''KooKoo'' is the debut solo album by American singer Debbie Harry, released on July 27, 1981, by Chrysalis Records. Produced by Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards of

Chic Chic (; ), meaning "stylish" or "smart", is an element of fashion. It was originally a French word. Pronounced Chick. Etymology '' Chic'' is a French word, established in English since at least the 1870s. Early references in English diction ...

, the album was recorded whilst Harry took a break from her band Blondie. It was a moderate commercial success, reaching number 25 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 and number six on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...

Background

''KooKoo'' was recorded while Harry and boyfriend Chris Stein were taking a break from the band Blondie. The album was produced by Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards of the R&B band

, who had just had major success working with Diana Ross on her 1980 album '' Diana''. Harry and Stein first met the pair at the

Power Station recording studio Power Station at BerkleeNYC, formerly known as Avatar Studios (1996–2017) and Power Station, is a recording studio at 441 West 53rd Street between Ninth and Tenth avenues in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood in Manhattan, New York City. The b ...

in New York while Blondie were recording their 1979 album ''

Eat to the Beat ''Eat to the Beat'' is the fourth studio album by American rock band Blondie, released on September 28, 1979, by Chrysalis Records. The album was certified Platinum in the United States, where it spent a year on the ''Billboard'' 200. Peakin ...

'', and they remained good friends in the intervening years. ''KooKoo'' was one of three albums to be (co)written and produced by Rodgers and Edwards in 1981, the other two being

's fifth album '' Take It Off'' and Johnny Mathis' ''

I Love My Lady ''I Love My Lady'' is an album by American pop singer Johnny Mathis that was completed in 1981 but not released in its entirety until December 8, 2017, when it was included in the box set '' The Voice of Romance: The Columbia Original Album Collec ...

'', which remained unreleased until 2017. ''KooKoo'' showcased the early fusion of funk, rock and dance music that would become the trademark of Rodgers and Edwards, and this style would later be evident on albums such as

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

's '' Let's Dance'', Duran Duran's '' Notorious'', The Power Station's self-titled debut album, and Robert Palmer's ''

Riptide A rip tide, or riptide, is a strong offshore current that is caused by the tide pulling water through an inlet along a barrier beach, at a lagoon or inland marina where tide water flows steadily out to sea during ebb tide. It is a strong tidal fl ...

''. Backing vocals were provided by

Mark Mothersbaugh Mark Allen Mothersbaugh (; born May 18, 1950) is an American composer, singer, and multi-instrumentalist. He came to prominence in the late 1970s as co-founder, lead singer and keyboardist of the new wave band Devo, whose " Whip It" was a top 20 ...

and

Gerald Casale Gerald Vincent "Jerry" Casale ( ) ( ''né'' Pizzute; born July 28, 1948) is an American musician. He came to prominence in the late 1970s as co-founder, co-lead vocalist, and bass player of the new wave band Devo, which released a top 20 hit i ...

of Devo, credited as Spud and Pud Devo. ''KooKoo'' reached number six on the

and spent seven weeks on the chart, being certified silver by the

British Phonographic Industry British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is the British recorded music industry's Trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards, the Classic BRIT Awards, National Album Day, is home to the Mercury Prize, and co-owns the Official Charts Company with ...

(BPI) for shipments in excess of 60,000 copies. The album reached number 25 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), denoting shipments in excess of 500,000 copies. Originally only available on vinyl album and cassette, ''KooKoo'' was digitally remastered and re-issued on compact disc with two bonus tracks (the 12″ versions of "Backfired" and "The Jam Was Moving") by

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...

in the United Kingdom in 1994, and by

Razor & Tie Razor & Tie was an American entertainment company that consisted of a record label and a music publishing company. It was established in 1990 by Craig Balsam and Cliff Chenfeld. Based in New York City (with additional offices in Los Angeles an ...

in the United States in 1999, this time with just one bonus track. The album was reissued again in the US by Gold Legion.com in 2011 (the 30th anniversary of the album's release). This reissue includes three bonus tracks (both of the aforementioned 12″ versions, and also the rare extended mix of "Inner City Spillover") as well as extensive liner notes.

Promotion

The cover art for the album was created by Swiss artist

H.R. Giger Hans Ruedi Giger ( ; ; 5 February 1940 – 12 May 2014) was a Swiss artist best known for his airbrushed images that blended human physiques with machines, an art style known as " biomechanical". Giger later abandoned airbrush for pastels, mark ...

, known for his design work on the 1979 sci-fi/horror film '' Alien''. Based on a photograph of Harry taken by the renowned photographer Brian Aris, Giger created several variations of the cover (another of which is seen on the album's inner sleeve) in what Harry described as a combination of

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

acupuncture Acupuncture is a form of alternative medicine and a component of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in which thin needles are inserted into the body. Acupuncture is a pseudoscience; the theories and practices of TCM are not based on scientif ...

and

sci-fi Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel universe ...

. Harry stated that the album title came to her after she saw Giger's completed work, and although she had misgivings about the conceptual ideas behind the artwork (as she did not identify either the album or herself as "punk"), she was suitably impressed to use it anyway.Debbie Harry radio interview 1981
/ref> For the promotion of ''KooKoo'', Chrysalis Records planned to display large posters of the album cover in various stations of the

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The ...

