Songfacts®:

• This song was written by Chuck Lorre, who is better known for writing sitcoms, including The Big Bang Theory and Two and a Half Men. Lorre pursued both songwriting and screenwriting early in his career, and he caught a big break when Harry recorded his song. Lorre also co-wrote the theme song to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles TV series. >>

  Suggestion credit:
  Alexander Baron - London, England
• Debbie Harry is best known as the frontwoman for Blondie, which from 1979-1981 had four #1 hits in America and five in the UK. They broke up in 1982 after their guitarist Chris Stein, Harry's boyfriend, developed an autoimmune disease called pemphigus vulgaris. He and Harry both retreated from the public eye as he recovered. In 1986, Harry returned to action with "French Kissin'," the first single from her solo album Rockbird. Stein worked on the album, but not on this track.
  
  The song was well received in the UK, where it rose to #8, but didn't get much attention in America. Harry released solo albums in 1989 and 1993 that were also received far better in the UK. Blondie returned to action in 1998 and landed a huge comeback hit with "Maria" in 1999.
• "French Kissin'" is a playful song, on brand for Harry. The titular kiss was a big part of the American lexicon in the '80s, meaning to kiss with tongues intertwined. The phrase "embrasser see'est Francais" that Harry repeats in the lyric is French for "French kissing."
• Seth Justman, who played keyboards and co-wrote many songs in The J. Geils Band, produced this track and the rest of the Rockbird album.
• Harry made a video for this song with director Jeff Stein. The actress Katey Sagal, who later played Peg Bundy on Married... With Children, shows up in it, at one point blowing a kiss to the camera. The video also incorporates footage from the groundbreaking 1902 French film A Trip To The Moon.
• In addition to a French version, Harry recorded three English versions of this song: The radio edit, which runs 4:09; the 7:25 dance mix; and the dub version that goes 8:02. The B-side of the single was "Rockbird," written by Chris Stein.
• Harry performed the song on Saturday Night Live when she was the musical guest on January 24, 1987.