Part 1: The Early Years
1980 (I LIKE) LOVE FOR TENDER Emmy band demo distributed on TDK cassette recorded at The Music Building
1980 ARE YOU READY FOR IT Early studio recording with the band Emmy
1980 BELLS RINGING Emmy band demo distributed on TDK cassette recorded at The Music Building
1980 CRIMES OF PASSION Original pre-fame demo remains unreleased, "Pre-Madonna" indie issue uses 1996 re-constructed instrumentation
1980 DROWNING Emmy band demo distributed on TDK cassette recorded at The Music Building. Madonna & Stephen Brays favorite at the time.
1980 LITTLE BOY Early studio recording with the band Emmy, surfaced on bootleg
1980 NO TIME (FOR LOVE) Emmy band demo distributed on TDK cassette recorded at The Music Building
1980 REMEMBERING YOUR TOUCH Early studio recording with the band Emmy
1980 SHINE A LIGHT Early studio recording with the band Emmy, surfaced on bootleg. A Favorite of Steve Bray's.
1980 SAFE NEIGHBORHOOD (usually referred to by its incorrect title, "SHIT ON THE GROUND" - Early studio recording with the band Emmy, surfaced on bootleg
1980 SUNSHINE Apparently this is another "Breakfast Club" track sung by Madonna. It's never been released by Receiver Records. Unconfirmed early studio recording with the band Emmy. Media rumor. However, peter_magennis@hotmail.com notes that the track 'Sunshine' isn't an early demo with The Breakfast Club. He says that this track is actually just Madonna singing (kinda outta tune) over "Let The Sun Shine In" by the Fifth Dimension in the movie "A Certain Scarifice". This is true; Madonna did sing part of that song in a rare out-take of the movie (a portion of which was broadcast in the Robin Leach special "Madonna Exposed") and this track has also been circulating on various "early era" bootleg CDs, but it's also quite possible that there really is a song called "Sunshine" that has nothing to do with "A Certain Scarifice". If anybody out there has any more info on this, please let me know!
1981 GET UP From 4 song demo recorded with Gotham Management at Media Sound. To see the original studio "mixing notes" for this song, click here
1981 HIGH SOCIETY (SOCIETYS BOY) From 4 song demo recorded with Gotham Management at Media Sound. To see the original studio "mixing notes" for this song, click here
1981 LOVE ON THE RUN From 4 song demo recorded with Gotham Management at Media Sound. To see the original studio "mixing notes" for this song, click here
1981 TAKE ME (I WANT YOU) From 4 song demo recorded with Gotham Management at Media Sound. To see the original studio "mixing notes" for this song, click here
1982 AINT NO BIG DEAL (REMIX) Remix by Jellybean Benetiz abandoned when "Holiday" was selected for Madonna's 1st album
1982 AINT NO BIG DEAL 24 track studio demo is "lost" says collaborator Stephen Bray. Different than version on indie release "Pre-Madonna".
1982 AINT NO BIG DEAL Version produced by Mark Kamins for Madonna's 1st album was rejected
1982 EVERYBODY (REMIX) Remix by Jellybean Benitez used during Madonna club performances, never released says Stephen Bray.
1982 SHAKE YOUR HEAD 1983 Was (not Was) produced pre-fame Madonna vocal replaced w/ Ozzy Osborne on album "Born To Laugh At Tornadoes". Confirmed by Was(not Was) UK media interviews. New 1990's remix by Tommy Musto featured Kim Bassinger for Europe only.
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1982 WE LIVE IN A HOUSE Cassette on file at Library of Congress PAU-1-843-482. Written by Joshua J Braun, Madonna L Ciccone, Janis Galloway. Date created 1982, but not filed until 1994. Origin unknown. Vocal by Joshua Braun. Bruce Baron recently listened to this track at the Library of Congress, and he writes: When I first found this title in the LOCIS database, I was skeptical of it's true nature for three reasons: 1) It is registered as a written collaboration between Madonna and J.Braun aka J. Galloway who I have never heard of before in her career history. 2) No vocalist is listed 3) Date of creation listed is 1982, but the date of registration is 1992. Because of these unusual circumstances, I included it in the listing of unreleased recordings but not in the text of last years Goldmine article I suspected that it might be a rap song that used an early-era Madonna song sample (such as "Everybody")which was not identified in the registration. My guess was wrong. It is actually a previously unknown pre-Warner Brothers recording with a full Madonna lead vocal !!
The label is hand written on a TDK SA90 cassette. Her vocal is in the style of her Breakfastclub & Emmy periods. The song seems to be a social statement about the ignorant masses who remain at home rather than to pay attention to the world around them outside. It's not very catchy and the chorus something like: "We Live In A House, and people just don't care" "We Live In A House, they don't go anywhere" Madonna screams a backing vocal at one point: "You can't come into my house" The guitar sounds are a little like the B-52's meets New Order and the Ramones. When I interviewed Stephen Bray last year, I asked him about this song. He had never heard of it, and did not know who Braun or Galloway was in Madonna's past. If it was done prior to Bray's arrival in New York, the songs origin could actually be older circa 1979-1980. This song represents a portion of Madonna's early NY time period with a collaborator that was not previously known to the public.
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1983 SIDEWALK TALK (Demo produced with Stephen Bray, Madonna on all vocals. Released version done with Jellybean & Catherine Buchanan). Demo on file Library of Congress PAU-1-925-241. Bruce Baron recently visited the Washington DC Library Of Congress, hoping to hear this version with Madonna on ALL vocals, but unfortunately this submission was made later than I expected to find (on Jan 21st 1987). The tape I requested features the single mix which peaked in the teens on the American Billboard HOT 100 chart. It first appeared on the American dance chart a few years before this as a Jellybean 12" single. The date of creation is 1983. This song was written by Madonna, but the lead vocal is actually by Catherine Buchanan on all released commercial versions. Madonna does the backup vocals. I was hoping to hear the demo version with Madonna on the lead vocal, but this was not it. Stephen Bray does own a copy of this (co-produced by him and not Jellybean), but for now it remains unheard by the public.
Part 2: First Album/Like a Virgin Era
1983 PHYSICAL ATTRACTION (Version credited to Madonna as the sole songwriter). Bruce Baron requested to hear this track at the Washington DC Library of Congress, and was hoping to hear a different version of this song. He requested this item because it credits Madonna as the sole songwriter. Stephen Bray also thought that Madonna wrote this song. The commercial releases that we are all familiar with credit producer Reggie Lucas as the sole songwriter. Either there was a major clerical error, or Madonna gave up the credit to Lucas for some kind of special arrangement. This item was not available on tape to listen to, but remains on microfilm from the sheet music sent in by Warner Brothers. The words are exactly the same as the released version, and clearly credit Madonna as the songwriter. It refers to her spoken portion of the song as a "rap" (ha ha). This entry is from Feb 22nd, 1983 (date of work creation 1982) and seems to be from the period of her first three 12" single releases. This is when she was published by Only Child Music before her co-publishing deal for Webo Girl was created when Warner Bros picked up the option for her first album. The ownership was transferred to Warner Bros and Webo Girl on April 25th 1983 with the registration of PAu-506-929 which I did not request. It also credits Madonna as the songwriter. Curiously another registration PA-210-598 credits Reggie Lucas as the sole song writer and was registered May 14th 1984 for a date of creation in 1983. This is a published work registration (PA-), not an unpublished (PAu-) and is actually a copy of the 12" single with "Burning Up" on the other side that was issued for sale. It claims the date of publishing as Feb 1st 1983. Sounds like something for the lawyers to sort out ?
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1984 ANGEL Confirmed original Madonna demo produced with Stephen Bray. Released version was produced by Nile Rodgers on the "Like A Virgin" album.
1984 CRAZY FOR YOU Unreleased version produced by Jellybean prior to arrival of the arranger. The arranger of the song (Rob Mounsey) recently spoke with Bruce Baron, and adds these interesting notes about "Crazy For You": "I know that there was a previous version produced by Phil Ramone, who somehow got maneuvered out of the gig by Jellybean. I've worked a great deal with Phil since then, and he seems very resentful about it, but I don't really understand what happened. Jellybean was persuaded by Michael Ostin of Warners that, since the song was a ballad, he needed an arranger. So Michael brought me in, since he was familiar with me from my production/arranging work with Michael Franks. Basically, the track was created by drummer Stephen Bray and myself. I wrote out an orchestral arrangement as if a real orchestra were going to perform it, and then overdubbed it myself line by line, mainly on my old Roland Jupiter-8 with a custom analog CV breath controller. I also used two Yamaha DX-7s MIDI'd together and each distorted with its own little green Ibanez Tube Screamer stomp box (the distant sliding thirds in the intro and midway in the verses). Jellybean wasn't around for much of this, which all happened at Sigma Sound in NYC. Jellybean's main contribution seems to have been the "Bong bong bong" carillon background vocals. He was Madonna's boyfriend at the time, and she had just broken with "Like a Virgin". The oboe solos were Madonna's idea, and a good idea too. They were performed by the late George Marge, the greatest studio double-reed player of his time, whose untimely death shortly afterward saddened us all. Madonna, as I understand it, never liked the song and didn't want to record it."
