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With Call Me, Blondie succeeded in one of her most remarkable songs in 1980. The piece shouldn’t have been sung by Debbie Harry, but by Fleetwood Mac front woman Stevie Nicks
We write the year 1979, and Giorgio Moroder, his sign Italo-Disco legend, is currently working on the soundtrack for the film American Gigolo. He tinkers on the main topic – a melody that is supposed to define the film musically. Moroder already has a clear idea of singing the song: Stevie Nicks, the front woman of Fleetwood Mac. It would like to. The problem is only: Nicks is not allowed. A freshly signed contract with Modern Records binds them to other projects, the cooperation does not come about.
Moroder has another idea. He asks blondie front woman Debbie Harry. He sends her the instrumental of the piece – at that time you still have Machine – and asks her to write a text. Harry doesn’t take long: after a few hours the lyrics are ready. Call Me calls it the piece – the text is written from the perspective of a male callboy – just the main character from American Gigolo.
Harry looked at the film while writing and let her thoughts run free: “When I was Wrring it, I pictures the Opening Scene, Driving on the Coast of California,” she said in an interview.
Blondie and Moroder: The recording sessions
The recordings took place in two separate sessions, as the German keyboardist and composer Harold Faltermeyer explained. First of all, Moroder and his team took up an instrumental version in the Westlake Studios in Los Angeles – perfectly clocked to the film.
Then it was blonde’s turn – and of course they worked in New York.
However, with a demand, they pushed Moroder a little: the band insisted on finding their parts themselves. However, that didn’t work out that well. Blondie had massive problems with the synchronization – the timing was not right. Moroder finally spoke a word of power and broke off the session. He took the project back to LA and had the missing parts recorded by his proven studio musicians-including a keyboard solo from Faltermeyer himself. The band was angry that their traces had finally been replaced, but success was definitely right for them.
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Blondie is only listed for singing in the Liner Notes of American Gigolo, the rest was recorded by Moroder and team. So Call ME is, you could argue, actually a “Giorgio Moroder feat. Debbie Harry” single.
Blondie: Song was huge success
“Call Me” was published as a single in the USA in February 1980-and became a mega success. The song at the head of the Billboard Hot 100 was six weeks, was awarded gold for over one million copies sold and also landed in 1st place on the Billboard annual charts. The song climbed to second place in the US dance charts. In the UK, the piece came onto the market two months later-and became Blondie’s fourth number 1 hit within just one year. A win-win situation for everyone involved, line-up or not.