Eat to the Beat
Encyclopedia
Eat to the Beat is the fourth studio album by the American
rock band Blondie
. It reached no.1 on the UK album charts in October 1979, no.9 in Australia and no.17 in the US.
released three singles in the UK from this album ("Dreaming
", "Union City Blue
" and "Atomic
"). "The Hardest Part
" was released as the third single from the album in the US instead of "Union City Blue
". The album includes a diverse range of styles as pop
, punk
, reggae
, and funk
as well as a lullaby
. A "video album" was released on home video cassette in conjunction with the record, featuring a promotional video
for each song.
According to the liner notes of 1994 compilation The Platinum Collection
the song "Slow Motion" was originally planned to be the fourth single release from the album, and Mike Chapman even made a remix of the track, but following the unexpected success of "Call Me
", the theme song to movie American Gigolo
, these plans were shelved and the single mix of Slow Motion remains unreleased. An alternate mix of the track entitled The Stripped Down Motown Mix did however turn up on one of the many remix singles issued by Chrysalis/EMI
in the mid 1990s.
Eat to the Beat was digitally remastered and reissued by EMI
in 1994, and EMI
-Capitol in 2001, with four bonus tracks. The 2001 remaster was again reissued in 2007 (June 26 - U.S.; July 2 - U.K.) without the four bonus tracks. Included instead was a DVD of the long-since deleted Eat To The Beat video album, marking the first time it had been made available on the DVD format.
Side B
Bonus tracks (2001 CD reissue)
Video album
Additional musicians
Production
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
rock band Blondie
Blondie (band)
Blondie is an American rock band, founded by singer Deborah Harry and guitarist Chris Stein. The band was a pioneer in the early American New Wave and punk scenes of the mid-1970s...
. It reached no.1 on the UK album charts in October 1979, no.9 in Australia and no.17 in the US.
History
BlondieBlondie (band)
Blondie is an American rock band, founded by singer Deborah Harry and guitarist Chris Stein. The band was a pioneer in the early American New Wave and punk scenes of the mid-1970s...
released three singles in the UK from this album ("Dreaming
Dreaming (Blondie song)
"Dreaming" is a song by the American punk/new wave band Blondie. Released in 1979, it was the lead single from their fourth album Eat to the Beat...
", "Union City Blue
Union City Blue
"Union City Blue" is a song by the US rock band Blondie. It was written by Deborah Harry and Nigel Harrison, and was featured on their 1979 album Eat to the Beat.-Single information:...
" and "Atomic
Atomic (song)
"Atomic" is a song by the American New Wave band Blondie, written by Debbie Harry and Jimmy Destri and produced by Mike Chapman. It was released as the third single from the band's 1979 album Eat to the Beat.-Song information:...
"). "The Hardest Part
The Hardest Part (Blondie song)
"The Hardest Part" was the second song released as a single from Blondie's fourth album Eat to the Beat in the United States, instead of "Union City Blue". It was written by the group's principal songwriting partnership, Deborah Harry and Chris Stein...
" was released as the third single from the album in the US instead of "Union City Blue
Union City Blue
"Union City Blue" is a song by the US rock band Blondie. It was written by Deborah Harry and Nigel Harrison, and was featured on their 1979 album Eat to the Beat.-Single information:...
". The album includes a diverse range of styles as pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
, punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
, reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
, and funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
as well as a lullaby
Lullaby
A lullaby is a soothing song, usually sung to young children before they go to sleep, with the intention of speeding that process. As a result they are often simple and repetitive. Lullabies can be found in every culture and since the ancient period....
. A "video album" was released on home video cassette in conjunction with the record, featuring a promotional video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for each song.
According to the liner notes of 1994 compilation The Platinum Collection
The Platinum Collection (Blondie)
The Platinum Collection is a two disc compilation album of recordings by Blondie released by EMI/Chrysalis in 1994. The forty-seven track compilation contains the A- and B-sides of all singles issued by the band in the U.S...
the song "Slow Motion" was originally planned to be the fourth single release from the album, and Mike Chapman even made a remix of the track, but following the unexpected success of "Call Me
Call Me (Blondie song)
"Call Me" is a song by the American new wave band Blondie. Released in 1980, "Call Me" topped the singles charts in both the US and the UK ....
