Maps of Music

Autoamerican (1980)

Where the lyrics of Autoamerican take you, and where it was really made.

The working title was Coca Cola, but The Coca-Cola Company declined the idea, so the band chose a more generic name.

Key places

Power Station at BerkleeNYC, New York (1980)

Recording site Power Station Studio — This is one of the recording places listed for the album in the database. The article itself says the band recorded in Los Angeles, so treat this entry as a conflicting record. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

United Western Studios, Hollywood (1980)

Recording site The Music Grinder (Hollywood) — The album was recorded at United Western Studios in Hollywood, California, as noted in the release credits. The point is placed at city-center level, not at the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Rooftop near Broadway and Eighth (1980)

Album cover Broadway (New York City) — The cover photo was posed on a roof near Broadway and Eighth in New York. The album's cover painting was based on this photo, and the spot shown is an area, not a single building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Autoamerican: fifth studio album by American rock band Blondie
• Released 19 November 1980 in the US and 29 November 1980 in the UK
• Reached No. 3 in the UK, No. 7 in the US and No. 8 in Australia
• Spawned two singles: The Tide Is High and Rapture
• The Tide Is High hit number one in several countries, including the US and the UK
• Rapture became the first rap song to reach number one on the US singles chart

Background

• A radical departure for Blondie
• Opening track Europa is a dramatic instrumental overture with orchestral arrangements
• Europa ends with Debbie Harry declaiming a passage about automobile culture over an electronic soundtrack
• Here's Looking at You and Faces show jazz and blues influences
• The Tide Is High is a cover of the Paragons' 1967 Jamaican rocksteady song
• Rapture combines funk, rock and jazz and embraces the then-emerging genre of rap
• Closing track Follow Me covers a torch song from the 1960 Broadway musical Camelot
• Chris Stein later revealed the working title was Coca Cola, because it sounded very American

Recording

• Producer Mike Chapman insisted the band record in Los Angeles
• Guitarist Chris Stein described driving each day past a huge Moon-mobile from an old sci-fi movie
• Drummer Clem Burke welcomed the change and said the band spent two months in California
• Discogs notes list the recording at United Western Studios in Hollywood, California
• Credited engineer Lenise Bent, with assistants Doug Schwartz and Gary Boatner

Cover

• Cover image comes from a commissioned painting by artist Martin Hoffman (1935–2013)
• The band insisted the cover shot be taken in their hometown
• The photo was posed on a roof near New York's Broadway and Eighth, more precisely at 300 Mercer Street

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Formed in New York City in 1974 by singer Debbie Harry and guitarist Chris Stein.
• Originally billed as Angel and the Snake, then Blondie and the Banzai Babies, shortened to Blondie by October 1974.
• The name came from truck drivers who catcalled "Hey, Blondie" to Harry.
• Became regular performers at Max's Kansas City and CBGB, part of the mid-1970s new wave scene.
• Debut album Blondie (1976) was not a commercial success; the band signed with Chrysalis Records in 1977.

Members

• Core members: Debbie Harry (vocals), Chris Stein (guitar), Clem Burke (drums), Jimmy Destri (keyboards).
• Other former members included Gary Valentine, Frank Infante, Nigel Harrison, and Fred Smith.
• Clem Burke died of cancer on April 6, 2025.

Career

• Breakthrough came in Australia and the UK with Plastic Letters (1978) and the hit single "Denis".
• Parallel Lines (1978) became their most successful album, selling about 20 million copies worldwide; "Heart of Glass" topped the UK and US charts.
• Further hits included "Call Me", "The Tide Is High", and "Rapture", the first rap-featuring song to reach US number one.
• The band disbanded in 1982 after The Hunter, reformed in 1997, and had their sixth UK number one with "Maria" in 1999.
• Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006; has sold over 40 million records worldwide.
• Pollinator (2017) peaked at number four in the UK; a new album, High Noon, is scheduled for February 26, 2027.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• In Rolling Stone, Tom Carson called Autoamerican a terrible album
• Carson wrote that after Parallel Lines gave Chris Stein carte blanche, Stein began living out his fantasies of himself as a deep thinker
• Carson argued the record was Stein's LP all the way
• He described the album as an anthology of intellectual self-indulgence, almost the rock equivalent of a badly made Ken Russell film
• Carson also wondered whether Stein was eager to proclaim the death of pop culture so he could beat the hyenas to its bones

Records

• UK album chart: peak No. 3
• US album chart: peak No. 7
• Australia album chart: peak No. 8
• The Tide Is High: number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 and the UK singles chart
• Rapture: number five in the UK, number four in Australia, number three in Canada
• Rapture: first rap song ever to reach number one on the US singles chart
• RIAA platinum certification on 26 January 1981

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · fr.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The record company was at first hesitant about the album's commercial prospects, and Burke recalled that they said they did not hear any hits.
• Burke later pointed out that the album had two number ones, both very innovative.
• Stein said the intended title Coca Cola was dropped after The Coca-Cola Company declined to allow it on the cover.
• The first US edition carried a sticker naming The Tide Is High, Rapture and T-Birds, suggesting a possible single release for T-Birds.
• The painting used for the cover was commissioned from Martin Hoffman, while the photo was taken on a rooftop.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org

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