Madonna (Madonna album)

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Madonna (Madonna album)

Madonna is the debut album by American

United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
singer-songwriter Madonna

Madonna (entertainer)

Madonna is an American recording artist, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan and raised in Rochester Hills, Michigan, Madonna moved to New York City in 1977, for a career in modern dance....
, released on July 27, 1983 by Sire Records

Sire Records

Sire Records is an United States record label, owned by Warner Music Group and distributed through Warner Bros. Records...
. The album was re-released in 1985 for the European market and re-packaged as Madonna - The First Album. In 2001, Warner Bros.

Warner Bros. Records

Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an United States record label that operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of Warner Music Group. It is also affectionately known as "Warners" and 'the Bunny', based on the Bugs Bunny cartoons released by Warner Bros....
released a remastered version with two bonus remix tracks. The RIAA certified it Gold

RIAA certification

In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America awards certification based on the number of albums and single sold through retail and other ancillary markets....
on May 31, 1984 & 5x Platinum on 3 October 2000, recognizing five million shipments throughout the United States.

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Encyclopedia

Madonna is the debut album by American

United States

Madonna (entertainer)

Sire Records

Warner Bros. Records

RIAA certification

Album history

After Madonna achieved success on the dance charts with two singles, "Everybody" and "Burning Up

Burning Up

"Burning Up" is the second single by United States singer-songwriter Madonna and was released on March 9, 1983 by Sire Records. It appears on her 1983 debut studio album Madonna ....
," Sire Records

Sire Records

Sire Records is an United States record label, owned by Warner Music Group and distributed through Warner Bros. Records...
hired Madonna to record this full-length album. Though Madonna told New York DJ

Disc jockey

A disc jockey is a person who selects and plays sound recording for an audience. Originally, disk referred to phonograph records, while disc refers to the Compact Disc, and has become the more common spelling....
Mark Kamins

Mark Kamins

Mark Kamins is a New York club disk jockey.He is best known for helping launch the career of one-time girlfriend Madonna by presenting a demo to Seymour Stein of Sire Records....
she would let him produce the entire album if he got her a record deal (which he did), when it was time to record the full length album, she decided to go with the more experienced producer Reggie Lucas

Reggie Lucas

Reginald Lucas, is an United States musician, songwriter and record producer. Lucas is most famous for his production work with percussionist Mtume and for producing the majority of Madonna 1983 Madonna ....
. Kamins was credited with producing one song, "Everybody." Madonna and Lucas disagreed about how the final product ought to sound. She called John "Jellybean" Benitez for help achieving the sound she wanted.

Madonna had promoted the album throughout 1983-1984 by performing a series of "track dates", one-off gigs. These shows were done at New York City

New York City

The City of New York is the List of United States cities by population in the United States, while the New York metropolitan area ranks among the List of urban areas by population....
and London

London

London is the capital of both England and the United Kingdom, and the most populous municipality in the European Union. An important settlement for two millennia, History of London goes back to its founding by the Roman Empire....
clubs like Danceteria

Danceteria

Danceteria was a well-known four-floor nightclub located in New York City which operated from 1980 until 1986. Throughout its history, the club had three different locations, most famously at 30 West 21st Street, Manhattan, which served as the location for the disco scene in the film Desperately Seeking Susan....
and Camden Palace

Camden Palace

KOKO is a nightclub in Camden Town, London, England, at the bottom of Camden High Street close to Mornington Crescent tube station. Until 2004 it was called the Camden Palace....
and on American and British television programs like American Bandstand

American Bandstand

American Bandstand is a television show that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989, hosted from 1957 until its final season by Dick Clark , who also served as producer....
and Top Of The Pops

Top of the Pops

Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a long-running United Kingdom UK Singles Chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006....
. The album's singles were later performed on The Virgin Tour
The Virgin Tour

The Virgin Tour is the first concert tour by United States singer-songwriter Madonna . The tour supported her first two studio album, Madonna and Like a Virgin....
in 1985.

Madonna had intended to include "Ain't No Big Deal" on the album, however, Stephen Bray

Stephen Bray

Stephen Bray is an United States songwriter, drummer, and record producer hailing from Detroit. Bray is best known for his collaboration with Madonna ....
, a collaborator on the song, had sold the song rights to another label. She substituted “Holiday

Holiday (Madonna song)

"Holiday" is the third single by United States singer-songwriter Madonna and was released on September 7, 1983 by Sire Records. It appears on her 1983 debut studio album Madonna and later remixed on the 1987 remix compilation You Can Dance and the 1990 greatest hits compilation The Immaculate Collection....
,” written by Curtis Hudson and Lisa Stevens. "Holiday" had originally been offered to, but turned down by, singer and original Supremes member, Mary Wilson

Mary Wilson (singer)

Mary Wilson is an United States singer best known as a member of the legendary Motown group The Supremes. Wilson was notably the only original member of The Supremes who remained in the group from its founding in 1959 to its disbandment in 1977....
. After being mistaken as a black singer by nightclub and radio audiences due to her image not being on her first singles, her face was front and center of the third release, "Holiday"; the critics later compared her voice as "Minnie Mouse

Minnie Mouse

Minnie Mouse is an animated cartoon of the Mickey Mouse universe featured in animated cartoons, comic strips and comic book by The Walt Disney Company....
" on helium.

