Saturday, August 3, 1985

Madonna hit #1 in the UK with “Into the Groove”

Into the Groove

Madonna

Writer(s): Madonna, Stephen Bray (see lyrics here)


Released: July 15, 1985


First Charted: April 27, 1985


Peak: 6 RR, 19 RB, 14 UK, 14 AU, 7 DF (Click for codes to singles charts.)


Sales (in millions): 1.6 US, 1.5 UK, 4.1 world (includes US + UK)


Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 65.17 video, -- streaming

Awards:

Click on award for more details.

About the Song:

“Into the Groove” was Madonna’s #1 song that wasn’t. The song came out while the Like a Virgin was being promoted, so it was decided not to released it as a single for fear that it would compete with “Angel,” the album’s third single. WK A similar problem had already occurred with second single “Material Girl” coming out at the same time as “Crazy for You” from the Vision Quest soundtrack. Considering that those songs hit #2 and #1 respectively, it’s hard to understand the logic of not releasing “Into the Groove,” but that was the call.

While the lack of an official single made the song ineligible for the Billboard Hot 100, it became Madonna’s most played song on the recurrent airplay chart. It also hit #19 on the R&B chart and was released as the B-side of “Angel.” The pair of songs reached the top of the Hot Dance Club Songs chart. WK The song also charted in the UK, where it became Madonna’s first #1 and her biggest selling song in the country. WK

Madonna originally wrote the song for her friend Mark Kamins’ protégée Chyne, but kept it to use for the movie Desperately Seeking Susan. The song didn’t end up on the soundtrack, but was added to the 1985 worldwide reissue of Like a Virgin. Regarding the song being about dancing, Madonna told Q magazine, “I started off wanting to be a dancer, so that had a lot to do with the song. The freedom that I always feel when I’m dancing, that feeling of…letting yourself go, expressing yourself through music. I always thought of it as a magical place.” TC

J. Randy Taraborrelli, author of Madonna: An Intimate Biography, said the song demonstrated her ability to create infectious dance music. WK Clive Barker and Simon Trussler, authors of New Theatre Quarterly, said the song was the first disco-anthem of the 1980s. WK Author Matthew Rettenmund called it the ultimate 1980s song. WK Billboard readers concurred, voting it the Song of the 1980s. SF “All the magic of the ‘80s is right here.” TC


Resources:

  • DMDB encyclopedia entry for Madonna
  • TC Toby Creswell (2005). 1001 Songs: The Great Songs of All Time. Thunder’s Mouth Press: New York, NY. Page 243.
  • SF Songfacts
  • WK Wikipedia


Related Links:


First posted 11/28/2020; last updated 8/22/2022.

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