Maria (Blondie song)

"Maria" was written by the band's keyboardist, Jimmy Destri, who had penned some of their earlier hits such as "Atomic". He wrote the song while reflecting on his days in Catholic school, when he fantasized about meeting the ideal girl. According to Destri, the track is about teenage desire.[5] A line from the song: "...like a millionaire/walking on imported air", was used in the previous Blondie track "Walk Like Me" (also written by Destri) from the album Autoamerican (1980), and the track shares a similar lyrical motif with their 1977 single "Rip Her to Shreds".[3] In the United Kingdom, "Maria" was released as a two-CD set. The first contains remixes of the song,[6] and the second contains live versions of "Screaming Skin" (a track from the No Exit album) and their first hit single: "In the Flesh". Both were recorded during Blondie's No Exit Tour.[7]

Billboard described the song as a "delectable track", and a "skillfully arranged array of passionate Debbie Harry vocals, great guitar and drum thrusts, and neat harmonica passages that climb into the toll of cathedral bells." They also noted that "all these touches are in the service of a cool rock/pop intelligence powered by the street smarts that are the Blondie trademark." Daily Record commented, "Almost two decades after their last No 1, comeback stars Blondie have gone back to their "new wave" roots" with "Maria".[8] The Daily Vault's Mark Millan called it a "pop gem" that "kicks off". He added that the singer's "commanding performance" really shows off her impressive range, and stated that "this one is still one of their best singles to date."[9]

"Maria" debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart on February 7, 1999, giving Blondie their sixth UK number-one single and first chart-topper since "The Tide Is High" in November 1980.[10] It spent 17 nonconsecutive weeks in the top 100, ending the year as the UK's 33rd-best-selling hit.[11] The release of "Maria" came exactly 20 years after "Heart of Glass", Blondie's first UK number-one hit.[3] Across the rest of Europe, "Maria" topped the charts in Greece and Spain and was a top-10 hit in Austria, Flanders, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Sweden, and Switzerland.[12][1][13][14] It additionally reached the top 20 in Italy and the Netherlands and attained a peak of number five on the Eurochart Hot 100.[15][16][17]

"Maria" was not as successful in the North America, stalling at number 82 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 43 on the Canadian RPM Top Singles chart;[18][19] however, it did enter the top 20 on the Billboard Adult Top 40, Hot Dance Club Play, and Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales charts.[20][21][22] The single also underperformed in Australia, where it peaked at number 59,[23] but fared better in New Zealand, reaching number 16 during its third week on the country's chart.[24]

The music video for "Maria" was directed by Roman Coppola (credited as Alan Smithee), and takes place in New York City.[5] Parts of New York through night-vision goggles are seen before zooming into an apartment where Blondie are performing the song. Mysterious dark-clothed individuals are seen around different buildings setting up surveillance equipment to monitor the band. Toward the end of the video, one of the dark-clothed individuals aims a sniper rifle towards lead singer Deborah Harry, and fires a bullet at her. In slow motion, the bullet smashes through a window, a light bulb and the microphone towards her, but Harry (moving in real time) simply plucks the bullet from the air before it hits her (perhaps tying into the theme of "no exit", the band's comeback album).

Credits are lifted from the UK and European CD single liner notes.[26]

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics