Like a Prayer is the fourth studio album by
American singer-songwriter
Madonna, released on
March 21,
1989 by
Sire Records. The RIAA certified it
Quadruple Platinum on July 16 1997, recognizing four million shipments in the U.S. - making it her seventh best-selling album there. Worldwide, it has sold more than 11 million copies.
The album was also ranked number 237 on
Rolling Stone magazine's list of
the 500 greatest albums of all time.
Album history
"Like a Prayer" incorporates rock, dance, pop, soul, and funk elements.
Rolling Stone magazine hailed it
"as close to art as pop music gets". Recorded in 1988 with collaborators
Patrick Leonard and
Stephen Bray, it includes a duet with
Prince and features the first of several songs in her repertoire, "Promise to Try"
, about her mother's death. The album is dedicated to "my mother who taught me to pray." She also addresses her failed marriage to actor
Sean Penn in "Till Death Do Us Part."
In a rather unique instance of album marketing, the packaging on the first pressings of the CD, cassette, and LP of
Like a Prayer were scented to simulate church incense, reportedly with Madonna's favorite scent,
patchouli oil.
Also included was an insert about the dangers of AIDS and how to avoid it.
For years, there were rumors that Prince played rhythm guitar on "Like A Prayer" and "Keep It Together." Madonna had often reported that when Prince came to the studio to play, he was doing "some weird shit" on his guitar, little of which Madonna was able to use on the album. It was later confirmed by Madonna that Prince did in fact play on both songs, albeit uncredited. His guitar rambling can be heard in the intro to "Like A Prayer," and backwards on "Act of Contrition."
Before the commercial release of the first single, the title track "Like a Prayer,"
Pepsi decided to use the song as part of a soft drink commercial featuring Madonna. In addition, the company struck a deal to sponsor her 1990
Blond Ambition Tour. The commercial aired twice before the release of the music video on
MTV. Pepsi was unaware of the video's content: Madonna witnesses a murder, kisses a black saint (
St. Martin de Porres), displays
stigmata after cutting her palms on a knife, and dances in a field of
burning crosses. Some religious groups were furious and threatened to boycott Pepsi, who in turn decided to cancel the ad campaign and tour sponsorship, though Madonna kept the contracted $5 million. The promotional Pepsi cans featuring a picture of Madonna from the "Like A Prayer" commercial were recalled, and have become one of the most highly sought after Madonna collectables.
Perhaps partially due to the publicity created by the controversy, the single soared to number one on the
Billboard Hot 100 chart in the
USA. The album debuted at number eleven, and within three weeks was number one, where it would stay for over a month. The singles "
Express Yourself" and "
Cherish" both reached number two. "
Oh Father" was her least successful single since 1984, peaking at number twenty. "
Keep It Together" reached number eight, and "
Dear Jessie" became a hit single in Europe, with an animated video. At the 1989
MTV Video Music Awards, Madonna performed a high-energy version of "
Express Yourself" as a preview for her upcoming world tour, and received the
MTV Viewers' Choice award for the "Like A Prayer" video. She performed "Like A Prayer," "Express Yourself," "
Cherish," "
Oh Father" and "
Keep It Together" in her
1990 tour.
According to a list released by
Time magazine on
November 13,
2006,
Like a Prayer is one of the
100 greatest albums of all time. In 2003, Rolling Stones magazine named it the 237th
greatest album of all time. Apart from that the album is featured in the book
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.
Track listing
Additional notes- "Spanish Eyes" was titled "Pray for Spanish Eyes" on the LP release, the U.S. cassette version and also the "Oh Father" single release in 1989.
- "Act of Contrition" is produced by "The Powers That Be" (Madonna and Patrick Leonard).
Singles
Certifications, peaks and sales
Album credits
Personnel
- Percussion: Sandra Crouch
- Guitars: Chester Kamen, David Williams, Dann Huff, Bruce Gaitsch
- Synthesizers: Patrick Leonard, Jai Winding, Stephen Bray, Madonna
- Acoustic Piano, B3 Organ, Clavinet: Patrick Leonard
- Brass Section: Chuck Findley, David Boruff, Steven Madaio, Dick Hyde
- Solo Cello: Larry Corbett
- Backing Vocals: Madonna, Niki Harris, Marilyn Martin, Donna DeLory, Ali Nadirah, Lynne Fiddmont, Rose Banks, Marcos Loya, The Andrae Crouch Choir
- Horn Arrangement: Chuck Findley
- Strings Arranged & Conducted By Bill Meyers
- Concertmaster: Suzie Katayama
Production
- Tracks 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10 Produced By Madonna & Patrick Leonard
- Tracks 2 & 9 Produced By Madonna & Stepehn Bray
- Track 3 Produced By Madonna & Prince
- Track 11 Produced By "The Powers That Be"
- Additional Engineering By Michael Vail Blum
- Engineering At Paisley Park By Eddie Miller, Stephen Shelton & Heidi Hanschu
- Additional Engineering: Robert Salcedo, Stacy Baird, Joe Schiff