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1984 DESPERATELY SEEKING SUSAN Never released title track from the film written by Michael Bramon & produced with Stephen Bray. Different than "Into The Grove". Existence confirmed by Bray. The actual writer of this song (Michael Bramon) has recently (late August, 2001) emailed me, and give me a lot of into about this track, since he wrote it! He writes:
It was written in 1984, not 1985. Stephen Bray did not write it. My sister, Risa Bramon (see her Filmography at http://www.imdb.com, as well as mine), cast Madonna into Desperately Seeking Susan back in the day. In fact, the really interesting thing about that was that Susan Seidelman and Risa got stuck casting that role originally and Risa called me one day and said "Hey Michael- you know I'm casting Desperately Seeking Susan, my first movie, u know, with Rosanna Arquette, and we're looking for a cool weird East Village kind of girl that could play a small role in the movie. And since you know all those kind of people- maybe you can recommend someone- u know someone funky, maybe a singer like Lene Lovich or Annie Golden from The Slits. We tried our Annie but she isn't right for it. She's too old." Well, the first thing out of my mouth was- "How about that new singer Madonna- the chick who used to hang around Danceteria and shit. You know the one on MTV now." Risa replied, "Madonna, yeah! She sings. This is great. I gotta get hold of her manager. Thanks Michael (to which she promptly hung up the phone on me). Any ways, when Madonna was cast into the role and they were all looking for music for the film (in fact Seidelman asked Madonna for a song- not the other way around), Madonna and Stephen Bray put together at the last second, "Get Into The Groove," and I submiited "Desperately Seeking Susan" (formerly called "Tragic Camera") with local NYC singer Juliette Hanlon singing. Madonna heard it and recorded a rough vocal.
By the way, I played a band member in the movie (see credits). After Desperately Seeking Susan became a hit, Risa got a call to do her third film, "At Close Range" with Sean Penn and Chris Walken attached to the movie. Madonna called me to ask me if I'd heard that Risa was doing a new movie with Sean Penn. I hadn't even heard yet, and here was Madonna already aware! Amazing. I said I would check into it. I called Risa and she said yes it was going to happen. I told her that Madonna called me and had asked me to ask you to arrange for her to meet Sean "on the set." Risa laughed and said she's called Madonna herself. And that's how that all really went down- because I think Madonna was shooting the video for " Material Girl" at the time and Madonna actually excused herself from her set to go over to the At Close Range set to meet Risa and "arrange to meet Sean." Which she did and the rest is history. Bizarre.
Yet, another, anecdote related to this- at the press screening for At Close Range, which I was at here in NYC, one of the actresses who Risa had put into the movie came over after the movie to our row of seats in the theater and asked Risa what she thought of the movie. Risa replied (and I was standing right there) "I was very disappointed, I thought it was nothing more than Sean Penn *******ating himself." The actress walked down the theater to where Madonna and Sean were standing getting ready to leave the theater. She whispered somthing to Sean, and I remember Sean whipping around and glaring at Risa and me and then marching out of the theater. The next day, Risa called me from Paramount (where she was casting the Whoopie Boys) her voice shaking and told me that Sean had just called her and threatened to break her legs if he'd heard her say any more crap to anyone about the movie! I offered to beat him up (for real- I was ****ing livid). She told me that wasn't necessary, but did say that Sean told her that her and Madonna were in love and that it seemed that because it seemed to him that Madonna had a strange respect and facination with Risa- that he didn't want Risa talking or communicating with her again! And this is exactly what came to be, because Madonna and Risa wouldn't talk to each other again for years until Madonna suddenly called Risa out of the blue during the pre-casting of EVITA to beg Risa to introduce her to Alan Parker (for whom Risa has done a few movies, like Angel Heart). This whole thing really hurt Risa because Risa had been a big influence on Madonna during the Desperately Seeking Susan phase and Risa and Madonna knew it- In fact there was Madonna pre-Risa and Madonna post-Risa. 2 different people. I remember Madonna always asking Risa tons of questions- like to a big sister. I remember Risa screaming at Madonna (Risa's a screamer), in public places and at the Furco offices where I would go during pre-production (as I was invloved with the movie too to a samll extent). On several occassions Risa chided Madonna about "needing to grow up" and I remember Madonna always telling me that Risa was an amazing person, one of the few people she had ever had respect for.
Anyways- after Sean had forbade Madonna from talking to Risa- Madonna edned up running nearly everyday around the NYC reservoir in Central Park with Risa's casting partner and best friend, Billy Hopkins.
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1984 GAMBLER Confirmed original demo produced with Stephen Bray not Jellybean.
1984 LIKE A VIRGIN (REMIX) Remix by Nile Rodgers shelved infavor of remix by Jellybean Benitez as reported in Rodgers interview late '80s.
1984 OVER AND OVER Confirmed original Madonna demo produced with Stephen Bray, released version was produced by Nile Rodgers on "Like A Virgin" album.
1984 SHOO BE DOO Confirmed original Madonna demo produced with Stephen Bray. The released version was produced with Nile Rodgers.
1984 UNCONFIRMED TITLE Recorded at the same session as demos for "Gambler", "Warning Signs", "Shoo-Bee-Doo" says Stehen Bray. Title of song not recalled by Bray.
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1984 WARNING SIGNS (Song never used for Vision Quest Soundtrack, Madonna demo written & produced with Stephen Bray). Listed at Library Of Congress as Pau-590-962. Bruce Baron notes that this song was registered on Feb 21st 1984, and is clearly marked on Warner Bros Pub sheet music as being for the "Vision Quest" soundtrack. The original sheet music was discarded, and a copy has been retained on microfilm at the copyright office. The song starts with a Madonna spoken intro: "I see danger up ahead." The song continues with music: "Warning (echo), Warning (echo)" The chorus: "Warning I see danger up ahead. I can see it in your eyes, and it's really no surprise. Because - I can see your warning signs". Unfortunately, no recording was available to listen to. This was probably the biggest disappointment during my visit. I do know that Stephen Bray has preserved a copy of this collaboration, but he doesn't know why it was dropped from the film soundtrack. It was written during the same recording session as "Gambler" and "Shoo-Be-Do". I recall back in the day when this missing "Vision Quest" soundtrack cut was the ONLY known unreleased Madonna song to exist. I have researched it since the early days for MLC, The Madonna Fanzine. The bootleg market tried to pass off I-Levels "Lies In Your Eyes" as this missing track on some of her first bootleg vinyl issues. We now know this to be fake. This was long before MP3's, Napster, CD-R's and white label remixes. What a difference 15 years can make !!
Part 3: True Blue/Who's That Girl
1985 GET UP STAND TALL Registered seperately from "White Heat" at Library Of Congress. Written by Pat Leonard, Madonna. Cassette on file PAU-828-147. Bruce Baron recently heard this track at the Washington DC Library of Congress, and he notes that this was probably one of the first songs recorded for the "True Blue" album with Pat Leonard since it registered as being from 1985. From what I can tell it is exactly the same as the album version of "White Heat" including the James Cagney sample. I could not determine any differences during my listen. The title is obviously different, but not a typo. That's how it was sent in, and is clearly marked on the label. The name of the song must have changed at a later date prior to the albums release. The other side of the tape contains a recording of "Dangerous" PAu-828-146 which is a Leonard production of a non-Madonna song with a male vocalist. I originally thought that Madonna might appear on this track, but it is unrelated.
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1985 UNCONFIRMED TITLE Madonna wrote for French singer Nathalie, as reported in Biography by Mark Bego. Existence never confirmed.
1986 EACH TIME YOU BREAK MY HEART Madonna demo written & produced with Stephen Bray. The rare thing about this song is that it was recorded with Madonna as the lead vocalist. Nick Kamen's voice is not heard on the song. Madonna disposed of this track because it was given and written for Nick Kamen.
1986 JIMMY JIMMY Confirmed original Madonna demo written & produced with Stephen Bray. Different from released version.
1986 TRUE BLUE Confirmed original Madonna demo written & produced with Stephen Bray, different from the released version.
1986 VERDARAMENTE TRISTE (True blue in Spanish) - It is unknown whether there actually is a recording of this song sung in Spanish, or if it's simply confused with the Argentina promo-only 7" single of the record, in which the title is spelled out as "Verdaramente Triste" (although the song is entire in English on the record).
1986 WORKING MY FINGERS TO THE BONE Confirmed song never used, Madonna demo written & produced with Stephen Bray circa "True Blue" album. Never filed copyright.
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1987 BABY LOVE Some fans believe that Madonna recorded demos for several Stephen Bray songs including Regina's "Baby Love" which was later recorded by Dannii Minogue. This is not true. Bray explained that during this time period Madonna would not have done anything that didn't have her name on it somewhere. Since she had no part in writing this song, she did not participate in the recording of the demo or any other Bray song written for The Jets, EG Daily, Royalty or Kylie Minogue.
