“Call Me” by Blondie

"Call Me" is what happened when Blondie handed the keys to Giorgio Moroder. The Italian producer wrote the music and produced it as the theme for the 1980 film American Gigolo, and Debbie Harry supplied the words and sings them in her coolest ice-queen purr over Moroder's pulsing, pounding disco-rock engine. It played in the film, anchored its soundtrack album and went out as a single in the US.

The result was the biggest record of the new wave band's career. It held number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for six straight weeks, their second American chart-topper, and Billboard ranked it the number one single of 1980. It also went to the top in the UK, their fourth number one there, and in Canada, their second.

It's the moment Blondie went fully widescreen, synthesizers throbbing and guitars slashing, and it still sounds like a night drive down a neon boulevard. Rock radio's countdowns have kept it in circulation ever since.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.