Burning Up
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"Burning Up" is an pop–dance song written by American singer-songwriter Madonna for her debut album Madonna (1983). The song was produced by Reggie Lucas and received a mixed reception from music critics. The song was released as the second single in the spring of 1983 and reached the top twenty in Australia, where it became Madonna's first top twenty single. In the United States, "Burning Up" was released to success on the Billboard dance charts, where it reach the top five on the Dance Club chart.
Song history
The song features a heavy disco beat and characteristic 80s guitars. In the song Madonna sings about how she is "burning up" for the love of a guy that she likes. She sings about how she is "unlike the others I'll do anything, I'm not the same, I have no shame". She wants the guy to notice her and she tells him how she will do anything to get him to love her.
"Burning Up" was released with "Physical Attraction" on the flipside. The two songs were released together to clubs and DJs.
The song was released as a single in the USA, The Netherlands, Mexico, Japan, Australia and possible other countries but was not released commercially in the UK. It was released to UK clubs though, with a remix Madonna was less then thrilled about: "Warner's said they wouldn't put it out in Britain unless Rusty Egan remixed. He took all the bass out and totally changed the song. You can't imagine what a horrible remix he did".[link]
Several demo versions of the song exist. The 1981 demo version can be heard on the albums "Pre-Madonna" and "In The Beginning". A version from 1980 can also be found on various bootlegs.
The cover-artwork for the single features pictures taken by David Cunningham and was designed by Madonna's friend Martin Burgoyne, who later died of AIDS. The song was performed on The Virgin Tour in 1985 but then was completely forgotten about not appearing again live until it was performed again two decades later on the Re-Invention Tour in 2004.
Music video
Steve Barron, famous for directing Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" music video, also directed the video for "Burning Up". The video was Madonna's first "proper" music video and featured special effects and special camera angles. The video shows a young and wild Madonna crawling on the street, "burning up" for the love of her boyfriend. Her lover, the man driving the car in the video, was played by her real boyfriend at that time, Norris Burroughs.Chart performance
"Burning Up" like "Everybody" failed to break into the Billboard Hot 100 chart, but this time "Burning Up" even failed to chart in the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart. The song did manage to peak at number 3 on the Billboard Hot Dance/Club Play Chart, staying on the chart for 16 weeks. The song was a moderate hit in Australia peaking at number 13 due in part to an interview on the Australian music show Countdown with Molly Meldrum which drew attention to the talent that would prove very successful in later years. Despite the song being less successful that its predecessor, its still respectable performance in the club/dance charts prompted Sire Records to greenlight Madonna's debut album.
| Chart (1983) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia AMR Sales Chart | 13 |
| USA Billboard Hot Dance/Club Play Chart | 3 |
Credits
- Written by Madonna
- Produced by Reggie Lucas
- Remixed by John "Jellybean" Benitez
- Synthesizers by Dean Gant, Fred Zarr and Ed Walsh
- Electric and acoustic pianos by Dean Gant and Fred Zarr
- Guitars by Reggie Lucas, Ira Siegal and Paul Pesco
- Drum programming by Reggie Lucas and Leslie Ming
- Tenorsaxophone by Bobby Malach
- Background vocals by Gwen Guthrie, Norma Jean Wright, Madonna, Brenda White and Chrissy Faith
Official versions
Original versions
- Album Version 3:45
- 12'' Version 5:59
- Remix Edit 3:55
- Remix Edit #2 4:27
- Remix/Alternate Version 4:50
- "Hacienda" (Manchester, UK. No TV recording) February 1983
- "Uncle Sams" (Levittown, New York. No TV recording) September 24, 1983
- "The Virgin Tour" (Not included on the official video release) 1985
- "The Re-Invention Tour" 2004
Included on
- Madonna
- Pre-Madonna
- In The Beginning
- Wildlife Soundtrack
References
- "Chart Performance of Madonna Records - A Compiled History" (2004). MLVC.ORG: Charts. Retrieved from http://charts.mlvc.org/CHThist.php on December 9, 2005.
- "Burning Up" (2004). Madonna: Single Summaries. Retrieved from http://www.madonnanation.com/charts/ on December 9, 2005.
- "Burning Up" (2005). Enlance Madonna. Retrieved from http://www.enlacemadonna.com/englishversion/index.htm on December 19, 2005.
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