''KooKoo'' is the debut solo album 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 (band), Blondie. Four of her songs with the band reached on the US charts between 1979 and 1 ...

, released on July 27, 1981, by

Chrysalis Records Chrysalis Records () is a British independent record label that was founded in 1968. The name is both a reference to the pupal stage of a butterfly and a combination of its founders' names, Chris Wright and Terry Ellis. It started as the Ell ...

. Produced by

Nile Rodgers Nile Gregory Rodgers Jr. (born September 19, 1952) is an American musician, songwriter, guitarist and record producer. The co-founder of Chic, he has written, produced, and performed on records that have sold more than 750 million albums and 1 ...

and Bernard Edwards of Chic, the album was recorded whilst Harry took a break from her band Blondie. It was a moderate commercial success, reaching number 25 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 and number six on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...

Background

''KooKoo'' was recorded while Harry and boyfriend

Chris Stein Christopher Stein (born January 5, 1950) is an American musician and songwriter 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 St ...

were taking a break from the band Blondie. The album was produced by

and Bernard Edwards of the R&B band Chic, who had just had major success working with

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born Diane Ernestine Earle Ross March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. Known as the "Queen of Motown Records", she was the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown#Major divisions, Motown's most suc ...

on her 1980 album '' Diana''. Harry and Stein first met the pair at the Power Station recording studio in New York while Blondie were recording their 1979 album ''

Eat to the Beat ''Eat to the Beat'' is the fourth studio album by American rock band Blondie, released on September 28, 1979, by Chrysalis Records. The album spent a year on the US ''Billboard'' 200, peaking at , and was one of ''Billboard''s top 10 albums ...

'', and they remained good friends in the intervening years. ''KooKoo'' was one of three albums to be (co)written and produced by Rodgers and Edwards in 1981, the other two being Chic's fifth album '' Take It Off'' and

Johnny Mathis John Royce Mathis (born September 30, 1935) is an American singer. Starting his 69-year career with singles of standard (music), standard music, Mathis is one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century and became highly popular as ...

' ''

I Love My Lady ''I Love My Lady'' is an album by American pop singer Johnny Mathis that was completed in 1981 but not released in its entirety until December 8, 2017, when it was included in the box set ''The Voice of Romance: The Columbia Original Album Collec ...

'', which remained unreleased until 2017. ''KooKoo'' showcased the early fusion of funk, rock and dance music that would become the trademark of Rodgers and Edwards, and this style would later be evident on albums such as

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

's '' Let's Dance'',

Duran Duran Duran Duran () are an English pop rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor (bass guitarist), John Taylor. After several early changes, the band's line-up settled ...

's '' Notorious'', the Power Station's self-titled debut album, and Robert Palmer's '' Riptide''. Backing vocals were provided by

Mark Mothersbaugh Mark Allen Mothersbaugh (; born May 18, 1950) is an American musician and composer. He came to prominence in the late 1970s as co-founder, lead vocalist and keyboardist of the new wave band Devo, whose " Whip It" was a top 20 single in the US ...

and Gerald Casale of

Devo Devo is an American new wave band from Akron, Ohio, formed in 1973. Their classic line-up consisted of two sets of brothers, the Mothersbaughs ( Mark and Bob) and the Casales (Gerald and Bob), along with Alan Myers. The band had a No. 14 ...

, credited as Spud and Pud Devo. ''KooKoo'' reached number six on the

and spent seven weeks on the chart, being certified silver by the

British Phonographic Industry BPI (British Recorded Music Industry) Limited, trading as British Phonographic Industry (BPI), is the British recorded music industry's trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards; is home to the Mercury Prize; co-owns the Official Charts C ...

(BPI) for shipments in excess of 60,000 copies. The album reached number 25 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 and was certified gold by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA), denoting shipments in excess of 500,000 copies. ''KooKoo'' was digitally remastered and re-issued on compact disc with two bonus tracks (the 12″ versions of "Backfired" and "The Jam Was Moving") by EMI in the United Kingdom in 1994, and by Razor & Tie in the United States in 1999, this time with just one bonus track. The album was reissued again in the US by Gold Legion.com in 2011 (the 30th anniversary of the album's release). This reissue includes three bonus tracks (both of the aforementioned 12″ versions, and also the rare extended mix of "Inner City Spillover") as well as extensive liner notes. In May 2023, a deluxe edition was released, consisting of the original album and a bonus disk of remixes pressed in transparent vinyl, and a lenticular cover.

Promotion

The cover art for the album was created by Swiss artist H.R. Giger, known for his design work on the 1979 sci-fi/horror film '' Alien''. Based on a photograph of Harry taken by the renowned photographer Brian Aris, Giger created several variations of the cover (another of which is seen on the album's inner sleeve) in what Harry described as a combination of

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

acupuncture Acupuncture is a form of alternative medicine and a component of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in which thin needles are inserted into the body. Acupuncture is a pseudoscience; the theories and practices of TCM are not based on scientif ...

and

sci-fi Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

. Although the lyrics to the track "Oasis" include the word "kookoo" (meaning "crazy"), Harry stated that the album title came to her after she saw Giger's completed work, and although she had misgivings about the conceptual ideas behind the artwork (as she did not identify either the album or herself as "punk"), she was suitably impressed to use it anyway. For the promotion of ''KooKoo'',

planned to display large posters of the album cover in various stations of the

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or as the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The Undergro ...