. However, officials deemed the image of Harry with metal skewers going through her face and neck to be too disturbing. A television ad campaign went ahead, however. Promo videos were made for the tracks "Backfired" and "Now I Know You Know", both directed by Giger and filmed at his studio in Switzerland. "Backfired" featured a dark-haired Harry dancing superimposed over a backdrop of Giger's distinctive artwork, with Giger himself appearing in a semi-translucent face mask. "Now I Know You Know" featured Harry in a long black wig and a form-fitting bodysuit painted with Giger's unusual artwork, dancing around in a small set furnished with Giger's "bio-mechanical" design work.

Singles

Two singles were released from the album: "

Backfired "Backfired" is the debut solo single from American singer and Blondie vocalist Debbie Harry. Released in 1981, it was taken from her debut solo studio album, ''KooKoo''. Song information "Backfired" peaked at number 32 in the UK, and number 43 ...

", which peaked at number 24 in Australia, number 32 in the UK and number 43 in the US in August 1981, and "

The Jam Was Moving "The Jam Was Moving" is the second single from Debbie Harry's debut solo album, ''KooKoo''. It was released in 1981 with no video and little promotion after Harry's debut solo single, "Backfired", failed to become a big hit. Background The singl ...

", which reached number 82 in the US. A third single, " Chrome", was only released in some parts of Europe, but failed to chart. Another track, "Jump Jump", was only released as a single in Peru. "Chrome" served as the B-side to "The Jam was Moving", only being issued in Germany as a single and in the US as a promotional 12-inch single only.

Track listing

Side A: # "Jump Jump" (

Deborah Harry Deborah Ann Harry (born Angela Trimble; July 1, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter and actress, best known as the lead vocalist of the band Blondie. Four of her songs with the band reached on the US charts between 1979 and 1981. Born in ...

, Chris Stein) – 4:04 # "

" ( Bernard Edwards, Nile Rodgers) – 2:59 # " Chrome" (Deborah Harry, Chris Stein) – 4:17 # "Surrender" (Bernard Edwards, Nile Rodgers) – 3:37 # "Inner City Spillover" (Deborah Harry, Chris Stein) – 5:04 Side B: # "

" (Bernard Edwards, Nile Rodgers) – 4:54 # "Now I Know You Know" (Bernard Edwards, Nile Rodgers) – 5:39 # "Under Arrest" (Bernard Edwards, Deborah Harry, Nile Rodgers, Chris Stein) – 3:03 # "Military Rap" (Deborah Harry, Chris Stein) – 3:51 # "Oasis" (Bernard Edwards, Deborah Harry, Nile Rodgers, Chris Stein) – 4:59 Bonus Tracks CD Re-Issue UK 1994 * "Backfired" 12" Mix – 6:23 * "The Jam Was Moving" 12" Mix – 5:03 Bonus Track CD Re-Issue US 1999 * "Backfired" 12" Mix – 6:23 Bonus Tracks CD Re-Issue 2011 * "Backfired" 12" Mix – 6:23 * "The Jam Was Moving" 12" Mix – 5:03 * "Inner City Spillover" 12" Mix – 5:58

Personnel

* Debbie Harry –

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

* Nile Rodgers –

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

, vocals on "Backfired" * Bernard Edwards –

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

* Tony Thompson – drums * Robert Sabino – keyboards * Raymond Jones – keyboards * Nathaniel S. Hardy, Jr. – keyboards * Chris Stein – guitar * Vinnie Della Rocca –

horns Horns or The Horns may refer to: * Plural of Horn (instrument), a group of musical instruments all with a horn-shaped bells * The Horns (Colorado), a summit on Cheyenne Mountain * ''Horns'' (novel), a dark fantasy novel written in 2010 by Joe Hill ...

* Ray Maldonado – horns * Sammy Figueroa –

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...

* Manolo Badrena – percussion * Roger Squitero – percussion * Spud Devo –

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are ...

* Pud Devo – backing vocals * Gordon Grody – backing vocals *

Fonzi Thornton Alfonso "Fonzi" Thornton is a U.S. songwriter/producer and vocal contractor. In a career spanning 40 years, Thornton has sung backing vocals for top artists across many genres of music. His vocal credits can be found on the recordings of Are ...

– backing vocals * Chuck Martin – dog bark

Production

* Nile Rodgers – producer for Chic Organization Ltd. * Bernard Edwards – producer for Chic Organization Ltd. * Bill Scheniman –

sound engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproductio ...

* Jason Corsaro – second engineer *

H. R. Giger Hans Ruedi Giger ( ; ; 5 February 1940 – 12 May 2014) was a Swiss artist best known for his airbrushed images that blended human physiques with machines, an art style known as " biomechanical". Giger later abandoned airbrush for pastels, mark ...

– cover concept and painting * Brian Aris –

photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employe ...

* Peter Wagg – art direction * Dennis King – mastering at Atlantic Studios * Recorded and mixed at The Power Station, NYC

Background

Promotion

Singles

Track listing

Personnel

Production

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

Further reading