The world of the rock musician has, in some ways, expanded over the past 50 years. In other ways, that world has shrunk. When Blondie Chaplin's voice was first heard in North America, it was an exotic and extraordinary event. He was lead singer on a song produced by Carl Wilson, of the Beach Boys, when one night in the summer of 1970 I first heard "See the Light." It was one of those two-song challenges. Phone in for your favorite! I called in, the only vote for "The Flame." It was a great song. When I finally located the album, on Brother Records, some ten years later in the delete bin of a department store I was thrilled. Why other radio listeners couldn't appreciate the value of this album I have never been able to understand; but Blondie (both with the Flame and after) has impressed every musician with whom he has worked. And that list is a Who's Who of contemporary music.

Blondie has toured and recorded with the Beach Boys (In Concert, Carl & the Passions/So Tough Holland); he was a member of the Band for a while (High On The Hog); he played bass, sang and wrote a song with the Rolling Stones (Bridges To Babylon); and along the way he managed to record a couple of very special, under-appreciated albums of his own. How many musicians have been members of even one major band? Yet Blondie Chaplin has been accepted by three legendary groups as an equal partner, and many more performers have invited him to play with them on stage and record. Paul Butterfield, David Johansen, Roy Ohara, Mick Taylor, and Sir Mack Rice have all utilized the abilities of Blondie Chaplin.

Born Terence William Chaplin in South Africa, Blondie joined cover-band The Flames at the tender age of 16. His soulful vocals and sparkling guitar work lifted the Flames above mere garage band quality, and his compositional skills opened new vistas for them. They toured Europe where they were seen by Carl Wilson, who signed them to Brother Records, and produced their first American album. The Best of The Flames is a collection of their cover tunes and shows them to be a vital inventive band, playing with such vigor and interest as to completely own the r&b chestnuts they play. The Flame displays their own music, their own lyrics and a sound which owes more to their past than to the influences of the Beach Boys. That they were able to sound like themselves, funky and rocking, was such a testimony to their talent that Wilson invited them to join the touring Beach Boys.

The addition of Chaplin (and Flames drummer Ricky Fataar) added both youth and grit to the Beach Boys' stage show, which was then carried into the studio. Brian Wilson was in semi-retirement and their song-writing, vocals and instrumental prowess lifted the albums they made with the California legends far above what they might have been. Blondie's soaring vocals on "Sail On Sailor", and the Traffic-like Chaplin/Fataar tune "Here She Comes" were highlights on Holland and Carl & the Passion/So Tough.

Blondie Chaplin left the Beach Boys after a Live album, which rocked out. He released his first solo album on David Geffen's Asylum records. Often called "Rock 'n' Roll" because of the grafitti in the cover picture, this self-titled album (1977) showed the range of Blondie's skills. He sang, wrote, played guitar, bass and keyboards, and created a solid groove over the whole album. It's not ground-breaking but Blondie Chaplin is an album I've gone back to time after time for over 25 years. Guest musicians on this one included Garth Hudson, Richard Tee and Ricky Fataar.

Blondie disappeared form the forefront after this record. He recorded a follow up album but it never appeared. His fans talk about it in awe. They've imagined what it might be like. In 1981 he appeared on ex-New York Dolls David Johansen's solo album Here Comes The Night. He sings, plays some fine guitar, and co-wrote seven songs. Johansen would go on to make better records, so would Chaplin. Blondie had met bassist Ray Ohara (from the Sadistic Mika Band) when they played for Bonnie Raitt on Nine Lives. When Ohara recorded his solo album (1988) he brought Chaplin and Raitt into the studio with him. Blondie Chaplin sings every lead vocal on the album. Available only in Japan, this record is hard to find, and not really worth the trouble except for Blondie's vocals on "Everything I Ever Had".

In 1992 Chaplin joined forces with fellow South African Keith Lentin and Letterman's drummer Anton Fig to form the trio Skollie. The music they made together is available on the album Ostrich Man. This album is the legitimate sequel to Blondie Chaplin and provides musical thrills and foot-stomping rhythms, with some fine singing, great guitar playing and a solid rhythm section. I searched for many years to locate a copy of this album, and treasure my copy. There's a bit of a South African feel to the first tune, with its sax trio, but the rest of the album rocks out.

After Skollie, Lentin joined the Parlor Dogs, who released a nice little rocking album called Social Harem, on which Blondie appeared. Then he joined Paul Butterfield's last band, appeared on Sir Mack Rice's comeback album, played around Woodstock with Rick Danko, recorded with Wingless Angels and Charlie Watts and toured the world with the Rolling Stones. During the last couple of years of the last millenium Chaplin was recording a new album. Keith Lentin was helping out, with Rob Fraboni behind the boards. The album was supposed to come out on Fraboni's own label. Then things happened.

What? I don't know. One song was previewed on the live video The First Waltz. I made contact with Keith Lentin to ask him about Fragile Thread. "You'd better ask Blondie!" he told me and gave me Chaplin's home number. I left a voice-mail and awaited the return call. Weeks went by and I went on vacation. When I returned, there was a pink message slip on my mailbox. "While you were out....Blondie Chaplin...called." I never did connect with Blondie, but I managed to get a copy of a copy of Fragile Thread and if this album is lost forever it is one of the great crimes in the history of the music industry!

Fragile Thread is a superb contemporary rock album. Using the members of Skollie, and a few guest stars (like Keith Richard and Ron Wood), Chaplin has made the best album of his life. "Don't Ask Me" begins the album with the tin whistle of Morris Goldberg. It's a haunting sound, and when mixed with the spooky guitar, and Fig's rhythms, Blondie's self harmonizing vocals (especially the falsetto) draw the listener into a different world. He plays the guitar through a Leslie for "Where I Should Always Be", and shows the influence of the Band both in songwriting and vocals. He shows influences but he always sounds like himself. It is impossible to listen to "We Hurt" without being moved. "When I'm Walking", "Fish Out of Water", the smoking "52 Letters" one great song after another. This album must come out!

Blondie Chaplin has always been one of those special people. The Beach Boys knew it. Rick Danko, Levon Helm and Garth Hudson knew it. Mick 'n' Keith know it! If you shop Ebay carefully you might see a Japanese pressing of the Asylum album, but much of this music is almost impossible to find. The world is getting smaller, but somehow the potential to get lost is increasing. Don't let this beautiful music get lost. Track down the early records, search for the middle period albums, and write letters...52 Letters...demanding the release of the amazing Fragile Thread. "52 Letters is not enough!!!"