Heart of Glass (song)

For the Celine Dion song, see Courage (Celine Dion album).

"Heart of Glass"
U.S. vinyl single picture sleeve
Single by Blondie
from the album Parallel Lines
B-side
  • "Rifle Range" (UK)
  • "11:59" (US)
ReleasedJanuary 1979 (1979-01)
RecordedJune 1978
StudioRecord Plant, New York City
Genre
Length3:22 (US 7" Version)
4:12 (UK 7" Version)
3:54 (Original Album Version)
5:50 (12" "Disco" Version, 2nd Album Version)
4:33 ("Special Mix" from The Best of Blondie)
LabelChrysalis
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Mike Chapman
Blondie singles chronology
"Hanging on the Telephone"
(1978) 		"Heart of Glass"
(1979) 		"Sunday Girl"
(1979)
Music video
"Heart of Glass" on YouTube

"Heart of Glass" is a song by the American new wave band Blondie, written by singer Debbie Harry and guitarist Chris Stein. It was featured on the band's third studio album, Parallel Lines (1978), and was released as the album's third single in January 1979 and reached number one on the charts in several countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom.[1][2]

"Heart of Glass" ranked at number 66 in the UK's official list of biggest selling singles of all-time,[3] with sales of 1.32 million copies,[4] being the 9th best selling single of the 1970s in the UK.[5]

It was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame as a recording of "qualitative or historical significance" in 2015.[6] Harry herself stated that "Heart of Glass" was, along with "Rapture," the song she was proudest of having written.[7]

In December 2004, Rolling Stone ranked the song number 255 on its list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.[8] It was ranked at number 259 when the list was updated in April 2010[9] and at number 138 in their 2021 update.[10] Slant Magazine placed it at number 42 on their list of the greatest dance songs of all time[11] and Pitchfork named it the 18th best song of the 1970s.[12] Billboard magazine ranked "Heart of Glass" number 47 in their list of 500 best pop songs of all time in 2023.[13]

Harry and Stein sold their future royalties to the song and the rest of Blondie's catalog to Hipgnosis Songs Fund in 2020.[14]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference UK was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference US was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Myers, Justin (December 14, 2018). "The best-selling singles of all time on the Official UK Chart". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 22, 2018.
  4. ^ Copsey, Rob (September 19, 2017). "The UK's Official Chart 'millionaires' revealed". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 18, 2018.
  5. ^ Griffith, George (November 9, 2022). "Official top 10 best selling singles from the 1970s". Official Charts Company.
  6. ^ "The Recording Academy Announces 2016 Hall of Fame Inductees" (Press release). The Recording Academy. November 18, 2015. Retrieved November 22, 2021.
  7. ^ Simpson, Dave (March 4, 2022). "Blondie's Debbie Harry: 'It wasn't a great idea to be as reckless as I was'". The Guardian. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
  8. ^ "The RS 500 Greatest Songs of All Time (1-500)". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 25, 2006.
  9. ^ "500 Greatest Songs of All Time: 259 – Blondie, 'Heart of Glass'". Rolling Stone. New York City, USA. April 7, 2011.
  10. ^ "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. September 15, 2021. Retrieved April 30, 2021.
  11. ^ "100 Greatest Dance Songs". Slant Magazine. January 30, 2006. Retrieved March 22, 2014.
  12. ^ Cook, Cameron (August 22, 2016). "The 200 Best Songs of the 1970s – Page 10". Pitchfork. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
  13. ^ "The 500 Best Pop Songs: Staff List". Billboard. October 19, 2023. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
  14. ^ "Blondie duo's song rights sold in 'Atomic' deal". BBC News. August 5, 2020. Retrieved August 29, 2020.