Blondie's 1980 hit "The Tide Is High" was adapted from a 1967 rocksteady song by Jamaican vocal trio The Paragons, and it went on to become the last modern song John Lennon was known to have enjoyed before his death. Blondie emerged from New York's punk scene at CBGBs alongside acts like the Ramones and Talking Heads, but Debbie Harry and the band soon pushed beyond punk's constraints, incorporating disco and hip-hop influences to help pioneer the new wave sound of the early 1980s.

The original version of "The Tide Is High" was recorded by The Paragons for Duke Reid's Treasure Isle label and was a respected touchstone of Jamaican rocksteady, though not a major international hit. Blondie guitarist Chris Stein recognised its crossover potential, and the band's 1980 cover became a transatlantic number one. Lennon's son, Sean Ono Lennon, told Rolling Stone in 2006 that it was the only "modern song" he recalled his father enjoying, recounting a vivid memory of Lennon dancing to it shortly before his death in December 1980.