Blondie “Autoamerican” released 40 years ago today, November 19th, 1980. The LP was Blondie’s fifth and it went to #7 in the US and to #3 in the UK. It has two of Blondie’s biggest hit singles: “The Tide is High” (a cover of the reggae song originally performed by The Paragons in 1967) which went to #1 in the US and UK (I remember absolutely loving this song in 4th grade), and “Rapture” which also hit #1 in the US and went to #5 in the UK. “Rapture” was the first “rap” song to hit #1 – though it’s really more disco/funk with some rapping –  and was the first “rap” song to be played on MTV. I like the track a lot but find it ironic and a bit historically distasteful that it took an all-white new wave band to get hip hop/rap onto the airwaves (in particular MTV resisted playing black artists until Michael Jackson’s popularity overwhelmed the network’s policy). Though consistently categorized as punk/new wave, Blondie and in particular Autoamerican does not neatly fit those genres. In fact, besides other funky disco infused tracks (like “Do the Dark” and “Live It Up”), a chunk of the record sounds like an accompanying soundtrack to a stage or film musical, especially the first few tracks: “Europa” and “Here’s Looking at You.” The album’s closer, “Follow Me,” actually is a Broadway tune, a cover from the 1960 musical Camelot.