True Blue (Madonna album)
True Blue is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, released on June 30, 1986, by Sire Records. In early 1985, Madonna became romantically involved with actor Sean Penn, and married him six months later on her 27th birthday. Additionally, she met producer Patrick Leonard while on the Virgin Tour, and formed a professional relationship with him. The first songs they created together were "Love Makes the World Go Round", and the ballad "Live to Tell", which was featured on At Close Range, a film which Penn starred. On late 1985, Madonna and Leonard began working on her third studio album; she also enlisted the help of former boyfriend Stephen Bray, with whom she had worked on her previous record Like a Virgin (1984). Titled True Blue, the record saw Madonna co-writing and co-producing for the first time in her career. Inspired by Madonna's love for Penn, to whom she dedicated it, True Blue is a dance-pop album that features influences of Motown sound, girl groups, and Latin pop.
True Blue
June 30, 1986
December 1985 – April 1986
Channel (Los Angeles)
40:20
- Madonna
- Stephen Bray
- Patrick Leonard
Upon release, the album was well received by critics, who complimented Madonna's vocals and musical growth. It was an immediate global success, reaching number one in a record-breaking 28 countries across the world. With over 25 million copies sold worldwide, True Blue is the best-selling album of 1986, the best-selling of the 1980s by a female artist, and one of the best-selling albums of all time. Five singles were released from the album ―all reached the top five of the Billboard Hot 100, with three going to number one. The album was promoted on Madonna's second concert tour, 1987's Who's That Girl World Tour, which visited cities in Asia, North America, and Europe. True Blue is credited as the album that established Madonna's position as the biggest female artist of the 1980s, rivaling male musicians like Michael Jackson and Prince. It's also considered the album that made her an icon and artist.
Composition[edit]
Daryl Easlea, author of Madonna: Blond Ambition, described True Blue as a "girlish" album, "the sound of a woman in love".[18] Made up of "highly commercial dance-pop [with] lyrics [that] convey an upbeat message along with casual autobiographical references", it contains musical references to Motown sound and girl groups.[33] Her love for Penn "seep[s] into every song", as noted by author Lucy O'Brien.[34] Adam Sexton pointed out that, "[Madonna] transforms her own marital bliss into high-school accessible scenarios of a girl breaking down a bad boy's defense".[35] Opener "Papa Don't Preach" is a dance post-disco track, with lyrics that see a daughter telling her father she is pregnant and refuses to have an abortion or give up the baby for adoption, despite her friends' advice.[36] The strings in the introduction nod to classical and Baroque music.[37] The following track, "Open Your Heart", is a "simple" "dizzy, driving" dance-pop love song "brimming with sexual innuendo".[22][38][39] Lyrically, it is a "tale of an unrequited love for someone seen on the street", and begins with Madonna whispering watch out! just as the opening drums kick in.[14][22]
Third track "White Heat" was dedicated to actor James Cagney and named after the 1949 film of the same name. It is a "standard" uptempo dance track, with synth bass and doubletracked vocals; also present are two quotes from the original soundtrack, "with speech and gunshots", one at the beginning and one towards the end.[14] "Live to Tell" is a pop ballad whose background instrumentation features a keyboard, a synthesizer, electric guitar and a mix of synthesized and real drumming.[40] Lyrically, it talks about the complexity of deceit, mistrust, and "bearing the burden of some enigmatic secret and coping with a painful past".[40][41] Fifth track "Where's the Party" is a dance song described by Madonna herself as a statement about "what it's like to be in the middle of this press stuff with everybody on my back".[42] Inspired by Motown and girl groups from the 1960s, title track "True Blue" is Madonna's tribute to Penn.[2] The verse-and-chorus composition is reminiscent of that of The Dixie Cups' "Chapel of Love" (1964), with backup singers Siedah Garrett and Edie Lehman accompanying Madonna's convincing "girly" vocals like a choir.[34]
"La Isla Bonita" combines flamenco guitar, Latin percussion, electronic sounds, and maracas.[27][43] Lyrically, it talks about a "humble observer, captured by the rhythm of an imagined island" named San Pedro, with mentions of "tropical breeze" and "nature wild and free".[29][44][45] It starts with an introduction performed on bongos, before descending into castanets.[42] Madonna then utters the phrase ¿Cómo puede ser verdad? ("How can it be true?").[46] In one line, she specifically sings, Last night I dreamt of San Pedro/Just like I'd never gone, I knew the song.[44] One of the album's "happiest" cuts is "Jimmy Jimmy", which has influences of New wave music.[13] In the lyrics, Madonna commemorates her "youthful fascination" with actor James Dean; "I used to fantasize that we grew up in the same neighbourhood and that he moved away and became a big star", she recalled.[2][42] Closer "Love Makes the World Go Round" incorporates Latin drums and samba-influenced rhythms, and lyrics that talk about anti-war and anti-poverty.[42]