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1987 CAN'T STOP Confirmed original Madonna demo written & produced with Stephen Bray, different from released version.
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1987 CAUSING A COMMOTION Confirmed original Madonna demo written & produced with Stephen Bray, different from the released version.
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1987 LOVE OVER THE TELEPHONE Unused song, supposedly written with Don Johnson. The only information about this song was found in media articles (most notably a French magazine), but it's not known if it was ever actually recorded. Supposedly, it is still unreleased apparently because of 'copyright complications'. Don Johnson's and Madonna's record companies were both said to be fighting for copyright of the song. This is the french magazine interview: "And what about your recording project with Don Johnson?" Madonna: "We have already written the words but we've been working over the telephone because I've been in New York and he's been in the series Miami Vice in Florida. Now we must work together in the studio and the song can then be released. The title is Love Over The Telephone...".
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1987 SPOTLIGHT Bray confirmed original demo written & produced by Madonna and Stephen Bray. Different than released version remixed by Jellybean. Library of Congress registers 1985 PAU-716-379, and then a revision to music & lyrics 1987 PAU-1-924-278. Bruce Baron recently listened to this track at the Washington DC Library Of Congress, and he writes: This was the first Madonna related tape that I listened to on June 12th, 2000 in Washington DC. It was one song on a SIM C90 audio cassette. I selected the item as part of my 24 requests to review because I was aware of several different registrations for the same song from searching LOCIS on-line at http://lcweb.loc.gov/copyright/rb.html This entry is the first entry created in 1984 and registered in 1985. It is credited to Curtis Hudson alone. No mention of Madonna. It is the original demo version of the song and probably the version Madonna first heard before making revisions with Stephen Bray. I viewed it as a great opportunity to see if it was a true re-write or just Madonna taking credit. The 1987 released "You Can Dance" version that we are familiar with was written by Madonna, Stephen Bray and Curtis Hudson (a writer from "Holiday"). This was submitted as PAu-924-278 on Jan 27th, 1987 referencing a change of lyrics. I did not request the 1987 submission, only the unknown 1985 version. This song is a basic demo approximately 8 tracks. The vocal is performed by a female vocalist, probably Lisa Stephens the other "Holiday" co-writer. Her vocal is flat, strong, clear and deeper than Madonna's which sounds child-like in comparison. The instrumental sound is a near re-write of Holiday featuring nearly identical chords and rhythm guitar. It's kind of odd to hear it this way. It has a funkier groove instead the bubblegum pop sound that was developed for Madonna's version. The lyrics and melody line have been substantially re-written (approximately 60%) while keeping the same theme. The chorus is totally different and sung in a different rhythm. On Madonna's version, everything is often drawn out into long sounds: "Spot-liiiighhht" or "Shine br-iiight" etc.... On the original version, each syllable above falls on a different note, and nothing is drawn out: "Spotlight shine on me, spotlight shine on you. Be what you want to be, do what you want to do." and "Spotlight shine so bright, spotlight shine tonight". When listening to the whole song, in my view the changes made justify the credit that Madonna and Bray took when they recorded it circa the "True Blue" album sessions.
Part 4: Like a Prayer/I'm Breathless
1988 BY ALIEN MEANS Confirmed as written by Prince Rogers Nelson), published by Controversy Music. Supposedly sent to Madonna after Blonde Ambition Tour. May or may not have been recorded by Madonna. Prince demo cassette on file Library Of Congress PAU-1-152-963. Bruce Baron recently listened to this track at the Washington DC Library Of Congress, and he writes: This is actually an unreleased Prince (The Artist) tune supposedly sent to Madonna for recording consideration. I do not recall the exact source of this rumour, but it has been around for years, and was supposedly inspired by the 1990 Blonde Ambition Tour. It has never been established that Madonna actually recorded it with Prince or on her own. The Prince collectors usually have lots of bootleg unreleased tracks, but this one had never surfaced in the collectors market. Many are the demos he had sent to other female vocalists which he did quite often. Therefore I decided to request a listen at the copyright office to check it out. If this demo had been sent to me for consideration, it would be like the same feeling as receiving a totally "WRONG" piece of clothing as a birthday gift from a relative. "Thanks, it's - neat". The song appears to be about asking young people not to commit suicide: "Explore the interplanetary space between your mind. Don't go out by alien means". The instrumentation is a wild blend of guitars and percussion. Not much of a melody, but Prince in full form. His vocals are just as insane with multi-layered falsettos and voices. The date of creation on the registration is actually 1988, so this could not have been inspired by the 1990 BAT. It could be possible that it originates circa the Prince/Madonna duet "Love Song" and was then sent to her later? How much truth there is to this story we may never know, but this song did not make me think of Madonna when I heard it.
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1988 EXPRESS YOURSELF Original Madonna demo written & produced with Stephen Bray. Bray considers this to be better than released version.
1988 FIRST THERE'S A KISS Song never used, Madonna demo written & produced with Stephen Bray for "Like A Prayer" album. Existence confirmed with Bray, but never filed copyright. This track was supposedly rejected from the "Like A Prayer" album. It is a song about safe sex and aids and again surfaced unofficially. It is also said to be on the same Japanese promo (or more likely a bootleg) as "Love Attack".
1988 KEEP IT TOGETHER Confirmed original Madonna demo written & produced with Stephen Bray. Different from the released version.
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1988 LOVE ATTACK Song never used, Madonna demo written & produced with Stephen Bray for "Like A Prayer" album . Existence confirmed by Bray, but never filed copyright. This track was supposedly rejected from the "Like A Prayer" album because it didn't fit the sound of the album. Still unofficially released.
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1988 LOVE SONG - Outtake is extended version of collaboration with Prince from "Like A Prayer" album found on Prince bootleg release "Jewels From The Vault".
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1988 POSSESIVE LOVE Madonna demo written with Patrick Leonard given to Marilynn Martin to record for her 2nd album "This Is Serious".
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1988 UNCONFIRMED TITLE (S) Portions of 2-3 other collaborations rumored to be unfinished with Prince from "Love Song" sessions. There may also be others that were from the abandoned "From Dusk To Dawn" Prince Soundtrack (unconfirmed)
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1989 CHERISH (REMIX) Unreleased dance remix suspected to have been done by Hank Shocklee & Phil Castellano
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1989 DOG HOUSE Existence not confirmed. Unreleased track inspired by Brenda Lee's "You're In The Dog House Now" for Dick Tracy "Im Breathless" album. Media rumor
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1989 QUEEN OF MISERY There seems to some confusion about this song. In an old Rolling Stone magazine interview, frequent Madonna collaborator Pat Leonard mentioned writting this song with Kevin Gilbert (aka: Hank Panky remixer). From what I understand this song was written about Madonna, not neccessarily for her to record. Some fans feel that it may have been offered to her and that a Madonna demo may exist. I have never found any evidence to support this idea. The song appeared on the first Toy Matinee album (band featuring Leonard and Gilbert) with no Madonna participation. This song is about a woman who looks for love through a series of one night stands. You can link to lyrics at http://www.kevingilbert.com/40abc/misery.html
Kevin Gilbert had a hand in breaking Sheyl Crow as a solo artist (she used to sing with Toy Matinee in LA), but he died shortly after her first album took off. He also worked on Madonna's "I'm Breathless" album.
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1989 GOODBYE MY FOREVER FRIEND Unused song, demo recorded circa "Like A Prayer" album 1989. There does exist a VERY, VERY LOW QUALITY recording of this song (there's no music in it, just Madonna's singing). It definitely sounds like Madonna to me. The copy I've heard is very muffled and low quality, but I'm convinced it's Madonna. The story I was told about this recording is that it was taken from Madonna's tape player in her dressing room by a theater employee while she was appearing in "Speed The Plow". If this story is true, shame on them - but we don't even know for sure if this is Madonna. The original tape was said to have been labeled "To Sean" as if it was going to be sent to him (makes a good story). The recording is of poor quality, a simple vocal demo with no music. The melody is not well structured and the vocalist drifts off key all over the place. It does sound like Madonna, or at least a good impersonation of her doing a crude demo. The first part of the lyrics are:
Goodbye to you
Goodbye and farewell
I will miss you
I will miss you
The days wont be the same
The nights full of pain
Why did this happen
Why did this happen - to us
I hesitate to call this an unreleased Madonna song since we are not sure if it's her, and she never really got to finish it according to the story I heard. This song does not come close to the quality of her other studio demos, and seems to be more of a home recording of a preliminary song idea. It remains a curious CD-R collectable.
1989 MORE "I'm Breathless" album studio rehersal demo surfaced on bootleg 7"
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1989 PIPELINE Unused song, existence unconfirmed.
