# Rockbird

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1986 studio album by Debbie Harry

Rockbird Studio album by Debbie Harry Released November 15, 1986 Recorded 1986 Studio Mayfair, New York City Unique, New York City Electric Lady, New York City Sorcerer Sound, New York City Power Station, New York City A&R, New York City Mission Control, Boston Genre Rock new wave Length 39:18 Label Geffen Producer Seth Justman Debbie Harry chronology KooKoo (1981) Rockbird (1986) Once More into the Bleach (1988) Singles from Rockbird "French Kissin' in the USA" Released: November 1986 "Free to Fall" Released: February 1987 [1] "In Love with Love" Released: April 1987 [2]

Professional ratings Review scores Source Rating AllMusic [3] Robert Christgau B[4] The Encyclopedia of Popular Music [5] MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide [6] The New Rolling Stone Album Guide [7] Smash Hits [8] Sounds [9]

***Rockbird*** is the second solo studio album by American singer [Debbie Harry](/source/Debbie_Harry).[10] It was released in November 1986 by [Geffen Records](/source/Geffen_Records) in the United States and [Chrysalis Records](/source/Chrysalis_Records) in the United Kingdom.

## Background

*Rockbird* was released four years after the split of [Blondie](/source/Blondie_(band)) in 1982. Harry had largely put her music career on hold during the mid-1980s in order to look after Blondie guitarist and boyfriend [Chris Stein](/source/Chris_Stein), who had been diagnosed with a serious illness. The album was produced by [Seth Justman](/source/Seth_Justman), a key member of [the J. Geils Band](/source/The_J._Geils_Band). Released in November 1986, there were four variations of the album artwork with the lettering in either green, orange, pink and yellow (with slight variations due to printing techniques).

A stylized version of the album's cover photo appears on the cover of select editions of the book *[1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die](/source/1001_Albums_You_Must_Hear_Before_You_Die)*.

## Critical reception

*[Trouser Press](/source/Trouser_Press)* wrote that the album "paves a pop path Harry can navigate, but the material is weak."[11] The *[Los Angeles Times](/source/Los_Angeles_Times)* wrote that "the songs--which tend to be about ne’er-do-well boyfriends and romantic escapades--are tethered to jacked-up rhythms that don’t go down so well on the dance floor."[12] Chris Heath of *[Smash Hits](/source/Smash_Hits)* magazine was more positive, giving the album 7 out of 10 and stating "Nothing else is quite as brilliant as the current single "French Kissin' In The USA", but there's plenty of the aggressive sprightly pop songs that Blondie used to do so well, the odd slightly swoonsome ballad, and a couple of throwaway disco songs. How very nice it is to have her back".[13]

## Commercial performance

*Rockbird* peaked at number 31 on the [UK Albums Chart](/source/UK_Albums_Chart), and remained in the charts for 11 weeks. It was certified gold by the [British Phonographic Industry](/source/British_Phonographic_Industry) (BPI) in January 1987 for shipments in excess of 100,000 copies. In the United States, the album peaked at number 97 on the [*Billboard* 200](/source/Billboard_200).

Three singles were released from the album, "[French Kissin' in the USA](/source/French_Kissin_(song))", which reached #8 in the UK, and is Harry's only solo top-10 single in that country, as well as "[In Love with Love](/source/In_Love_with_Love)" and "[Free to Fall](/source/Free_to_Fall)", which reached #45 and #46, respectively. "French Kissin'" also reached #57 on the US [*Billboard* Hot 100](/source/Billboard_Hot_100), and #3 in Australia. "In Love with Love" was remixed by [Stock Aitken Waterman](/source/Stock_Aitken_Waterman) and reached #1 on the *Billboard* [Hot Dance Club Play](/source/Hot_Dance_Club_Play) chart.

## Track listing

All tracks produced by Seth Justman. Side A runs from tracks 1–4 and side B from tracks 5–9 in cassette and vinyl versions.

