Debbie Harry
Debbie Harry
Deborah Ann "Debbie" Harry is an American singer-songwriter and actress, best known as the lead singer of the new wave and punk rock band Blondie. She recorded several worldwide number one singles with Blondie during the 1970s and 1980s. She is sometimes considered the first rapper to chart at number one in the United States due to her work on "Rapture". She has also had successas a solo artist before reforming Blondie in the late 1990s. Her acting career spans...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionMusician
Date of Birth1 July 1945
CountryUnited States of America
In music the mystical element is definitely there all the time, and one can see it.
That was the impetus for me to do music or art, because I knew if I didn't try when I was young, then I would get to be in my 40's and I'd be really unhappy that I hadn't.
It's amazing to me to see how bands evolve and how they take all their influences and come up with their own sound.
The word 'iconic' is used too frequently - an icon is a statue carved in wood. It was shocking at first, when I got that reference. It was a responsibility, and it's impossible to live up to - you're supposed to be dead, for one thing.
I feel like I have to have a voice.
And living in a metropolitan area which is ethnically diverse, our lives are very complicated, so our emotional experiences are going to be varied like that.
Something's that written out is okay, but it's not always a clear indication of what a person means.
I think it's a Blondie tradition that all of our albums sort of have a wide spread of styles.
Music has its own emotional embodiment. It carries an emotion with it. When you associate a lyric with the music, it's much easier; but when you're standing there completely dry in front of the camera with no musical background, just a fine-tuned, get-this-emotional-story across, it's a very, very intense kind of focus.
I guess people assume I have some sort of totally magical life, but I'm a working musician, fortunately. I've worked on my craft, and I'm very fortunate I've been able to survive in a very competitive industry and enjoy my success. It's not easy.
I turned on VH1 this morning just to get a little warm-up before I came over here, and I think it's just terrific. There's so much great stuff: diverse and wonderful music, good performances, great looking girls, great videos, the whole thing.
A lot of the bands were really, really different and a lot of them actually didn't become huge but I think were hugely influential.
Working as a solo artist has given me a confidence that I didn't have with Blondie.
I always think of a voice as an instrument, whether a voice is a trumpet, or violin, or bass. You know what I mean? A horn or wind instrument versus a string instrument. Horn instruments are definitely more toward jazz.