An oral history of Blondie

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Just like the city that spawned them, Blondie is still a band that’s constantly changing. Back in 1974, the New Yorkers started as a throwback act, incorporating a ’60s girl-group sound. But over the next eight years, they soaked up the spirit of downtown punk, adopted the uptown disco movement and even helped popularize the Bronx hip-hop scene. They also had, in Debbie Harry, a singer who could stop traffic with her looks.

Before breaking up for the first time in 1982, Blondie scored four No. 1 singles, and their six albums sold tens of millions. A reformation in 1997 brought more success — and on May 13, original members Debbie Harry (vocals), Chris Stein (guitar) and Clem Burke (drums) will mark their 40th anniversary with a new album, “Ghosts Of Download,” and a greatest-hits compilation.

Here’s how Blondie became one of New York City’s finest musical exports, as told by the band and the people who watched it happen.

1974-1975: The Early Years

Brooklyn native Chris Stein and Jersey girl Debbie Harry began collaborating in 1973 in The Stilettos, a camp cabaret act. The two became romantically involved and decided to form their own group a year later, adding Clem Burke on drums, keyboardist Jimmy Destri and bassist Fred Smith (soon to be replaced by Gary Valentine).

Harry: “Chris and I tried out a few [band] names. One was Angel and the Snake, but I wasn’t sure it was easy to remember. One day, I was walking across Houston Street and someone yelled ‘blondie’ at me. I thought, ‘Jeez, that’s quite easy to remember.’ ”

Stein: “Debbie and I lived on the Bowery. We lived with Gary for a while, too. We had a few cockroaches — and a poltergeist. There was knocking in the walls and pictures would fall. Poltergeists are usually focused around adolescents who have a lot of angst. Gary was like that.” (Valentine left the band in 1977.)

Richard Gottehrer (producer of Blondie’s first two albums, “Blondie” and “Plastic Letters”): “I had left Sire Records and I was thinking of putting out a compilation of bands in the New York scene. Debbie was interested. I told her I wasn’t just going to take anybody. I went to the band’s studio and, as soon as they started playing, I was grinning from ear to ear.”

1976-1978: The Rise To Fame

Gottehrer signed Blondie to the independent label, Private Stock, and released their self-titled debut. Gigging at Max’s Kansas City and CBGB, they built a following for their new-wave punk. Harry’s looks added to the excitement.

Marky Ramone (drummer of Richard Hell and Voidoids and, later, The Ramones): “When Blondie was playing, I would always make sure I was in the first or second row to look at Debbie. She was so sexy, but she didn’t have to flaunt it. It was always done in good taste.”

Harry: “When we first started playing CBGB, it really wasn’t the scene it would later become. It was just the local bar, and we’d get paid with a couple of beers.”

Gottehrer: “The song ‘In The Flesh’ was a hit in Australia [it reached No. 2 in 1976]. That was the first indication that Blondie could sell. On the second album, there was a cover of ‘Denise’ by [New York doo-wop group] Randy and the Rainbows, which they switched to ‘Denis.’ Debbie sang part of it in French — I didn’t even know if the French was real, but it became their first hit in the UK [reaching No. 2 in 1977]. Middle America didn’t care.”

1979-1981: Becoming A-List Pop Stars

The disco-kissed “Heart Of Glass” brought Blondie their first American No. 1 in 1979. Further chart-toppers followed in 1980 with “Call Me” and a cover of the Paragons’ reggae track “The Tide Is High.” Blondie’s most significant No. 1 was “Rapture,” released in 1981 and featuring a spoken segment that mimicked the rappers and MCs Harry and Stein had heard at parties in the Bronx. Harry’s “rap” even mentioned Fab Five Freddy and DJ Grandmaster Flash, key figures in New York’s early hip-hop scene. As such, “Rapture” introduced the culture to the mainstream.

Fab Five Freddy (graffiti artist and host of “Yo! MTV Raps”): “I knew Chris and Debbie from the downtown art scene and would visit their apartment. Chris had the best marijuana and Debbie would offer me a sandwich. It was funny to see the Marilyn Monroe of her generation being domestic! They were supporters of what was happening in the Bronx before anyone [else].”

Stein: “Years later, U-God and Inspectah Deck from the Wu-Tang Clan once told me that ‘Rapture’ was the first rap song they ever heard as kids. That’s mind-boggling.”

1982: The Downfall

The reaction to Blondie’s sixth album, “The Hunter,” was lukewarm — and a world tour was cancelled halfway through, as the band disintegrated due to drugs, internal tension, financial problems and illness. Harry and Stein later broke up, in 1989.

Stein: “During the two years we were most successful, our accountant didn’t pay our taxes. So I ended up owing a fortune to the IRS.”

Harry: “There were some punch-ups along the line. I think the manager we had at the time enjoyed keeping us off balance and insecure. It was a terrible psychology to use.”

Freddy: “Chris got really ill . . . with [a rare skin disorder called Pemphigus] but, thank God, he got better. Debbie stopped everything to take care of him. In that time when she wasn’t around, Madonna emerged and kind of took her spot in the media.”

Harry: “Would I change anything? No. Because if I did change one of the bad things, then a million other things would change. And we had more good times than bad!”