Who's That Girl
Who's That Girl: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, commonly referred to as simply ‘Who's That Girl’, is a soundtrack album by Madonna, from the film of the same name.
Despite a mostly negative response from critics, the soundtrack was a commercial success and went on to sell six million copies worldwide.
Despite a mostly negative response from critics, the soundtrack was a commercial success and went on to sell six million copies worldwide.
1. Background
After the commercial success of her film ‘Desperately Seeking Susan’ in 1985, Madonna wanted to act in another comedy film. However, due to the critical and commercial failure of her most recent film Shanghai Surprise in 1986, Warner Bros. were initially reluctant to green light the project. They later agreed, after Madonna convinced them and also because they wanted to cash in on Madonna's success with soundtracks.
Madonna began working on the soundtrack in December 1986, and contacted Patrick Leonard and Stephen Bray, who had worked as producers on her third studio album True Blue. She felt that an uptempo song and a downtempo song were needed for the album. Leonard composed the music for the uptempo song, with Madonna providing the melody and lyrics. The singer named the track ‘Who's That Girl’ and, believing this to be a better title than Slammer, (and possibly because nobody wanted to refer to the prison ('slammer') when Madonna's husband Sean Penn kept getting into trouble…) changed the name of the film to the same. Together, Madonna and Leonard also developed the downtempo ballad "The Look of Love". Two more songs were composed for the film with Bray, the first being the funky "Causing a Commotion", and the other being "Can't Stop", a track inspired by Sixties Motown and the group Martha and the Vandellas.
The soundtrack is widely viewed as a Madonna album, her forth, as she performs half of the songs. With the tracklist sequencing putting three of the Madonna's tracks first, and with her face appearing dominantly on the cover art, it was hardly surprising that ‘Who's That Girl’ became a Madonna album by default.
In addition to the Madonna tracks, the album also included tracks by some acts on Warner Bros. Records, namely Club Nouveau, Scritti Politti and Michael Davidson. Commercially unsuccessful and unknown in the US, these groups needed a platform to project their songs, and including them in a Madonna album seemed like the ideal marketing opportunity for Warner. Two further tracks by Duncan Faure and Coati Mundi were included on the soundtrack at the request of Madonna since they were her friends.
The album did not receive any specific promotion as it was only created as a promotional tool itself for the film of the same name.
Madonna began working on the soundtrack in December 1986, and contacted Patrick Leonard and Stephen Bray, who had worked as producers on her third studio album True Blue. She felt that an uptempo song and a downtempo song were needed for the album. Leonard composed the music for the uptempo song, with Madonna providing the melody and lyrics. The singer named the track ‘Who's That Girl’ and, believing this to be a better title than Slammer, (and possibly because nobody wanted to refer to the prison ('slammer') when Madonna's husband Sean Penn kept getting into trouble…) changed the name of the film to the same. Together, Madonna and Leonard also developed the downtempo ballad "The Look of Love". Two more songs were composed for the film with Bray, the first being the funky "Causing a Commotion", and the other being "Can't Stop", a track inspired by Sixties Motown and the group Martha and the Vandellas.
The soundtrack is widely viewed as a Madonna album, her forth, as she performs half of the songs. With the tracklist sequencing putting three of the Madonna's tracks first, and with her face appearing dominantly on the cover art, it was hardly surprising that ‘Who's That Girl’ became a Madonna album by default.
In addition to the Madonna tracks, the album also included tracks by some acts on Warner Bros. Records, namely Club Nouveau, Scritti Politti and Michael Davidson. Commercially unsuccessful and unknown in the US, these groups needed a platform to project their songs, and including them in a Madonna album seemed like the ideal marketing opportunity for Warner. Two further tracks by Duncan Faure and Coati Mundi were included on the soundtrack at the request of Madonna since they were her friends.
The album did not receive any specific promotion as it was only created as a promotional tool itself for the film of the same name.
2. Legacy
The album’s legacy suffered due to a number of factors. As the soundtrack is not a full Madonna studio album, it was no surprise that it appeared incomplete. In additional, while the Madonna tracks were the album’s highlights, they were not her best. Critics noted that they were competent but uninspiring and Madonna herself would later overlook all the tracks when compiling her first ‘Greatest Hits’ collection. Ultimately, the album suffered from its association with the failure of the movie.
Nonetheless, the title track became Madonna’s sixth number one single on the Billboard Hot 100, making her the first artist to accumulate six number-one singles in the 1980s. She was also the first female performer to achieve that many number-ones as a solo act. In the UK the title track was her fifth number one, her second in 1987, and would contribute to her being the most successful singles artist of the year.
Nonetheless, the title track became Madonna’s sixth number one single on the Billboard Hot 100, making her the first artist to accumulate six number-one singles in the 1980s. She was also the first female performer to achieve that many number-ones as a solo act. In the UK the title track was her fifth number one, her second in 1987, and would contribute to her being the most successful singles artist of the year.
3. Track Listing
|
No.
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. |
Title
"Who's That Girl" - Madonna "Causing a Commotion" - Madonna "The Look of Love" - Madonna "24 Hours" - Duncan Faure "Step by Step" - Club Nouveau "Turn It Up" - Michael Davidson "Best Thing Ever" - Scritti Politti "Can't Stop" - Madonna "El Coco Loco (So So Bad)" - Coati Mundi |
Writer(s)
Madonna, Patrick Leonard Madonna, Stephen Bray Madonna, Leonard Mary Kessler, Joey Wilson Jay King, Denzil Foster, Thomas McElroy, David Agent Michael Davidson, Frederic Mercier Green Gartside, David Gamson Madonna, Bray Coati Mundi Hernandez |
Producer(s)
Madonna, Leonard Madonna, Bray Madonna, Leonard Bray King, Foster, McElroy, Agent Stock, Aitken & Waterman Gartside, Gamson, John "Tokes" Potoker Madonna, Bray Hubert Eaves III |
Length
3:58 4:20 4:03 3:38 4:43 3:56 3:51 4:45 6:22 |
Three singles were released from the album in the UK and further information on these can be accessed via the SINGLES tab or from the links below:
"Who's That Girl"
"Causing a Commotion"
"The Look of Love"
"Who's That Girl"
"Causing a Commotion"
"The Look of Love"
4. UK Release and Chart Performance
In the UK, ‘Who’s That Girl’ debuted and peaked at number four on the UK Albums Chart on 1 August 1987, becoming the highest debut of the week. It was present on the chart for twenty-five weeks.
5. UK Collectables and Variations
‘Who’s That Girl’ has the dubious distinction of being the least interesting of any Madonna album in terms of collectables. Even the bootleggers have left it alone! Issued in the usual formats of LP, cassette and CD (all of which came with marketing stickers) the only variation is the cassette, which received a black top up. The CD was also reissued in 1990 with an additional '7599' prefix to the catalogue number.
For collectors there is only the standard promo LP with rear sticker and one elusive unusual rarity – a black label test pressing.
For collectors there is only the standard promo LP with rear sticker and one elusive unusual rarity – a black label test pressing.
LP - Standard release in stickered sleeve (German Pressing with no printed inner sleeves)
LP - Rare Irish pressing
LP - with rare marketing sticker
Cassettes: Two versions
Compact Disc - in stickered case
Compact Disc - 1990 reissue with additional '7599' prefix to the catalogue number
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© madonna-decade 2013
© madonna-decade 2013