On this day in 1981, Blondie made music history by topping the Billboard Hot 100 with "Rapture."
It was the band's fourth No. 1, but more importantly, it was the first song ever to top the pop chart featuring rapped verses. In the six-and-a-half- minute album version of the song - which blends new wave, disco and hip-hop -- Blondie singer Deborah Harry throws down rhymes that include shoutouts to Fab Five Freddy (who appeared in the song's music video) and Grandmaster Flash. The song was cut down to just under five minutes for the single and video.
Also turning up in the clip were acclaimed New York artist Jean-Michel Basquiat and graffiti artist Lee Quinones.
Despite the massive success of the song, drummer Clem Burke - who along with Harry remains the only original member of the band's current touring lineup - revealed that Autoamerican, the 1980 album featuring the song, is his personal favorite. Yet when the band first submitted it to its record label, the executives didn't think it was going to be a success.
"I really like Autoamerican," he told me in an interview for TIDAL. "I think it's really stood the test of time. At the time, it was pretty innovative and original in its concept. When the album was delivered to the record company, they didn't know what to make of it. They said there were no hits. And of course 'The Tide Is High' and 'Rapture' are on that record."
While "Rapture" is an original written by Harry and Blondie guitarist Chris Stein, "The Tide Is High" is a cover of a 1967 rocksteady song first recorded by the Paragons. It preceded "Rapture" to the summit of the Hot 100, as the first single released from Autoamerican, on Jan. 31, 1981.
Additionally, a 12-inch that paired the two hits topped Billboard's Dance Club Songs for four weeks, beginning on Feb. 28, 1981.
