Debbie Harry
Debbie Harry. Cocktail waitress, secretary, Playboy bunny, Warhol muse, back-up singer, actress... and of course, rock star.
Though she was born in Florida in 1945, Deborah Harry was adopted when she was three months old and raised in New Jersey by Richard and Catherine Harry. She spent most of her 20s living and working in New York, skirting the edges of the scene that she was trying to break into.
Debbie Harry first entered the music world when she provided backing vocals for the folk band, Wind in the Willows, on the only album they ever released. Needless to say, this was not her big break, but it did gain her some exposure, and Debbie decided to start her own group.
Her first attempt was the Stilettos, and though they didn't gain much commercial success, it was through this band that Debbie Harry and Chris Stein came together, musically and romantically. The end result was Blondie.
Named after the cat calls that Harry would get while walking down the street, Blondie was the perfect name for a band that was fronted by a woman who appeared to be just another blond bombshell. Debbie's take on this persona, though was injected with just the right mix of self-satire and mockery, letting the audience know right from the start that she was much more than just another dumb blonde.
Blondie enjoyed huge success, particularly in the UK and Australia, with hits like "Heart of Glass", "Rapture", and "The Tide is High". As the group became more popular, so did Debbie Harry. Even though the band was hugely successful, Debbie's increasing presence in the limelight was matched by increasing tension in the band, and they broke up in 1984.
Debbie Harry's solo career was far less lustrous than her career as Blondie's leadwoman, and her first solo album failed to perform well in the United States. The only single to make it to the charts, "Backfired", only managed to get to #28 before it disappeared. Four years later, her second album didn't do much better, but in 1989, she staged a serious comeback.
Recording under the name Deborah Harry, she put out the album Def Dumb and Blonde, blending musical genres with the same eclectic style that she was known for with Blondie. The album sold well in the US, went platinum in Australia, and created a hit single in the UK.
Although her next solo effort, Debravation, didn't perform as well, a Blondie reunion was in the works. When the band got back together, Debbie Harry managed another comeback, one that has kept her firmly in the limelight ever since.
Our Debbie Harry T-shirts are fully licensed, endorsed and made from the softest, prewashed and shrunk cotton jesery. They faithfully reproduce the original article as tracked down by Worn Free from archive images.
Vintage Rock T-shirts for today.
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