The news hit me hard and this was hard to write: Clem Burke, the drummer of Blondie, died at age 70 after a private battle with cancer. We’ve lost not just a drummer, but the beat of my youth. In the late ’70s and early ’80s, Blondie’s songs were the soundtrack of my coming-of-age. Today, I miss a the man who I never met and do my humble effort to add to the cacophony of appreciation for him.
The Heartbeat of Blondie and an Icon
Blondie themselves said it best in their tribute: “Clem was not just a drummer; he was the heartbeat of Blondie”. From the punk infused rumble of “One Way or Another” to the disco thump of “Heart of Glass,” Burke’s dynamic drumming shaped the very sound that defined an era. As Blondie’s statement movingly noted, his “talent, energy, and passion for music were unmatched, and his contributions to our sound and success are immeasurable”. On stage, Clem was a blur of motion. He powered Blondie’s rise with fearless energy and precision, helping fuse punk attitude with pop and new wave for an entire generation of fans.
He wasn’t the face of Blondie that Debbie Harry was, but he was its backbone. When I first heard the crackling snare and explosive rolls that open “Dreaming,” I didn’t know the drummer’s name, but I knew I was feeling something extraordinary.
Even as trends changed, Clem’s drumming remained a constant. His range allowed Blondie to seamlessly shift styles from the disco groove of “Heart of Glass” to the reggae flow of “The Tide Is High” without ever losing their edge.
Tributes from the Rock World Pour In
As word of Clem Burke’s passing spread, tributes from bandmates and rock icons flooded social media and continue to do so as I write this. This is a bittersweet testament to the respect and love he earned over decades.
Blondie’s surviving founders, Debbie Harry and Chris Stein, signed a heartfelt statement that called Clem “the heartbeat of Blondie” and praised his “vibrant spirit, infectious enthusiasm and rock solid work ethic”, noting that he touched everyone privileged to know him.
Joan Jett remembered Burke as an essential part of her early musical life. “So sad to hear of Clem’s passing. He was an awesome musician who was such a part of my early musical life. Rest in peace my friend,” Jett posted in tribute. Her words capture how integral Clem was to the whole punk/New Wave community. In those early days, everyone knew everyone, and Clem’s beat drove not just Blondie but an entire scene forward.
From the next generation of rockers came similar outpourings. Nick Rhodes of Duran Duran mourned Burke’s passing, calling him “one of a kind and one of the greatest drummers in one of the greatest bands of his generation”. Rhodes noted that “a drum roll rarely sounded better” than when Clem was behind the kit, praising his beats as “solid as a rock” and lauding the upbeat “positive energy” Clem carried with him . Tim Burgess of The Charlatans echoed that sentiment, calling Clem “the epitome of a super cool drummer – so influential and a lovely guy” .
Perhaps most poignantly for me was members of The Go-Go’s (a band directly inspired by Blondie’s trail) offered their memories. Kathy Valentine, the Go-Go’s bassist (and Clem’s former partner), wrote, “My best friend… My brother. My constant in all the variables of life. Clem will be a part of my life forever. I will never not miss you.” Her words of love and grief speak to a decades-long friendship beyond the stage. Go-Go’s lead singer Belinda Carlisle thanked Clem for how fun it was “to sing along to your genius beat”, adding “What a privilege to have known you… May you RIP #clemburke”.
In 2022, when Go-Go’s drummer Gina Schock had health issues, Clem stepped in as an honorary Go-Go, drumming for their tour and proving himself the ultimate friend and professional. Gina Schock herself said she was “gutted” by Burke’s passing, lamenting “It doesn’t feel real. Love that beautiful man. Oh, will he be missed.”
Even beyond the punk/New Wave sphere, artists paid respects. 60s icon Nancy Sinatra, who had enlisted Clem for her own band in recent years, praised his kindness and said “If I ever needed him, he was there. Always… Your life was beautiful, Clem… Your memory will live on in my heart and in the hearts of millions of fans around the world. Godspeed, dear friend” .
Punk rocker Mike Ness of Social Distortion recounted the honor of sharing a stage with Clem and credited Blondie’s individualism as a huge influence on him.
The chorus of tributes goes on and on. Each story paints the same picture: Clem Burke was universally beloved. Clem was a musician’s musician with a generous heart, and the rare rock star who stayed humble and true to his friends.
At a time when we’re losing so many of our music heroes, this outpouring for Clem feels especially heartfelt. It’s clear that Burke wasn’t just admired for his technical skill… he was cherished for his humanity. He was the connective tissue between eras and genres. I cannot think of any drummer who can claim such a wide-ranging legacy, and fewer still are remembered so fondly.
Rhythms That Shaped Punk and New Wave
Listening back now to those classic tracks, it’s easy to understand why Clem Burke commanded such respect. His drumming was showy when it needed to be ! Just listen to the machine-gun fills in “Detroit 442” or the turbo-charged pulse of “Hangin’ on the Telephone.” But he also knew when to hold back and lay down a groove that served the song.
Clem famously said that Blondie embracing disco with “Heart of Glass” was as punk as anything :“Dance was as subversive as punk to me. Us doing ‘Heart of Glass’ was our way of pissing off people in our own circles,” he quipped. That attitude sums up Clem’s ethos: no boundaries, just good music. In Blondie’s 1978-79 heyday, some punk purists sneered at the glossy pop sheen of “Heart of Glass.” But Clem pounded right through the naysayers with that steady four-on-the-floor beat, proving that punk energy could live inside a disco song and take it to #1. He was right! Dancing can be its own form of rebellion.
