List of unreleased songs recorded by Madonna
The following songs recorded by Madonna were not released commercially. Some songs have been given to other recording artists for recording. The list encompasses studio-quality recordings by Madonna that were not commercially or promotionally released by a reputable label, documented demo versions of songs not released in any form, early demo versions of released songs where there is a substantial difference to the released versions (such as completely different melody), and officially commissioned and Madonna-related professional remix not chosen for release.
This article is about unreleased songs recorded in studio. For unreleased songs performed live, see List of Madonna live performances.Royalty Collection Agency Records (, BMI, MCPS)
ASCAP
Music Publisher Records of Madonna and her various collaborators work together.
Reliable and credible media reports thought to be free of overseas translation errors or possible confusions.
Interviews with Madonna's song writing partners such as . He appeared in the article "Unreleased Madonna Songs" by Bruce Baron in Goldmine Magazine 1999. See transcript at Madonna Ultiography
Stephen Bray
Actual visit in year 2000 by 1999 Goldmine article author to US copyright office to review materials discussed in article. See
notes at Madonnacatalog.com
"No Running in the City" and "All My Love" appear on a 1979 acoustic, solo demo tape alongside early versions of "Simon Says",[2] "Shine A Light"[3][4] (introduced as "Hear Me"), "Little Boy Lost",[5] "Safe Neighbourhood",[6][7] "Love Express",[8] three instrumentals and two takes of an unknown and un-named song. The tape originates from the post-Breakfast Club / pre-Emmy period when Madonna was recruiting musicians for her own ensemble. The full story of the tape – remarkable as it is performed almost entirely solo with Madonna playing guitar and singing – appears in the March 2009 issue of UK magazine Record Collector and was featured on MSNBC.[9][10]
[1]
"Born to Be a Dancer", an alternate version of "Over & Over", "Tell the Truth" and "I Got Trouble (Roll Over It)" taken from Dan and Ed Gilroy's private tapes (1979). Audio excerpts were made available by Andrew Morton on news-reporting and opinion website in 2009 as "The Gilroys' Lost Madonna Tapes".[11] Another song not made available; "Trouble" is remembered by Ed Gilroy as the first song Madonna wrote (instead of "Tell the Truth", as Madonna recalls).[12]
The Daily Beast
"(I Like) Love for Tender", "No Time for Love",[14] "Bells Ringing"[15][16] and "Drowning"[17] are all featured on Madonna's studio demo tape with the band Emmy and the Emmy's in 1980.[18] Other Emmy tracks such as "Simon Says" are not included here because they were either live recordings or already legally released on a small indie label.[19] They belong listed on the Madonna discography page. NOTE: A studio version of "Simon Says" is included on the Shamrock Tape. See below for corrected track listing. "Do You?" and "Hothouse Flower" were performed in an art film of which excerpts have been shown on TV.
[13]
"Tell the Truth" and "Hothouse Flower" and "Simon Says"[2] and "I Got Trouble (Roll Over It)" and "Oh Oh (The Sky Is Blue)" and "Nobody Wants to Be Alone (Once I Thought I Was Good)" and "Well Well" – early recordings recorded on the "Shamrock" reel-to-reel tape. It was recently auctioned to a private owner. "Tell the Truth" was allegedly the very first song Madonna ever recorded (with the help of Dan Gilroy of the band The Breakfast Club). In 2005 Madonna sang the chorus of "Tell the Truth" during an interview with Parkinson on UK TV.[21] She also discussed writing the song in Rolling Stone magazine (October 2009).[22]
[20]
"Take Me (I Want You)", "Best Girl" and "Nobody's Fool", with Emmy And The Emmys. Demo recordings of "Take Me (I Want You)" have leaked online. Live versions of "Best Girl" and "Nobody's Fool" songs have also leaked, along with live versions of other Emmy-era tracks (already mentioned) from this period.
[23]
"Prisoner", "Head Over Heels", "Get Away" and "Call on Me" – possible early recordings from the Emmys era; those titles are listed on a hand-written set-list spotted in some pictures of a 1980/1981 live gig, taken by photographer George DuBose. Those pictures are famous among collectors as being related to the Underground Club performance. There is actually no evidence that Madonna recorded those songs on tape, they could be compositions written and intended just for live concerts; some audio-tape from rehearsals (featuring those songs) may or may not exist. The existence of these tracks has been confirmed as being on the actual set-list. Those Underground Club pictures can be seen in a large number of fan sites' photo-galleries[25] and even on George DuBose's official site.[26]
[24]
"We Live in a House", written by , Janis Galloway and Madonna in 1982. US copyright registration # PAu-1-843-482.[27] It was recorded with the second incarnation of the band Spinal Root Gang, which co-writer Josh Braun founded with his twin brother and his father in the early 80s, as he explained interviewed in 2017.[28] In the interview Braun says he met Madonna when she was rehearsing with Emmy at the Music Building in New York, and that by coincidence around the same time she rented a room to Braun senior in the Upper East Side. Josh Braun's father wanted to put a new version of Spinal Root Gang together with Madonna as a singer. She asked if her friend Janis Galloway could be part of the band too and they agreed. Josh says they wrote "We Live in a House" together and recorded a demo with his father playing saxophone and Madonna as the only singer, since for some reason she said Janis that the scheduled recording wasn't happening.[28] Sample lyric: "We live in a house, and people just don't care. We live in a house, they don't go anywhere." Madonna screams at one point: "You can't come into my house."
