example of Europop. The single remained at the top
of theBillboardHot 100 chart for six weeks.
The diversity ofAutoamericanadded to Blondie’s
reputation as a trendsetter, and two of the album’s
songs proved to be chart toppers in the United
States. The reggae strains of “The Tide Is High” and
the rap coda to “Rapture” brought Blondie credit for
introducing new sounds to mainstream audiences.
AlthoughAutoamericansold well, internal disagree-
ments and individual interests in outside projects
damaged the group’s cohesiveness.
The release of Debbie Harry’s solo albumKoo Koo
(1981) may have compounded the problem. An ear-
lier advertising campaign claiming “Blondie is a
group” had failed to persuade the public that the
band was more than a backup for the blond vocalist,
and the confusion worsened as the vocalist’s reputa-
tion grew. Further complications emerged, as Clem
Burke worked as a producer for another group and
Jimmy Destri prepared to record his own solo al-
bum. With some reluctance on the part of Harry, the
group recordedThe Hunterin 1982, a musical failure
that ended the 1980’s career of Blondie as a group.
The sextet disbanded when Chris Stein became ill
with a genetic skin disease, and Harry, who had long
been romantically involved with Stein, suspended
her career to nurse him back to health.
Impact Although Blondie’s importance in the mu-
sic world faded as the decade progressed, several of
the group’s hit singles became classics. A music
video of “Rapture” appeared on MTV soon after the
network began broadcasting in 1981, and Debbie
Harry’s edgy, platinum-blond sexuality influenced
many other female lead singers of the times.
Further Reading
Harry, Debbie, Chris Stein, and Victor Bockris. “Koo
Koo.” InMaking Tracks: The Rise of Blondie.New
York: Da Capo Press, 1998.
Rock, Mick.Picture This.London: Sanctuary, 2004.
Margaret A. Koger
See also Hip-hop and rap; Madonna; MTV; Music;
Music videos; New Wave music; Pop music; Synthe-
sizers; Women in rock music.
Bloom County
Identification Daily newspaper comic strip
Writer Berkeley Breathed (1957- )
Date Initially published between 1980 and 1989
Bloom Countysatirized all aspects of American society of
the 1980’s, particularly politics and popular culture.
Running from December of 1980 to August of 1989,
the dailyBloom Countycomic strip, written and drawn
by Berkeley Breathed, satirized American society of
the 1980’s. Many likened the comic to Walt Kelly’s
Pogoand Gary Trudeau’sDoonesbur y. Breathed’s po-
litical slant was decidedly liberal, but his humor was
also directed toward everyday things in society, such
as advertising, dating, and gender stereotyping.
The strip’s cast featured a mixture of adult hu-
mans, precocious children, and talking animals.
The mythical Bloom County was somewhere in the
American Midwest. The strip and its cast evolved and
changed over the decade. Originally, young radical
Milo Bloom lived with his more reactionary grand-
father, the Major. Eventually, the grandfather van-
ished from the strip, and other characters such as
Opus the Penguin rose to prominence. Originally
the pet of another lead character, Michael Binkley,
Opus became the most famous of the strip’s charac-
ters. Thanks to merchandising, stuffed Opus dolls
were easily found in gift shops throughout the 1980’s.
Bill the Cat, a deliberate parody of the comic-strip
cat Garfield, was also a featured character in several
major story lines. He dated U.S. ambassador to the
United Nations Jeane Kirkpatrick, was lead singer
for a heavy metal band, joined a cult, and had his
brain replaced with Donald Trump’s. Bill’s experi-
ences parodied many high-profile news events and
personalities of the decade.
In 1984 and 1988, the strip convened the Meadow
Party which nominated Bill the Cat for president
and Opus for vice president. Breathed satirized both
the political posturing of elections and the nominat-
ing process of political conventions.
Besides political figures,Bloom Countyran story
lines on several controversial issues of the decade. In
one story line, Opus learned his mother was being
held in a cosmetics lab. Opus encountered several
animals used for testing, and the cartoons were fairly
graphic in detail. However, Opus found himself
stuck between the radical animal-rights rescuers and
the Mary Kay Commandos, who wielded pink Uzis.The Eighties in America Bloom County 119