"Like a Virgin" is the first single by American singer Madonna from the album of the same name and was released on November 6, 1984 by Sire Records. It also appears in a truncated and slightly remixed form on the 1990 greatest hits compilation The Immaculate Collection and the 2009 greatest hits compilation Celebration. Since its 1984 release, it has gone on to become one of Madonna's signature songs. "Like a Virgin" was honored by Rolling Stone and MTV in 2000 as the #4 song on their list of the 100 Greatest Pop Songs.

Background

Madonna's performance of this song at the 1984 MTV Video Music Awards made music history when she appeared in a bridal gown atop a giant wedding cake. She also notably lipsynched the song in a pink wig and custom-made Keith Haring jacket for a television performance on Solid Gold and the BBC's "Top of the Pops" chart show.
Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly wrote the song, and Kelly sang on the demo. In an interview with Songfacts, Steinberg said:

The bassline has been known as similar to Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" and The Four Tops' "I Can't Help Myself". Madonna acknowledged the similarities between her hit and those of Jackson and The Four Tops by incorporating elements of each into her live performances of "Like A Virgin" (with "Billie Jean" during 1985's The Virgin Tour and with "I Can't Help Myself" during 1987's Who's That Girl World Tour). The song also contains some lyrical parallels with Foreigner's "Feels Like the First Time."

In 2003, Madonna fans were asked to vote for their Top 20 Madonna singles of all-time by Q. "Like a Virgin" was allocated the #5 spot.

Chart performance

"Like a Virgin" became Madonna's first of 12 number-one hits on the Billboard Hot 100, remaining at the top for six consecutive weeks and eventually earning RIAA gold certification on January 10th 1985, selling over 1 million copies. (Prior to 1989, the requirement for a gold single was one million units sold.) The single also reached number one on the Hot Dance Club Play, and was her first top-ten hit on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.

"Like a Virgin" slammed onto the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 singles chart the week of November 17, 1984 at #48, and shot up the chart rapidly, reaching #1 by its sixth week, December 22, 1984. "Like a Virgin" was the first of four Top five singles from Madonna's album of the same name. "Like a Virgin" remained in the Top 10 for nine weeks, in the Top 20 for eleven weeks, and in the Top 40 for fourteen weeks.

The song debuted on the UK Singles Chart in November 1984 at number fifty-one and peaked at number three in early January 1985 and spent a total of eighteen weeks in the chart.

It was her first number one single in Australia, Canada and Japan.

Music videos

The music video, directed by Mary Lambert, was shot in Venice, Italy and partly in New York City in July 1984. It showed Madonna dancing on a gondola, and running around in a wedding dress intercut with shots of a panting lion. The video's MTV world premiere took place on November 13, 1984, and became an instant hit.

In 1985, a live music video of "Like a Virgin" from "The Virgin Tour" filmed in Detroit, Michigan was used to promote Live - The Virgin Tour video. This version was nominated for Best Choreography at the MTV Video Music Awards.

The live performance of "Like a Virgin" from the Blond Ambition World Tour in Paris, France was released as a music video on May 9, 1991 to promote the documentary film Truth or Dare. This version was nominated for two MTV Video Music Awards: Best Female Video and Best Choreography.

Live performances

200px|right|thumb|Madonna performing "Like a Virgin" on the Confessions Tour.
Like a Virgin made its debut at the first MTV Video Music Awards in 1984, where Madonna appeared on stage atop a giant wedding cake dressed in a wedding dress (adorned with the infamous "Boy Toy" belt buckle) and veil. The climax of her risqué performance found her humping and rolling around on the stage. The song has also been included in five of Madonna's eight tours. For 1985's The Virgin Tour, Madonna again donned wedding attire and performed a straight version of the song featuring a quotation from Michael Jackson's similar-sounding Motown-style single, "Billie Jean". In the 1987's Who's That Girl World Tour, the song was given a lighthearted comedic theme and included quotations from The Four Tops' "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)".