Josh Braun
"Ain't No Big Deal" The released version was produced by in 1982 and appeared as the B-side of her "True Blue" single in 1986, though this is an alternate version to the unreleased version mentioned above.[37] Originally intended to be Madonna's first single. Three more separate unreleased studio versions were also produced each by Mark Kamins, Stephen Bray and John "Jellybean" Benitez. They were all shelved by Sire Records when the song was recorded and released in 1983 by the female disco act Barracuda on 12-inch vinyl Epic Records release 49-04264.[38] "Ain't No Big Deal" was included in the US compilation album Revenge of the Killer B's, Vol. 2.[39][40]
Reggie Lucas
"Physical Attraction", US copyright registration PAu-484-430 from February 1983 credits words and music created in 1982 only to Madonna as sole author as does April 1983 publisher transfer registration PAu-506-929.[42] Producer Reggie Lucas is not credited as the sole author of this song until 1984 registration PA-210-598[43] for the 12" commercial single release for the work created and published in 1983 and has been the only credited songwriter since.
[41]
"Writer's Block", listed in the MCPS-PRS database as being written by Madonna and Richard Lewis Warren for the 1984 TV show starring Jon Erik-Hexum and Jennifer O'Neill. An episode by this name first aired on November 24, 1984 (Season 1, Episode 7) without crediting either Madonna or Richard Lewis Warren.[44] However, that episode does include "Lucky Star" which means this entry is most likely an error in the database.
Cover Up
"Dick Tracy", written by . This did not appear on the I'm Breathless album. ASCAP title code# 340325268.[67] Another "Dick Tracy" performed by Madonna is listed in the APRA database id code# GW04472893[68] and was written solely by Daniel Elfman.
Patrick Leonard
"Dog House" Another title reported in circa 1990 for the film Dick Tracy. A song titled "You're in the Dog House Now" performed by Brenda Lee and co-written by Andy Paley was included on the Dick Tracy soundtrack. This is a possible replacement for the Madonna recorded track, considering the precedents of Madonna's own recordings of "Now I'm Following You" which was replaced in the film by a version sung by co-writer Andy Paley, and "Back In Business" being replaced by a same-titled track by Stephen Sondheim.[69]
Billboard magazine
Various "Dick Tracy" demos – Leaked on 7-inch vinyl in the early-1990s at record collector shows under the name of "MA-HONEY". Rehearsal sound quality is rather poor and the printed jacket track listing was incorrect and is corrected as follows "More", "I Always Get My Man" (actually "Sooner or Later"), "What Can You Get" (actually "What Can You Lose", sung by Madonna only (ie without her duet partner Mandy Patinkin)). These recordings (which included two different versions of 'I Always Get My Man' and a demo version of 'Now I'm Following You') were included on a bootleg album called 'Calendar Girl' in 1991.[70] This album is credited to a "B. Mahoney" and includes the official Color Mix of "True Blue", four songs from the Blond Ambition Tour live in Barcelona, the faux-Madonna track 'Lies in Your Eyes', and a recording of Madonna singing "Santa Baby" taken from the A Very Special Christmas compilation released in 1987.
bootleg
"To Love You", written by Madonna and . Listed in the Warner-Chappel database but remains unreleased. The demo was re-recorded in 1994 but it is unreleased too. The supposed full lyrics for this song have been published on several song lyric websites.
Andy Paley
"Get Over", recorded with around the time of the Immaculate Collection. (It was going to be the third new song on the greatest hits album.) Madonna's demo version remains unreleased. The song was later recorded and released by actor/model Nick Scotti with Madonna backing vocals produced by Madonna and Shep Pettibone for the film Nothing But Trouble in 1992. Listed as song #301415 in the CMRRA database.[71] It was also included on Nick Scotti's self-titled debut album, and released as a single.[72][73]
Stephen Bray
"Alone Again", a Madonna co-write with , CMRRA song registration# 1775314.[125] A song widely publicised in the media in 2002 as having been recorded by Kylie Minogue.[126] The Minogue version was supposed to be the B-side to her "Come into My World" single,[126] but the song remained unreleased until it was featured in the Kylie documentary "White Diamond",[127] which premiered on October 16, 2007. Madonna and Rick Nowels are credited as writers. Madonna is also thanked in the credits of the film. Madonna has two ASCAP entries for this song.[128][129] Her own version remains unreleased.
