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Like a Prayer (album)

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Untitled
This article is about the album. For other uses see Like a Prayer (disambiguation).

Like a Prayer is the fourth studio album by pop singer Madonna, released on March 21, 1989 by Sire Records. It has sold 17 million copies worldwide.[1]

Album history

Like a Prayer was considered to be Madonna's most accomplished artistic statement at the time, incorporating rock, dance, pop, soul, and funk elements into the album. Rolling Stone magazine hailing it "...as close to art as pop music gets." It was recorded in 1988 with long time collaborators Patrick Leonard and Stephen Bray and also includes a duet with R&B pop singer Prince. It featured the first of several songs throughout her career in which she talked openly about her mother's death, "Promise to Try"; Madonna even dedicated the album to "my mother who taught me to pray". She also addresses the end of her marriage to actor Sean Penn in the song "Till Death Do Us Part".

Initial pressings of the LP, CD and cassette formats were scented with patchouli oil, Madonna's favorite scent. Also included was an AIDS factsheet, which is still included in current pressings of the CD. It was the first time a pop artist had ever included AIDS information with a product.

Before the commercial release of the first single and title track, Pepsi decided to use the song as part of their soft drink commercial featuring Madonna. In addition to this, the company had also struck a deal to sponsor her 1990 Blond Ambition Tour. The commercial was aired twice before the release of the music video on MTV. Pepsi had no idea the controversial content depicted in the video; Madonna witnesses a murder, kisses a black saint, displays stigmata after cutting her palms on a knife, and dances in a field of burning crosses. Religious groups were furious and threatened to boycott Pepsi. They decided the risk was too great, and they cancelled their ad campaign and the sponsorship deal, although Madonna got to keep the $5 million in her contract.[2]

Due to the high publicity surrounding the controversy, the single soared to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the USA. The album debuted at #11, and within three weeks, shot to #1, where it would stay for over a month. Singles "Express Yourself" and "Cherish" both made it to #2. "Oh Father" was her least successful single since 1984, but still became a Top 20 hit, peaking at number 20. "Keep It Together" reached #8 on the charts, and "Dear Jessie" was also a hit single in Europe, and had an animated video. To date, "Like a Prayer" has sold over 6 million copies in America and 17 million worldwide.

According to a list released by Time magazine on November 13, 2006, Like a Prayer is on the All-TIME 100 Albums, grouped according to time period.

Track listing

# Title Time
1. “Like a Prayer”
Writer(s): Madonna, Patrick Leonard
Producer(s): Madonna and Patrick Leonard		 5:40
2. “Express Yourself”
Writer(s): Madonna, Stephen Bray
Producer(s): Madonna and Stephen Bray		 4:39
3. “Love Song”
Writer(s): Madonna, Prince
Producer(s): Madonna and Prince		 4:52
4. “Till Death Do Us Part”
Writer(s): Madonna, Patrick Leonard
Producer(s): Madonna and Patrick Leonard		 5:18
5. “Promise to Try”
Writer(s): Madonna, Patrick Leonard
Producer(s): Madonna and Patrick Leonard		 3:38
6. “Cherish”
Writer(s): Madonna, Patrick Leonard
Producer(s): Madonna and Patrick Leonard		 5:03
7. “Dear Jessie”
Writer(s): Madonna, Patrick Leonard
Producer(s): Madonna and Patrick Leonard		 4:21
8. “Oh Father”
Writer(s): Madonna, Patrick Leonard
Producer(s): Madonna and Patrick Leonard		 4:57
9. “Keep It Together”
Writer(s): Madonna, Stephen Bray
Producer(s): Madonna and Stephen Bray		 5:03
10. “Spanish Eyes”
Writer(s): Madonna, Patrick Leonard
Producer(s): Madonna and Patrick Leonard		 5:17
11. “Act of Contrition”
Writer(s): Madonna
Producer(s): "The Powers That Be"		 2:19

Singles

# Title Date
1. "Like a Prayer" February 1989
2. "Express Yourself" May 1989
3. "Cherish" August 1989
4. "Oh Father" November 1989
5. "Dear Jessie" December 1989 (Europe/Australia)
6. "Keep It Together" January 1990 (Nth. America/Japan/Australia)

Trivia

  • This album was ranked #100 on VH1's 100 Greatest Albums.
  • This album was ranked #16 on Rolling Stone magazine's 50 Essential 'Woman In Rock' Albums and was ranked #237 on Rolling Stone magazine's The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

Album Credits

Personnel

Production

  • Produced by Madonna and Patrick Leonard
  • Produced by Madonna and Stephen Bray ("Express Yourself" and "Keep It Together")
  • Produced by Madonna and Prince ("Love Song")
  • Mixed and Engineered by Bill Bottrell
  • Horns arranged by Chuck Findley
  • Strings Arranged and Conducted by Bill Meyers
  • Concertmaster: Susie Katayama

Certifications, Peaks & Sales

Country Peak Position Certification (If Any) Sales/shipments
Austria 1 Platinum [3] 50,000+
Brazil 2x Platinum [4] 730,000
Canada 5x Platinum [5] 500,000+
Denmark 26
Finland Platinum [6] 70,818+
France 1 2x Platinum [7] 600,000+
Germany 1 3x Gold [8] 450,000+
Netherlands Platinum [9] 100,000+
Norway 1
Sweden 1
Switzerland 1 2x Platinum [10] 100,000+
United Kingdom 1 4x Platinum [11] 1,200,000+
United States 1 4x Platinum [12] 4,000,000+

References

  1. ^ Madonna Album Charts and Statistics
  2. ^ http://eightiesclub.tripod.com/id135.htm Eightiesclub.com
  3. ^ IFPI Austria
  4. ^ ABPD
  5. ^ CRIA
  6. ^ IFPI Finland
  7. ^ Disque En France
  8. ^ IFPI Germany
  9. ^ NVPI
  10. ^ IFPI Switzerland
  11. ^ [1]
  12. ^ Billboard – Ask Billboard
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