. However, officials deemed the image of Harry with metal skewers going through her face and neck to be too disturbing. A television ad campaign went ahead, however. Promo videos were made for the tracks "Backfired" and "Now I Know You Know", both directed by Giger and filmed at his studio in Switzerland. "Backfired" featured a dark-haired Harry dancing superimposed over a backdrop of Giger's distinctive artwork, with Giger himself appearing in a semi-translucent face mask. "Now I Know You Know" featured Harry in a long black wig and a form-fitting bodysuit painted with Giger's unusual artwork, dancing around in a small set furnished with Giger's "bio-mechanical" design work.

Singles

Two singles were released from the album: " Backfired", which peaked at number 24 in Australia, number 32 in the UK and number 43 in the US in August 1981, and " The Jam Was Moving", which reached number 82 in the US. A third single, " Chrome", was only released in some parts of Europe, but failed to chart. Another track, "Jump Jump", was only released as a single in Peru. "Chrome" served as the B-side to "The Jam was Moving", only being issued in Germany as a single and in the US as a promotional 12-inch single only.

Reception

In ''The Boston Phoenix'', Ken Emerson gave the album a mixed review, writing that "Harry comes across on ''KooKoo'' as inaccessible, invulnerable, and creepy. The congealment of her character that began with the success of ''Heart of Glass'' is now complete: she’s an ice-cold icon. ... ough ''KooKoo'' lacks the playful energy and innocence of ''Parallel Lines'' (1978), Blondie’s best album, it’s far more accomplished and fully realized than either of the band’s subsequent LPs. ... You may dislike the destination, but ''KooKoo'' knows exactly where it’s going." Rob Sheffield wrote in the ''

Spin Alternative Record Guide The ''Spin Alternative Record Guide'' is a music reference book compiled by the American music magazine ''Spin (magazine), Spin'' and published in 1995 by Vintage Books. It was editing, edited by the rock music, rock critic Eric Weisbard and Crai ...

'' (1995), "''KooKoo'' is disappointingly diffuse, and it's easy to hear what went wrong: while Harry meekly imitates the suave funk of Chic's classic '' Real People'', Rodgers reverts to his true roots in European art-rock." Writing for ''

Popmatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...

'' in 2021, Rich Wilhelm described it as "a flawed but beguiling experiment that paved the way for '' Let's Dance'' and '' Like a Virgin''".

Track listing

Side A: # "Jump Jump" ( Deborah Harry,

) – 4:04 # " The Jam Was Moving" ( Bernard Edwards,

) – 2:59 # " Chrome" (Harry, Stein) – 4:17 # "Surrender" (Edwards, Rodgers) – 3:37 # "Inner City Spillover" (Harry, Stein) – 5:04 Side B: # " Backfired" (Edwards, Rodgers) – 4:54 # "Now I Know You Know" (Edwards, Rodgers) – 5:39 # "Under Arrest" (Edwards, Harry, Rodgers, Stein) – 3:03 # "Military Rap" (Harry, Stein) – 3:51 # "Oasis" (Edwards, Harry, Rodgers, Stein) – 4:59 Bonus Tracks CD Re-Issue UK 1994 * "Backfired" 12" Mix – 6:23 * "The Jam Was Moving" 12" Mix – 5:03 Bonus Track CD Re-Issue US 1999 * "Backfired" 12" Mix – 6:23 Bonus Tracks CD Re-Issue 2011 * "Backfired" 12" Mix – 6:23 * "The Jam Was Moving" 12" Mix – 5:03 * "Inner City Spillover" 12" Mix – 5:58 Bonus Tracks Vinyl Re-Issue 2023 Side A: # "Backfired" Extended Version # "The Jam Was Moving" Extended Version # "Inner City Spillover" Extended Version Side B: # "Backfired" Bruce Forrest & Frank Heller Remix # "The Jam Was Moving" Chris Stein & Debbie Harry Remix

Personnel

Musicians

* Debbie Harry – vocals *

– guitar, vocals on "Backfired" * Bernard Edwards – bass guitar * Tony Thompson – drums * Robert Sabino – keyboards * Raymond Jones – keyboards * Nathaniel S. Hardy Jr. – keyboards *

– guitar * Vinnie Della Rocca – horns * Ray Maldonado – horns * Sammy Figueroa – percussion * Manolo Badrena – percussion * Roger Squitero – percussion * Spud Devo – backing vocals * Pud Devo – backing vocals * Gordon Grody – backing vocals *

Fonzi Thornton Alfonso "Fonzi" Thornton is an American vocalist, songwriter, producer and vocal contractor. In a career spanning 40 years, Thornton has sung backing vocals for top artists across many genres of music. His vocal credits can be found on the re ...

– backing vocals * "Chuck Martin" (Bill Scheniman) – dog bark

Production

* Nile Rodgers – producer for Chic Organization Ltd. * Bernard Edwards – producer for Chic Organization Ltd. * Bill Scheniman – sound engineer * Jason Corsaro – second engineer * H. R. Giger – cover concept and painting * Brian Aris – photography * Peter Wagg – art direction * Dennis King – mastering at Atlantic Studios * Recorded and mixed at The Power Station, NYC

Background

Promotion

Singles

Reception

Track listing

Personnel

Musicians

Production

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

Further reading