Heart of Glass (song) - History

History

An early version of "Heart of Glass" called "Once I Had Love" was written by Deborah Harry and Chris Stein in 1974-75. This earlier version was initially recorded as a demo in 1975. The song had a slower, funkier sound with a basic disco beat. For this reason it was known as "The Disco Song." The song was re-recorded in a second demo with the same title in 1978, when the song was made a bit more pop-oriented. The band then decided to record the song for the album Parallel Lines, which was produced by Mike Chapman.

Exactly who decided to give the song a more pronounced disco vibe is subject to differing recollections. On some occasions the producer Mike Chapman has stated that he convinced Deborah Harry and Chris Stein to give the song a disco twist. On other occasions Chapman has credited Deborah Harry with the idea. As a band, Blondie had experimented with disco before, both in the predecessors to "Heart of Glass" and in live cover songs that the band played at shows. Bassist Gary Valentine noted that the set list for early Blondie shows often included disco hits such as "Honey Bee" or "My Imagination." In an interview published in the February 4, 1978 edition of New Musical Express, Debbie Harry expressed her affinity for the Eurodisco music of Giorgio Moroder, stating that "It's commercial, but its good, it says something...that's the kind of stuff that I want to do." A notable example of this type of musical experimentation occurred when Blondie covered Donna Summer's "I Feel Love" at the Blitz Benefit on May 7, 1978. In his history of CBGB, music writer Roman Kozak described this event: "When Blondie played for the Johnny Blitz benefit in May, 1978, they surprised everyone with a rendition of Donna Summer's 'I Feel Love.' It was arguably the first time in New York, in the middle of the great rock versus disco split, that a rock band had played a disco song. Blondie went on to record 'Heart of Glass,' other groups recorded other danceable songs, and dance rock was born."

In any event, no matter who came up with the idea, the song was ultimately given the disco orientation that made the song one of the best-known Blondie recordings. For the single release the track was remixed by Chapman, with the double-tracked bass drum even more accentuated.

In reflecting on the development of "Heart of Glass" from its earliest incarnations until the recorded version on Parallel Lines, Chris Stein noted that the earliest versions had a basic conventional disco beat, but that the recorded version incorporated the electronic sound of Eurodisco, stating that "The original arrangement of 'Heart of Glass' - as on the Betrock demos - had doubles on the high-hat cymbals, a more straight-ahead disco beat. When we recorded it for Parallel Lines we were really into Kraftwerk, and we wanted to make it more electronic. We weren't thinking disco as we were doing it; we thought it was more electro-European."

The Parallel Lines version (as well as most others) contained some rhythmic features that were very unusual for the disco context, which typically follows a strict four-beats-per-measure pattern for maximum danceability. The instrumental interludes in "Heart of Glass", in contrast, have a beat pattern of 4-3-4-3-4-3-4-4, with eight measures totaling 29 beats instead of the more-standard 32.

The song was released in January 1979, and reached number one in both the US and the UK. The UK B-side was "Rifle Range", from Blondie's self-titled debut album, while the US single used the Parallel Lines track "11:59". The accompanying music video for "Heart of Glass" was filmed at Studio 54 in New York City.

The versions appearing on original 7" and 12" singles issued in early 1979 varied from country to country:

• Original Album Version - 3:54
  • Used for UK 7" releases
• Album Edit - 3:22
  • Used for US/Canada 7" releases
• 12" Disco Mix Edit - 4:10
  • Used for hits compilations The Platinum Collection and 2005's Greatest Hits.
• Disco Mix/Album Version #2 - 5:50
  • Used for 12" releases and Germany/Netherlands 7" releases; replaced original album version on all future pressings of Parallel Lines.
• Special Mix - 4:33
  • Mix of Disco Version and 12" Instrumental by producer Mike Chapman; mixed for 1981's The Best of Blondie and remastered for 2002's Greatest Hits.