Madonna Single: Like a Virgin (1984)

Madonna
“Like a Virgin”

Release: November 6, 1984

1. Like a Virgin
2. Stay

Producer: Nile Rodgers
Songwriters: Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly

Billboard Hot 100: #1 (6 weeks)
Billboard Dance/Club Play: #1 (4 weeks)
UK Singles Chart: #3


With a successful album under her belt, Madonna quickly returned to the studio to record its follow-up. “Like a Virgin” was the first single and title track from her second album, and followed “Lucky Star,” the last Madonna single, by only 3 months (in comparison, 6 months had passed between the release of “Borderline” and “Lucky Star”). When the single was released in November 1984, the masses were already familiar with it, since Madonna famously performed the track at the first MTV Music Video Awards in September. Dressed as a bride-of-sorts, Madonna came out an a cake and scandalized the public by writhing around on the stage and simulating masturbation with the veil. The performance was so popular that it sometimes considered a second video for the track—certainly it is noted as Madonna’s breakthrough attempt at manipulating the media through both image and music. It certainly could not have been ignored. The official video, directed by Mary Lambert, has Madonna cavorting around New York and Venice, dressing as a bride, and petting a giant cat.

Musically, “Like a Virgin” marked a somewhat new course for Madonna. Producer Reggie Lucas, whom Madonna never got along with anyway, was jettisoned in favor of Nile Rodgers, the man responsible for making Chic a staple of ‘70s disco. With an updated dance formula for the ‘90s, more slick and purely pop than her first album, Rodgers gave Madonna what she wanted and the sound was an instant hit.

“Like a Virgin” was Madonna’s first #1 hit and it remains one of her biggest ever. The track spent 6 weeks at #1 in the U.S., her second-longest stay at the top. Additionally, the single reached #1 in on the European chart as well as in Ireland, Canada, Australia, and Japan. As one of her most enduring signature hits, Madonna would perform the song again and again. Notable performances include the 1990 Blond Ambition tour performance, where she performed the song in a Middle Eastern style from a bed with male dancers wearing cone bras, and the 2003 MTV Music Video Awards performance featuring Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera—both of whom kissed Madonna at the end of the spectacle.

The video:


1984 MTV Music Video Awards:


1990 Blond Ambition Tour:


2003 MTV Music Video Awards (with Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears):