Sire 25157
Producer: Nile Rodgers
Track listing: Material Girl /Angel / Like a Virgin / Over and Over / Love Don’t Live Here Anymore / Dress You Up / Sho-Bee-Doo / Pretender / Stay
February 9, 1985
6 weeks
A former dancer and fixture on the New York club scene, Madonna Louise Ciccone became known simply as Madonna with the release of her 1983 self-titled debut album. Madonna, fueled by such hit singles as “Holiday,” “Borderline,” and “Lucky Star,” peaked at number eight. The singer’s sexy image and her irresistible dance-pop made her one of the new artists of the ’80s. Following the surprise success of Madonna, a growing legion of fans was anxiously awaiting Madonna’s next move.
For her sophomore effort, Madonna turned to former Chic member Nile Rodgers. “When I was making the record, I was just thrilled and happy to be working with Nile Rodgers,” Madonna says. “I had no idea it was going to do as well as it did or have the impact that it did.”
Rodgers can still remember the first time he saw the singer perform at a small club in New York in 1983. “I went to see another woman sing,” he says. “But when I got there Madonna was on stage. I loved her stage presence and then we met right after that. I kept thinking to myself, ‘Damn, is she a star,’ but she wasn’t at the time.” The admiration was mutual. “I idolized Nile because of the whole Chic thing,” she says. “I couldn’t believe the record company gave me the money so I could work with him.”
The album was recorded at the Power Station in New York at a relatively quick pace. Rodgers also played guitar, and his former Chic bandmates bassist Bernard Edwards and drummer Tony Thompson appeared on several tracks. The sessions usually didn’t start until the afternoon. “I would go to the swim club on the Upper West Side and go swimming and walk from there to the recording studio,” Madonna recalls. “We didn’t start before 1 p.m., because Nile was a party animal and he stayed up all night, so there was no morning working for us.”
As Rodgers recalls, Madonna was “a real hard worker and incredibly tenacious.” At one point the producer threatened to quit the project, annoyed because he thought Madonna had treated a studio hand unfairly. “I was actually in the elevator and she walked up and smiled at me and said, ‘Nile, I want to know one thing: Does this mean you don’t love me anymore?’ And then we both started laughing. Then we realized how ridiculous we were both being. That was it. We didn’t have a serious fight after that.”
Another emotional moment in the studio occurred when Madonna covered the 1978 Rose Royce hit “Love Don’t Live Here Anymore.” Says Rodgers, “Madonna had never performed with a live orchestra before. I was very much into doing everything live, so I just said, ‘Madonna, you go out there and sing and we will follow you.'” At first Madonna was hesitant, but the live setting ended up producing memorable results. “She sang and she was overcome with emotion and started crying, but I left it on the record,” Rodgers says.
Initially, neither Madonna nor Rodgers cared much for “Like a Virgin,” written by the songwriting team of Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly, and brought to Madonna’s attention by Warner Bros. Records A&R executive Michael Ostin. “I remember hearing a demo and the guys who wrote it were singing,” Madonna says. “It sounded really stupid and retarded. I was like, ‘Oh my God,’ but everyone was saying this was a great song and I was like, ‘Gross me out.'” However, Madonna soon had second thoughts. “It’s weird because I couldn’t get it out of my head after I played it, even though I didn’t really like it,” she says. “It sounded really bubble-gummy to me, but it grew on me. I really started to like it, my little gears started clicking, and I thought, ‘This could be really cool.’ But, my first reaction to it was, ‘This is really queer.'”
Rodgers credits Madonna with recognizing the song’s potential. “Madonna had a vision. She knew that ‘Like a Virgin’ was the first single on that album. Since she was a woman and clued into what young girls like and feel, she was sold on the song,” he says. “I liked her more sexy side that addressed men. I liked ‘Material Girl’ more.”
Madonna’s choice for a first single ended up right on the money, as “Like a Virgin” became her first Number One hit on December 22, 1984. A week after the single ended its six-week stay at the top of the Hot 100, Like a Virgin became Madonna’s first Number One album, thanks in part to the second single, “Material Girl,” which was climbing the Hot 100 and eventually peaked at number two. Subsequent singles from the album “Angel” and “Dress You Up” also went on to reach the top five.
THE TOP FIVE
Week of February 9, 1985
1. Like a Virgin, Madonna
2. Born in the U.S.A., Bruce Springsteen
3. Make It Big, Wham!
4. Agent Provocateur, Foreigner
5. Purple Rain, Prince and the Revolution