The artwork that was featured on the original release of the album started the public fascination with Madonna. On the cover she has short-cropped, platinum hair, and stretches a dog chain roughly around her throat. Madonna's navel is prominent on the inner sleeve of the album.

The album was originally slated to be titled Lucky Star, after the track of the same name. The original artwork created for the album was scrapped and a new, darker direction was taken. The original album title was kept on early pressings of the LP

Gramophone record

A gramophone record is an analog signal sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed modulated spiral groove usually starting near the periphery and ending near the centre of the disc....
in South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa, also known by Official names of South Africa, is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa....
and Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe , is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the continent of Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo River rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east....
and contained a 3:41 version of "Burning Up." Only the record label referred to the title as "Lucky Star", the sleeves being the universally released black and white 'chains' picture (although also sporting a printed 'flash' in the top right hand corner, advising that is contains the hit 'Holiday' - this is unique to this pressing). Also note that the album credits (as usually listed on the inner sleeves) are printed on the reverse of these sleeves, as the discs were presented within a plain inner sleeve.

The European pressing of the LP contained a different mix of "Burning up," but the CD pressing had the same version as the American pressing.

Track listing

#	Title	Composers	Production credits	Time
01	"Lucky Star"	Madonna	Reggie Lucas Remixed by John "Jellybean" Benitez	5:37
02	"Borderline Borderline (song) "Borderline" is the fourth single by United States singer-songwriter Madonna and was released on February 15, 1984 by Sire Records. It appears on her 1983 debut studio album, Madonna , and on her 1990 in music hits compilation The Immaculate Collection.... "	Reggie Lucas	Reggie Lucas	5:20
03	"Burning Up Burning Up "Burning Up" is the second single by United States singer-songwriter Madonna and was released on March 9, 1983 by Sire Records. It appears on her 1983 debut studio album Madonna .... "	Madonna	Reggie Lucas Remixed by John "Jellybean" Benitez	3:45 4:47 ²
04	"I Know It"	Madonna	Reggie Lucas	3:47
05	"Holiday Holiday (Madonna song) "Holiday" is the third single by United States singer-songwriter Madonna and was released on September 7, 1983 by Sire Records. It appears on her 1983 debut studio album Madonna and later remixed on the 1987 remix compilation You Can Dance and the 1990 greatest hits compilation The Immaculate Collection.... "	Curtis Hudson, Lisa Stevens	John "Jellybean" Benitez	3:51 6:10
06	"Think of Me"	Madonna	Reggie Lucas	4:54
07	"Physical Attraction"	Reggie Lucas	Reggie Lucas Remixed by John "Jellybean" Benitez	6:39
08	"Everybody"	Madonna	Mark Kamins Mark Kamins Mark Kamins is a New York club disk jockey.He is best known for helping launch the career of one-time girlfriend Madonna by presenting a demo to Seymour Stein of Sire Records....	4:47 6:02 ¹
2001 Remastered version bonus tracks
09	"Burning Up" (12" version)	Madonna	Reggie Lucas Remixed by John "Jellybean" Benitez	5:59
10	"Lucky Star" ("New mix")	Madonna	Reggie Lucas and John "Jellybean" Benitez	7:15

¹ This longer version is only available on the 2001 Remastered Version. Original album version is 4:57 minutes in duration.
² Original album version: does not contain the electric guitar sound, originally with electronic synthesizer laser sound. Originally available on the first LP and cassette pressings. Later replaced with the rock guitar shorter version. This version is similar in sound to the bonus 12" Version track.

