comments
quoted from the "Platinum Collection" booklet - 1994
Jimmy Destri: "The Tide Is High" started out as a demo at the Hit Factory about a year before the actual recording. It's this old John Holt song originally recorded by The Paragons. This crazy violin line was on the demo. Walter Steding, a painter and a one man band, played violin through all these wacky effects.
Clem Burke: I recall it the "kitchen sink song" because it has everything. It had mariachi horns, three or four percussionists, strings and the band. In retrospect, "Autoamerican" is my favorite Blondie album.
Jimmy Destri: Chapman put in the mariachi horns. Chris came up with the idea of putting orchestration on the track.
source: wikipedia.org
"The Tide Is High" is a 1967 song written by John Holt and performed by The Paragons with John Holt as lead singer."
