Madonna “Oh Father” released

Oh Father Madonna

Writer(s): Madonna, Patrick Leonard (see lyrics here) Released: October 24, 1989 First Charted: November 4, 1989 Peak: 20 US, 15 CB, 18 RR, 16 UK, 14 CN, 59 AU, 1 DF (Click for codes to singles charts.) Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 9.3 video, -- streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Madonna was only five years old when her mother died from breast cancer. That left her father to raise four kids on his own. Two years later, he married the housekeeper and had two more children. The song “Oh Father” deals with Madonna’s feelings of loss regarding her mother and anger toward her father. The song and its accompanying video (which Rolling Stone named one of the top 100 videos of all time) suggests Madonna may have been physically abused, although she has never confirmed that. She has said that “her father was a disciplinarian and her stepmother was hard on her.” WK In the book Madonna: Like an Icon, author Lucy O’Brien says the song is more about the emotional neglect Madonna experienced when her grief-ridden father wasn’t able to be there for her. WK Madonna has also said the song is about “me dealing with all authority figures in my life” SF and coming to terms with all the men in her life who had hurt her. SF Patrick Leonard, who produced and co-wrote many of Madonna’s late ‘80s hits, said, “My favorite thing that we ever recorded…is ‘Oh Father’…because we knew when we did it that there was something about this that was in a way kind of the most ‘real’ thing.” WK He created the basic melody outline and different chord progressions and she wrote lyrics to fit the melody. From a chart standpoint, this song ended Madonna’s streak of 16 consecutive top-5 singles and 17 consecutive top10 singles in the United States when it peaked at #20. On a personal note, however, this is my favorite song by Madonna. All Music Guide’s Stewart Mason called it “one of the most personal songs Madonna has ever performed and arguably her finest ballad performance ever.” AMG In Madonna: The Complete Guide to Her Music, Rikky Rooksby says the song “was the most compassionate and generous moment in Madonna’s musical career.” WK Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Madonna AMG All Music Guide review by Stewart Mason SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 8/22/2022.