Debbie & Iggy Pop & their take on Cole Porter from Red, Hot & Blue
"She Came From Planet Claire, I Know She Came From There" I am surprised it is not Cole Porter. I used to dance my ass of to this tune.
Summer 1979, I am living in the historic Browne’s Addition of Spokane. After spending the mid-1970s living in NYC, I have moved back to the city where I grew up, trying to re-group & decide what to do next. I immediately got work in the theatre. I never would have believed when I left Spokane in 1972, right after the day I graduated form high school, but I find myself wanting to a be a big fish in a tiny pond, instead of the tiniest minnow in the very biggest pond & so I return.
I spot this girl in an aisle at the supermarket. She is wearing cat glasses & a leopard skin coat over a tiny black jumper & a skirt of tropical fruit themed oil cloth, paired with cowboy boots. I had only seen this type of female in NYC & certainly not in tried & true, conservative Spokane. I cruised her for a bit, before getting up the nerve. ME: “Excuse me, but I just need to tell you how fabulous your look. You can’t possibly be from Spokane. You are really putting it out there? SHE: “Well, I’m not from here, but I am here now. I know I look fabulous; that’s what I do, & you look like a pud. But, I think I like you sweetie. Wanna come to a party with me?”
I go to this party with my new friend- Kate. There are boys kissing boys, boys kissing girls, girls kissing girls. I drink something handed to me & I smoke something passed to me, I snort something on the coffee table, & I was really loving the music. I was loving the music a great deal. It was my first time hearing Blondie & the song was named- Heart Of Glass & I was crazy for it. I danced for hours.
I bought the album- Parallel Lines with the songs like One Way Or Another & Sunday Girl. I loved Blondie, but I stayed with Debbie Harry after the breakup of Blondie & I have never strayed far away. Rapture was my first rap song. I have had several 1sts with Debbie Harry. I am zany for her solo albums & her work with Jazz Passengers. I love her. She is a goddess to me. Debbie is a muse to me. Debbie is a gay icon. Her acting career spans over 30 film roles & numerous television appearances. She looks & sounds astounding at 65 years old. Today is her birthday.
*Sordid footnote: I did mushrooms with the husband, circa 1980, & I had a sequence of time, during that experience, where I went “into” the Husband’s medieval Flemish tapestry. I was walking the candle lit hallways of a castle, wearing stunning Aramini clothing. The soundtrack from this debauched adventure was Call Me by Blondie.
Fred Schneider has released 2 solo albums, but neither of these albums were as successful as any of the albums created by The B-52's. The B-52's hold a fairly unique position in rock music in that all the founding male members of the band were gay.
Fred Schneider is best known as the frontman of the rock band The B-52's, of which he is a founding member. He is known for his quirky sprechgesang & distinctive swish. The B-52's were formed by Cindy Wilson & Kate Pierson with drummer Keith Strickland, guitarist Ricky Wilson (Cindy's older brother) & vocalist Fred Schneider after a drunken night at a Chinese restaurant.
Late 1970s & through the mid-1980s, several nights a week were spent on the dance floor. I loved swallowing a Quaalude & dancing to the combination of dance & surf music of The B-52s. The band made a real impression with their singles Rock Lobster, Private Idaho & Planet Claire their debut album in 1979. Wild Planet followed in 1980, followed by Whammy! in 1983.
In October 1985, the band were devastated by the death of guitarist Ricky Wilson, from what was originally reported to be cancer, but was later revealed to be AIDS. The band's album Bouncing Off the Satellites (1986) was not a success, & the band went into hiatus. The B-52's returned in 1989 with the album Cosmic Thing, their biggest success, giving us the international hit- Love Shack. Original members Fred Schneider, Kate Pierson & Keith Strickland are all openly gay. Fred Schneider turns 59 today.
I surmise that Debbie & Fred know each other. I sure would like to have them over for cocktails in the Boy’s Fort. That would be a kicky evening! It is 2010 & this summer Blondie & the B-52s will be playing a handful of shows together. How cool is that?
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