FEATURE:
The Lockdown Playlist
IN THIS PHOTO: Blondie (from left) Frank Infante, Chris Stein, Nigel Harrison, Jimmy Destri and Clem Burke alongside Debbie Harry/PHOTO CREDIT: Maureen Donaldson/Getty Images
Blondie’s Rapture and Hip-Hop Pioneers
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IN another anniversary-related…
IN THIS PHOTO: Grandmaster Flash
Lockdown Playlist, I am putting Blondie’s Rapture in the spotlight. On 28th March, 1981, the track started a two-week run at number-one on the U.S. singles chart - the group's fourth U.S. chart-topper and the first number-one song in the U.S. to feature Rap and its lyrics, notable for name-checking Hip-Hop pioneers Fab Five Freddy and Grandmaster Flash. To tie in with this Blondie breakthrough anniversary, I am including the song, in addition to a few Hip-Hop pioneers (including Fab Five Freddy and Grandmaster Flash). Over forty years after its release, Rapture still sounds majestic and incredibly important. This brilliant article goes into depth about the background and influence of Rapture. I think it is one of the group’s best tracks. Debbie Harry vocal is incredible and, the more you play the track, the better it becomes. As Rapture name-checked some Hip-Hop icons, this Lockdown Playlist takes the ball and…
RUNS with it.