For the 1990 Blond Ambition World Tour, the song was re-invented with a middle-eastern arrangement and risqué (and ultimately infamous) choreography which found Madonna wearing a gold corset simulating masturbation on a red silk bed. The explicit performance garnered a lot of attention, particularly when police in Toronto, Canada threatened to arrest Madonna and charge her with indecency unless she altered the performance. Madonna refused and the show went on unaltered. She was never arrested. (This situation was documented in the singer's 1991 documentary, Truth or Dare). Madonna swapped the wedding dress for a tuxedo and adopted a Marlene Dietrich-like persona for 1993's The Girlie Show World Tour, singing the song with a thick German accent and including a quotation from Dietrich's signature tune, Falling in Love Again (Can't Help It).

In April 2003, an impromptu performance at Tower Records NYC was done as a request from the crowd and would later air on NBC. It was the crowd's response to her mentioning VIRGIN records, which brought on the request of Like a VIRGIN. Madonna's performance of Hollywood at the 2003 Video Music Awards recreated the 1984 performance of Like a Virgin, where she dressed as a bridegroom, with Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears joining her own stage dressed as brides. Following in the controversial footsteps of the original performance, Madonna created another stir by kissing Spears and Aguilera on the lips.

In 2006's Confessions Tour, the song was given a horse riding theme whilst the arrangement was brassy with more hooks than the original and featuring a thumping bass & brass climax in the middle. Madonna performed the song atop a studded leather S&M carousel horse while x-rays of her broken bones (the result of a horse-riding accident on her 47th birthday) flashed on the screens behind her.

In 2008's Sticky & Sweet Tour, Madonna sang the song in Rome and dedicated the song to Pope Benedict XVI, saying "I'd like to dedicate this song to the Pope, I know he loves me" and saying that she is a child of God. She asked the audience to sing with her. Throughout the remainder of the tour, Madonna sang "Like a Virgin" as the request song several more times, one of them being in Argentina; as the concerts there were filmed for the DVD release, the live acapella was broadcasted also on TV, not for the Sky1 UK airing but for the CityVibe Latinamerican airing.

Track listing

7" Single

• "Like a Virgin" – 3:38

• "Stay" – 4:04

12" Single

• "Like a Virgin" (Extended Dance Remix) – 6:04

• "Stay" – 4:04

Accolades

• "Like a Virgin" was honored by Rolling Stone and MTV in 2000 as the #4 song on their list of the "100 Greatest Pop Songs".

• This song was voted #10 on VH1's 100 Best Songs of the Past 25 Years.

• This song was voted #8 on VH1's "100 Greatest Songs of the 80's".

• The song was listed at #95 on Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Songs

• This video was ranked #61 on VH1's 100 Greatest Videos.

Credits

"Like a Virgin" was written by Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly and was produced by Nile Rodgers. Other credits on the song are as follows:

• Bass by Bernard Edwards.

• Guitar by Nile Rodgers.

• Drums by Tony Thompson.

• Assorted synthesizers and bass synthesizer by Rob Sabino.

Cover versions

In 1985 The Lords of the New Church recorded "Like a Virgin" for their compilation album Killer Lords. The same year, "Weird Al" Yankovic parodied the song with his single "Like a Surgeon", and the video contains several references to Madonna's original video. In 1991 Glaswegian band Teenage Fanclub covered "Like a Virgin" on their debut album, The King.

References in popular culture

In the opening scene of the 1992 film Reservoir Dogs, Quentin Tarantino (as Mr Brown) is talking about the song, and has an insight that "Like a Virgin" is a "metaphor for big dicks". When she met Quentin Tarantino at a party, after the film was released, she gave him an autographed copy of her Erotica album, signing "Quentin: it's about love, not dick".

In the 2004 film Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, the title character teaches the song to women in a Thai prison, after becoming annoyed that they are singing the song badly. She tells them, "Madonna is nothing if not a perfectionist!"

In the TV show Grey's Anatomy, Christina Yang hums the song during surgery to take the focus off herself. However, when her assisting surgery, Lexie Grey starts singing along, Christina looks venomously at her until she quiets down.

Charts