Maria (Blondie song)

"Maria"
Single by Blondie
from the album No Exit
Released February 1, 1999
Format CD single, Cassette, 12" vinyl
Recorded 1998
Genre Rock, pop rock, alternative rock
Length 4:51 (album version)
4:09 (single edit)
Label Beyond Music
Writer(s) Jimmy Destri
Producer(s) Craig Leon
Blondie singles chronology
"War Child"
(1982)		 "Maria"
(1999)		 "Nothing Is Real but the Girl"
(1999)
Alternative cover
US edition of the "Maria" single with alternative cover art.
Music sample
"Maria"

"Maria" is a song by the American band Blondie, taken from their 1999 album No Exit. This song was Blondie's comeback single, their first since "War Child" in July 1982. The song peaked at number eighty two on the Billboard Hot 100. Internationally, the song topped the charts in the United Kingdom, becoming the band's sixth chart-topping song in that country. It also peaked within the top ten of the charts in Austria, Belgium, Germany, the Republic of Ireland, Sweden and Switzerland.[1]

Overview

The song was written by the band's keyboardist Jimmy Destri, who had also penned some of their earlier hits such as "Atomic". In the US, the single reached number 14 on the Adult Top 40 listing, although it stalled at No. 82 on the Billboard Hot 100.[2]

In the UK the single was released as a two-CD set, the first containing remixes of "Maria",[3] and the second containing live versions of "Screaming Skin" (a track from their No Exit album) and their very first hit single "In the Flesh" both recorded during No Exit Tour.[4]

The line "...like a millionaire/walking on imported air" was used in a previous Blondie song, "Walk Like Me" (also written by Destri), from the album Autoamerican (1980).

The music video for the song was directed by Alan Smithee.

The song was included on the 2014 compilation album Greatest Hits Deluxe Redux. The compilation was part of a 2-disc set called Blondie 4(0) Ever which included their 10th studio album Ghosts of Download and marked the 40th anniversary of the forming of the band.

Music video

The music video for the song was directed by Alan Smithee. It is set in New York City. The music video starts of as we see part of New York through night-vision goggles as we then begin to zoom into Blondie performing in an apartment, while during the music video mysterious black clothed people spying around different buildings setting up spy equipment as Blondie perform their song. The video goes through different camera angles and surveillance cameras through the video as the mysterious men set up too. Eventually by the end of the song, one of the black clothed individuals aims a sniper rifle towards the lead singer, then fires the bullet at her, smashing through a window, a light bulb and the microphone, but the lead singer picks the bullet out from the air and examines the bullet as the surveillance systems are closed off, as the black clothed men run off.

Release history

All tracks written by Jimmy Destri unless otherwise noted.

UK CD 1

  1. "Maria" (Radio Edit) – 4:09
  2. "Maria" (Soul Solution Remix Radio Edit) – 4:08
  3. "Maria" (Talvin Singh Remix Edit) – 4:39

UK CD 2

  1. "Maria" (Radio Edit) – 4:09
  2. "Screaming Skin" (Live) (Debbie Harry, Chris Stein, Romy Ashby, Leigh Foxx) – 6:05
  3. "In the Flesh" (Live) (Harry, Stein) - 2:56

UK CD 3 (promo only)

  1. "Maria" (Radio Edit) – 4:09
  2. "Maria" (Talvin Singh Rhythmic Remix) – 7:26

UK Cassette

  1. "Maria" (Radio Edit) – 4:09
  2. "Maria" (Soul Solution Remix Radio Edit) – 4:08

US CD

  1. "Maria" (Soul Solution Full Remix) – 9:27
  2. "Maria" (Talvin Singh Remix) – 7:27
  3. "Maria" (Talvin Singh Rhythmic Remix Edit) – 4:39
  4. "Maria" (Album Version) – 4:51

US 12" 1

  1. "Maria" (Soul Solution Full Remix) – 9:27
  2. "Maria" (Soul Solution Bonus Beats)
  3. "Maria" (Talvin Singh Remix) – 7:27
  4. "Maria" (Talvin Singh Rhythmic Remix Edit) – 4:39
  5. "Maria" (Album Version) – 4:51

US 12" 2[5]

  1. "Maria" (Ether Dub)
  2. "Maria" (White Trash Dub)

Mexico CD (promo only)

  1. "Maria" (Radio Edit) – 4:12
  2. "Maria" (Album Version) – 4:51
  3. "Maria" (Soul Solution Radio Edit) – 4:08

Thailand CD (promo only)[6]

  1. "Maria" (Radio Edit) – 4:09
  2. "Maria" (Talvin Singh Rhythmic Remix) – 7:26
  3. "Maria" (Soul Solution Remix Radio Edit) – 4:08
  4. "Maria" (Album Version) – 4:51
  5. Radio Sampler of album "Best Music From Blah Blah Blah" – 7:03

Cover versions and appearances in other media

Charts

Chart (1999) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[9][10] 59
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[11] 2
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[12] 3
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[13] 30
France (SNEP)[14] 31
Germany (Official German Charts)[15] 3
Ireland (IRMA)[16] 3
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[17] 19
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[18] 16
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[19] 1
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[20] 7
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[21] 3
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[1] 1
US Billboard Hot 100[22] 83

References

  1. 1 2 "Blondie: Artist Chart History" Official Charts Company.
  2. ↑ "Blondie - Chart history". Billboard. Retrieved 2014-04-01.
  3. ↑ "Maria~ England CD #1". Recmod.com. Retrieved 2014-04-01.
  4. ↑ "Maria~ England CD #2". Recmod.com. Retrieved 2014-04-01.
  5. ↑ "Blondie - Maria Dubs (Vinyl) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2014-04-01.
  6. ↑ "Maria~ Thailand CD (Promo)". Recmod.com. Retrieved 2014-04-01.
  7. ↑ "Welcome to". Levispioneersessions.com. Retrieved 2014-04-01.
  8. ↑ Another Woman's Life: Film Review - Jordan Mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter, 22 February 2012
  9. ↑ "ariaNET The Chart! Top 100 Singles – Week Commencing 29th March 1999". ARIA. Retrieved 2016-03-27.
  10. ↑ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988-2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
  11. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Blondie – Maria" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  12. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Blondie – Maria" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  13. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Blondie – Maria" (in French). Ultratop 50.
  14. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Blondie – Maria" (in French). Les classement single.
  15. ↑ "Musicline.de – Blondie Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.
  16. ↑ "Blondie – Maria". Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  17. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Blondie – Maria" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  18. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Blondie – Maria". Top 40 Singles.
  19. ↑ "Spanishcharts.com – Blondie – Maria" Canciones Top 50.
  20. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Blondie – Maria". Singles Top 100.
  21. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Blondie – Maria". Swiss Singles Chart.
  22. ↑ "Blondie – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Blondie.
Preceded by
"U Don't Know Me" by Armand Van Helden featuring Duane Harden		 UK Singles Chart number-one single
February 7, 1999 – February 13, 1999 		Succeeded by
"Fly Away" by Lenny Kravitz
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