"French Kissin" (released in certain countries as "French Kissin in the USA") is a song by American singer

Debbie Harry Deborah Ann Harry (born Angela Trimble; July 1, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter and actress, best known as the lead vocalist of the band Blondie. Four of her songs with the band reached on the US charts between 1979 and 1981. Born in ...

from her second solo studio album, ''

Rockbird ''Rockbird'' is the second solo studio album by American singer Debbie Harry. It was released in November 1986 by Geffen Records in the United States and Chrysalis Records in the United Kingdom. Background ''Rockbird'' was released four years ...

'' (1986). It was released on November 3, 1986, as the album's lead single. The song was written by

Chuck Lorre Charles Michael Lorre (; born Charles Michael Levine; October 18, 1952) is an American film & television director, writer, producer, composer and actor. Called the "King of Sitcoms", he has created/co-created and produced sitcoms including '' ...

, who would later create a series of successful

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...

Song information

In the United Kingdom, the song was released as the album's

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...

on November 3, 1986, and became Harry's biggest chart hit, reaching number eight on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

and becoming her only solo top-10 single there. In the United States, the song peaked at number 57 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. For promotion, Harry did a live performance of "French Kissin" and "In Love with Love" on ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves ...

'', as well as a handful of television interviews in the UK and US in late 1986. A music video (with a cameo by actress

Katey Sagal Catherine Louise "Katey" Sagal (; born January 19, 1954) is an American actress and singer. She is known for playing Peggy Bundy on '' Married... with Children'' (1987–1997), Leela on ''Futurama'' (1999–2003, 2008–2013, 2023), Cate Hennes ...

) was also made and subsequently played on music video channels. Besides the regular 7-inch and 12-inch formats, the single was also released as a limited-edition 12-inch picture disc in the UK. Harry also recorded a French-language version of the track which was released as the B-side of other ''

'' singles and was also included on the 1988 Blondie/Debbie Harry remix compilation ''

Once More into the Bleach ''Once More into the Bleach'' is a remix album released in December 1988 by the band Blondie and Debbie Harry. The 13-track compilation contains remixes of Blondie songs and material from Harry's solo career. It was the first compilation to inclu ...

''.

Track listings

7-inch single :A. "French Kissin" (

) – 4:09 :B. "Rockbird" (Deborah Harry,

Chris Stein Christopher Stein (born January 5, 1950) is an American musician known as the co-founder and guitarist of the new wave band Blondie. He is also a producer and performer for the classic soundtrack of the hip hop film ''Wild Style'', and writer ...

) – 3:09 US 12-inch single :A1. "French Kissin" (dance mix) (Lorre) – 7:25 :A2. "French Kissin" (edit) (Lorre) – 4:09 :B1. "French Kissin" (dub version) (Lorre) – 8:02 :B2. "Rockbird" (Harry, Stein) – 3:09 UK and Australasian 12-inch single :A1. "French Kissin in the USA" (dance mix) (Lorre) – 7:25 :B1. "French Kissin in the USA" (dub version) (Lorre) – 8:02 :B2. "Rockbird" (Harry, Stein) – 3:09 Australasian cassette single # "French Kissin in the USA" (7-inch version) (Lorre) # "French Kissin in the USA" (dance mix) (Lorre) # "French Kissin in the USA" (dub version) (Lorre) # "Rockbird" (Harry, Stein)

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:French Kissin (Song) 1986 singles 1986 songs Chrysalis Records singles Debbie Harry songs French-language songs Geffen Records singles Macaronic songs Song recordings produced by Seth Justman Songs about kissing Songs written by Chuck Lorre