Autoamerican

Autoamerican
Studio album by
Blondie
ReleasedNovember 26, 1980 (1980-11-26)
Recorded1980
StudioUnited Western Recorders (Hollywood, California)
GenreArt rock[1]
Length46:39 (LP)
50:54 (Cassette)
LabelChrysalis
ProducerMike Chapman
Blondie chronology
Eat to the Beat
(1979) 		Autoamerican
(1980) 		The Hunter
(1982)
Singles from Autoamerican
  1. "The Tide Is High"
    Released: October 31, 1980
  2. "Rapture"
    Released: January 12, 1981
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Christgau's Record Guide: The '80sB−[3]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[4]
Record Mirror[5]
Rolling Stone[6]
The New Rolling Stone Album Guide[7]

Autoamerican is the fifth studio album by American rock band Blondie. It was released in November 1980[8] and reached No. 3 in the UK charts, No. 7 in the US, and No. 8 in Australia. The album spawned two singles, "The Tide Is High" and "Rapture". "The Tide Is High" hit number one in several countries, including the US and the UK. "Rapture" became the first rap song ever to reach number one on the singles chart in the US. It also reached number five in the UK and number four in Australia.

Background

The album was a radical departure for the band, with the opening track "Europa" setting the pace. The track is a dramatic instrumental overture featuring orchestral arrangements and ending with vocalist Debbie Harry declaiming a passage about automobile culture over an electronic soundtrack. Besides rock and pop tracks, the band explored a wide range of other musical genres: "Here's Looking at You" and "Faces" show jazz and blues influences, "The Tide Is High" was a cover of the Paragons' 1967 Jamaican rocksteady song, whereas "Rapture" combined funk, rock, jazz, and even saw them embracing the then-emerging genre of rap. The closing track, "Follow Me", was a cover of a torch song from Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe's 1960 Broadway musical Camelot.

Producer Mike Chapman insisted the band record in Los Angeles. Guitarist Chris Stein lamented: "Every day we get up, stagger into the blinding sun, [and] drive past a huge Moon-mobile from some ancient sci-fi movie."[9] Drummer Clem Burke welcomed the change: "Autoamerican was fun. We got to spend two months in California. I'm always up for a free ride."[10] However, the band insisted on the cover artwork shot being from their hometown, posing on a roof near New York's Broadway and Eighth (more precisely 300 Mercer Street). The image was taken from a commissioned painting by artist Martin Hoffman (1935–2013).[11]

In a 2020 interview with American Songwriter, to mark the 40th anniversary of the album, Stein revealed the intended title was Coca Cola, as it sounded "very American", but The Coca-Cola Company declined the idea.[12]

The band released two singles from this album, "The Tide Is High" and "Rapture". "The Tide Is High" hit number one in several countries, including the US and the UK. "Rapture" became the first rap song ever to reach number one on the singles chart in the US. It also reached number five in the UK and number four in Australia. Though these singles proved successful, the record company was initially hesitant about the album's commercial prospects. Burke recalled, "When we gave the album to the record company, they basically said they didn't hear any hits. And that was their quote: 'We don't hear a single'. It had two number ones! And both were very innovative as well."[13]

Autoamerican was digitally remastered and reissued with two bonus tracks by Chrysalis Records in the UK in 1994 which included the extended 12″ Special Disco Mix versions of "Rapture" and its B-side "Live It Up", from 1981. The album was again remastered and re-released by EMI-Capitol in 2001, again featuring the extended version of "Rapture" along with the full-length version of their number-one single "Call Me" (from the film soundtrack to American Gigolo), as well as "Suzy & Jeffrey" which was originally the B-side to "The Tide Is High".

Track listing

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Europa"Chris Stein3:32
2."Live It Up"Stein4:10
3."Here's Looking at You"
2:58
4."The Tide Is High"John Holt4:42
5."Angels on the Balcony"
3:36
6."Go Through It"
  • Harry
  • Stein
2:40
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
7."Do the Dark"Destri3:53
8."Rapture"
  • Stein
  • Harry
6:33
9."Faces"Harry3:51
10."T-Birds"
3:58
11."Walk Like Me"Destri3:46
12."Follow Me"
3:00
Cassette edition bonus track
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
7."Susie and Jeffrey" (B-side to "The Tide Is High" single)
  • Harry
  • Harrison
4:10
1994 CD reissue bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
13."Rapture" (Special Disco Mix)
  • Stein
  • Harry
9:59
14."Live It Up" (Special Disco Mix)Stein8:13
2001 CD reissue bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
13."Call Me" (Original Long Version)
  • Giorgio Moroder
  • Harry
8:06
14."Suzie and Jeffrey" (B-side to "The Tide Is High" single)
  • Harry
  • Harrison
4:10
15."Rapture" (Special Disco Mix)
  • Stein
  • Harry
9:59
Japanese limited release bonus 7" tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Call Me (Spanish Version)"
3:29
2."Heroes (Live with Robert Fripp)"
6:15

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Autoamerican.[14]

