Maria (Blondie song)

"Maria"
Song

"Maria" is a song by the American band Blondie, taken from their 1999 album No Exit. This song was Blondie's comeback single, their first since "War Child" in July 1982. In the UK, it was the band's sixth no. 1 single, topping the charts exactly 20 years after their first UK number one "Heart of Glass" in the spring of 1979. The song was written by the band's keyboardist Jimmy Destri, who had also penned some of their earlier hits such as "Atomic". In the US, the single reached number 14 on the Adult Top 40 listing, although it stalled at a disappointing #82 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

In the UK the single was released as a two CD set, the first containing remixes of "Maria", and the second containing live versions of "Screaming Skin" (a track from their "No Exit" album) and their very first hit single "In the Flesh".

The line "...like a millionaire/walking on imported air" was used in a previous Blondie song, "Walk Like Me" (also written by Destri), from the album Autoamerican (1980).

Release history

All tracks written by Jimmy Destri unless otherwise noted.

UK CD 1

1. "Maria" (Radio Edit) – 4:10
2. "Maria" (Soul Solution Remix Radio Edit) – 4:1'
3. "Maria" (Talvin Singh Remix Edit) – 4:39

UK CD 2

1. "Maria" (Radio Edit) – 4:10
2. "Screaming Skin" (Live) (Ashby, Foxx, Harry, Stein)
3. "In the Flesh" (Harry, Stein) (Live)

UK CD 3 (promo only)

1. "Maria" (Radio Edit) – 4:10
2. "Maria" (Talvin Singh Rhythmic Remix) – 7:26

UK Cassette

1. "Maria" (Radio Edit) – 4:10
2. "Maria" (Soul Solution Remix Radio Edit) – 4:10

US CD

1. "Maria" (Soul Solution Full Remix) – 9:27
2. "Maria" (Talvin Singh Remix) – 7:27
3. "Maria" (Talvin Singh Rhythmic Remix Edit) – 4:39
4. "Maria" (Album Version) – 4:51

US 12" 1

1. "Maria" (Soul Solution Full Remix) – 9:27
2. "Maria" (Soul Solution Bonus Beats)
3. "Maria (Talvin Singh Remix) – 7:27
4. "Maria" (Talvin Singh Rhythmic Remix Edit) – 4:39
5. "Maria" (Album Version) – 4:51

US 12" 2

1. "Maria" (Ether Dub)
2. "Maria" (White Trash Dub)

Mexico CD (promo only)

1. "Maria" (Radio Edit) – 4:10
2. "Maria" (Album Version) – 4:51
3. "Maria" (Soul Solution Radio Edit) – 4:10

Thailand CD (promo only)

1. "Maria" (Radio Edit) – 4:10
2. "Maria" (Talvin Singh Rhythmic Remix) – 7:26
3. "Maria" (Soul Solution Remix Radio Edit) – 4:10
4. "Maria" (Album Version) – 4:51
5. Radio Sampler of album "Best Music From Blah Blah Blah" – 7:03

The music video for the song was directed by an 'Alan Smithee'

Cover versions and appearances in other media

• Blondie's recording was featured in the film 200 Cigarettes (1999)
• Kim Ah-joong covered the song in the South Korean film 200 Pounds Beauty, with unrelated lyrics in Korean. Japanese entertainer Rinka also covered the song in Japanese for the film's release in Japan.
• Loveholic, a Korean band, covered the song with the original English lyrics.
• Colbie Caillat, an American pop singer-songwriter and guitarist, covered the song with the original lyrics for Levi's Pioneer Sessions. (Dead link June 21, 2012)
• Eurodance versions of the song have appeared on the Dancemania series albums, including Dancemania Speed 5 released in 2000.
• Alpha Blondy covered the song.
• A cover version of the song was featured in a TV advertisement for the Bingo site "Maria.com".

External links

• Template:MetroLyrics song