The Story of Blondie: Masters of image and innovators of sound

From a crumbling New York of the mid-'70s, in a tiny downtown club on the edge of collapse, a sound began to cut through the noise and redefine what popular music could be. One of those bands, Blondie, fronted by a punk-era Marilyn Monroe, fused art, New York street cool, visual invention, and razor-sharp pop songwriting, fearlessly moving between punk, new wave, rock, disco, reggae, and hip hop -- to climb from the underground to the top of the charts in the late 1970s and early '80s. In this episode, you'll discover:1. How a collapsing New York City birthed a new sound 2. How the lead singer Debbie Harry rose as punk's most magnetic female icon,3. How Debbie and guitarist Chris Stein created a creative and romantic partnership4. How Blondie brought rap into mainstream pop culture, 5. The mysterious forces that ended their first golden eraGuest bio Fred Schruers is a former Rolling Stone magazine staff writer who has contributed to The Washington Post, the LA Times, and he appeared on our story of Billy Joel episode. He profiled Blondie in Rolling Stone in the '70s and '80s time period, and the subject of a biography he wrote about hanging out with the band in that seminal period. Follow the Show / Receive bonus content:Follow GTS on Apple or Spotify podcasts to be alerted when our next episode dropsFollow Garage to Stadiums (GTS) on social channels  Download the Official Garage to Stadiums playlists for each episode on Apple Music or SpotifyVisit GaragetoStadiums.com for bonus content on The Who, including concert footage, transcripts and other interesting facts.