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1989 SOONER OR LATER "I'm Breathless" album studio rehersal demo surfaced on bootleg 7"
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1989 TO LOVE YOU Never released written by Madonna and Andy Palley, existance confirmed at Warner-Chappell Publishing website.
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1989 VOGUE PAu-1-331-762 (Alternate version reportedly featured controversial in lyrics removed for "Dick Tracy" (Disney Film) inspired soundtrack "I'm Breathless"). Mentioned in Interview Magazine 1990. Bruce Baron notes that the tape had no case to hold it and was sent into the copyright office by Pettibone a few months before Madonna had her submission sent in my Warner Bros. There is no mention of Madonna even though she's the one singing. In fact, the label says S.Pettibone as if he is the only performer. The tape was at the end of this song when I picked it up to discover that Pettibone had taped over a pop-rock male vocal of another song to recycle this cassette. I was interrupted by the office vacuum cleaning service during this one (no joke), so I did not have full attention to the recording. From what I can tell, it is nearly identical to the single mix of the released version of "Vogue" but it fades out at the ending instead of the cold ending. It also seems to be missing the whispered "vogue" in parentheses after the words "come on vogue" (vogue).
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1989 WHAT CAN YOU LOSE "I'm Breathless" album studio rehersal demo surfaced on bootleg 7"
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1990 DICK TRACY Unreleased collaboration with Pat Leonard. Bruce Baron notes that this unreleased track is from the "I'm Breathless" sessions which is music inspired by the 1990 film, Dick Tracy. It can be confirmed at the ASCAP database ACE on the web at http://www.ascap.com as work #340325268. ASCAP is an organization that collects money from radio play for its members. Madonna belongs to this group with her affiliated Webo Girl Publishing, Inc. This song was written with her frequent partner, Patrick Leonard.
Part 5: Erotica
1991 ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS Registered seperately from "Words" at Library Of Congress. PAU-1-605-641. Bruce Baron recently visited the Library of Congress in Washington DC, and he had a chance to hear this track. He writes: I always thought that "Words" and "Thief Of Hearts" were two overlooked potential singles from the "Erotica" album, and I was pleased to find a few alternate mixes on Shep Pettibones copyright submission from Feb 11th, 1992. Date of creation 1991. He sent in several songs on two tapes (track list to follow). The copyright office calls this the "Rain" album because it was the first song listed on the first tape. I was able to review alternate mixes that I had not requested because they were all together. The "Rain" title was written centered on the title card, while the others below it where written to the left margin of the card. This makes it look like the title of the collection. I will reference his demo this way in the future because of this registration. This "Actions Speak..." registration is not exactly a different song than "Words". It is the original title name from the handwritten title card that was used to label the cassette. It is actually the same song. Two similar versions of "Actions Speak..." were provided. Both were without the repeating indian instrument that eight years later seems so annoying in the released version. Instead the synth keys that we are used to hearing only at the end of the song are used in chorus sound in each chorus. There is also a subtle guitar-like sound. The vocal take seemed a little different that the released recording. It must have been re-recorded later. Additional lyrics include "Your love is for fools", and "You're so cruel". The backing vocals and bridge arrangements are slightly different. These were good !
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1991 CHEAT (aka DRUNK GIRL) Library Of Congress PAu-1-605-639. Contains part "Theif Of Hearts" lyric, and "Bad Girl". Written by Madonna, Pettibone, Shimkin. Here are Bruce Baron's research notes on this track: This submission is from a cassette tape sent in by Shep Pettibone which features several songs and alternate mixes from the "Erotica" album. I will provide a complete track listing later. From what I can tell this is exactly the same version as the released version of "Bad Girl". I didn't notice any changes. The name of the song comes from the hand written tittles on the tape and is not a typo. This indicates to me that this is the original song tittle of "Bad Girl" which must have been changed prior to it's release on "Erotica".
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1991 GET OVER Madonna demo written & produced with Stephen Bray given to Nick Scotti to record on his debut Reprise album. Existence confirmed.
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1991 SHAME Never released written by Madonna, Shep Pettibone and Tony Shimkin. Existence confirmed at Warner-Chappell Publishing website. Also at Library Of Congress PAU-1-605-637. Bruce Baron notes that this totally unreleased song is from the "Erotica" sessions with Shep Pettibone. It's actually very good. It's similar in dance style to that of "Deeper And Deeper", and "Vogue", Perhaps a little slower. This demo is high enough quality that it could have been sent to another artist to use (like "Love Wont Wait"). If it had been included on the album, it would have been too similar in sound to have enough variety on the album with the other tracks. I guess this made room for the Andre Betts collaborations. In the song Madonna talks down to the object character of the song (or perhaps the listener). This is part of the developing Dita persona that we did not get to see. The song opens with a spoken intro: "Look what you have done with your life, it's such a shame". Later she says "anyone can learn to fly" as if she is asking why haven't you learned yet ? She also says "you're the one to blame". The chorus starts with "It's a Shaaaaaame" which sounds an awful alot like the song of the same title by Monie Love. This is probably the source of the old rumour that they were going to do something together. The similarity ends there, and then it breaks off into it's own unique melody. It's hard for me to remember the rest of the lyric for the chorus, because my brain tries to fill in the memory with the rest of it from the Monie Love song. It sounds that close in that first line only.
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1991 WHY ITS SO HARD Original versions included rap by Jamaiki according to Shep Pettibone article.
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1991 YOU ARE THE ONE PAU-1-605-636. Written by Madonna, Shep Pettibone, Tony Shimkin. Bruce Baron has listened to this track at the Washington DC Library of Congress, and he notes that this is another unreleased song from the "Erotica" sessions found on the "Rain tapes". This one could use some more work. It's not that good, and no surprise that it was abandoned at the demo stage. The sound is very dance/club/house. As with "Shame" it would have been redundant to include it on the album. That sound would get old with "Deeper And Deeper", "Fever", "Words", and "Thief Of Hearts" on the same album. It's sound it remotely similar to the released versions of "Goodbye To Innocence". The lyrics a rather forgettable. The ones I do recall are "You are the one for me", "I have chosen you".
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1992 DEEPER AND DEEPER PAu-1-605-634. According to a Shep Pettibone (Erotica album collaborator) recording industry article , first versions recorded used alternate lyrics. Bruce Baron notes that this one isn't all the different from the released version. Again there is a great deal of recorded distortion. Surprising for the head of Mastermix productions. This version is missing the latin guitar break which Shep told EQ magazine that Madonna insisted on. This one must be closer to his original vision with the house pattern. In that same EQ article Shep also mentioned that "Fever" grew out of the arrangement from the developing "Goodbye To Innocence" which was later abandoned. The great demos of GTI don't sound anything like the versions of "Fever" that we know. According to the "Rain tapes", that report does not match up to the evidence that I heard. There must be additional versions of GTI? The end of "Deeper And Deeper" is also a little different using the same lines. It also goes on for a longer period. Unused lyrics in an unreleased version of "Deeper And Deeper" include: "I can't keep from falling in love, and you know it.....I can't keep from falling in love, so I show it."
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1992 EROTICA / YOU THRILL ME PAu-1-605-642 (Shep Pettibone Demo Version). These Pettibone demo versions of "Erotica" are very different from the released album version. The verse lyrics are mostly the ones that we know from "Erotic" which was included in the book "Sex". The chorus is totally different. There is no trace of "Erotic, Erotic, put your hands all over my body" that we all know so well. Instead madonna sings a different line with a different melody in the same type of voice. She sings, "You are who your are (and I) wouldn't want to change a thing (in spite of) all the pain that love can bring (tell me) what can I do? I'm so in love with yooouuuuu thrill me, surround me you fill me....you send me...you put me in a trance...you fill me, inside me you take me....you thrill me, you put me in a trance..." At another time she says "you upset me". The word "Erotica" appears only in the intro. This is a darker S&M theme than the version that became the final cut. The instrumentation is approximately the same, but everything is mixed in a different proportion than the released version. This makes it sound kind of odd, and it's a little more generic sounding. The released mix is more unique sounding, more exotic.
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1992 THIEF OF HEARTS (Alternate mixes, PAu-605-643). Bruce Baron notes that this song was not part of his original request of songs to listen to, but was included on the same tapes as some of those that he did request. It was a nice surprise to find. These alternate mixes are not that different from the released verions. It does seem to be a different vocal take. Some of the backing vocals are in a different proportion which sounds kind of funny. This is common on several of the "Rain tape" demos. It's kind of like when comparing Shep's released remixes of "Rescue Me" when he reverses the dominance of the high vocal part and the low vocal part from one mix to the other. Most of the difference is in the arrangement of the intro, the middle break and the ending. In one version the Madonna spoken "sit your ass down" ending is at the begining. In another mix that line is at the end like we are used to, but it is spoken by the voice of a southern black woman (probably a sample from a movie). The recordings of this song have way too much input on the copyright demo and there is a lot of distortion on this copy. The scale was way into the red. It's probably not from the master tape, just the way it was copied. The "new music", "old music" descriptions on the title card on two of the mixes didn't sound all that different from eachother to me. The changes were subtle. It could have been labeled incorrectly?
