SATURDAY'S SINGLES : BLONDIE and THE B-52'S

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Good morning gang and welcome back to Saturday's Singles, a Birthday edition. First up on our calendar of cake is Miami native, singer, songwriter and actress, Debbie Harry (Angela Trimble), best known as the front woman for the new wave band, Blondie. She is turning 78 years old today. Happy Birthday Debbie! She was born in 1945 and adopted by parents  Catherine and Richard Harry, who were gift shop proprietors in Hawthorne, New Jersey.  With her in mind we spotlight "The Tide Is High". The tune was written by John Holt in 1967 and originally performed by the Jamaican group the Paragons. Blondie released their version on Halloween day in 1980 on the Chrysalis label. It was produced by Mike Chapman and it's parent album is the group's 5th release, Autoamerican. The song reached #19 in Sweden and Finaland, #15 in West Germany, #7 in Norway, #6 in Austria, #5 in the Netherlands, South Africa, and Switzerland, #4 in Australia, Belgium, the Dutch Top 40, #3 on the Adult Contemporary charts, #2 in Ireland, and #1 in Canada, New Zealand, the UK, Record World, the Cash Box, the  Hot Dance Club Play charts, and the Hot 100. It's flip side is "Susie and Jeffrey" a non album track. I will always remember her limited role on the crime drama Wiseguy during the Dead Dog Records story arc. She played Diana Price, a struggling lounge singer who Ken Wahl's Vinnie Terranova takes under his wing. That story arc was held up for years due to copyright for the original music. It also starred Mick Fleetwood, Deidre Hall, Tim Curry and Glenn Frey. It is now available on Roku. 

Blondie :

Clem Burke – drums
Jimmy Destri – electric keyboards
Nigel Harrison – bass
Deborah Harry – vocals
Frank Infante – guitar
Chris Stein – guitar, tympani

Ollie Brown – percussion on "The Tide Is High"
Emil Richards – percussion on "The Tide Is High"
Alex Acuña – percussion on "The Tide Is High"

Jimmie Haskell – string and horn arrangements

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Our next set of candles belongs to New Jersey born singer, songwriter, arranger, and musician, Fred Schneider (Frederick William Schneider III), best known for his work with the Georiga based new wave band, The B-52's. He was born in 1951 and founded the group along with  Cindy Wilson, Ricky Wilson, Kate Pierson, Keith Strickland in 1976. On June 20, 1989 they released "Love Shack" from their 5th studio album, Cosmic Thing. It was produced by Don Was. The song peaked at #42 in France, #18 on the Dutch Top 40, #15 in the Netherlands, #12 on the Ultra Top 50, #11 on the Dance Singles Sales, #9 in Belgium, #8 on Canada's Dance/Urban charts, #7 on the Dance Club Songs survey, #5 on the Canada Top Singles chart and the Eurochart Hot 100, #3 Canada Retail Singles and the Billboard Hot 100, #2 in hte UK, and #1 in Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, and Billboard's Alternative Airplay chart. It is backed with "Channel Z" from the same LP. Our copy is on cassette single. 

The B-52's :

Kate Pierson – vocals , keyboards , backing vocals 
Fred Schneider – vocals , percussion , backing vocals 
Keith Strickland – guitars, keyboards , backing vocals 
Cindy Wilson – vocals 

Philippe Saisse – keyboards 
Sonny Emory – drums 
Charlie Drayton – drums

Richard Hilton - programming

The Uptown Horns on "Love Shack":
Chris Cioe
Paul Litteral
Arno Hecht
Bob Funk
Carl Beatty

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