Album credits

Personnel

Madonna - vocals
Singing

Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the human voice, which is often contrasted with regular speech. A person who sings is called a singer or vocalist....
, background vocals, cowbell
Tina B. - background vocals
Christine Faith - background vocals
Dean Gant - synthesizer
Synthesizer

A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing a variety of sounds by generating and combining signals of different frequency....
, piano
Piano

The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard instrument. Widely used in Western music for solo performance, ensemble use, chamber music, and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to musical composition and rehearsal....
, electric piano
Electric piano

An electric piano is an electric musical instrument. The popularity of the electric piano began to grow in the late 1960s, reaching its greatest height during the 1970s....
Gwen Guthrie
Gwen Guthrie

Gwen Guthrie was an United States singer and songwriter, who also sang backing vocals for Aretha Franklin, Billy Joel, Stevie Wonder, and Madonna , among others, and who wrote songs made famous by Ben E....
- background vocals
Curtis Hudson - guitar
Guitar

The guitar is a musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles. It typically has six Strings , but Tenor guitar, Seven-string guitar, Eight-string guitar, Ten-string guitar, Eleven-string guitar, Twelve-string guitar, Thirteen-string guitar and doubleneck guitar string guitars also exist....
Raymond Hudson - bass
Bass guitar

The electric bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a plectrum.The bass guitar is similar in appearance and construction to an electric guitar, but with a larger body, a longer neck and Scale length, and usually four strings tuned to the same pitches as those of the double bass, whic...
Anthony Jackson - electric bass
Bashiri Johnson - percussion
Percussion instrument

A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound by being hit with an implement, shaken, rubbed, scraped, or by any other action which sets the object into vibration....
Reggie Lucas
Reggie Lucas

Reginald Lucas, is an United States musician, songwriter and record producer. Lucas is most famous for his production work with percussionist Mtume and for producing the majority of Madonna 1983 Madonna ....
- guitar
Guitar

The guitar is a musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles. It typically has six Strings , but Tenor guitar, Seven-string guitar, Eight-string guitar, Ten-string guitar, Eleven-string guitar, Twelve-string guitar, Thirteen-string guitar and doubleneck guitar string guitars also exist....
Bob Malach - tenor saxophone
Tenor saxophone

The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the Alto saxophone, is the most common size of saxophone....
Paul Pesco - guitar
Guitar

The guitar is a musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles. It typically has six Strings , but Tenor guitar, Seven-string guitar, Eight-string guitar, Ten-string guitar, Eleven-string guitar, Twelve-string guitar, Thirteen-string guitar and doubleneck guitar string guitars also exist....
Ira Siegel - guitar
Guitar

The guitar is a musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles. It typically has six Strings , but Tenor guitar, Seven-string guitar, Eight-string guitar, Ten-string guitar, Eleven-string guitar, Twelve-string guitar, Thirteen-string guitar and doubleneck guitar string guitars also exist....
Ed Walsh - synthesizer
Synthesizer

A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing a variety of sounds by generating and combining signals of different frequency....
Brenda White - background vocals
Norma Jean Wright
Norma Jean Wright

Norma Jean Wright was the lead vocalist of the Soul music, R&B and disco group Chic , from 1977 to 1978. Before joining Chic in 1977, she sang in the female trio, the Topettes, and toured for a short with The Spinners ....
- background vocals
Fred Zarr - synthesizer, piano
Piano

The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard instrument. Widely used in Western music for solo performance, ensemble use, chamber music, and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to musical composition and rehearsal....
, drums
Drum kit

A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and sometimes other percussion instruments, such as cowbell s, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single drummer....
, electric piano, Moog synthesizer
Moog synthesizer

Moog synthesizer may refer to any number of analog synthesizers designed by Dr. Robert Moog or manufactured by Moog Music, and is commonly used as a generic term for analog and digital music synthesisers....
, Fender Rhodes, Moog bass

Production

Produced by Reggie Lucas for Kalisa, Inc.
Engineered by Jim Dougherty
Recorded at Sigma Sound Studios NYC.

"Holiday":

Produced by John "Jellybean" Benitez for Jellybean Productions Inc.
Arranged by Curtis Hudson, co-arranged by Fred Zarr
Recording Engineer: Michael Hutchinson
Mixing Engineer: Jay Mark

"Everybody":

Produced by Mark Kamins
Engineered by Butch Jones

"Lucky Star", "Burning Up" and "Physical Attraction":

Remixed by John "Jellybean" Benitez
Remix Engineer: Jay Mark

"Lucky Star" ("New" Mix)

Produced by Reggie Lucas for Kalisa, Inc. and John "Jellybean" Benitez for Jellybean Productions Inc.
Mixed by John "Jellybean" Benitez
Mixing Engineer: Michael Hutchinson

Design

Art direction: Carin Goldberg
Photography: Gary Heery
Photography: George Holy (Madonna - The First Album)

Certifications, peaks and sales

Country	Peak position	Certification (if any)	Sales/shipments
Austria	15	3x Platinum	100,000+
Brazil	3	Diamond	500,000
France	8	Platinum	300,000+
Germany	16	Gold	150,000+
Ireland		Gold	9,195
Netherlands	7	Platinum	100,000+
Spain		Gold	50,000+
Sweden	2	Platinum	45,000+
United Kingdom	6	Platinum	300,000+
United States	8	5x Platinum	5,000,000+