Shortly after Debbie Harry and Chris Stein founded Blondie in 1975, Burke joined the band.
Following the departure of original bassist Fred Smith, Stein and Harry contemplated disbanding the nu-wave ensemble, but he is credited for keeping them together.
Burke, who was born in New Jersey in 1954, said that one of his first memories was of playing the Four Seaons on his father’s drum equipment before joining the local drum and bugle corps.
Burke had already performed in the renowned New York club CBGB by the time he was in his teens. in the age of 14, he had played at Carnegie Hall in a battle of the bands competition with his group, The Total Environment.
