Heart of Glass (6:56)

“Heart of Glass” is a song by American New Wave band Blondie. Featured on the band’s third studio album, Parallel Lines, it was released as a single in 1979 and topped the charts in several countries, most notably in the United Kingdom and United States.

Rolling Stone ranked the song number 255 on its list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.


History

“Heart of Glass” was originally recorded in 1975 under the name “Once I Had a Love,” and was much slower with a blues/reggae vibe to it. The song was frequently performed on tours, then was re-recorded with the same title in 1978, when the song was made a bit more rock-oriented. When Blondie recorded the album Parallel Lines, disco was big on the music scene, and producer Mike Chapman decided to give the song the disco twist that made the song what it is today, and 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.

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.