BLONDIE

Inducted into the prestigious Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006, Blondie emerged as the great pop icons of New York's celebrated late '70s new wave punk scene by defying easy categorization. They wrote great rock hooks and brilliant, ironic lyrics. They had the hippest clothes and the coolest hair. Debbie Harry went from the pages of Punk magazine to being on the cover of just about every mainstream publication on the newsstands.

The original Blondie was formed in 1974 by art student/guitarist Chris Stein and ex-folkie and ex-Max's Kansas City waitress, vocalist/songwriter Deborah Harry. Drummer Clem Burke and keyboard player Jimmy Destri joined in 1975. The band played the fabled New York downtown circuit of CBGB's, Max's Kansas City and Mothers, amassing a major following before recording their first album Blondie in 1976 for the Private Stock label. It was released in 1977 and was well received as the band toured in support of Iggy Pop and David Bowie.

In the summer of 1977, they released their second album, Plastic Letters, and toured Europe and Asia. In March '78, the single "Denis" hit #2 in the U.K. That summer, the band worked with producer Mike Chapman to hone their radio sound and create the album Parallel Lines, with the single "Picture This" going #12 in the U.K. and the follow-up, "Hanging on the Telephone," hitting #5. Blondie had their first #1 record in the U.S. with "Heart of Glass," which also sold over a million copies in the U.K., with the album moving more than 20 million copies worldwide. The fourth single from Parallel Lines, "Sunday Girl," also hit #1 in the U.K.

PAT BENATAR

More than two decades ago, Pat Benatar began breaking rules and blazed a new trail for female rock stars. Pat was bold, self-assured, and independent. She was alluring but not exploitive. She was vulnerable but not weak. She was strong-minded without being hardhearted.

Songs such as "Love Is a Battlefield," "Hit Me With Your Best Shot," "We Live For Love," and "Heartbreaker" became anthems for a new attitude. At the dawn of MTV, Benatar was the image of the female rocker for an entire generation of young woman, and the young men who loved them. That generation has grown up with her and others have walked down the path she helped pave.

Still going strong, Benatar has been married for 23 years to guitarist, songwriter producer, collaborator and soul mate Neil Giraldo . The parents of two daughters, Pat and Neil have been touring almost non-stop for over two decades.

THE DONNAS

The last time the Donnas played my town, one of them ended up face down on the hood of a cop car, arms behind her back, handcuffs cutting off the circulation to her clenched fists. Her crime? Drinking whiskey in the streets of Canada.

The legend begins in a Palo Alto junior high school in Northern California where four self-described "dorky pre-teen girls" form a rock n' roll band at the age of 13 in 1993, under the influence of KISS, Motley Crue, and the Ramones. Over the course of the next 16 years, eight ever-evolving, critically acclaimed rock n roll albums are released. The Donnas jet-set the planet several times over to an ever-expanding, international fan base of rabid "Donnaholics". From Palo Alto to the stages of Letterman and Saturday Night Live, to the pages of Rolling Stone and the cover of Billboard, The Donnas have grown up to become one of the best female rock groups of all time.