", the theme song to movie American Gigolo
American Gigolo
American Gigolo is a 1980 crime drama film, written and directed by Paul Schrader. It is informally considered the second installment in his "lonely man" trilogy, following the Martin Scorsese directed Taxi Driver and preceding Light Sleeper .-Plot:Julian Kaye is a male prostitute in Los Angeles...
, these plans were shelved and the single mix of Slow Motion remains unreleased. An alternate mix of the track entitled The Stripped Down Motown Mix did however turn up on one of the many remix singles issued by Chrysalis/EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
in the mid 1990s.
Eat to the Beat was digitally remastered and reissued by EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
in 1994, and EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
-Capitol in 2001, with four bonus tracks. The 2001 remaster was again reissued in 2007 (June 26 - U.S.; July 2 - U.K.) without the four bonus tracks. Included instead was a DVD of the long-since deleted Eat To The Beat video album, marking the first time it had been made available on the DVD format.
Track listing
Side A- "DreamingDreaming (Blondie song)"Dreaming" is a song by the American punk/new wave band Blondie. Released in 1979, it was the lead single from their fourth album Eat to the Beat...
" (Debbie HarryDebbie HarryDeborah Ann "Debbie" Harry is an American singer-songwriter and actress, best known for being the lead singer of the punk rock and new wave band Blondie. She has also had success as a solo artist, and in the mid-1990s she performed and recorded as part of The Jazz Passengers...
, Chris SteinChris SteinChristopher "Chris" Stein is co-founder and guitarist in the New Wave band, Blondie. He is also a producer and performer for the classic soundtrack of the hip hop film Wild Style....
) – 3:08 - "The Hardest PartThe Hardest Part (Blondie song)"The Hardest Part" was the second song released as a single from Blondie's fourth album Eat to the Beat in the United States, instead of "Union City Blue". It was written by the group's principal songwriting partnership, Deborah Harry and Chris Stein...
" (Harry, Stein) – 3:42 - "Union City BlueUnion City Blue"Union City Blue" is a song by the US rock band Blondie. It was written by Deborah Harry and Nigel Harrison, and was featured on their 1979 album Eat to the Beat.-Single information:...
" (Nigel HarrisonNigel HarrisonNigel Harrison is an English musician, and best known as the bass player of the rock band Blondie....
, Harry) – 3:21 - "Shayla" (Stein) – 3:57
- "Eat to the Beat" (Harrison, Harry) – 2:40
- "Accidents Never Happen" (Jimmy DestriJimmy DestriJimmy Destri is an American musician. He played keyboards in the rock band Blondie, and is one of the principal songwriters for the band along with Chris Stein and Deborah Harry. Destri stopped touring with the band in 2004, but remained an official member of the band for several more years...
) – 4:15
Side B
- "Die Young, Stay Pretty" (Harry, Stein) – 3:34
- "Slow Motion" (Laura Davis, Destri) – 3:28
- "AtomicAtomic (song)"Atomic" is a song by the American New Wave band Blondie, written by Debbie Harry and Jimmy Destri and produced by Mike Chapman. It was released as the third single from the band's 1979 album Eat to the Beat.-Song information:...
" (Destri, Harry) – 4:40 - "Sound-A-Sleep" (Harry, Stein) – 4:18
- "Victor" (Harry, Frank Infante) – 3:19
- "Living in the Real World" (Destri) – 2:53
Bonus tracks (2001 CD reissue)
- "Die Young Stay Pretty" (Recorded live New Year's Eve '79 at The Apollo TheatreThe Apollo (Glasgow)The Apollo was a music venue in Glasgow, Scotland, operating from 1973-1985. It was opened by Unicorn Leisure, in September 1973, after acquiring a lease from the owners George Green Ltd. The venue's debut live performance was by Johnny Cash on 5 September 1973. While in operation, it hosted the...
in GlasgowGlasgowGlasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, ScotlandScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
) (Harry, Stein) – 3:27 - "Seven Rooms of Gloom" (Recorded live New Year's Eve '79 at The Apollo TheatreThe Apollo (Glasgow)The Apollo was a music venue in Glasgow, Scotland, operating from 1973-1985. It was opened by Unicorn Leisure, in September 1973, after acquiring a lease from the owners George Green Ltd. The venue's debut live performance was by Johnny Cash on 5 September 1973. While in operation, it hosted the...
in GlasgowGlasgowGlasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, ScotlandScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
) (Brian HollandBrian HollandBrian Holland is an American songwriter and record producer, best known as a member of Holland–Dozier–Holland. That songwriting and production team that was responsible for much of the Motown sound and numerous hit records by artists such as Martha and the Vandellas, The Supremes, The Four Tops,...
, Lamont DozierLamont DozierLamont Herbert Dozier is an American songwriter and record producer, born in Detroit, Michigan. Dozier has either co-written or produced several US Billboard #1 hits.-Career:...
, Edward Holland, Jr.Edward Holland, Jr.Edward Holland, Jr. is an American singer, songwriter and record producer....
) – 2:48 - "Heroes" (Recorded live 1/12/80 at The Hammersmith Odeon, LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
) (David BowieDavid BowieDavid Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
, Brian EnoBrian EnoBrian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...
) – 6:19 - "Ring of FireRing of Fire (song)"Ring of Fire" or "The Ring of Fire" is a country music song popularized by Johnny Cash and co-written by June Carter Cash and Merle Kilgore. The single appears on Cash's 1963 compilation album, Ring of Fire: The Best of Johnny Cash...
" (Live, from the soundtrack to the 1980 film RoadieRoadie (film)Roadie is a 1980 film directed by Alan Rudolph about a truck driver who becomes a roadie for a traveling rock and roll show. The film stars Meat Loaf and marks his first starring role in a film. There are also cameo appearances by musicians such as Roy Orbison, Hank Williams Jr., Blondie and Alice...
) (June Carter CashJune Carter CashValerie June Carter Cash was an American singer, dancer, songwriter, actress, comedienne and author who was a member of the Carter Family and the second wife of singer Johnny Cash...
, Merle KilgoreMerle KilgoreWyatt Merle Kilgore was an American singer, songwriter, and manager.-Early life:Although born in Chickasha, Oklahoma, Merle Kilgore was raised in Shreveport, Louisiana. He was the son of Wyatt and Gladys B. Kilgore...
) – 3:30
Video album
- "Eat to the Beat" (Harrison, Harry)
- "The Hardest PartThe Hardest Part (Blondie song)"The Hardest Part" was the second song released as a single from Blondie's fourth album Eat to the Beat in the United States, instead of "Union City Blue". It was written by the group's principal songwriting partnership, Deborah Harry and Chris Stein...
" (Harry, Stein) - "Union City BlueUnion City Blue"Union City Blue" is a song by the US rock band Blondie. It was written by Deborah Harry and Nigel Harrison, and was featured on their 1979 album Eat to the Beat.-Single information:...
" (Nigel Harrison, Harry) - "Slow Motion" (Laura Davis, Destri)
- "Shayla" (Stein)
- "Die Young, Stay Pretty" (Harry, Stein)
- "Accidents Never Happen" (Jimmy Destri)
- "AtomicAtomic (song)"Atomic" is a song by the American New Wave band Blondie, written by Debbie Harry and Jimmy Destri and produced by Mike Chapman. It was released as the third single from the band's 1979 album Eat to the Beat.-Song information:...
" (Destri, Harry) - "Living in the Real World" (Destri)
- "Sound-A-Sleep" (Harry, Stein)
- "Victor" (Harry, Frank Infante)
- "DreamingDreaming (Blondie song)"Dreaming" is a song by the American punk/new wave band Blondie. Released in 1979, it was the lead single from their fourth album Eat to the Beat...
" (Debbie Harry, Chris Stein)
Personnel
Blondie- Clem BurkeClem BurkeClem Burke is an American musician who is the drummer for the band Blondie. Recruited by Chris Stein and Debbie Harry when they were first forming Blondie, Burke remained with the band through its first stage and later returned for its late 1990s reunion and then its extensive 2009 tour.Following...
- drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person .... - Jimmy DestriJimmy DestriJimmy Destri is an American musician. He played keyboards in the rock band Blondie, and is one of the principal songwriters for the band along with Chris Stein and Deborah Harry. Destri stopped touring with the band in 2004, but remained an official member of the band for several more years...
- keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
; background vocalsBacking vocalistA backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...
on "Die Young, Stay Pretty" and "Victor" - Nigel HarrisonNigel HarrisonNigel Harrison is an English musician, and best known as the bass player of the rock band Blondie....
- bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Deborah HarryDebbie HarryDeborah Ann "Debbie" Harry is an American singer-songwriter and actress, best known for being the lead singer of the punk rock and new wave band Blondie. She has also had success as a solo artist, and in the mid-1990s she performed and recorded as part of The Jazz Passengers...
- vocals - Frank InfanteFrank InfanteFrank Infante is an American guitarist and bassist best known as a former member of the punk/new wave band, Blondie.Prior to Blondie, he established himself playing guitar in heavy, electric blues groups such as The Elegant End and World War III. In 1975, he joined Sniper, an early, American glam...
- guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
; background vocals on "Die Young, Stay Pretty" and "Victor" - Chris SteinChris SteinChristopher "Chris" Stein is co-founder and guitarist in the New Wave band, Blondie. He is also a producer and performer for the classic soundtrack of the hip hop film Wild Style....
- guitar
Additional musicians
- Mike Chapman - background vocals on "Die Young, Stay Pretty" and "Victor"
- Donna Destri - background vocals on "Living in the Real World"
- Robert FrippRobert FrippRobert Fripp is an English guitarist, composer and record producer. He was ranked 42nd on Rolling Stone magazine's 2003 list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" and #47 on Gibson.com’s "Top 50 Guitarists of All Time". Among rock guitarists, Fripp is a master of crosspicking, a technique...
- guitar on "Heroes" - Ellie GreenwichEllie GreenwichEleanor Louise "Ellie" Greenwich was an American pop music singer, songwriter, and record producer. She wrote or co-wrote "Be My Baby", "Christmas ", "Da Doo Ron Ron", "Leader of the Pack", "Do Wah Diddy Diddy", and "River Deep, Mountain High", among many others...
- background vocals on "Dreaming" and "Atomic" - Lorna LuftLorna LuftLorna Luft is an American television, stage, and film actress and singer. She is the daughter of singer and actress Judy Garland and Sid Luft, and the half-sister of singer and actress Liza Minnelli.-Biography:...
- background vocals on "Accidents Never Happen" and "Slow Motion" - Randy Singer (Hennes) - harmonicaHarmonicaThe harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
on "Eat to the Beat"
Production
- Mike Chapman - record producerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
- Recorded at the Power StationAvatar StudiosAvatar Studios, formerly known as The Power Station, is a recording studio at 441 West 53rd Street in Manhattan, New York City.The building was originally a Consolidated Edison power plant; but after a period of vacancy, it was used as a sound stage for the television game show Let's Make a Deal...
, Electric Lady StudiosElectric Lady StudiosElectric Lady Studios, at 52 West 8th Street, in New York City's Greenwich Village, is a recording studio originally built by Jimi Hendrix and designed by John Storyk in 1970...
and Media Sound, New York in 1979. Originally released on Chrysalis RecordsChrysalis RecordsChrysalis Records was a British record label that was created in 1969. The name was both a reference to the pupal stage of a butterfly and a combination of its founders names, Chris Wright and Terry Ellis...
(1225). - Kevin Flaherty - 2001 reissue producer.
- Norman SeeffNorman SeeffNorman Seeff was born March 5, 1939 in Johannesburg, South Africa. Since moving to the United States in 1969, his work as a photographer and filmmaker has been focused on the exploration of human creativity and the inner dynamics of the creative process....
- Cover photography and art direction.
Chart positions
| Year | Country | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1979 | United Kingdom United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages... |
#1 |
| Sweden Sweden Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund.... |
#2 | |
| Norway Norway Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million... |
#6 | |
| Australia Australia Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area... |
#9 | |
| United States United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
#17 | |
| Austria Austria Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the... |
#19 | |
| Germany Germany Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate... |
#23 | |