Before they became the punk and new wave icons known as Blondie, the band had a different moniker - Angel and the Snake. It was in the early '70s the group destined to be linked with Debbie Harry's striking blonde hair and chart-topping hits was trying to carve out their niche in New York's vibrant downtown music scene.
Debbie, the band's charismatic frontwoman, along with guitarist Chris Stein, had left their former band, the Stilletos, behind to forge a fresh musical path. Little did they know that their enduring name would come straight from the city's sidewalks.
After Debbie transformed her hair colour to a bold blonde, she found herself the centre of attention, with truck drivers hollering "Hey, Blondie!" as she passed by. This street-side catcall caught Chris's ear and soon cemented itself as the band's identity.
Chris reminisced about the origin of the name years later: "[The name came] just from what people yelled at Debbie," he said. "Debbie came home one day with her hair dyed blonde and then told me within a week or so truck drivers were yelling, 'Hey, Blondie!' at her all the time."
Debbie herself shared the anecdote during a 2014 interview, reflecting on the search for the perfect band name. "Chris and I tried out a few [band] names," she revealed.
"One was Angel and the Snake, but I wasn't sure it was easy to remember. One day, I was walking across Houston Street and someone yelled 'Blondie' at me. I thought, 'Jeez, that's quite easy to remember.'".
The name stuck and perfectly reflected the band's straightforward, no-nonsense music. However, fans and the wider public couldn't help but link the band's image with Debbie's iconic appearance – leading many to incorrectly believe Blondie was a solo act.
Despite Debbie being the face of the group, it was crucial that all members received recognition. Label Private Stock Records initiated a daring campaign in the latter 1970s which bluntly declared: "Blondie is a group!".
This proclamation was emblazoned across T-shirts, posters, and badges. Merchandise for tours flaunted the declaration in vivid pink letters on a stark black backdrop. By the time their third album Parallel Lines took the global scene by storm – thanks to smash hits like Heart of Glass – it was crystal clear to everyone that Blondie was more than just Debbie's signature vocals.
Over the years, those clueless about the band’s naming origins concocted various explanations – some less flattering than others. A particularly unsettling rumor suggested the band had named themselves after Hitler's dog, Blondi.
The unfortunate myth gained enough traction that Chris Stein felt compelled to address it during a 2017 interview, stating: "The Hitler's dog thing? I don't know if I knew about that [then]. There's no 'e' on Hitler's dog's name; it was B-l-o-n-d-i."
At one point, the band even humorously pondered rebranding themselves as Adolf Hitler's Dog as a form of protest – but, thankfully, that notion was short-lived.
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