Commercial performance[edit]
On July 19, 1986, True Blue entered the Billboard 200 at number 29.[113] Five weeks later, it reached the first spot; it was Madonna's second number one album after Like a Virgin, thus she became one of five female artists in the rock era to reach the top spot with back-to-back releases.[114] It stayed on the top position for five consecutive weeks, and on the chart for a total of 82 weeks.[115][116] True Blue was certified seven times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipment of over seven million units, making it Madonna's third best-selling album in the United States, behind Like a Virgin and The Immaculate Collection (1990).[117] With the advent of the Nielsen SoundScan era in 1991, the album sold a further 404,000 copies as of August 2010.[118] 79,000 additional copies were sold through BMG Music Clubs, which are not counted by the Nielsen SoundScan.[119] In Canada, True Blue debuted on the 73rd spot of the RPM Albums Chart on July 5, 1986; it quickly climbed up the chart and reached the top on August 9.[120][121] By July, it had surpassed the 10-times-platinum mark for 1 million sales Canadian, and was eventually certified diamond by the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA) for shipment of one million copies.[122][123] Madonna became the second female artist to achieve this behind Whitney Houston.[122]
In Argentina, the album reached the chart's top spot and was certified four-times platinum by the Cámara Argentina de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas (CAPIF) for shipment of over 240,000 copies.[124][125] In Brazil, True Blue sold 205,000 copies during its first-two weeks, and reached the chart's first spot;[126][127] with sales of 680,000 units, it was one of the best-selling albums in 1987, and received a gold cerification by the Associação Brasileira dos Produtores de Discos (ABPD).[128][129] With over 1 million copies sold, True Blue remains as the best-selling album in Brazil by an international female artist.[130]
In Japan, the album peaked at number one on the Oricon chart.[131] At the 1987 Japan Gold Disc Awards, held by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ), True Blue received "Album of the Year Pop Solo" and "Grand Prix Album of the Year", which was given for the year's best-selling international album, while Madonna was honored the "Artist of the Year" for being the year's best-selling international artist.[132] In Hong Kong, the album was certified platinum by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI).[133] In Australia, True Blue remained on the first spot of the Kent Music Report for two weeks.[134] Additionally, it was certified four times platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for shipment of 280,000 copies.[135] Similarly, it reached number one in New Zealand and was certified five times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ) for shipment of 75,000 copies.[136]
Across Europe, True Blue sold 5 million copies by July 1987, and reached the top of the European Top 100 Albums chart.[137][138] It spent a total of 31 weeks at number one, from July 19, 1986, to March 7, 1987, the longest number one album runner in the history of the European charts.[138] In the United Kingdom, the album debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart on July 12, 1986, making it the first album by an American artist to debut at number one in British chart history.[139][74] It spent six weeks at the top, shifting just shy of two million by the end of the year, and was 1986's best selling album.[74] True Blue was certified seven times platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for shipment of 2.1 million copies and, as of June 2019, has sold over two million copies.[140][141] True Blue also topped the albums chart in France and received a diamond certification by the Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique (SNEP) for shipment of one million copies.[142][143] Actual sales of the album in the country stand at 1,300,000 copies as of March 2012.[144] Similarly, in Germany True Blue also reached the first spot in Germany, and was certified two times platinum by the Bundesverband Musikindustrie (BVMI) for shipment of one million copies.[145][146] It reached the first spot of the charts in Italy, Belgium, Spain, and Switzerland.[147][148][149][150] According to biographer Christopher Andersen, True Blue went gold in countries where it didn't even reached number one.[151] By August 1987, True Blue had sold over five million copies;[152] worldwide, it has sold more than 25 million copies.[153]
Notes