Rick Nowels
"Little Girl" and "La Petite Jeune Fille" (translation: "The Little Girl") Written and produced with William Orbit, recorded during the Music sessions. The original ballad "Little Girl" leaked onto the internet on September 18, 2010. An early demo instrumental version of the song, with the title of 'Dear Pumpkin' leaked onto the internet in April 2011. Confirmed ASCAP title codes 420566552.[134] 420566570 and 430653519. The second version of the song, "La Petite Jeune Fille" with similar lyrics, is an up-tempo dance song (resembling "Runaway Lover" from the same album) and leaked on the internet on December 14, 2011. A William Orbit produced alternate demo also leaked in April 2021.
[133]
"Liquid Love", co-written and produced by William Orbit, originates from late 1999, presumably from the same sessions that yielded "Amazing" and "Runaway Lover", which would end up being featured on her Music album in 2000. Madonna confirmed in a 2005 interview with Attitude that the track was also supposed to be on the album but was axed because it gave her "the wrong tingles". When the song leaked onto the internet on June 3, 2006,[135] it became clear that the song "Bubble Universe" from William Orbit's album Hello Waveforms was actually based on the same instrumental track.[130] An alternate mix of "Liquid Love" leaked onto the internet on August 15, 2008.[131][136]
[130]
"Mysore Smile". Written and produced with William Orbit but never used or released. Instrumental leaked by William Orbit in 2013. It appeared to be an early version of "Cyber-Raga", a B-side for "Music" and "Don't Tell Me" and also a bonus track for the Japanese and Australian editions of Music, the album. Mysore is a city in India, a center of yoga and meditation study.
[137]
"Run". Written and produced with William Orbit but never used or released. Confirmed title code 480358398.[138] "Run" has since been released in instrumental form on William Orbit's official Streamcast site, with the track retitled "Forbidden Planet".[139] It was also revealed by Peter Magennis in a 2008 interview with madonnalicious.com that Swedish girl group Sahara Hotnights recorded a cover of "Run" that remains unreleased, as was revealed to Peter during his interview with long-time Orbit collaborator, Rico Conning.[140] On January 11, 2011, William Orbit commented on "Run" on his Twitter account. He stated that he would not release the song, after receiving multiple requests from fans to leak the song in full. Clips of Madonna's Run demo leaked onto the internet on April 19, 2011, the full demo leaking two days later.[141][142]
ASCAP
"Arioso", written and produced by Madonna and William Orbit. The title was misspelled as "Ariosa". In , arioso is a type of solo vocal piece, usually occurring in an opera. Literally, arioso means airy. This song is actually from where the notorious Wonderland 47-seconds track – used for a TV series from 1999 – comes (see below).[143] A 30-second snippet leaked online, on August 4, 2014.[144] The song leaked in full on December 25, 2014 amidst the mass leak of demos from her album Rebel Heart. The demo was based on Johann Sebastian Bach's Arioso, Adagio in G from Cantata BWV 156.[143]
classical music
"Wonderland", the 45-second score to the . The series aired only two episodes due to controversial content which viewers found disturbing. ASCAP title code 530521409.[145] Written by Madonna and William Orbit. The full track remained unreleased until "Arioso" surfaced at Christmas 2014 (see above).[143] When various other Madonna demos recorded with William Orbit leaked onto the internet in the summer of 2008, a slightly different version of this track leaked, crediting actor Rupert Everett as a co-vocalist (cf. William Orbit's blog post 54).[146]
short lived ABC TV show of the same name
"The Funny Song". ASCAP Title Code: 501807576. Writers: Ciccone Madonna L. Madonna performed a live version of this song as part of her 2001 Drowned World Tour setlist, calling it her "brand new song".[148] Madonna recorded a studio version in preparation for the tour, along with the rest of the setlist. While most of the other studio recorded setlist songs have been made available online, the studio version of this song remains unleaked. The track is also listed in the Warner/Chappell Music database with Madonna again credited as sole composer. The song is often listed as "Oh Dear Daddy" or "The Funny Song (Oh Dear Daddy)" on lyric web sites, due to its chorus.
[147]
"(title(s) unknown)", two songs recorded with Belgian-Congolese fusion group mixed by Pairs-based Bengali artist Subhendu Bapi Das Baul says the Screen India June 8, 2001. Plus a third recording is a Madonna guest vocal on a Bapi Das Baul track says the India Today April 2, 2001. Ultimately, Shubhendu ended up cutting not one, but two tracks. So far, these collaborations have not surfaced.[149]
Zap Mama
"Bang Bang Boom", original demo for "". The song contains some of the same lyrics but the composition is completely different from the album version released on MDNA. The lyrical structure of the song is somewhat altered, however, the intonation of the vocals is very different. The song leaked in full via the internet on May 14, 2012.[178] The Priscilla Renea songwriter's demo, sung entirely by Renea herself, also leaked to the Internet some time in 2012/13.[179]