Burke’s style left a mark not just on Blondie’s identity, but on the wider evolution of rock. He bridged the gap between the raw power of punk and the catchy hooks of new wave, helping define what alternative rock would become in the ’80s. Music historian Tim Napalm Stegall wrote that Burke could play “exactly what each song required” – whether it was a Ramones-y blitz or a reggae shimmy – and then “let loose” with blistering fury when the time was right.
He had the stamina of an athlete (literally – a scientific study once showed that top rock drummers like Clem have physical endurance on par with elite soccer players). That endurance meant he could drum for hours, giving 110% every night on tour. But it wasn’t just about power; it was also about finesse. His famous drum break in “Rapture” is funky and restrained, while tracks like “Dreaming” and “11:59” showcase explosive creativity. This balance of discipline and wild abandon likely influenced countless young musicians.
For fans like me, Clem’s drumming imbued Blondie’s music with an exhilarating heartbeat. The snare hits in “One Way or Another” felt like a chase, perfectly matching Debbie Harry’s cat-and-mouse vocals. In fact, I can still picture a scene from my own life… or was it from a story I wrote… where “One Way or Another” plays softly on a boombox in a cramped apartment, its rhythm filling the room and stirring the air…
From Stage to Page: Blondie’s Inspiration in Hearts of Glass Living in the Real World
For me, Blondie’s influence ran so deep that it eventually leapt from the turntable into the written page. In my recent GenX coming-of-age novel, Hearts of Glass Living in the Real World, I paid homage to the band that shaped my youth… even embedding two Blondie song titles in the book’s name. One of the main characters, Cassie, is portrayed as a devoted Blondie fan, and through her, I tried to capture what that fandom felt like in the 1980s.
Cassie’s eyes “lit up as she described her love of Debbie Harry, Blondie, and the punk and post-punk aesthetic.” She admires Debbie’s fierce individuality and style, and she carries herself with the same kind of electric energy – the kind of energy Debbie had, and Clem’s rhythms helped ignite. In the book, Cassie playfully refers to herself as “Blondie Blonde” while working at the mall, proudly owning the nickname in her spiked leather bracelets and faded CBGB’s t-shirt.
Throughout Hearts of Glass Living in the Real World, Blondie’s music serves as a lifeline for Cassie. When she’s working up the courage to face hard truths, she’s often bolstered by the music in the background. At a pivotal moment, “One Way or Another” hums from a boombox in the corner, its pulsing rhythm echoing the determination in Cassie’s heart as she makes a tough decision.
In another chapter, Cassie dresses up in a white slip dress… the same look Debbie Harry donned on the Parallel Lines album cover… to reclaim her sense of self. These are deliberate nods I wove in to show how deeply Blondie’s art can influence a young person’s identity while in the midst of struggle. Clem Burke’s drumming is like a heartbeat coursing through the narrative. If there was mention of Cassie and a Blondie song in a chapter, the rhythm of my prose shifted. Every time Cassie finds strength, I imagined Clem’s drums and Debbie’s siren voice driving her forward, unseen but vital.
Writing that novel was, in many ways, my love letter to the music that saved me and a woman I loved a long time ago. And Clem’s beats were a huge part of that salvation. The title Hearts of Glass itself reflects how fragile young hearts can be, and yet how they survive and keep beating – much like the resilient rhythms Clem delivered song after song.
In a climatic scene as Cassie stands up for herself in the face of adversity, I visualized Clem’s snare hits like a rallying cry in the background, steady and unyielding. It felt right, then, and it resonates even more now as I reflect on Burke’s passing. In a way, Hearts of Glass Living in the Real World is populated by Clem’s spirit as much as it includes Debbie Harry’s feminist spirit and Chris Stein’s love of photography.
A Personal Goodbye
Today, as I write this tribute for GenXWatch, I do so with a heavy heart but a grateful one. Heavy, because it hurts to lose Clem Burke… a hero who was somehow both distant (a rock star on stage) and intimately present (coming through my speakers and headphones all those years). Grateful, because how lucky are we to have lived in the time of that music? How lucky to have memories tied to the crack of Clem’s snare and the splash of his cymbals, to have found confidence in ourselves while singing along to “Call Me” or jamming to “One Way or Another” in some friend’s basement. Our hearts were, and are, forever scored by those Blondie beats.
As we say goodbye to Clem, I’m reminded of one of Blondie’s songs: “Dreaming is free.” Clem Burke helped us dream of music without borders, of blending grit and glamour, of staying young at heart even as the world turns.
Clem Burke’s life was a rock ’n’ roll testament, not just in the music he made, but in the community he built and the influence he left. The millions of us who didn’t know him personally still felt that spirit through his songs. We feel it now, in this bittersweet moment of mourning and celebration.
Tonight, I’ll be pulling out my old Blondie vinyls (again). I’ll close my eyes and listen to Clem’s drumming on “Union City Blue” – that steady, passionate thunder that somehow always makes me feel hopeful. Our hearts of glass may be cracked with sorrow, but they’ll keep on beating thanks in no small part to the rhythmic gift Clem Burke gave us.
Rest easy, Clem. You were the heartbeat of Blondie, and your heartbeat lives on in all of us. Heart of glass, heart of gold… you left an indelible mark, and we will never forget the sound of you.
Get Your Copy of Hearts of Glass Living in the Real World!
Ford is a traumatized former child model. Cassie is the epitome of DIY punk with a life full of poverty and pain serving smoothies at the Orange Julius. Finally there is Jenny, a young preppy with talent and dreams held back by a society not designed for women like her.
As their lives intersect in the late 1980’s at the Fox Valley Mall in Aurora, Illinois, there will be love, confusion, and dangerous adversaries with wealth and power. Ford, Cassie and Jenny just have each other. Will it be enough? How do fragile hearts of glass survive in the real world?
Get the paperback version here!
or
Stay Totally Awesome!
Stay True to You!
Leave a Reply