Why Madonna’s ‘Lucky Star’ Blew Her Producer Away

Madonna‘s “Lucky Star” might not be as famous as “Like Virgin” or “Like a Prayer,” but it has an incredible dance groove. The song’s producer discussed what he thought of the track. He also revealed what he thought of the Queen of Pop before she was the Queen of Pop.

Madonna’s producer said the final version of ‘Lucky Star’ is barely like the original

Reggie Lucas was the producer of Madonna’s self-titled first album. While Lucas is not a household name, he had a huge influence on the style of music known as post-disco, as well as dance music as a whole. During a 2013 interview with The Atlantic, Lucas discussed working with the Material Girl on the album.

“I’d write songs and put them on a little cassette player with me singing, and I can’t sing,” he said. “I’d ask Madonna if she liked them, and she said, ‘Yeah, it sounds cool. Let’s do it.’ I did the demos for ‘Physical Attraction’ and ‘Borderline’ and she brought in her demos for her songs to the studio. And we did what we did to them. 

“Probably the most interesting one was ‘Lucky Star,'” he added. “If you heard the original demo for “Lucky Star” and you heard what it came out like, they’re the same song, but barely. We really put a lot of creative energy into that one and it came out beautifully.”

Madonna never worked with Reggie Lucas again, opting for more famous producers

Madonna is one of the most controversial people to ever pick up a microphone, but Lucas said many kind things about her. “I must say, Madonna was great to work with in the studio,” he revealed. “She really put in the work. She was a creative person. And it was one of the many reasons why it was disappointing not to be involved in subsequent projects.”

For her next album, Like a Virgin, Madonna recruited producer Nile Rodgers. Rodgers was a member of the disco band Chic who later produced David Bowie’s album Let’s Dance. She would later work with several legendary producers such as Babyface, Avicii, Sophie, and Lenny Kravitz, however, Lucas played no role in her subsequent career. Hopefully, fans and critics alike will give him more credit for producing some of the best dance songs of the 1980s.

‘Lucky Star’ appeared on 2 hit albums

“Lucy Star” became Madonna’s first top 10 single. It climbed to No. 4 in the Billboard Hot 100, lasting on the chart for 16 weeks. Madonna’s self titled album reached No. 8 on the Billboard 200 and remained on the chart for 168 weeks.

“Lucky Star” must have made a lasting impression because it appeared on Madonna’s most famous greatest hits record: The Immaculate Collection. That record peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, staying on the chart for 148 weeks. The Immaculate Collection is one of the best compilations ever. It includes all of Madonna’s essential singles and it introduced the world to two of Madonna’s most provocative songs: “Justify My Love” and “Rescue Me.” If you own one Madonna record, it should be The Immaculate Collection.

“Lucky Star” is a bubblegum pop song but it’s one of the best examples of that subgenre.