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1992 EATING OUT Unconfirmed outtake of released "Where Life Begins" aka "Out To Lunch" Media Rumor. Supposedly, "Out To Lunch" was the original title of the "Erotica" song "Where Life Begins". A later title for the song was "Eating Out" (as mentioned in 'Smash Hits' magazine). The original version of "Out To Lunch" was said to be about lesbian lust so could be quite different to the used version of "Where Life Begins".
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1992 FREAK "Erotica" album outtake. Media rumor.
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1992 GOODBYE TO INNOCENCE - PAu-1-605-640. Bruce Baron writes: The versions submitted by Shep Pettibone on the "Rain" demo tapes are TOTALLY, TOTALLY different from the release versions that we know of from the "Just Say Roe" collection, and the "Rain" B-side remix - TOTALLY different !! They are better !! This was a great surprise because it was not one of the recordings I requested to pull! The released versions sounded dated back at the time of release with 80's house being taken over by harder techno like "James Brown Is Dead" in American clubs at the time. It's also hard to understand the words that Madonna is singing. The demo versions use the same theme and many of the same lyrics, but everything is switched around. It's a different vocal recording (strong and clear). Much of the song's melody is different including the chorus. The arrangement is pure pop-funk-dance, no club remix style here. It's very catchy ! It could use a little fixing here and there, but when I heard it, I couldn't believe that they didn't finish it up and use it on the album. Madonna is credited for words alone, and Pettibone/Shimkin are credited for music alone as is the rest of the "Rain" demo collection.
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1992 LOVE HURTS Unconfirmed early version of "Erotica" with different lyrics produced with Junior Vasquez. From what I've heard, the track is called "Love Hurts" and all the music is different -- except the verses are the same as "Erotic" (the Sex book version). The chorus is "Love Hurts, Love Hurts...Do you remember the time, Love Hurts, Love Hurts, when we -- fell in love..." (or something like that.). Then she does this sing-songy "La-Da-Da-Dee-Da-Da-Da-Da-Da..." I'm sure it'll never see the light of day, which is a shame because it sounds pretty cool.
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1992 NO ENTRY Unconfirmed throw-a-way from "Erotica" album. Supposedly, Madonna recorded this before the "Erotica" album and she is said to have even made a video with Patrick Swayze and Michael J.Fox. The song was dropped after the "Erotica/Sex/Body Of Evidence" project got under the way. It was due for Christmas release. One source claims that a 15-track promo-CD album for "Erotica" exists, and contains this track, but was never officially released, not even to promote the EROTICA album. A 15-track "Erotica" album is physically imposible though, because the 13-track ("clean" version) has a total disc time of 70:30, and the 14-track "nasty" version (with "Did You Do It?") has a total disc time of 75:24). Since the maximum recording time on a CD is 74 minutes (even though some albums out there, such as the 14-track "Erotica" push the limits by a minute or two, it is physically impossible for a 15th track to fit on this album, unless it was literally 30 or 40 seconds in length, which doesn't make sense. And 80-minute CDs didn't "come out" until years later. Anyhow, this song ("No Entry") was supposedly meant to be released on the "Erotica" album, but it was rejected or deleted at the very last minute before the release of promos. If this CD really does exist, it would most likely be the all-time rarest and most valuable Madonna CD - EVER!
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1992 DEAR FATHER "Dear Father" is confirmed (yes that old rumor) to exist as an unreleased co-write with Andre Betts (Erotica period). Not to be confused with the Like A Prayer era "Oh Father".
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1992 QUEENS PEARLS Unconfirmed early version of "Queens English" recorded by Luis & Jose and released w/ Madonna backing vocals. Media rumor.
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1992 SHOW AND TELL Unconfirmed throw-a-way from "Erotica" album. Media rumor. However, Peter Magennis
mentions that in 1992, NME magazine had a two-part interview for the release of 'Erotica'. The journalist visited Madonna at her New York apartment and listened to some tracks from the (then still unreleased) album. One of the tracks was confirmed as 'Show And Tell' and was described as a ballad. Perhaps it didn't finish up on the album because it didn't fit the mood. Madonna can be very selective and quality tracks can be easily discarded if they don't fit in with the tone of the album. A prime example of her rejection of recorded songs is her last album 'Music' as confirmed by William Orbit and Madonna herself. So perhaps this is what happened with 'Show And Tell'. This is a pity as Madonna obviously liked it enough to chose it as one of the few taster tracks for the lucky journalist.
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1992 THESE BOOTS ARE MADE FOR WALKIN Rumoured Nancy Sinatra Madonna cover circa 1992, demo existance not confirmed, possibly produced with Patrick Leonard. Media rumor.
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1992 THIS USED TO BE MY PLAYGROUND According to a Shep Pettibone interview, Madonna did a second vocal at the last minute, leaving the 1st version unreleased.
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1992 THROB Unused throw-a-way from "Erotica" album (existence unconfirmed). Supposedly Written and Produced by Madonna and Shep Pettibone. News of this track surfaced around the same time as the "No Entry" track but again it was not released or put on the "Erotica" album. Chances of a release now are unlikely because of Janet Jackson stole the title for a track on her latest album. It had been strongly denied by Janet Jackson that she stole the whole song from Madonna and insists that she wrote her own version.
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1992 JITTERBUG - Bruce Baron recently listened to this track at the Library of Congress, and he notes that JITTERBUG has no official copyright registration This one was a major surprise !! In addition to the songs I requested, the tape contained alternate mixes of several songs (to be discussed later) and about 30 sec to the end of a song called JITTERBUG. It was mostly taped over, but showed up between two of the tracks. It is listed on the handwritten label to the whole tape, but it has no copyright registration of it's own. No song writer is listed. It was originally spelled with a "G", but was written over darker with a "J" in blue ink. It's typical generic Shep dance music with Madonna finishing up with "Jitterbug, Jitterbug". Perhaps it's a cover ? There is not enough to tell... She stops but the music continues. She says "Ya that one has some good ideas to it". The music continues, and she says "How long is this one going to go on"?. The music continues and she say "Isn't anyone going to turns this damn thing off"? It abruptly ends. It seems to just silly studio fun, and not really "Erotica" album material but there was more before Shep recorded over it. He might have a longer copy on file ?
Part 6: Bedtime Stories/Something to Remember
1993 COMING OUT OF THE CLOSET Rumoured failed collaboration with Michael Jackson which later became "In The Closet"
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1993 THESE BOOTS ARE MADE FOR WALKING IN - Madonna had planned to release a cover version for this 60s Nancy Sinatra hit, but Billy Ray Cyrus got there first and recorded himself. Apparently Madonna screamed to her staff "he screwed up my plans!!! Of course, I would love to sleep with him, but I'd have to slap him around afterwards..." (see 'For Women' Vol.1 No.4). Apparently Madonna has recorded the song. However, according to Mathew Russo
, she never did that song, and it is only a rumor. As there are MANY about "undone" songs she did. There are only about 4 songs in the "vaults" that have never seen light of day...and they are poor songs, and only end up as b sides... "Let down your guard" is an example....only that one did finally come out (as a b side). The artist that sounds a LOT like madonna (at the time) that DID do "These Boots Are Made For Walkin'" was a actually a group (but it sounds like one peson on vocals) called BOOMERANG. They are a group of 3 women that mimicked themselves after Bananarama at that time, but sounded like Madonna....talk about marketing strategies...
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1993 JUST A DREAM Madonna demo written with Patrick Leonard given to Donna DeLory to record for her MCA debut album.
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1994 BRING IT Registered at Library Of Congress, demo cassette on file PAU-1-889-252 Written by Madonna, Pettibone. Bruce Baron recently listened to this track at the Washington DC Library Of Congress, and he writes: This is a completely unreleased song from the discarded Shep Pettibone productions for what became the "Bedtime Stories" album. It was submitted on the same tape as "Love Won't Wait", "Somethings Coming Over Me", and "I Will Always Have You" This song did not evolve into anything found on the released album. It's NOT very catchy, and needs more development. The lyrics are strings of cliche phrases about an obsessed person. A main lyric reads; "I know you're love is bad for me, but I won't give up until you bring it to me" The musical arrangement sounds very similar to what was done on "Bye Bye Baby" a few years before on "Erotica". There are also some breathing noises. The recording of this song on file at the copyright office has some damage on this track. I don't know if it's on the copy itself or the original master from which it came. We could easily live without it, since it is not very good.
