Blondie's origins lay in the glam-rock era of the early Seventies, when Bowie, the New York Dolls and Lou Reed were jolting the rock scene with sexual ambiguity and campy behavior. In 1973, Debbie Harry - who'd worked as a Playboy bunny and tended bar at Max's Kansas City - joined the Stilettos, a group fronted by three female singers. When Chris Stein joined, the seeds were sown for Blondie, which began performing under that name at CBGB's in 1975. The lineup stabilized with vocalist Harry, guitarist Stein, keyboardist Jimmy Destri, bassist Gary Valentine and drummer Clem Burke.

Blondie broke the Top Forty barrier with the Number One hit "Heart of Glass" in 1979. One of the most popular bands of the New Wave era, Blondie hit the scene with visually arresting frontwoman Debbie Harry. During the late Seventies and early Eighties, Blondie had eight Top Forty hits, including four that went to Number One: "Heart of Glass," "Call Me," "The Tide Is High" and "Rapture." No other New Wave group had that many chart-topping singles.