CD track listing No. Title Writer(s) Length 1. "I Want You" Deborah Harry, Toni C. 4:28 2. "French Kissin' in the USA" Chuck Lorre 5:14 3. "Buckle Up" Harry, Seth Justman 3:46 4. "In Love with Love" Harry, Chris Stein 4:34 5. "You Got Me in Trouble" Harry, Justman 4:18 6. "Free to Fall" Harry, Justman 5:31 7. "Rockbird" Harry, Stein 3:09 8. "Secret Life" Harry, Stein 3:46 9. "Beyond the Limit" Harry, Nile Rodgers 4:37

## Personnel

**Musicians**

- Deborah Harry – lead vocals, backing vocals (1, 3–9)

- [Seth Justman](/source/Seth_Justman) – keyboards, arrangements, bass and drum programming (1, 2, 4, 6–8), backing vocals (1, 3–9)

- Phil Ashley – synthesizer programming, keyboards (1, 2, 4–8), bass and drum programming (1, 2, 4, 6–8)

- [Jimmy Rip](/source/Jimmy_Rip) – guitars

- Toni C. (Antoinette Colandero) – additional guitars (1)

- [Chris Stein](/source/Chris_Stein) – additional guitars (4, 7, 8), bass and drum programming (4, 7, 8), additional arrangements (4, 7, 8)

- [Neil Jason](/source/Neil_Jason) – bass (3, 5, 6, 9)

- [Yogi Horton](/source/Yogi_Horton) – drums (3, 6, 9)

- [Mickey Curry](/source/Mickey_Curry) – drums (5)

- Gordon Gottlieb – percussion (2–4, 8, 9)

- [Magic Dick](/source/Magic_Dick) – [harmonica](/source/Harmonica) (1)

- [James White](/source/James_Chance) – saxophone solo (1)

- Crispin Cioe – alto sax solo (2), alto saxophone (3, 5, 9), baritone saxophone (3, 5, 9)

- Arno Hecht – tenor saxophone (3, 5, 9)

- Bob Funk – trombone (3, 5, 9)

- Paul Litteral – trumpet (3, 5, 9)

- [Jocelyn Brown](/source/Jocelyn_Brown) – backing vocals (1, 2, 5, 6)

- Connie Harvey – backing vocals (1, 2, 5, 6)

- La-Rita Gaskins – backing vocals (1, 2, 5, 6)

- Fonda Rae – backing vocals (3)

- Judith Spears – backing vocals (3)

- Cookie Watkins – backing vocals (3)

- Jay Siegel – backing vocals (4)

**Production and artwork**

- Seth Justman – producer

- Bill Scheniman – recording, mixing

- John Alters – assistant engineer

- David Avidor – assistant engineer

- Ken Collins – assistant engineer

- Jon Goldberger – assistant engineer

- Jack Kennedy – assistant engineer

- Michael O'Haro – assistant engineer

- Rick Slater – assistant engineer

- Ken Steiger – assistant engineer

- Kent Wagner – assistant engineer

- [Greg Calbi](/source/Greg_Calbi) – mastering

- Kyle Davis – production coordinator

- [Stephen Sprouse](/source/Stephen_Sprouse) – cover design

- [Andy Warhol](/source/Andy_Warhol) – background painting

- Paula Greif – art direction

- Guzman (Constance Hansen and Russell Peacock) – photography

- Mixed at Counterpoint Studios (New York, NY).

- Mastered at Sterling Sound (New York, NY).

## Charts

Chart (1986–1987) Peak position Australian (Kent Music Report)[14] 18 European Albums (Music & Media)[15] 78 Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[16] 40 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[17] 22 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[18] 30 UK Albums (OCC)[19] 31 US Billboard 200[20] 97

## Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales United Kingdom (BPI)[21] Gold 100,000^ ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Smith, Robin (February 14, 1987). "Index". *[Record Mirror](/source/Record_Mirror)*. p. 3. [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0144-5804](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0144-5804).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["Debbie Harry singles"](https://dutchcharts.nl/showitem.asp?interpret=Debbie+Harry&titel=In+Love+With+Love&cat=s).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Ruhlmann, William. [Rockbird](https://www.allmusic.com/album/r9014) at [AllMusic](/source/AllMusic_(identifier))

