True Blue (song)

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“True Blue”
Single by Madonna from the album True Blue
B-side	"Ain't No Big Deal" (US, Japan)
Released	September 29, 1986 (U.K.) October 9, 1986 (U.S.)
Format	7" Single 12" Single and 5" CD Single
Recorded	1985
Genre	Pop
Length	4:16
Label	Sire, Warner Bros.
Producer	Madonna Stephen Bray
Certification	Gold (US)
Madonna singles chronology
"Papa Don't Preach" (1986) "True Blue" (1986) "Open Your Heart" (1986)
True Blue track listing
"Where's the Party" (5) "True Blue" (6) "La Isla Bonita" (7)
Audio sample
Info (help·info)

"True Blue" is the third single by American singer-songwriter Madonna from her 3rd studio album True Blue and was released on September 29, 1986 by Sire Records. It later appeared on the 1991 UK compilation EP "The Holiday Collection" which was released to accompany the 1990 compilation album The Immaculate Collection, on which it did not appear.

[edit] Song information

The song can be described as a blend of 1950s bubblegum pop combined with 1980s teen pop. "True Blue" was a hit in the US, peaking at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100, as well as in the UK, where it reached #1. The song was composed and produced by Stephen Bray and Madonna. A limited quantity of the single was pressed in blue vinyl. The B-side of was the song "Ain't No Big Deal", which was previously used as a B-side to the overseas release of "Papa Don't Preach". The song was written for her then-husband Sean Penn; since their 1989 divorce, Madonna has not performed the song in concert. Because of this, "True Blue" was only performed on one of Madonna's tours, the Who's That Girl World Tour of 1987.

By coincidence, Madonna released her "True Blue" single during the same time Cyndi Lauper, a singer to whom she is often compared, released her "True Colors" single. They competed on the charts at the same time, with Madonna's "True Blue" peaking at #3 and Cyndi Lauper's "True Colors" peaking at #1.

Despite being a respectable hit, the song has yet to appear on any Madonna singles compilation, making it somewhat of a forgotten hit. This has been seen by as some as the result of her divorce from Penn, to whom the song was dedicated. Not surprisingly, when fans were asked to choose their Top 20 Madonna singles of all-time in Q-Magazine, 2003, "True Blue" was allocated the #20 spot. With the probable release of a final greatest hits package for Warner Bros. in the last quarter of 2008, fans will likely hope that "True Blue" is included for the first time on a Madonna greatest hits package.

This was the first song used in a Japanese TV commercial series deal launched in early 1987 with "Mitsubishi" for their Hi-FI VCR players. Mitsubishi, a Japanese tele-visual giant, would later go on to sponsor the Japanese leg of Madonna's "Who's That Girl" tour. The model promoted in this commercial was the "HV F-11". Madonna would go on to continue to promote more Mitsubishi VCR systems. The campaign eventually gained its own tag-line; "Dreams Come True". In early 1988 the endorsement ended with the Japan-only single "Spotlight". This promotion generated incredible amounts of album and ticket sales for Madonna in Japan, a country that remains a difficult but loyal fanbase.

[edit] Music videos

There are two different music videos for "True Blue":

[edit] US Version

The cable televison channel MTV sponsored a contest called Make My Video, in which contestants were encouraged to send in their own versions of a video for this song. Viewers responded enthusiastically; their submissions covered a whole gambit of genres from sophmoric, romantic, humorous, camp to high-quality and/or near-professional. The contest culminated in MTV spending 24 hours showing some of the better submissions, resulting in the same song being played again and again, and no others. At any time throughout that day, True Blue could be heard on MTV, but with a different video each time (some were repeated at various times).

The winners of the competition were Ángel Gracia (who later directed Enigma's Out from the Deep music video in 1992) and Cliff Guest, whose submission became the official US video for the song (although both versions were played in the US). Madonna does not appear in this version.

• Directors: Ángel Gracia, Cliff Guest
• Producers: Ángel Gracia, Cliff Guest
• Director of Photograhy: Ángel Gracia
• Editor: Heli Soto

[edit] European version

Madonna in "True Blue" video directed by James Foley.

Madonna's own music video for the song was directed by James Foley. The James Foley version features Madonna with three dancers and a 1950s car in an all-blue studio. Two of Madonna's close friends, Erica Bell (who also appears in the videos for "Lucky Star" and "Papa Don't Preach") and Debi Mazar ("Papa Don't Preach" and "Music"), both appear in the video. This version has never been commercially released, but was included on the promotional-only video compilations It's That Girl and She's Breathless.

• Director: James Foley
• Producers: David Naylor, Sharon Oreck
• Director of Photography: Michael Ballhaus
• Production Company: O Pictures

[edit] Charts

[edit] Track listings

U.K. 7" Single

1. "True Blue (Remix a.k.a. Remix/Edit)"
2. "Holiday (Edit)"

U.S. 7" Single & U.S. 7" Blue Vinyl

1. "True Blue (Album Version)"
2. "Ain't No Big Deal"

U.K. 12" Single, 12" Picture Disc, 5" CD Single (Re-Issue)

1. "True Blue (The Color Mix)"
2. "Holiday"

U.S. 12" Maxi Single, Cassette Maxi Single

1. "True Blue (The Color Mix)"
2. "True Blue (Instrumental)"
3. "Ain't No Big Deal"
4. "True Blue (Remix/Edit)"

Japanese / Australian 5" Compact Disc E.P

1. "True Blue (The Color Mix)"
2. "Everybody (Dub Version)"
3. "Papa Don't Preach (Extended Remix)"
4. "Everybody (Extended Mix)"
5. "Live To Tell (Instrumental)"