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Jimmy Destri | |
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 Jimmy Destri circa September 1978 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | James Mollica |
| Born | April 13, 1954 [1] Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| Genres | New wave, pop rock, punk rock, pop |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, keyboardist, songwriter |
| Instrument(s) | Piano, vocals, organ, guitar, synthesizer |
| Years active | 1973–present |
| Website | jimmydestri |
Jimmy Destri (born James Mollica, April 13, 1954) is an American musician.
Destri is of Italian descent. His father was a novelist who also wrote screenplays and eventually advertising copy to support his family while his mother was a housewife. He has a sister, Donna Destri, who is also a singer and did backing vocals for Blondie and Jimmy's own solo record. Destri grew up in Borough Park, Brooklyn,[ citation needed ] and was raised in his grandmother's house. His uncle played drums for Joey Dee and the Starlighters. He attended Catholic schools and went to Bishop Ford Central Catholic High School,[ citation needed ] but dropped out to form his first band. He played keyboards in the rock band Blondie, [2] and was one of the principal songwriters for the band along with Chris Stein and Debbie Harry. He rejoined Blondie in 1997. Destri ceased touring with the band in 2004, but remained an official member for several more years. After he stopped playing with Blondie he worked full time as a drug counselor/therapist at the outpatient recovery center Carnegie Hill Institute in New York City. In April 2020, he went back to practice as a drug counselor/therapist at Seabrook in New Jersey.
Destri became interested in music in the late 1950s and early 1960s due to his uncle's being a drummer with Joey Dee and the Starlighters. [3] He formed his first band, the 86 Proof, in high school and they performed in local schools. [4] He played in a group named Milk and Cookies in the early 1970s, but was dismissed from the band just before they relocated to the UK. [3] He joined Blondie in 1975, using the Farfisa organ as his main instrument. [5]
As Blondie's career progressed, Destri became increasingly interested in synthesizers, and added them with his Farfisa to the overall band's sound. His sister, Donna Destri, sang backing vocals on the 1979 Blondie song "Living in the Real World" and on the album No Exit. [6]
Destri produced Going Up [7] by Joey Wilson for Modern Records, released in October 1980.
As Blondie members took a break from both recording and touring as a group, Destri released the solo album Heart on a Wall in 1981. Heart on a Wall was produced by Michael Kamen, then regarded mainly as a film composer/arranger; Kamen also played keyboards and sang backup vocals. The album also featured numerous renowned musicians, including guitarists Carlos Alomar (David Bowie, Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, Iggy Pop), Tommy Morrongiello (Bob Dylan, Blue Öyster Cult) and Earl Slick (Bowie, John Lennon, Yoko Ono), along with bassist John Siegler (Todd Rundgren's Utopia). In addition, Blondie's Clem Burke appeared on drums, with guest appearances by fellow Blondie members Chris Stein and Debbie Harry.
Heart on a Wall was released in the US, the UK and France (Chrysalis CHR-1368) as well as Australia and New Zealand (L-37774), West Germany (204 425–320) and the Netherlands (204 425). "Living In Your Heart" backed with "Don't Look Around" was also released as a 7" single in France (PB-8865).
Any digital release of the album remains highly unlikely, as the original master tapes have been lost.[3]
After Blondie's break-up in 1982, Destri ran a company that bought, renovated, and sold old buildings. He also produced and remixed material for artists such as Prince and INXS. [8] Blondie reunited in 1997, and released two further albums (1999's No Exit and 2003's The Curse of Blondie ) with Destri as keyboard player. [9] By 2004, Destri retired from touring with the band, but he intended to keep working with them in the studio. However, he played no part in the writing or recording of their next album (2011's Panic of Girls ), effectively ending his tenure in the band.
After leaving Blondie, Destri has worked as an alcohol and addictions counselor in New York City. He took the decision to go into this line of work after recovering from a 25-year cocaine addiction in 2003. [10]
Destri composed or co-wrote several songs for Blondie, including:
In 2012, Destri formed the band Jimmy Destri and The Sound Grenade. [11]
Blondie is an American rock band formed in New York City in 1974 by singer Debbie Harry and guitarist Chris Stein. The band was a pioneer in the American new wave genre and scene of the mid 70s.
Clement Burke is an American musician who is best known as the drummer for the band Blondie from 1975, shortly after the band formed, throughout the band's entire career. He also played drums for the Ramones for a brief time in 1987, under the name Elvis Ramone.
