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Blondie’s new wave rocker “One Way or Another” is this week’s Song of the Week. “One Way or Another” appeared on Blondie’s third and most well known album, “Parallel Lines”, alongside classic songs such as “Hanging on the Telephone”, “Sunday Girl” and “Heart of Glass.”

By the time “One Way or Another” was released on single in mid-1979, the band were a lot more successful than when they had recorded it the previous summer. “Parallel Lines”, released in September 1978, was a worldwide hit, and the single “Heart of Glass” reached the top spot in a number of countries, including the UK, the US, Australia and Canada. Blondie had been playing “Heart of Glass” in different form for several years and it was originally recorded as a blues/reggae song called “Once I Had a Love.” The huge success of the new recording owed a lot to the band’s decision to give the song a disco twist

Blondie repeated the number one success with the single “Sunday Girl” in the UK, but it was the more edgy “One Way or Another” that was selected to follow-up “Heart of Glass” in the US. This was perhaps not the best commercial decision, as it did not emulate the number one success of “Heart of Glass”, but it was probably more in touch with their punk/new wave roots and inevitably more to the liking of some critics who felt the band had sold out with “Heart of Glass.” Personally, I think such individuals were in danger of taking the band and themselves too seriously.

“One Way or Another” has a great guitar riff, an infectious rock ‘n’ roll beat and a very cool vocal from Debbie Harry. The lyric seems to deal with obsessive/unrequited love and Harry sings from the point of view of both the stalker (“One way or another I’m gonna find ya/I’m gonna getcha getcha getcha getcha”) and the object of his/her affection (“One way or another I’m gonna lose ya/I’m gonna give you the slip”).

The song was a real highlight of “Parallel Lines” and it continues to attract the appreciation of new audiences.

Authorship

“One Way or Another” was written by Debbie Harry and Blondie’s bassist Nigel Harrison.

Recording date/location

“One Way or Another” was recorded in June/July 1978 at Record Plant Studios, 321 West 44th Street, New York City.

Previous classic albums recorded there included Jimi Hendrix’s “Electric Ladyland”, John Lennon’s “Imagine”, Bruce Springsteen’s “Born to Run” and “Darkness on the Edge of Town”, Stevie Wonder’s “Songs in the Key of Life” and Fleetwood Mac’s “Rumours.” John Lennon was recording at the studio the day he was shot on December 8, 1980.

Musicians

The following musicians appear on “One Way or Another”:

• Debbie Harry – vocals
• Chris Stein – guitar, 12-string guitar, E-bow
• Frank Infante – guitar, co-lead vocals on I Know But I Don’t Know
• Jimmy Destri – keyboards
• Nigel Harrison – bass guitar
• Clem Burke – drums.

Chart performance

“One Way or Another” peaked at number 24 on the Billboard Hot 100 and reached number 14 in Canada. It was not released on single elsewhere.

“Parallel Lines” hit number six in the US and number one in the UK. It was also a top five hit in Australia and the Netherlands. “Parallel Lines” has sold approximately 20 million copies worldwide.

Covers

Noteworthy covers of “One Way or Another” are hard to come by. Here’s a couple of fairly recent efforts.

Sophie Ellis Bexter – “One Way or Another

Noteworthy covers of “One Way or Another” are hard to come by. Blondie fan Sophie Ellis Bextor covered the song for the soundtrack of the 2002 movie “The Guru” which starred Jimi Mistry, Heather Graham and Marisa Tomei. It’s ok, but Sophie’s cover of “Denis” is a notch above this.

There will be a new Song of the Week on December 6.

“One Way or Another” is available on the 30th anniversary deluxe edition of “Parallel Lines”, which includes bonus tracks and video promos.

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