn't like it much, so they tried re-doing it reggae-style, and they didn't like that either. So they put the song away and forgot about it...until 1978.

As Debbie and Chris were putting together the Blondie album “Parallel Lines,” producer Mike Chapman felt they could use one more song to make the album complete, so he asked if they had anything else in their repertoire. Reluctantly, they dusted off “Once I Had a Love,” and played it for him.

Mike thought it actually had possibilities—with changes, of course--so they put their heads together and reworked the whole thing.

Debbie was fond of European techno-disco music, so they decided to record it that way, with a harder edge and some extra added “funkiness.” In essence, they created a new sub genre called “Dance Rock.”

They also changed the lyrics...the song title...and just about everything else. “Once I Had a Love” became “Heart of Glass.”

When the song was released as a single in 1979, hardcore fans complained that Blondie had sold their souls to the “disco devil,” but they were drowned out by the millions of radio listeners who stampeded their way into record stores and turned the song into a Top 10 hit in 14 countries!

In fact, “Heart of Glass” went to #1 in 7 countries of those 14 countries...including Australia, New Zealand, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, and the UK. In Canada, it topped the Top 40, Adult Contemporary and Dance Charts. In the US, it reached #1 on the Hot 100!

(Trivia: The song was played on an episode of “WKRP in Cincinnati,” and that helped sales in the US to a large degree. To thank them, Blondie presented WKRP producers with a gold record, which, from that point on, was featured prominently in the background on almost every episode of the show.)

Rolling Stone magazine has “Heart of Glass” listed at #259 on their list of the “Top 500 Songs of All Time.” Slant Magazine has it at #42 on their list of the “Greatest Dance Songs of All Time,” and Pitchfork Magazine named it the 18th “Best Song of the '70s!”

With all those kudos in mind, I think it's safe to say that Blondie's “Heart of Glass” is a “Great Song of the '70s—thanks to Debbie Harry, Chris Stein, and Mike Chapman!