Rapture (Blondie song)

"Rapture"
Song

"Rapture" is a single by the American new wave band Blondie. It was released in January 1981 and became one of the first substantial hit singles to involve rap music, and the first rap-influenced single to reach number one on the US Billboard Chart. It was the second and final song to be released from the band's 1980 album Autoamerican, the first being "The Tide Is High", which had topped the chart in the US and UK. "Rapture" went on to reach number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, number one on the U.S. Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart, and number five in the UK singles chart. The B-side was "Walk Like Me", also from Autoamerican. The song was the first #1 hit in the U.S. to feature rapping.

It was Chic's track "Good Times" that inspired Debbie Harry and Chris Stein to write "Rapture".

History

Rapture is a combination of New Wave pop, funk, jazz and rap music, with the rap section forming an extended coda. While it was not the first single involving rap to be successful, it was the first to top the charts. The Sugarhill Gang's 1979 hit "Rapper's Delight", a straightforward rap track based on the backing track of Chic's "Good Times", reached #36 on the U.S. Hot 100 chart and was certified Gold. Kurtis Blow's "The Breaks" was released in 1980, and became the second rap single to be certified Gold. The lyrics of "Rapture" included references to hip-hop pioneers Fab Five Freddy and Grandmaster Flash.

Music video

Debuting in 1981, the music video was the first rap video ever broadcast on MTV. Set in the Upper East Side, the "Man from Mars" or "voodoo god" (dancer William Barnes in the white suit and top hat) is the introductory and central figure. Barnes also choreographed the piece. The final shot is a one-take scene of Debbie Harry dancing along the street, passing by graffiti artists, Uncle Sam, a Native American and a goat. Fab Five Freddy and graffiti artists Lee Quinones and Jean-Michel Basquiat make cameo appearances. Basquiat was hired when Grandmaster Flash did not show for the filming.

Versions

The versions appearing on the U.S. and UK 7" and 12" singles were quite different. The US 7" single, also issued with a different cover picture, used the regular Autoamerican album version, the US 12" single a version with an additional verse partly in French, making it just 40 seconds longer. For the UK and international single releases, producer Mike Chapman remixed the track completely. The Special Disco Mix has a different intro and it was also given a longer instrumental break with new percussion overdubbed, making it ten minutes long. The UK 7" version (4:59) was an edit of this Special Disco Mix, and a slightly different edit (5:33) appeared on the band's first 'greatest hits' compilation The Best of Blondie in 1981. The track "Live It Up" was also extended and remixed for the B-side of the international 12" single, the 8 minute version was included on the deleted 1994 UK CD edition of Autoamerican but was re-issued as part of EMI's lavish 14 disc Singles Box in 2004.

The picture of Debbie Harry used for the UK/international editions of the original 7" and 12" "Rapture" singles was later used for the cover of 1995 compilation Beautiful - The Remix Album.

Remixes

Another official remix of "Rapture" can be found on the 1988 compilation Once More into the Bleach. The track was remixed again and re-issued as a single in both the UK and the US in 1994 and included on compilations The Platinum Collection, Beautiful - The Remix Album and Remixed Remade Remodeled - The Remix Project.

Covers

Grandmaster Flash scratch mixed "Rapture" on his single "The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel". In 1996 Foxy Brown (featuring Jay-Z) used the song as the base for her hit, "I'll Be". It was also sampled by Won-G for his single "Caught up in the Rapture", and was interpolated by rapper KRS-One on his 1997 single "Step into a World (Rapture's Delight)". In 2000 it was sampled once more by Glamma Kid on his single "Bills 2 Pay". In that same year Destiny's Child sampled it on their single "Independent Women Part I". The song was also sampled by The Jungle Brothers in the song "In Days 2 Come" from the album "Done by the Forces of Nature". Elements of "Rapture" were recreated for the Joe Pesci song "Wise Guy", in which he raps in-character as Vincent LaGuardia Gambini from the film My Cousin Vinny.

English synthpop duo Erasure covered "Rapture" on the US version of their 1997 album Cowboy, with Vince Clarke providing the rap.

In 2004 at VH1's annual Diva's Live concert, Debbie Harry performed "Rapture" with rapper Eve who performed her own original rap.

At the 2003 Brit Awards Justin Timberlake performed part of the song with Kylie Minogue singing the rap, as the finale of a medley including his hit songs Cry Me a River and Like I Love You. During their raunchy routine Timberlake infamously touched Minogue’s behind. The performance reportedly caused a dispute between Minogue and her then-boyfriend, model James Gooding. The much-publicised bottom grope was later revealed to be a part of the sequence’s planned choreography.

In 2005 "Rapture" was fused with The Doors' "Riders on the Storm" into "Rapture Riders" by Go Home Productions. This unofficial mashup remix was later approved to be included on Blondie's Greatest Hits: Sight + Sound/Greatest Hits: Sound & Vision. The song was a Top 40 hit in Australia and made the top ten on the U.S. Hot Dance Club Play chart.

Chilean musician Nicole also did a cover of this song in 2006, included on her album APT. Dub Pistols covered the song for their 2007 album Speakers and Tweeters, featuring Terry Hall from The Specials at the vocals.

Track listing

US 7" (CHS 2485, January 1981)

1. "Rapture" (Album version) (Deborah Harry, Chris Stein) - 6:33
2. "Walk Like Me" (Jimmy Destri) - 3:45

US 12" (12 CHS 2485, January 1981)

1. "Rapture" (US 12" Mix) (Harry, Stein) - 7:13
2. "Walk Like Me" (Destri) - 3:45

UK 7" (CHS 2485, January 1981)

1. "Rapture" (UK 7" Mix) (Harry, Stein) - 4:59
2. "Walk Like Me" (Destri) - 3:45

UK 12" (CHS 12 2485, January 1981)

1. "Rapture" (Special Disco Mix) (Harry, Stein) - 10:01
2. "Live It Up" (Stein) (Special Disco Mix) - 8:14

Chart positions

Chart (1981)	Peak Position
US	1
USA Dance	1
Ireland	4
UK	5
Australia	4
Sweden	13
Netherlands	20
New Zealand	4
Germany	40

See also

• Hot 100 number-one hits of 1981 (United States)

External links

• Rapture on YouTube - MTV-style video
• Rapture Songfacts entry