Like a Virgin (1984, see 1984 in music) was a hit album and song by Madonna. The album was #1 on Billboard Music Chart's pop albums chart and #10 on the hip hop/R&B charts.
"Like a Virgin" (the song) was Madonna's biggest hit prior to "Vogue" and her biggest hit of the 1980s. It was written by Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly, and remained the #1 hit single on the Billboard pop singles charts (US) for six straight weeks. "Like a Virgin" and "Material Girl", both from this album, are two of Madonna's most enduring and well-known songs.
Madonna has reinvented the song by singing it with different arrangements on her Blond Ambition tour and The Girlie Show . Madonna wears a wedding gown in the music video, which was directed by Mary Lambert.
The song was the subject of a famous exegesis in the opening scene of Quentin Tarantino's film, Reservoir Dogs. It was also the subject of a parody by "Weird Al" Yankovic, "Like a Surgeon", and was performed by Jim Broadbent in the film Moulin Rouge! (2001) as a comic piece. A version of it, not a parody, was done by the folk singer John Wesley Harding on the album . A rare version of the song was a duet recorded by Marilyn Manson and Trent Reznor (the Nine Inch Nails frontman).
"Like A Virgin" was honored by Rolling Stone and MTV in 2000 as the #4 song on their list of the "100 Greatest Pop Songs".
Track listing
- "Material Girl" (Brown, Rans) - 4:01
- "Angel" (Bray, Madonna) - 3:55
- "Like a Virgin" (Kelly, Steinberg) - 3:39
- "Over and Over" (Bray, Madonna) - 4:12
- "Love Don't Live Here Anymore" (Gregory) - 4:50
- "Into the Groove {From the Film Desperately Seeking Susan}" (Bray, Madonna) - 4:43
- "Dress You Up" (LaRusso, Stanziale) - 4:01
- "Shoo-Bee-Doo" (Madonna) - 5:17
- "Pretender" (Madonna) - 4:30
- "Stay" (Bray, Madonna) - 4:06
Personnel
- Madonna - vocals, background vocals
- Bernard Edwards - bass
- Brenda King - background vocals
- Curtis King
- Lenny Pickett - saxophone
- Nile Rodgers - guitar, synclavier
- Robert Sabino - synthesizer
- Frank Simms - background vocals
- George Simms - background vocals
- Tony Thompson - drums
Production
- Producers: Madonna, Stephen Bray, Nile Rodgers
- Engineer: Jason Corsaro
- Production manager: Budd Tunick
- Drum programming: Jimmy Bralower
- Art direction: Jeffrey Kent Ayeroff
- Design: Jeffrey Kent Ayer, Jeri McManus
- Photography: Steven Meisel
Charts
Album - Billboard (North America)
| Year
| Chart
| Position
|
| 1984
| The Billboard 200
| 1
|
| 1984
| Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
| 10
|
Singles - Billboard (North America)
| Year
| Single
| Chart
| Position
|
| 1984
| "Like a Virgin"
| Hot Dance Music/Club Play
| 1
|
| 1984
| "Like a Virgin"
| Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks
| 9
|
| 1984
| "Like a Virgin"
| The Billboard Hot 100
| 1
|
| 1985
| "Angel"
| Adult Contemporary
| 5
|
| 1985
| "Angel"
| Hot Dance Music/Club Play
| 1
|
| 1985
| "Angel"
| Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales
| 1
|
| 1985
| "Angel"
| Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks
| 71
|
| 1985
| "Angel"
| The Billboard Hot 100
| 5
|
| 1985
| "Dress You Up"
| Hot Dance Music/Club Play
| 3
|
| 1985
| "Dress You Up"
| Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales
| 1
|
| 1985
| "Dress You Up"
| Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks
| 64
|
| 1985
| "Dress You Up"
| The Billboard Hot 100
| 5
|
| 1985
| "Like a Virgin"
| Adult Contemporary
| 29
|
| 1985
| "Material Girl"
| Hot Dance Music/Club Play
| 1
|
| 1985
| "Material Girl"
| Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales
| 2
|
| 1985
| "Material Girl"
| Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks
| 49
|
| 1985
| "Material Girl"
| The Billboard Hot 100
| 2
|