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1994 I WILL AWAYS HAVE YOU Early Madonna and Shep Pettibone production of what later became "Inside Of Me". Registered at Library Of Congress cassette on file PAU-1-889-251. This is probably the best of the abandoned Shep Pettibone co-productions from the "Bedtime Stories" album. This song later evolved into "Inside Of Me" which was used on the album. Once again Shep does not get credit on the album, but he does in the Warner-Chappell Publishing Co database. This early version is rather different from the version that we know of as "Inside Of Me". In the released version Madonna sings against a R&B downbeat in a soft, quiet lullaby type voice that gives the song a tender quality. On the demo the song is performed like a mid-tempo power ballad in the style of "Crazy For You", and "You'll See" using a strong clear vocal. I think that it is better than "I'll Remember" done with Pat Leonard a few years before. With a little polishing "I Will Always Have You" could have easily been an American top 5 hit single. The melody line is substantially different from "Inside Of Me", but there are often similarities. Many of the same lyrics are switched around. The words "inside of me" are hardly used, and Madonna adds "like an angel" after the part where she sings "standing over me" in a verse found in the released version. The released song's theme is all about Madonna cherishing the memory of a loved one, but in this demo she also wants the object of the song to "remember me".
During my listen at the LOC copyright office I observed a sound during the middle break that I don't think that I have heard in any Madonna song - a flute-like instrument solo.
There is also a finger snap-like sound used throughout the mid-tempo ballad similar to the one used in "Rescue Me", but more subtle. I also need to stress the difference in the melody and arrangement of the chorus. The words "inside of me" are not really a part of it. The main frame is designed around "I Will Always Have You" and is definitely a proper song title for this original demo. The verse lyrics of "I Will Always Have You" are more similar to the released version of "Inside Of Me." I do recall the lyric about being in "the public eye" in both versions. Lets now bow our heads and pray for it's use as a maxi-single bonus track at some point in the future.
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1994 I'D RATHA B YA LOVA Confirmed outtake of "Id Rather Be Your Lover" featuring never released rap by 2Pac Shakur. Song also called "Ratha Be Yo Luva" or "Couldn't Be Your Lover". Found on 2Pac bootleg release "East 2 West" aka "East N West" aka "East Meets West".
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1994 I'D RATHER BE YOUR LOVER Early demo produced with Shep Pettibone, later completed with Dave Hall
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1994 HONESTY produced by Dave Hall, recorded during the "Bedtime Stories" sessions
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1994 KEEP ON Published seperately at Warner-Chappell from "Don't Stop". Same songwriters (written by Madonna, Colin Wolfe, and Dallas Austin). This song is confirmed as a separate title from the released song "Don't Stop" (Bedtime Stories era). "Keep On" is also listed as a separate entry in the Warner-Chappell database. EMI also shows another entry by the same writers separate from what might be a variation of "Freedom" called "Your Honesty" (Warner Chappell shows this entry only as "Honesty").
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1994 LOVE WON'T WAIT Madonna demo written with Shep Pettibone given to Gary Barlow to record for his 1997 album "Open Road". Madonna demo cassette on file Library Of Congress PAU-1-889-250 (mp3 file of this demo is floating around on the internet, but please don't ask me for it). Bruce Baron notes that there is no trace of Gary Barlow on the original, high-quality Madonna vocal demo. All of the vocal arrangements are developed and complete. The lyrics are exactly the same. All Gary had to do was copy everything, and that's exactly what he did for his UK number one release. Madonna's vocal is clear and strong. I think it's in a higher key than Gary's version and her voice sounds a little like the way it sounds in the released version of "Deeper And Deeper" that we are familiar with. The instrumental music on this demo is not as developed. It's typical Shep Pettibone dance style, but it needs more work. It has some cheesy keys that make it sound like soft bubble gum, missing the edge that would be a more typical Madonna signature. Should this song ever turn up on a vault collection this version could easily be striped of the demo music and restructured with modern dance instrumentation using Madonna strong vocal. It's easier to understand the words on her performance compared to Barlow's version. This "demo" is also longer than the finished Gary Barlow version (the demo is 5:10 and Gary's version is only about 4:20). I read in several sources that a series of producers was used to work on the Barlow version (including Trevor Horn) before the final mix was decided. I think the phrase was "everyone had their hands in it". It strikes me odd that it was so difficult to record because they had a strong framework to start from. This song was registered at the LOC Copyright office on August 5, 1994 using one Maxell MS60 studio quality cassette along with three other songs on the same tape. They are all from the abandoned Pettibone productions for the "Bedtime Stories" album. We will discuss the other songs soon. Also see "Love Won't Wait" (Remix) from 1997, listed below.
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1994 SOMETHINGS COMING OVER ME Early version of "Secret" started with Shep Pettibone, later finshed with Dave Hall. Confirmed by Library Of Congress. Cassette on file PAU-1-889-253. Bruce Baron notes that this is not a typo of a song title !! This is the original version of what we now call "Secret". It is the original Madonna/Pettibone demo before she dumped him from the "Bedtime Stories" album. Forget the strum guitar, the semi-R&B arrangement and Madonna humming the hook, and the lyric "my baby's got a secret". They do not exist in this early version. This is a Pettibone co-production and it features a driving drum and bassline, but it is rather generic and typical like a Cathy Dennis track. The released version of "Secret" seems slow and boring compared this early demo of which I enjoyed a great deal. Shep would be justified for being a little pissed of for not being in the album credits for this song. It's about a 50% re-write of the released version (it's actually the other way around). Parts of the verse lyrics and verse melody are the same or similar. The chorus melody and arrangement are totally different: "Somethings Coming Over Me(Over Me)(Over Me)(Over Me)" The bridge is the part that doesn't really work. It's a continuation of the "Erotica" theme. The music breaks and Madonna wails into sexual moaning like Donna Sommer's "Love To Love You Baby". Then Madonna speaks "I see your love coming down, let it wash all over me" Obviously we know what she is talking about? Then the music starts back up into the main hook as the climax. Her vocal is clear and strong. It could easily be used on a vault collection as an item of interest with it's original demo music intact if the parties involved could agree in the future. According to the Warner Chappell database, Shep does get money as a co-author for the released version of "Secret". He just does not appear in the album credits other than the "Thank you for understanding".
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1994 UNCONFIRMED TITLE Madonna background song used in her Japanese Takara sake commercial. Might be titled "Legend". In the recording Madonna sings in the background as a Japanese man talks over her. This makes hearing the few words a little difficult to hear especially on the low quality copies circulating in the collectors market. These are some of the words: "How can I be pure; all the strength I have is breaking me, How can I be sure; where's this (unintelligable) taking me." Later she speaks "I am pure, June Legend." Madonna may not have written this song fragment since it is not listed in the Warner-Chappell database as part of her compositions. They would have documented this since there would have been revenue generated from it's inclusion in the commercial which aired on TV in Japan. Curiously Warner-Chappell also does not list the "Wonderland" theme as a Madonna composition which aired more recently in the United States. This beautiful one minute clip is supposedly a William Orbit collaboration. It features Madonna humming. Melody line is part of songwritting credit in addition to lyrics. Madonna should be listed as a co-author at http://www.warnerchappell.com if she had any hand in writting either of these two short songs.
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1995 (?) NEVER TRUST A STRANGER - Supposed duet between Madonna and Babyface. Babyface said in a1998 interview that he had written several tracks with Madonna, which he found very good, but once Madonna started to work with William Orbit she told him, she wouldn't use his songs. He understood she wanted to go into a different direction. However, last year Raymond
got hold of a sheet with single-releases while he was in London. It also mentioned a duet with Babyface called 'Never Trust A Stranger'. I guess this must be one of the songs she wrote with Babyface for the album, which later became 'Ray of light'. As we know now, the Babyface-duet has never been released. On October 22, 2000, Bruce Baron adds: "Looks like Babyface has switched labels and has changed plans from releasing a new album last spring (never happened) to releasing a Greatest Hits package this November. The unused Madonna collaboration from the first ROL sessions does not appear to be a part of the new game plan.
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1995 I CAN'T FORGET Unreleased collaboration with David Foster. Bruce Baron notes that Madonna recorded three songs with David Foster for the "Something To Remember" ballad collection. We have only seen two of them released ("You'll See," and "One More Chance"). You can confirm the existence of this third track in the BMI song search database at http://www.bmi.com This organization collects money from radio play for it's members. David Foster belongs to BMI. I also got e-mail confirmation of it's existence from a representative from Peerless Music, David Foster's music publisher.
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1996 DU WIRST SEHEN ("You'll See" in German) - It is extremely unlikely that Madonna actually recorded a version of "You'll See" in German, but the song "Du Wirst Sehen" is copyrighted with both Madonna's name, and the translators. Bo Jensen
notes that the German title was originally spelled "Do Wurst Sehn" which is definitely NOT correct German (he notes that "wurst" means "sausage" in German!). Bryon Saran also notes that "Du Wirst Sehen" is actually nothing more than a cover version of "You'll See" by German artist Andrea Juergens that was released on September 2, 1996. To hear an excerpt clip of Andrea's cover, click here. To see the album cover artwork for Andrea Juergens' album, "Wenn ich gluecklich bin" (which translates to "When I am Happy"), click here
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1997 I WANT YOU (REMIX) One of several supposed songs officially comissioned and remixed by Junior Vasquez that remain shelved. A dance remix of this song did eventually surface, but rumor has it that it was NOT Junior Vasquez that did the remix, but rather Julian Hirsch.
