True Blue (Madonna song)
"True Blue" is a song by American singer Madonna from her third studio album of the same name (1986), released as the third single on September 10, 1986, by Sire Records. Written and produced by Madonna and Steve Bray, the song deals with Madonna's feelings for her then-husband Sean Penn. A dance-pop song, it features instrumentation from a rhythm guitar, a synthesizer, keyboards, and drums. The main chorus is backed by an alternate one, incorporating a chord progression generally found in doo-wop music.
"True Blue"
Received by critics as a light-hearted and cute retro song, "True Blue" topped the charts in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Canada and became another consecutive top-ten song in United States for Madonna, by reaching number three on the Billboard Hot 100. The original music video portrayed her again with a new look, leaner and sporting platinum blond bushy hair. An alternate video was made through the "Make My Video" contest on MTV. The final selected videos had a similar theme of a 1950s-inspired setting and the storyline following the lyrics of the song. "True Blue" has been performed on the Who's That Girl World Tour (1987) and the Rebel Heart Tour (2015–2016).
Background and writing[edit]
When Madonna had started working on her third studio album, True Blue in 1985, she was already in a relationship with actor Sean Penn whom she married by the year-end. It was the first album that the singer acted in the role of a record producer and wanted to add her own "sophistication" to it. Her optimism assimilated in the songs created, including the title track, which she co-wrote and co-produced the song with Stephen Bray.[2][3] According to Madonna, "True Blue" takes its title from a favorite expression of Penn and to his very pure vision of love.[4] The song and the album was Madonna's "unabashed valentine" for Penn.[5][6] In an interview, Bray said, "She [Madonna] was very much in love. It was obvious if she's in love she'll write love songs. If she's not in love she definitely won't be writing love songs."[7] In 2015, Madonna said that "True Blue" is "a song about true love. I didn't know what I was talking about when I wrote it."[8]
Composition and lyrics[edit]
"True Blue" is a dance-pop song which was musically inspired by the Motown's girl groups from the 1960s which are considered the direct antecedents of Madonna's musical sound, and the music she had grown up in her hometown Detroit.[3][4] The song is composed in the key of B major. It is set in compound quadruple meter, commonly used in doo-wop, and has a moderate tempo of 118 beats per minute.[9] "True Blue" features instrumentation from a rhythm guitar, a synthesizer, keyboards, and drums for the bassline,[10] with a basic sequence of I–vi–IV–V (B–G♯m–E–F♯) as its main chord progression.[11]
Madonna's vocal range spans a bit less than one and a half octaves, from F♯3 to B4.[9] The chorus is backed by sounds of bells ringing, an alternate verse—"This time I know it's true"— which is sung by three back-up singers during the interlude,[12] and a bass counter melody which introduces her vocals during the second chorus.[11] The lyrics are constructed in a verse-chorus form, with the theme being Madonna's feelings for Penn; it uses the archaic love word "dear" in the line "Just think back and remember, dear".[13] According to author Lucy O'Brien, who wrote in her biography Madonna: Like an Icon, the verse-and-chorus composition was reminiscent of The Dixie Cups' 1964 single "Chapel of Love", with backup singers Siedah Garrett and Edie Lehman accompanying Madonna's convincing "girly" vocals like a choir.[3]
Chart performance[edit]
"True Blue" was released in the United States in October 1986. It debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 40,[25] six weeks later it reached its peak of number three, remaining at the position for three consecutive weeks, and spent a total of 16 weeks on the chart.[26] The song performed equally well on the other Billboard charts, peaking at number five on Adult Contemporary,[27] and number six on the Hot Dance Club Songs chart.[28] In October 1998, the single was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipment of 500,000 copies.[29] In Canada, the song debuted at number 84 the RPM singles chart on September 27, 1986,[30] reached the top for one week in November 1986,[31] and stayed on the chart for 23 weeks.[32] It ended at number 37 on the year-end chart.[33]
In the United Kingdom, "True Blue" was released on September 29, 1986. It debuted at number three on the UK Singles Chart, before climbing to number one the next week, becoming Madonna's third number-one single there.[34] It was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) in October 1986.[35] According to the Official Charts Company, the song has sold 557,000 copies there as of August 2016.[36] The song peaked at number one for two weeks in October 1986 in Ireland, making it her fourth number-one single on the Irish Singles Chart.[37] In Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, the song reached the top five, and was certified platinum in the former region by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for sales of 70,000 copies of the single.[38] In Europe "True Blue" also topped the Eurochart Hot 100 for one week in October 1986. It peaked in the top five in Belgium and the Netherlands,[39][40] and in the top ten in Austria, France, Germany, and Switzerland.[41][42][43]
Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.[65]