ROCK MOMENT – Blondie ‘Call Me’

When Blondie released ‘Call Me‘ in 1980, it became one of the defining songs of the era and the band’s biggest international hit. But the track’s origins were unusual, born out of a collaboration between Blondie and famed Italian producer Giorgio Moroder.

At the time, Moroder had already revolutionized disco and electronic music through his work with Donna Summer, most famously on ‘I Feel Love.’ In 1979, he was hired to create the theme song for Paul Schrader’s film American Gigolo, starring Richard Gere. Moroder first approached Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac to write lyrics and record the track, but scheduling conflicts prevented her from taking part. He then turned to Blondie, who were at the peak of their fame after hits like ‘Heart of Glass‘ and ‘One Way or Another.‘

Debbie Harry wrote the lyrics from the perspective of the film’s main character, a male escort in Los Angeles. The phrase ‘Call Me‘ perfectly captured the glamour and underlying loneliness of the story. Musically, Moroder laid down a driving electronic disco-rock track, which Blondie powered up with their New Wave edge.

Released in February 1980, ‘Call Me‘ shot to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, where it stayed for six consecutive weeks. It also topped charts in the UK and several other countries, becoming the band’s most successful single. The song later earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Original Song and cemented Blondie’s reputation as genre-bending pioneers who could fuse disco, rock, and New Wave into something irresistible.

Over four decades later, ‘Call Me‘ remains one of Blondie’s most iconic songs and a defining anthem of the 1980s.