Madonna Lost a Battle With Her Producer Over ‘Vogue’
Madonna is the sort of fiercely driven artist who usually seems to get her way. On the other hand, Madonna’s producer told her he would change part of “Vogue” whether she liked it or not. Here is how that turned out.
Madonna battled her producer over the ‘Vogue’ bass lines
Shep Pettibone is a dance artist who worked with the Queen of Pop on tunes like “Deeper and Deeper,” “Rain,” “This Used to Be My Playground,” and, of course, “Vogue.” During a 2015 interview with Billboard, Pettibone discussed how “Vogue” came together.
“Um … the piano was added, for instance, after she sang the song,” he said. “The bass lines in the verses were changed to make them go with the verse better. Before that I think it’d just been like a two-bar loop of the bass line throughout the entire song — which she liked.
“She didn’t want me to change it,” he added. “But I was like, ‘I’m gonna change it anyways.’ So … [Laughs.] She wanted to keep it very underground, and I was like, ‘Just trust me. Let me do what I do.’ Which she did.”
The song was almost the B-side of another Madonna tune
Pettibone revealed the tune didn’t take too long to finish. “I would say I sent her the track [and] within possibly like two weeks she came to New York to sing it,” he said. “I think right after that she was on to something else, and I think it was within a week or so that I finished up the production and the mix and sent it off to Warners.”
Originally, “Vogue” was going to be the B-side of “Keep It Together,” a single from Madonna’s album Like a Prayer. Both “Vogue” and “Keep It Together” are dance tracks, so they would have worked together as a combo. On the other hand, executives decided that “Vogue” was too good to be a B-side. It became the lead single from I’m Breathless, the soundtrack of Madonna’s comic book movie Dick Tracy.
‘Vogue’ was followed by an awful hit
“Vogue” topped the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks, making it Madonna’s biggest hit in years. It stayed on the chart for 24 weeks. That was an interesting choice for the album I’m Breathless. Most of that album is old-fashioned jazz. Meanwhile, “Vogue” had a current club sound coupled with lyrics about Old Hollywood stars. I’m Breathless reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and spent a total of 25 weeks on the chart.
“Vogue” is now one of Madonna’s defining songs. On the other hand, I’m Breathless produced another single that has almost been forgotten: “Hanky Panky.” That lewd song is too juvenile for its own good. “Hanky Panky” reached No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and spent a total of 11 weeks on the chart. “Vogue” appeared on Madonna’s two most famous greatest hits compilations — The Immaculate Collection and Celebration — while “Hanky Panky,” deservedly, did not.
Pettibone noted that the song never faded. He continually hears it on the radio. On top of that, it remains a popular dancefloor filler.
The final version of “Vogue” doesn’t reflect Madonna’s original intentions for the track but the song is perfect anyway.
