Call Me (Blondie song)

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"Call Me"
Debbie Harry wrote the song's lyrics; she was coached by composer Giorgio Moroder to add some Italian- and French-language phrases including "Amore, chiamami" and "Appelle-moi, mon chéri". [14]
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Harry said the lyrics were inspired by her visual impressions from watching the film and that "When I was writing it, I pictured the opening scene, driving on the coast of California." [15] The completed song was then recorded by the band, with Moroder producing. The bridge of the original English-language version also includes Harry saying "call me" in two European languages: Italian : Amore, chiamami, lit.  'Love, call me' and French : Appelle-moi, mon chéri, lit.  'Call me, my darling'.

In 2014, keyboardist-composer Harold Faltermeyer remembered the recording process as having three main sections: first Moroder and his music crew recorded an instrumental version of the song at Westlake Recording Studios in Los Angeles, with the tape locked to SMPTE timecode so that it would synchronize with the film. Then the project moved to New York for the Blondie recording session, at which the band surprised Moroder by insisting they would play their own parts. Faltermeyer was engineering when Harry sang and Chris Stein played electric guitar. Stein's guitar and amplifier were buzzing and noisy, so his setup was repaired to get a clean recording. The band had difficulty locking to sync, so Moroder stopped the unfinished sessions to save time, and took the project back to Los Angeles to more quickly add the final parts with his own picked musicians, including a keyboard solo by Faltermeyer. [16]

On the American Gigolo soundtrack album, Blondie the band is credited only for vocals, with other credits naming Moroder's crew of Keith Forsey on drums/percussion and Faltermeyer on keyboards and arrangements. [17] Faltermeyer said the band was angry about being replaced by session players, but the song turned out to be very successful, so they took it in stride. Blondie keyboard player Jimmy Destri was obligated to play Faltermeyer's solo in concerts. [16]

Release

In the US, the song was released by three record companies: the longest version (at 8:06) on the soundtrack album by Polydor, the 7" and 12" on Blondie's label Chrysalis, and a Spanish-language 12" version, with lyrics by Buddy and Mary McCluskey, on the disco label Salsoul Records. A Spanish-language version, titled "Llámame", was meant for release in Mexico and some South American countries. This version was also released in the US and the UK and had its CD debut on Chrysalis/EMI's rarities compilation Blonde and Beyond (1993). In 1988, a remixed version by Ben Liebrand taken from the Blondie remix album Once More into the Bleach was issued as a single in the UK. In 2001, the "original long version" appeared as a bonus track on the Autoamerican album re-issue.

In 2014, Blondie re-recorded the song for their compilation album Greatest Hits Deluxe Redux. The compilation was part of a 2-disc set called Blondie 4(0) Ever which included their tenth studio album Ghosts of Download and marked the 40th anniversary of the forming of the band.

Harry recorded an abbreviated version of the song that was backed by the Muppet Band for her guest appearance on The Muppet Show in August 1980. It was first broadcast in January 1981. [18]

Popularity and acclaim

The single was released in the United States in February 1980. It spent six consecutive weeks at number one and was certified Gold (for one million copies sold) by the RIAA. It also spent four weeks at No. 2 on the US dance chart. The single was also No. 1 on Billboard magazine's 1980 year-end chart. The song lists at No. 57 on Billboard's All Time Top 100. [19] It was released in the UK two months later, where it became Blondie's fourth UK No. 1 single in little over a year. The song was also played on a British Telecom advert in the 1980s.[ citation needed ]

25 years after its original release, "Call Me" was ranked at No. 283 on the list of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In 1981, the Village Voice ranked "Call Me" as the third-best song of the year 1980 on its annual year-end critics' poll, Pazz & Jop. [20] In 2017, Billboard ranked the song number three on their list of the 10 greatest Blondie songs, [21] and in 2021, The Guardian ranked the song number four on their list of the 20 greatest Blondie songs. [22]

In 1981, the song was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal, as well as for a Golden Globe for Best Original Song.[ citation needed ]

Music video

There were two videos made:

Charts

"Call Me"
Blondie - Call Me.png
Single picture sleeve (US and some other releases used a white background, while most overseas releases used pink)
Single by Blondie
from the album American Gigolo
B-side "Call Me" (instrumental) (U.S.)
ReleasedJanuary 29, 1980 (US)
RecordedAugust 1979, New York City [1]
Genre
Length
  • 2:15 (music video version)
  • 3:32 (radio edit)
  • 8:05 (album version)
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s) Giorgio Moroder
Blondie singles chronology
"The Hardest Part"
(1980)		"Call Me"
(1980)		"Atomic"
(1980)
Music video
"Call Me" on YouTube

Sales and certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada) [50] Platinum150,000^
Italy (FIMI) [51] Gold25,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI) [52] Platinum600,000‡
United States (RIAA) [53] Gold1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