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["Robert Christgau: CG: Artist 332"](https://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist2.php?id=332). *www.robertchristgau.com*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-CL_5-0)** Larkin, Colin (2006). *The Encyclopedia of Popular Music*. Vol. 4. MUZE. p. 161.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** *MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide*. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 122.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** *The New Rolling Stone Album Guide*. Simon & Schuster. 2004. p. 368.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** "Heath, Chris (November 19, 1986). "Album Reviews". *Smash Hits*. **8** (24). EMAP Metro: 92.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** Murphy, Kevin (November 22, 1986). "Albums: Feather Wait". *[Sounds](/source/Sounds_(magazine))*. p. 25. [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0144-5774](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0144-5774).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** Harrington, Richard (November 30, 1986). ["Debbie Harry, On Beyond Blondie"](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/style/1986/11/30/debbie-harry-on-beyond-blondie/2e0a64be-7de6-4ad6-a982-654bf2311752/) – via www.washingtonpost.com.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-TP_11-0)** ["Debbie Harry"](https://trouserpress.com/reviews/debbie-harry/). *Trouser Press*. Retrieved October 12, 2020.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** ["FALL ALBUM ROUNDUP : DEBBIE HARRY: CANDY-BOX POP"](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-11-23-ca-12208-story.html). *Los Angeles Times*. November 23, 1986.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** Heath, Chris (November 19, 1986). ["Debbie Harry: Rockbird (album review)"](https://archive.org/details/smash-hits-19-november-2-december-1986/page/n93/mode/2up?view=theater). *Smash Hits*. p. 92.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-14)** [Kent, David](/source/David_Kent_(historian)) (1993). *Australian Chart Book 1970–1992* (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 134. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-646-11917-6](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-646-11917-6).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-15)** ["European Hot 100 Albums"](https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-and-Media/80s/1986/M&M-1986-12-13.pdf) (PDF). *[Music & Media](/source/Music_%26_Media)*. Vol. 3, no. 49. December 13, 1986. p. 21. [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [29800226](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/29800226) – via World Radio History.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-16)** Pennanen, Timo (2006). *Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972* (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: [Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava](/source/Otava_(publisher)). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-951-1-21053-5](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-951-1-21053-5).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-ac_New_Zealand_Debbie_Harry_17-0)** "[Charts.nz – Debbie Harry – Rockbird](https://charts.nz/showitem.asp?interpret=Debbie+Harry&titel=Rockbird&cat=a)". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 25, 2020.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-ac_Sweden_Debbie_Harry_18-0)** "[Swedishcharts.com – Debbie Harry – Rockbird](https://swedishcharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Debbie+Harry&titel=Rockbird&cat=a)". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 25, 2020.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-ac_UK2_19-0)** "[Official Albums Chart on 23/11/1986 – Top 100](https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/albums-chart/19861123/7502/)". [Official Charts Company](/source/Official_Charts_Company). Retrieved December 24, 2020.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-ac_Billboard200_Debbie_Harry_20-0)** "[Debbie Harry Chart History (*Billboard* 200)](https://www.billboard.com/artist/Debbie-Harry/chart-history/TLP)". *[Billboard](/source/Billboard_(magazine))*. Retrieved December 24, 2020.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-United_KingdomDebbie_HarryRockbirdalbumCertRef_21-0)** ["British album certifications – Debbie Harry – Rockbird"](https://www.bpi.co.uk/page/certified-awards). [British Phonographic Industry](/source/British_Phonographic_Industry). January 12, 1987. Retrieved December 24, 2020. *Select*albums*in the Formats field.* *Type*Rockbird Debbie Harry*in the "Search:" field.*

## External links

- *[Rockbird](https://www.discogs.com/master/102547)* at [Discogs](/source/Discogs) (list of releases)

v t e Debbie Harry Discography Filmography Studio albums KooKoo (1981) Rockbird (1986) Def, Dumb & Blonde (1989) Debravation (1993) Necessary Evil (2007) Compilations Once More into the Bleach (1988) The Complete Picture: The Very Best of Deborah Harry and Blondie (1991) Deborah Harry Collection (1998) Most of All: The Best of Deborah Harry (1999) Singles "Backfired" "The Jam Was Moving" "Chrome" "Rush Rush" "Feel the Spin" "French Kissin" "In Love with Love" "Free to Fall" "Liar, Liar" "I Want That Man" "Kiss It Better" "Brite Side" "Sweet and Low" "Maybe for Sure" "I Can See Clearly" "Strike Me Pink" "New York, New York" "Two Times Blue" "Immortal Queen (Remix)" Related articles Blondie The Wind in the Willows The Jazz Passengers Chris Stein

Authority control databases MusicBrainz release group

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Rockbird](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockbird) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockbird?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.