Blondie

Additional musicians

  • Wah Wah Watson – guitar on "Live It Up"
  • Howard Kaylan – vocals on "T-Birds"
  • Mark Volman – vocals on "T-Birds"
  • Tom Scott – saxophone on "Rapture" and "Faces", Lyricon on "Do the Dark"
  • Ollie Brown – percussion on "The Tide Is High"
  • Emil Richards – percussion on "The Tide Is High"
  • Alex Acuña – percussion on "The Tide Is High"
  • Steve Goldstein – piano on "Faces", synthesizers on "Follow Me"
  • B-Girls – backing vocals on "Live It Up"
  • Jimmie Haskell – string and horn arrangements on "Here's Looking at You", "The Tide Is High", "Europa" and "Go Through It"
  • Ray Brown – bass on "Faces"
  • Scott Lesser – percussion on "Live It Up"

Technical

  • Mike Chapman – production
  • Lenise Bent – engineering
  • Doug Schwartz – engineering assistance
  • Gary Boatner – engineering assistance
  • Kevin Flaherty – production (2001 reissue)

Artwork

  • Martin Hoffman – painting
  • John Van Hamersveld – design
  • Karen Knecht – peach
  • Billy Bass – art direction

Charts

Certifications

Certifications for Autoamerican
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[33] 3× Platinum 300,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[34] Gold 7,500^
United Kingdom (BPI)[35] Platinum 300,000^
United States (RIAA)[36] Platinum 1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig, eds. (1995). "Blondie". Spin Alternative Record Guide. New York: Vintage Books. pp. 49–50. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
  2. ^ Ruhlmann, William. "Autoamerican – Blondie". AllMusic. Retrieved September 1, 2012.
  3. ^ Christgau, Robert. "CG:Blondie". RobertChristgau.com. Archived from the original on August 11, 2009. Retrieved September 1, 2012.
  4. ^ Larkin, Colin (2011). "Blondie". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). London: Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
  5. ^ Nicholls, Mike (November 22, 1980). "Blondie: Autoamerican". Record Mirror. p. 16.
  6. ^ Carson, Tom (February 20, 1985). "Autoamerican". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on April 15, 2012. Retrieved September 21, 2012.
  7. ^ "Blondie: Album Guide". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on April 9, 2014. Retrieved September 21, 2012.
  8. ^ Palmer, Robert (November 28, 1980). "The Pop Life". The New York Times. Blondie's new album, Autoamerican, was released this week
  9. ^ Heller, Bill (April 11, 2010). "NYC's greatest hits". New York Post. Retrieved March 10, 2015.
  10. ^ Porter, Dick; Needs, Kris (2012). Blondie: Parallel Lives. Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-1780381299. unpaginated.
  11. ^ Palm, Matthew J. (March 12, 2013). "Martin Hoffman, painter with Central Florida connections, dies". Orlando Sentinel. Archived from the original on January 16, 2014.
  12. ^ Beviglia, Jim (May 6, 2020). "Debbie Harry, Chris Stein And Clem Burke Talk About The 40th Anniversary Of 'Autoamerican'". American Songwriter.
  13. ^ Doherty, Niall (February 3, 2024). ""Some people loved it and some people hated it…": Blondie's Clem Burke on the making of their classic hit Rapture". Louder. Retrieved February 3, 2024.
  14. ^ Autoamerican (liner notes). Blondie. Chrysalis Records. 1980. CHE 1290.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  15. ^ Kent 1993, pp. 37–38.
  16. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Blondie – Autoamerican" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved January 30, 2014.
  17. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 0298". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved October 7, 2024.
  18. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Blondie – Autoamerican" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved January 30, 2014.
  19. ^ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  20. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Blondie – Autoamerican" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
  21. ^ "Classifiche". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Retrieved May 31, 2022. Select "Album" in the "Tipo" field, type "Blondie" in the "Artista" field and press "cerca".
  22. ^ "Charts.nz – Blondie – Autoamerican". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 30, 2014.
  23. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Blondie – Autoamerican". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 30, 2014.
  24. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Blondie – Autoamerican". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 30, 2014.
  25. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
  26. ^ "Blondie Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
  27. ^ "Blondie Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
  28. ^ "Chart File – Top 100 Albums 1980" (PDF). Record Mirror. April 4, 1981. p. 38. ISSN 0144-5804 – via World Radio History.
  29. ^ Kent 1993, p. 433.
  30. ^ "Top 100 Albums of 1981". RPM. Vol. 35, no. 22. December 26, 1981. ISSN 0315-5994 – via Library and Archives Canada.
  31. ^ "Top Selling Albums of 1981". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
  32. ^ "Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1981". Billboard. Archived from the original on September 27, 2020. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
  33. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Blondie – Auto American". Music Canada. April 1, 1981. Retrieved June 1, 2019.
  34. ^ "New Zealand album certifications – Blondie – Automaerican". Recorded Music NZ. Archived from the original on June 1, 2019. Retrieved June 1, 2019.
  35. ^ "British album certifications – Blondie – Autoamerican". British Phonographic Industry. December 2, 1980. Retrieved August 7, 2021.
  36. ^ "American album certifications – Blondie – Autoamerican". Recording Industry Association of America. January 26, 1981. Retrieved June 1, 2019.

Bibliography