How a Stevie Nicks rejection “legitimised” Blondie
When an artist is at the top of their game, like Fleetwood Mac’s Stevie Nicks was in the early 1980s, they can’t keep up with the inundation of offers that are coming through.
Suddenly, artists from across the span of genres are queuing up to work with them, and one bad decision could be the beginning of their undoing. Therefore, they must tread carefully and ensure they only put their names to work of the highest quality.
As a result, every esteemed artist has likely rejected far more creative propositions than they’ve accepted. For the most part, these will have been no-brainers, but there was one occasion which provided a gilt-edged opportunity that Blondie willfully grabbed with both hands.
Luck has an enormous amount of interference in the careers of every successful musician, and little did Nicks know how one seemingly small decision would make people view Blondie through a whole new lens.
At this time, Nicks was set to launch her solo career and had the ability to turn anything into a hit, capturing the attention of Giorgio Moroder. The Italian composer was a crucial figure in the dance music realm, but had recently spread his wings to work on music for Hollywood productions and wanted Nicks to collaborate with him on American Gigolo.
Moroder eyed up Nicks for the song ‘Man Machine’, which was to be the centrepiece of the soundtrack. At this stage, it was merely an instrumental, and the Italian composer wanted her to add her special touch to his creation. However, unfortunately, his plans were thwarted because she’d recently signed with Modern Records, which stopped the collaboration from materialising.
After Nicks was unable to take on ‘Man Machine’, Moroder called upon Blondie, who added lyrics, and it eventually became ‘Call Me’, the most definitive song of their career. It spent a remarkable six weeks at the top of the US chart, and also went to number one everywhere from Luxembourg to the United Kingdom.
While Blondie were already nearing household name status thanks to the success of Parallel Lines, which became a hit record in 1979, ‘Call Me’ cemented them as unquestionable stars that were set to be around for the long run. Having a moment in the sun is one thing, but achieving the power of longevity is another altogether and too many to count have fallen at this hurdle.
Although ‘Heart of Glass’ had the singular biggest impact, plucking them from relative obscurity to the top of the charts, ‘Call Me’ stopped them from being tagged as a one-hit wonder in the United States and forced the musical establishment to take them seriously.
In Debbie Harry’s autobiography Face It, the Blondie vocalist explained of the vast impact of ‘Call Me’ domestically, “To spend six weeks at No. 1 was a complete amplification of everything we had achieved outside of the United States. We didn’t expect it, but it legitimised us in this country and made people realise that we were adventurous and had a vision that could transcend the styles of the day.”
As Harry noted, ‘Call Me’ pivotally showed a different side to them as a band and offered a promising sign that they were here to stay, even after new wave would eventually die. Admittedly, Blondie were on the right path even before ‘Call Me’, and likely would have proved their doubters wrong eventually. Nevertheless, it was the perfect release for them at that juncture of their career, and would never have occurred if Nicks’ label had allowed her to take it on.
