Maria

"Maria" is a song by American rock band Blondie. The song was written by Blondie keyboardist Jimmy Destri and produced by Craig Leon. Taken from their seventh album, No Exit (1999), it was Blondie's first new release since 1982. "Maria", issued as a single in Europe on January 11, 1999, reached number one in the United Kingdom; Blondie's sixth UK chart-topper. The song also topped the charts of Greece and Spain, becoming a top-20 hit across Europe and in New Zealand. The song was included on the band's 2014 compilation album, Greatest Hits Deluxe Redux. The compilation was part of a two-disc set titled Blondie 4(0) Ever, which includes Ghosts of Download, their tenth studio album, and marked the 40th anniversary of the band's formation. Background and composition "Maria" was written by the band's keyboardist, Jimmy Destri, who had penned some of their earlier hits such as "Atomic". He wrote the song while reflecting on his days in Catholic school, when he fantasized about meeting the ideal girl. According to Destri, the track is about teenage desire. A line from the song: "...like a millionaire/walking on imported air", was used in the previous Blondie track "Walk Like Me" (also written by Destri) from the album Autoamerican (1980), and the track shares a similar lyrical motif with their 1977 single "Rip Her to Shreds". "Maria" is written and composed in the key of A major, with Harry's range in the song spanning from the low note of E3 to the high note of C5. Release "Maria" was serviced to all US radio formats on January 5, 1999, guitarist Chris Stein's 49th birthday. A CD release followed in Europe on January 11, 1999. In the United Kingdom, "Maria" was issued as a CD and cassette on February 1, 1999. The CD contains two remixes of the song, and the cassette contains only one of the remixes.