Rip Her to Shreds: the 1976 song

Rip Her to Shreds is a song by the New York band Blondie, written by Debbie Harry and Chris Stein. It appeared in December 1976 on the band’s first album, Blondie, released by the small label Private Stock and produced by Richard Gottehrer. In Britain, Chrysalis put it out as a single in late 1977. It was not a hit, but it has remained one of the best known songs of Blondie’s early years, because it captures the sound and the attitude of the band before the big success: punk tempo, a cheap organ, a melody from the sixties and a singer who clearly enjoys playing a nasty character.

The song in short

Rip Her to Shreds is about gossip. The narrator points out a woman to the listener and proceeds to take her apart: her looks, her clothes, her pretensions. The tone is the one you hear in a group of friends at a bar who have spotted someone they do not like. There is no story, no resolution and no moral. The song is a portrait in the style of a tabloid column, set to music.

What makes it work is that the joke cuts both ways. The target of the gossip is ridiculed, but so is the gossip herself. Debbie Harry sings the part with a mix of boredom and malice, and the listener is never quite sure whether to laugh with her or at her. That double edge, cool and ironic, is typical of what Blondie did with pop forms in their early years.

We do not reproduce any of the lyrics here. If you want to follow the words, listen to the song or consult a licensed lyrics service.

How it was made

Blondie had grown up as part of the scene at CBGB, playing alongside Television, the Ramones and Talking Heads from 1974. By 1976 the line up was Debbie Harry on vocals, Chris Stein on guitar, Clem Burke on drums, Jimmy Destri on keyboards and Gary Valentine on bass. The band signed with Private Stock and recorded its debut album with Richard Gottehrer.

Gottehrer was a good match. In the sixties he had co-written the girl group hit My Boyfriend’s Back for The Angels and had co-founded Sire Records with Seymour Stein. He understood exactly the tradition Blondie were playing with: the Shangri-Las, the Ronettes and the other girl groups whose records mixed teenage drama with big, simple hooks. The album is full of that sound, from X Offender to In the Flesh, and Rip Her to Shreds is its most sarcastic example.

How it sounds

The arrangement is lean. Jimmy Destri’s organ gives the song its sixties colour, Clem Burke drives it with a steady, punchy beat, and Chris Stein’s guitar stays in the background with short, chopped chords. Harry’s vocal sits on top with the delivery of an actress playing a part. The production is dry and direct, close to how the band sounded live.

Compared with the Ramones’ records from the same year the song is slower and more playful. Compared with the soft rock on the radio in 1976 it is short, cheap sounding and rude. That middle position between punk and pop is exactly where Blondie would later find their mass audience with new wave.

Release and charts

The debut album appeared at the end of 1976. Private Stock released X Offender and In the Flesh as singles. In 1977 Chrysalis bought out Blondie’s contract, reissued the album and in November 1977 released Rip Her to Shreds as a single in Britain, with In the Flesh and X Offender on the other side. The single did not enter the British chart, and its only recorded chart placing was a low position in Australia, where it was also issued.

Blondie’s commercial breakthrough in Britain followed shortly afterwards. Denis, from the second album Plastic Letters, reached number two in early 1978, and with Parallel Lines and Heart of Glass the band became one of the biggest pop groups in the world.

Why the song still matters

Rip Her to Shreds is the moment where Blondie’s later strategy is already visible. The band took a pop form everyone knew, played it with punk energy and added irony. Later they would do the same with disco, reggae and rap. The song also shows the humour of the early New York punk scene, which is often forgotten behind the leather jackets: a small, close circle of people who watched each other, judged each other’s clothes and made songs out of it.

For many fans it remains a favourite because it is not a hit. It belongs to the period when Blondie were a club band on the Bowery, before the charts and the fame.

Why this magazine carries the name

This magazine is called Rip Her to Shreds after the song. We chose the title because it stands for what interests us about punk and new wave between 1974 and 1984: sharp, short, funny and unsentimental. We have no connection with Blondie, its members, its management or any record company. You will find more about our independence on our about page.

Where to go next

Read our full profile of Blondie for the band’s history from CBGB to the charts, and our article on Heart of Glass for the song that made them world famous. For more songs of the period, see our selection of the best new wave songs.