Which punk musician wrote the 1977 song Blank Generation?

Richard Hell wrote the 1977 song “Blank Generation.”

Hell first performed the song with Television, the New York group he co-founded with Tom Verlaine. He later recorded it with the Voidoids, whose version became the best-known release. The song's spare structure and repeated title phrase made it an important statement of early New York punk.

The track appeared on the 1977 album Blank Generation, released by Sire Records. Its cover photograph, taken by Roberta Bayley, shows Hell wearing a ripped shirt and safety pins, an image that became closely associated with punk fashion.

Richard Hell is sometimes confused with Tom Verlaine because both musicians were central to Television and the CBGB scene. However, “Blank Generation” is specifically Hell's song, and the Voidoids recording established it as his signature work.