Musical Monday - The Tide Is High by Blondie

#1 on the Billboard Hot 100: The week of January 31, 1981.

#1 on the Cash Box Top 100: January 31, 1981 through February 7, 1981.
#1 on the U.K. Chart: November 15, 1980 through November 22, 1980.

Even though Blondie was ostensibly a punk band, or more specifically a "New Wave" band, their range of hits was weirdly eclectic. Their previous big hit Call Me was a disco-influenced song, and now with The Tide Is High they hit the top of the charts with a reggae song. Blondie was one of the first big acts of the 1980s, turning out a string of hits mostly between 1979 and 1981, but their wide ranging musical style meant that they didn't really set the tone for the decade like some of the other early 1980s stars did. They were certainly an influence, but given the diversity of styles of their songs, almost any later song could be said to be influenced by Blondie, and as a result their influence is really hard to specifically identify.

Perhaps the most punk thing about this song is the weirdly surreal video that was made for it. While the song itself is a fairly standard issue reggae tune with fairly standard issue lyrics, the video is sheer lunacy, and I think this sort of juxtaposition is what allowed Blondie to have the kind of commercial success that they had. They were among the most successful bands to come out of the CBGB-based scene, and their ability to mix mainstream music with a punk sensibility seems to have been what set them apart from most of the other acts that originated there.

I note that although this song reached number one on all three of the charts that I track for the 1980s Project, it reached number one on them at different times - achieving the feat much earlier on the U.K. Chart than it did on the Billboard and Cash Box charts. My rule of thumb is to put a song on this list when it first reaches number one on one chart. As a result, this song appears here on the list even though it reached number one on the Billboard and Cash Box charts after several songs that will come up in the next few weeks.

Previous Musical Monday: Woman in Love by Barbra Streisand

Subsequent Musical Monday: Lady by Kenny Rogers

Previous #1 on the Billboard Hot 100: (Just Like) Starting Over by John Lennon

Subsequent #1 on the Billboard Hot 100: Celebration by Kool and the Gang

Previous #1 on the Cash Box Top 100: (Just Like) Starting Over by John Lennon

Subsequent #1 on the Cash Box Top 100: Celebration by Kool and the Gang

Previous #1 on the U.K. Chart: Woman in Love by Barbra Streisand

Subsequent #1 on the U.K. Chart: Super Trouper by ABBA

List of #1 Singles from the Billboard Hot 100 for 1980-1989
List of #1 Singles from the Cash Box Top 100 for 1980-1989
List of #1 Singles on the U.K. Chart for 1980-1989

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