No Exit is the seventh studio album by American rock band Blondie, released on February 15, 1999, by Beyond Music. It was the band's first album in 17 years and features the UK number-one single "Maria". As of March 2006, the album had sold two million copies worldwide.
"Call Me" is a song by the American new wave band Blondie and the theme to the 1980 film American Gigolo. Produced and composed by Italian musician Giorgio Moroder, with lyrics by Blondie singer Debbie Harry, the song appeared in the film and was released in the United States in early 1980 as a single. "Call Me" was No. 1 for six consecutive weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, where it became the band's biggest single and second No. 1. It also hit No. 1 in the UK and Canada, where it became their fourth and second chart-topper, respectively. In the year-end chart of 1980, it was Billboard's No. 1 single and RPM magazine's No. 3 in Canada.
Blondie is the debut studio album by American rock band Blondie, released in December 1976 by Private Stock Records.
"Atomic" is a song by American rock band Blondie from their fourth studio album, Eat to the Beat (1979). Written by Debbie Harry and Jimmy Destri and produced by Mike Chapman, the song was released in February 1980 as the album's third single.
"Rapture" is a song by American rock band Blondie from their fifth studio album Autoamerican (1980). Written by band members Debbie Harry and Chris Stein, and produced by Mike Chapman, the song was released as the second and final single from Autoamerican on January 12, 1981, by Chrysalis Records. Musically, "Rapture" is a combination of new wave, disco and hip hop with a rap section forming an extended coda.
"Maria" is a song by American rock band Blondie. The song was written by Blondie keyboardist Jimmy Destri and produced by Craig Leon. Taken from their seventh album, No Exit (1999), it was Blondie's first new release since 1982. "Maria", issued as a single in Europe on January 11, 1999, reached number one in the United Kingdom; Blondie's sixth UK chart-topper. The song also topped the charts of Greece and Spain, becoming a top-20 hit across Europe and in New Zealand.
"Nothing Is Real but the Girl" is a song by American rock band Blondie. Written by the band's keyboardist Jimmy Destri, it was the second single released from their seventh album, No Exit (1999), on May 31, 1999. The single peaked at number 26 in the United Kingdom and number 89 in Germany.
"No Exit" is a song by the American new wave band Blondie. It was the title track from their seventh studio album in 1999 and was released as a single in Europe, but not the US.
"Dreaming" is a song by American new wave band Blondie. Released in 1979, the song was the opening track from their fourth album Eat to the Beat. Written by guitarist Chris Stein and singer Debbie Harry and partially inspired by ABBA's "Dancing Queen," the song also features an active drum performance by drummer Clem Burke, who did not expect the final recording to feature his busy drum track.
"Picture This" is a 1978 song by the American rock band Blondie, released on their third album, Parallel Lines. Written by Chris Stein, Debbie Harry and Jimmy Destri, the song features evocative lyrics that producer Mike Chapman surmised were written by Harry about Stein.
Blonde and Beyond is a compilation album of recordings by Blondie released on Chrysalis Records in 1993.
Live by Request is a live and video album by the band Blondie released in the US in 2004, and internationally in 2005.
Live is the second live album by the band Blondie released in 1999 in the US and in 2000 in the UK.
Heart on a Wall is a solo album by Blondie keyboardist and composer Jimmy Destri, released on Chrysalis Records in 1981. It remains unreleased on compact disc.
Deborah Ann Harry is an American singer, songwriter and actress, best known as the lead vocalist of the band Blondie. Four of her songs with the band reached No. 1 on the US charts between 1979 and 1981.
The Tracks Across America Tour '82 was a concert tour by the American band Blondie in 1982. The tour supported their latest album, The Hunter and would be Blondie's last tour before disbanding in late 1982. The band would reconvene in the late 1990s.
Panic of Girls is the ninth studio album by the American rock band Blondie. It was the band's first album of new material in nearly 8 years, since 2003's The Curse of Blondie. The album was first released digitally on May 30, 2011, followed by physical releases in various formats later.
The No Exit Tour was a 1998–1999 worldwide concert tour by American new wave band Blondie to promote their revival and reformation as a band and their latest album No Exit, which was released during the tour. The tour marked the band's first live performances in 16 years, save for small festival appearances in 1997.
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