Monday, March 9, 2015

Interview: Debbie Harry

Reprinted from http://jazzwax.com

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In my "Anatomy of a Song" column for the Arena section of today's Wall Street Journal, I lay out how exactly Blondie's Heart of Glass was written and recorded, and what helped the song soar to #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart in April 1979 (go here). To get the inside story, I interviewed Blondie's Debbie Harry and guitarist Chris Stein, as well as inventive producer Mike Chapman. Hint: Donna Summer played a role, as did the Hues Corporation's Rock the Boat.
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When the column first went up on the web on Tuesday, it climbed to the #1 most popular read at WSJ.com—above Iran, above the Netanyahu speech and above news on Hillary Clinton's emails. Just goes to show what really makes the world go round—music.
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Also in today's WSJ,
 I interview comedian Chris Elliott, son of Bob Elliott, half the Bob & Ray comedy team, for the Mansion section's "House Call" column (go here). Chris talks about growing up in a Manhattan townhouse with an interior that looked like a castle and why he lives today in a Connecticut home that used to be a nut museum.
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Plus,
 in my "Playlist" column for this weekend's Review section, I interview former Sonic Youth lead singer Kim Gordon on her favorite song—Neil Young's Out of My Mind(go here).
Used with permission by Marc Myers

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