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1997 LOVE WONT WAIT (REMIX) Confirmed unreleased remix by Tony Moran vocal by Gary Barlow, written by Madonna and Shep Pettibone. Confirmed demo sung by Madonna only. The Released remixes were done by Junior Vasquez, CUCA, and Monster Makers.
Part 7: Ray of Light/Additional Notes
1998 FLIRTATION DANCE Original title for "Skin" listed as secondary cross-ref at Library Of Congress for that song. Early version may have had alternate lyrics
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1998 LIKE A FLOWER - unreleased confirmed title written by Madonna and Rick Nowels (Ray Of Light era). Lyrics include "You'll always be a part of me - what you love can never let you go - you'll always be inside of me"
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1998 GONE, GONE, GONE - unreleased confirmed title written by Madonna and Rick Nowels (Ray Of Light era). Lyrics include: "this love affair.....what we had is gone, gone, gone"
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1998 NO SUBSTITUTE FOR LOVE - unreleased confirmed title from the Ray Of Light era. Almost identical lyrics to the finished version, but the melody and tempo are completely different from the finished album version.
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1998 REVENGE - unreleased confirmed title written by Madonna, Rick Nowels, and Gregg Fitzgerald (Ray Of Light era). Lyrics include: "There is no such thing as regret, there is no point in placing the blame....hate destroys the one who hates and everyone suffers the same." Other lyrics include: "take the judgements and let them go." A small snippet of this song first surfaced on the Madonna's Ashram web site.
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1998 TO HAVE NOT TO HOLD (REMIX) Studio master reportedly sent to Goldie for remixing, but was never returned according to UK media report. Current status unknown.
1998 TO HAVE AND NOT TO HOLD (DEMO) - Different vocal take, and significantly different music (more of a Latin influence with guitar), and slightly different vocals ad-libs at end. Recorded during the "Ray Of Light" sessions, but never released. Existence confirmed.
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1999 ANGEL OF FIRE - As usual this one is part fact and part fiction. Several Mariah Carey fan sites have reported that Madonna and William Orbit were recording a ballad (sometimes incorrectly reported as "Angel Fire") for Carey's forthcoming movie project "All That Glitters". This film is scheduled to begin filming in late summer 2000. Also see this Mariah fan site: http://wildcathg.tripod.com/sep99.html
I have read two of the actual media reports in addition to the fan sites and the correct media report seems to be that this song was written by Mariah Carey and Patrick Leonard. Madonna and Orbit were later brought in to review the song which sounds to me more like a consulting session than a co-write. Perhaps they will get some kind of co-production credit, but it's probably not a duet. Mariah seemed to be uncertain if the song would even be used, but we will know more when the Soundtrack album is released in 2001. There are also rumours that she has recorded a cover of "Burning Up" for this film set during the 1980's. According to Liz Rosenberg (Madonna's publicist, and the ICON (Official Madonna Fan Club)'s "Validator", "It is not true that Madonna will be contributing a song to the soundtrack "All That Glitters" and she will not be doing a duet with Babyface but they have worked on some stuff together previously which he may be using."
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1999 BE CAREFUL (CUIDADO CON MI CORAZON) Pablo Flores and/or Victor Calderone remixes: Bruce Baron writes, "Billboard magazine once reported that Pablo Flores was remixing the Ricky Martin and Madonna duet "Cuidado Con Mi Corozon". Martin and MTV discussed the changing dates for the video shoot several times, only to have Madonna delay the project over and over until it was time for "Beautiful Stranger" and "American Pie". Victor Calderone also mentioned in a media report that he was planing to remix "Be Careful" in addition to Madonna's "Skin". To the dissapointment of both fan groups, neither remix has been released by Martin's label, Sony or Madonna's label, Warner Brothers. It's not certain if they were completed. A few different "DJ" and/or "home made" mixes have surfaced (such as the "Fin De Siecle" mix, and the "Vocal Edit") - but these are just poorly made mixes or re-edits, and they are NOT official.
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In April of 2002, Bruce Baron writes:
I recently found some interesting things in the EMI Music Publishing database that I wanted to share exclusively with you. Some are new revelations and others are second confirmations of my previously published Madonna research.
"Cyberraga" is titled "Cyber Sadhu" for EMI published co-author Talvin Singh. Patrick Leonard and Madonna are credited for an unreleased title called "You'll Stay" in addition to the previously known, but unreleased "Be Careful". These are not to be confused with the songs completed with her other collaborators (David Foster and William Orbit) "You'll See" and "Cuidado Con Mi Corazon". These might be earlier versions.
The previously known and unreleased "Keep On" written by Madonna, Colin Wolfe, and Dallas Austin is again confirmed as a separate title from the released song "Don't Stop" (Bedtime Stories era). "Keep On" is also listed as a separate entry in the Warner-Chappell database. EMI also shows another entry by the same writers separate from what might be a variation of "Freedom" called "Your Honesty" (Warner Chappell shows this entry only as "Honesty").
If you explore the EMI database WARNING : Don't confuse "Dancing On The Seven Seas" in the database as a Madonna song. I think it is a track by OMD using a sample of "Lucky Star".
Titles like "Bonita", "Everybody"(not Madonna), "Stay Out Of My Way" and "Spanish Fly" among others also appear to be referencing writing credit for Madonna related samples for her EMI published co-writers like Pat Leonard. Don't be confused by songs written by Madonna Wayne Gacy that might appear mixed in with Madonna's.
The Warner Chapell database recently listed the previously unknown Shep Pettibone/Madonna collaborations "Goodtime" and "Tongue Tied". These were not on file at the Library Of Congress Copyright Office when I visited back in 2000. Since no other co-writers are listed, I do not suspect these tunes to be songs by other acts that use Madonna composed samples such as "El Paraiso Rico" (La Isla Bonita sample) found in the same database which clearly shows all of the other songwriters involved. These tunes list only Shep Pettibone and Madonna.
The same is true for "Regfresando" which credits only Madonna and Patrick Leonard as songwriters. Speculation: Perhaps this will surface on a release for a new artist on her latin label Maverick Musica for someone like Jorge Moreno? The title might also be a typo for "Regresando".
If the database is accurate, Madonna retains copyright control along with Mirwais for the "Music" album collaborations. No other Madonna collaborator that I have found has done with her this including William Orbit for his collaborations on the same album according to Warner-Chappell. This "control" allows the writer to "approve" how the songs are used by the publisher. From what I understand, Mirwais can now prevent a song he wrote from being used from this album for whatever purpose (TV shows etc..)if he wants to, but Orbit can not even though he also co-wrote. There are usually lower royalty payments involved for a writer to retain copyright control. Madonna's control right is part of her Webo Girl publishing deal with Warner Bros.
We know that Madonna's publishing company for her own compositions is Webo Girl (ASCAP) administered by Warner and that her own record company has a publishing division. Most have heard of Maverick Music's(ASCAP) 109 titles. Many also know of another arm which operates as Nomad-Noman(BMI) and has 19 titles. What many don't know is that another arm operates as Edinburgh Songs (SESAC) with 43 titles. ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC are performance royalty collection agencies which operate independently.
According to the US Copyright Records, Madonna's publishing company Nomad-Noman gave (sold ??) publishing control of 938 songs to Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Publishing back in 1999. Downsized!
Also in the public records: Junior Vasquez's real name is Donald Mattern. Shep Pettibone's real name is Robert Pettibone. Stephen Bray's middle name is Pate. Madonna is documented to have been born in 1957, 1958 and 1960!
Patrick Leonard gave his portion of control to "Act Of Contrition" and 162 other songs to Susan Leonard back in 1998.
Former Madonna manager Freddy Demann got the publishing rights to "Material Girl" and 5 other songs by the same song writers back in 1990.
"Dress You Up" co-writer Peggy Stanziale had something to do with Victoria Shaw getting two songs sold to Maverick Music in 1994. Her exact role in this copyright transfer record is not quite clear to me.
The unreleased Madonna/David Foster collaboration "I Can't Forget" (from the Something To Remember era) can be confirmed to exist at the BMI database. The unreleased Madonna collaborations "Cook And F*ck" (instrumental used on the David Letterman Show) and "Dick Tracy" can be confirmed to exist at the ASCAP online ACE On The Web database.
According to ASCAP, Shep Pettibone also now gets co-publishing credit on Erotica's "Secret Garden" in addition to the long known about among fans "Secret". In fact, both songs until recently were listed in this database under a heading called "Madonna/settlement" along with "Inside Of Me" due to Shep's original demos with Madonna.
Keep in mind that public databases are not 100% correct all the time, but most of what I have found over time has been proven true by eventually hearing it myself or by finding a second credible source confirming the same information. The vault of unreleased Madonna material continues to slowly crack open! Hopefully we will someday see some this material released on a future Warner Bros collection. (hint, hint!)
