The Day A Gigolo Helped Blondie Call Up A Chart Topper

04/26/2011
. On this day in 1980, Blondie were at no 1 on the U.K. singles chart with "Call Me," the group's fourth U.K. #1, that was featured in the Richard Gere movie American Gigolo .The track was also a #1 in the U.S.. Gibson takes a look back: As Richard Gere drives the pacific coast highway in the opening scenes of Paul Schrader's magnificent thriller, American Gigolo, a song plays in the background. The insistent disco beat comes from Donna Summer's behind-the-scenes man, producer Giorgio Moroder. The pure pop vocals, and new wavey band sound are courtesy of Blondie.

The story goes that when disc guru Moroder was asked to provide music for the American Gigolo soundtrack he first approached Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac mega-fame but she was unavailable. Number two on Moroder's list was Blondie, then one of the most successful bands on the world, fronted by �ber rock chick Debbie Harry. Moroder gave Harry an unfinished demo of a track called "Man Machine" and invited her to contribute lyrics. In just a few hours Harry had her words and Moroder had his song, "Call Me."

Blondie recorded the track, a distinct departure in style, with Moroder behind the desk. In the United States, the song was released in February of 1980, peaking at #1 and giving the band their second chart topper. more on this story

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