It is a major bummer that drummer Clem Burke passed away two days ago.
He was the third longest member of Blondie - with only Debbie Harry and Chris Stein being in the band longer - since mid-'74.
If you only listen to one Blondie song to understand his talent, let it be "Dreaming". While is drum track was more of an overplayed one, it was a test track and wasn't meant to be the final part of the song - but I'd argue it IS the song.
His best work might be on the album Eat to the Beat. I mean, he holds down the fort for the band with his rhythm track throughout their history, but he was a force when they'd let him shine. With the mix on this album, he shines on almost every single track.
For a while there was lot of downtime between Blondie albums, so he made appearances with the Eurythmics, Joan Jett, Iggy Pop (along with many others) and was a member of other bands.
Burke is (well, was) only eight years older than I. I have had every Blondie disk since 1976, so for me, he's been around since I was 13! It just seems odd.
Not for nothing, but the last three Blondie disks could have been one really good one if they cherry picked the best from those. Allegedly they were recording a new disk. Stein has been out of commission for the last few tours and now with Burke gone, that might just leave Harry and a bunch of no names. Maybe it is just time to retire the band name and live off the past glories.
I was lucky enough to see Burke (and Blondie) live only once - during the No Exit tour. Even Jimmy Destri was still part of the band then. It was great.
Burke was a talent for sure. Under recognized at that. I'm sorry to see him pass.
Song by: Blondie
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