1980 release

US, UK 7" (CHS 2414)
  1. "Call Me (Theme from American Gigolo)" (7" edit) — 3:32
  2. "Call Me" (7" instrumental) — 3:27
UK 12" (CHS 12 2414)
  1. "Call Me" (7" edit) — 3:32
  2. "Call Me" (Spanish version – 7" edit) — 3:32
  3. "Call Me" (7" instrumental) — 3:27
US 12" (Polydor PRO 124) [promo only]
  1. "Call Me" (Theme from American Gigolo) — 8:04
  2. "Night Drive" (Reprise) - by Giorgio Moroder — 3:52
US 12" (Salsoul SG 341)
  1. "Call Me" (Spanish version, extended) — 6:23
  2. "Call Me" (Instrumental) — 6:10

1989 release

UK 7" (CHS 3342-1)
  1. "Call Me" (Ben Liebrand Remix edit) — 3:48
  2. "Call Me" (Original Version) — 3:31
UK 12" (CHS 12 3342)
  1. "Call Me" (Ben Liebrand Remix) — 7:09
  2. "Backfired" (Bruce Forrest And Frank Heller Remix) — 6:03
  3. "Call Me" (Original Version) — 3:31
UK CD (CHSCD 3342)
  1. "Call Me" (Ben Liebrand Remix) — 7:09
  2. "Backfired" (Bruce Forrest And Frank Heller Remix) — 6:03
    • Performed by Debbie Harry
  3. "Call Me" (Original Version) — 3:31
  4. "Hanging on the Telephone" — 2:23

In September 2023, U2's single Atomic City credited Harry/Moroder as co writers on the track given the clear inspiration of Call Me

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 Cathy Che (1999), 'Deborah Harry: Platinum Blonde', MPG Books Ltd, Cornwall, p.65
  2. ↑ Danyel Smith, ed. (1981). "Billboard 17 october 1981". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. ISSN   0006-2510 . Retrieved June 28, 2013. "the sly, seductive dance rock hit "Call Me,""
  3. ↑ Porter, Dick; Needs, Kris (February 13, 2017). Blondie: Parallel Lives. Omnibus Press. ISBN   9780857127808 – via Google Books.
  4. ↑ Gene Stout (September 2, 2006). "Blondie plays the hits for fans young and old". Seattle Pi. Hearst Communications Inc. Retrieved June 29, 2013. "Blondie opened with "Call Me," (...) a new wave classic that appealed as much to graying baby boomers as it did to a pimply kid wearing a T-shirt from CBGB's, one of several New York clubs that helped make Blondie famous - or vice-versa - in the '70s."
  5. ↑ Glickman, Simon (December 1, 1998). "Blondie/Deborah Harry/Jimmy Destri". In Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel (eds.). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Detroit: Visible Ink Press. p. 122.
  6. ↑ Abercrombie, Olivia; Mitchell, Matt (March 10, 2024). "The 50 Best Original Songs Written for Films". Paste . Retrieved March 11, 2024.
  7. 1 2 Danyel Smith, ed. (1980). "Billboard 27 December 1980". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. ISSN   0006-2510 . Retrieved June 28, 2013.
  8. 1 2 "Top Singles - Volume 33, No. 6, May 03 1980". Library and Archives Canada. Archived from the original on October 25, 2017. Retrieved June 1, 2013.
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  11. ↑ Giorgio, Moroder; Blondie (March 5, 2002). "Call Me". Musicnotes.com. Retrieved June 11, 2023.
  12. ↑ 100 Greatest Songs of the 80s, Episode 2, VH1
  13. ↑ Bokris, Viktor (May 24, 1980). "Dinner with Blondie... and William Burroughs". New Music News. New York. Retrieved May 30, 2017. Harry: Giorgio's original idea was to call it "man machine" because the man was just like the sex machine. Stein: Debbie's lyrics are much more subtle than the ones he wrote. His thing was very direct like saying I am a man and I go out and I fuck all the girls. Debbie's lyrics are a lot more subtle and the movie in a way is not that blatant, it is sort of subtle. Harry: It was like teasing too because the thing about the movie was that he was always—'Call me! Call me if you want me to come to you.' And it was like these little commands had this macho quality through his being a male hooker, you know that kind of demanding business.
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  38. 1 2 "Blondie awards at AllMusic". AllMusic . Rovi Corporation . Retrieved June 1, 2013.
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  41. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 432. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
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  51. ↑ "Italian single certifications – Blondie – Call Me" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana . Retrieved September 16, 2019. Select "2019" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Select "Call Me" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Singoli" under "Sezione".
  52. ↑ "British single certifications – Blondie – Call Me". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved June 26, 2023.
  53. ↑ "American single certifications – Blondie – Call Me". Recording Industry Association of America . Retrieved March 29, 2012.
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