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BO JENSEN (bje@top-toy.dk) also shares with us a few other Madonna and Madonna-related songs that haven't been released in any form:
AZ SIDE
MADONNA CICCONE, MARCO A. CARDENAS
(Probably just a sample of a Madonna song in this one)
BE CAREFUL
MADONNA (CICCONE), PATRICK LEONARD
(Not the same as the Madonna/Ørbit composition!!)
BODEGA
MADONNA CICCONE, PAT LEONARD, BRUCE GAITSCH, AARON GOMEZ
EL PARAISO RICO
MADONNA CICCONE, BRUCE GAITSCH, PATRICK LEONARD, CLAUDIA OGALDE, CHRISTIAN KARLSSON, PATRICK HONESTY, COLIN WOLFE*, DALLAS AUSTIN, MADONNA*
Nikki from Lawrence, Massachusetts notes that this is actually NOT a Madonna song (it's by an artist called "Deetah") and also adds these notes about "El Paraiso Rico" that were seen on another web site:
Deetah - El Paraiso Rico
Deetah's debut single "Relax" sampled a Dire Straits guitar riff to great effect. This song borrows the chorus from Madonna's "La Isla Bonita", but the result isn't quite as impressive. Perhaps she should have sampled the Spanish guitar instead (Amir Hussan)
This song samples Madonna's "La Isla Bonita", and to be honest, it's not a patch on it. The song's a bit boring really, but everyone knows the tune, so it's bound to do well. It doesn't deserve to, mind you. (Lee Knowles)
SPANISH FLY
MADONNA CICCONE, BRUCE GAITSCH, PAT LEONARD, SADAO WATANABE, ROBERT ROSS, JEREMY GRAHAM
STAY OUT OF MY WAY
MADONNA CICCONE, LENNY KRAVITZ, INGRID CHAVEZ.
Filip Jensen recently discovered that the BMI publishing site lists one song written by Madonna that hasn't been released (to his knowledge):
Se Dig Om (which is rather odd since this is Danish and means Look Around)
CICCONE MADONA L ASCAP 125053706
EDMONDS KENNETH B BMI 43938075
and the BMI Publishing site lists another unreleased song "To Love You" written by Andy Paley and Madonna
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Refugee God
Dec 29, 2003 #9
Easier-to-read list (with updates):
(as always, nothing is 100 percent confirmed)
Emmy Demos:
ARE YOU READY FOR IT
BELLS RINGING
DROWNING
(I LIKE) LOVE FOR TENDER
LITTLE BOY
NO TIME (FOR LOVE)
REMEMBERING YOUR TOUCH
SAFE NEIGHBORHOOD (aka SHIT ON THE GROUND)
SHINE A LIGHT
SUNSHINE
Gotham Demos:
GET UP
HIGH SOCIETY (SOCIETYS BOY)
LOVE ON THE RUN
TAKE ME (I WANT YOU)
First Album Outtakes:
AINT NO BIG DEAL (Different from "Pre-Madonna" Version)
AINT NO BIG DEAL (Jellybean Remix)
DON'T YOU KNOW
EVERYBODY (Jellybean Remix)
SIDEWALK TALK (Solo Version)
SHAKE YOUR HEAD
WE LIVE IN A HOUSE
Like a Virgin/Vision Quest Outtakes:
ANGEL (Stephen Bray Demo)
CRAZY FOR YOU (Phil Ramone Demo)
CRAZY FOR YOU (Jellybean Demo)
DESPERATELY SEEKING SUSAN
GAMBLER (Stephen Bray Demo)
LIKE A VIRGIN (Nile Rodgers Remix)
OVER AND OVER (Stephen Bray Demo)
SHOO BE DOO (Stephen Bray Demo)
UNTITLED STEPHEN BRAY COLLABORATION
WARNING SIGNS
True Blue/You Can Dance/Who's That Girl Outtakes:
CAN'T STOP (Demo Version)
CAUSING A COMMOTION (Demo Version)
GET UP STAND TALL
EACH TIME YOU BREAK MY HEART
JIMMY JIMMY (Demo Version)
LOVE OVER THE TELEPHONE
SPOTLIGHT (Demo Version)
TRUE BLUE (Demo Version)
WORKING MY FINGERS TO THE BONE
Like a Prayer Outtakes:
CHERISH (Hank Shocklee & Phil Castellano Remix)
EXPRESS YOURSELF (Demo Version)
FIRST THERE'S A KISS
GOODBYE MY FOREVER FRIEND
KEEP IT TOGETHER (Demo Version)
LOVE ATTACK
LOVE SONG (Demo Version)
PIPELINE
POSSESIVE LOVE
TO LOVE YOU
UNTITLED PRINCE COLLABORATIONS (2/3)
I'm Breathless Outtakes:
d*ck TRACY
DOG HOUSE
I'M BREATHLESS
MORE (Demo Version)
SOONER OR LATER (Demo Version)
VOGUE (Demo Version)
WHAT CAN YOU LOSE (Demo Version)
Immaculate Collection Outtakes:
COOK AND ****
STAY OUT OF MY WAY
Erotica Outtakes:
ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS
CHEAT (aka DRUNK GIRL)
DEAR FATHER
DEEPER AND DEEPER (Demo Version)
EATING OUT
EROTICA / YOU THRILL ME
FREAK
GET OVER (Demo Version)
GOODBYE TO INNOCENCE (Original Version)
JITTERBUG
LOVE HURTS
NO ENTRY
QUEENS PEARLS
SHAME
SHOW AND TELL
THIEF OF HEARTS (Alternate Mixes)
THIS USED TO BE MY PLAYGROUND (Demo Version)
THROB
WHY ITS SO HARD (Demo Version)
YOU ARE THE ONE
Bedtime Stories Outtakes:
BRING IT
GOOD TIME
I WILL AWAYS HAVE YOU
I'D RATHER BE YOUR LOVER (Demo Version)
I'D RATHA B YA LOVA (Demo w/ Tupac Shakur)
JUST A DREAM
KEEP ON
LEGEND (Working Title)
LOVE WON'T WAIT
NEVER TRUST A STRANGER
REGRESDANDO
SOMETHINGS COMING OVER ME
SPANISH FLY
THESE BOOTS ARE MADE FOR WALKING
TONGUE-TIED
YOUR HONESTY
Something to Remember Outtakes:
I CAN'T FORGET
I WANT YOU (Julian Hirsch Remixes)
YOU'LL STAY
Ray of Light Outtakes:
BE CAREFUL (Patrick Leonard Demo; not the same as Ricky Martin Duet)
BE CAREFUL (CUIDADO CON MI CORAZON) (Pablo Flores/Victor Calderone Remixes)
BODEGA
FLIRTATION DANCE
GONE, GONE, GONE
LIKE A FLOWER
LITTLE STAR (Demo Version)
NEVER BEEN BLUE
NO SUBSTITUTE FOR LOVE
THE POWER OF GOODBYE (Demo Version)
REVENGE
SE DIG OM
TO HAVE NOT TO HOLD (Remix)
TO HAVE AND NOT TO HOLD (Demo)
Music Outtakes:
A FOOL'S DREAM
HOLLYWOOD (Early Version)
LA PETITE
LET'S DANCE AGAIN
LIQUID LOVE
LOVE'S FAREWELL
LOVE WILL CHANGE US FOREVER (Early version of "Intervention")
THE SEA
THIS IS WHAT IT TAKES
THIS TIME WE FLY
WHEN THE LIGHT FADES
WHISPER SOFTLY
American Life Outtakes:
ADVERSE YOUTH
BAD NATURE
CAN'T YOU SEE MY MIND
I CAN'T PLACE IT
I GOT YOU UNDER MY SKIN
MIND TRAPPER
MY EJECTOR
NOBODY KNOWS ME (Extended Version)
NOTHING FAILS (Demo Version)
X-STATIC PROCESS (Alternate Version)
2005 -- Releases TBA:
POP POP (Madonna/Stuart Price)
LOVELY (Madonna/Stuart Price)
POWER STRUGGLE (Madonna/Mirwais Ahmadzai)
LISTEN THEN GO (Madonna/Monte Pittman)
CURTAIN (Madonna)
(7/17/02, 1 p.m. ET) -- Madonna has registered two new songs, "La Petit" and "Liquid Love," with performance rights organization the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP).
An ASCAP spokesperson confirmed the songs are credited to writers Madonna L. Ciccone and William Mark Wainwright (also known as William Orbit), while the publishers are listed as Webo Girl Publishing Inc and Almo Music Corp.
Orbit co-wrote the title song from Madonna's album Ray Of Light and the hit "Beautiful Stranger," featured on the soundtrack from Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me. He also co-produced and remixed the tracks.
The two new songs may be slated for Madonna's next album. There are reports that she's been speaking with Dr. Dre about producing tracks and has also been in contact with Paul Oakenfold, who remixed her song "What It Feels Like For A Girl."
-- Darryl Morden, Los Angeles
