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Live To Tell as a single was one of her riskiest moves


Shane

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Even though I lived through it as a child, I was much too young to understand the impact of Live To Tell. To this day, I believe that releasing that as a single after 1985 remains one of Madonna's most revolutionary moves in a career full of them.

Obviously True Blue was going to be huge coming on the heels of Like a Virgin. And if Live To Tell had bombed, they could still have kicked things off with Papa Don't Preach.

But Madonna, even at this stage, showed that she was a true artist by releasing what many still consider her best song. After a year in which she became Billboard's overall Top Artist with amazing songs like Material Girl, Angel, and Dress You Up, she released a dark, haunting ballad completely unlike anything she'd even hinted at as her first single of 1986. Yes, Crazy For You was her first ballad hit, but it's a very different kind of love song.

Live To Tell didn't have to work. But the power of Madonna was so great, and the quality of the song so undeniable, that it raced to the top of the charts.

I still get chills when I think that this was the followup to Dress You Up.

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SomeofShane, think exactly the same thing. Still remember the absolute shock of seeing Madonna in the video clip of Live to tell. Such a massive departure from the Like a Virgin look. I was right into dressing like Madonna then. Had the entire look down pat. The long hair with ribbons, stacks of jewellery, lacy gloves and midriff tops. Then to see her both sitting on a chair with a pretty black floral dress or close ups of her face singing such a haunting song was a huge image change. She looked like a vintage movie star and her face was so beautiful. She also changed her entire look while she was the biggest star in the World. Took a huge risk that worked brilliantly.

Then to top it off, the song was incredible. So haunting and different from any ballad I had heard. I still think it is one of the saddest and emotional songs ever recorded and no one can sing it like Madonna. Madonna proved right there and then that she was in it for the long haul and not afraid to go in the direction and style she wanted. She has always gone with what she wants and knows is right.

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I was just thinking about this the other day while watching the Celebration DVD. Her look and sound had personified the 80s up until that point - and with this one song and video she left everyone - all the new romantics and new wavers - in the dust. They instantly looked and sounded dated.

Also, it's a pretty intense, dark ballad, but I don't think it's necessarily an intense listen. It feels right at home on True Blue inbetween White Heat and Where's The Party and never feels like it's weighing the lighter tracks down.

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Her first re-invention and yes maybe the most risky

No. Her first re-invention was in the video of Material Girl as 80's Marilyn Monroe. The look for the Live to Tell video wasn't very far from that (apart from that strange housewife dress). Really shocking these times was, that she cutted her damaged hair extremely short for the follower video Papa Don't Preach.

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No. Her first re-invention was in the video of Material Girl as 80's Marilyn Monroe. The look for the Live to Tell video wasn't very far from that (apart from that strange housewife dress). Really shocking these times was, that she cutted her damaged hair extremely short for the follower video Papa Don't Preach.

You are right about the look

But the sound was really different from the dance songs from the first album and like a virgin

She could just have continued that with "love makes the world go round" but she always knew she was better than that

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A true chameleon :wow: A dramatic new look, new sound, new era. What a great way to mark a transition!

Live To Tell didn't have to work. But the power of Madonna was so great, and the quality of the song so undeniable, that it raced to the top of the charts.

Absolutely, and her mug in the video is flawless.

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The song itself and its structure r also a-typical! Heavily influenced by the fact that

it's part of a film score...Madonna or no Madonna, LTT was quite a moment 4 pop radio.

And yes the look in the video was departure also, although not that extreme..cuz

the Shanghai Surprise look was already seen by everyone. The real 'shocking' re-invention

came at the At Close Range Premiere & the PDP video...with the Jean Seberg haircut.

I'm sorry but the early 80's, in terms of pop radio/the charts/ where a fuck of a

lot more adventurous than post 90's commercial music. Every decade has its

share of shit...but these days, c'mon everything is just so boring. I pity todays

youth...they feel like the Saffron 2 my Edina. :D

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Whenever I hear the song I can't believe it was such a big hit: it sounds so completely different than any other ballad released in the mid 80's. But I guess that's also why it has stood the test of time so well. Still one of her best songs ever.

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I guess being so young it never occured to me that Live To Tell was unusual in any way, I just loved it and it's beauty. Well, actually I still don't see it because it's a natural part of my youth :lol:

The song itself and its structure r also a-typical! Heavily influenced by the fact that

it's part of a film score...Madonna or no Madonna, LTT was quite a moment 4 pop radio.

And yes the look in the video was departure also, although not that extreme..cuz

the Shanghai Surprise look was already seen by everyone. The real 'shocking' re-invention

came at the At Close Range Premiere & the PDP video...with the Jean Seberg haircut.

I'm sorry but the early 80's, in terms of pop radio/the charts/ where a fuck of a

lot more adventurous than post 90's commercial music. Every decade has its

share of shit...but these days, c'mon everything is just so boring. I pity todays

youth...they feel like the Saffron 2 my Edina. :D

This is so true! What gets played now seems so bland. No more exploring or risks. Haha yes it's Saffy :laugh:

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Any other pop star would have stayed with that Virgin look til the bitter end. And then try to make it happen again. Madonna is somehow able to pull off any look and become a new person and look completely natural. I can't think of another pop star that did or does that.

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Commentators at the time noted that the single had everything working against it. It didn't appear on an album until months after it was released (at the time, it was one of only a handful of massive hits released in 1986 that wasn't available on an album when it reached #1), it was only the second ballad she'd ever released as a single, and it stopped in the middle (they saw it as committing airplay suicide). She proved them wrong, though.

It's such an amazing song. Her image in the video was very different to the one she'd had for the previous year (in MG, she was playing a character - Marilyn Monroe's from "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes", whereas the LTT video was all about her choosing to adopt that look in the video which, of course, was filmed while she was filming "Shanghai Surprise").

A true masterpiece...

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I was just a tween. The Like A Virgin era kind of passed me by - I preferred other artists (Cindi Lauper, Duran Duran, Prince) .... BUT when she did Live To Tell I was floored. That's when I became a fan. While Cindi Lauper and Michael Jackson continued to look and sound the same way ... here was Madonna shaking everything up. Amazing (and yes, her best song - alongside LAP). I'd rather side with a rebel ;)

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Indeed. Not only was it not a love song like CFY (which incidentally doesn't even mention the word "love"), but its mood and subject matter didn't exactly scream huge commercial success.

Had it been released later on in the album's run, would it have fared as well, or would it have performed similarly to "Oh Father"?

Carta- not just 1986, but since the rock era started (hitting No. 1 and not being available on any album). ;) The radio edit had a less-lengthy break before "If I ran away..." yes? So that helped in terms of radio play.

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SomeofShane, think exactly the same thing. Still remember the absolute shock of seeing Madonna in the video clip of Live to tell. Such a massive departure from the Like a Virgin look. I was right into dressing like Madonna then. Had the entire look down pat. The long hair with ribbons, stacks of jewellery, lacy gloves and midriff tops. Then to see her both sitting on a chair with a pretty black floral dress or close ups of her face singing such a haunting song was a huge image change. She looked like a vintage movie star and her face was so beautiful. She also changed her entire look while she was the biggest star in the World. Took a huge risk that worked brilliantly.

Then to top it off, the song was incredible. So haunting and different from any ballad I had heard. I still think it is one of the saddest and emotional songs ever recorded and no one can sing it like Madonna. Madonna proved right there and then that she was in it for the long haul and not afraid to go in the direction and style she wanted. She has always gone with what she wants and knows is right.

:thumbsup::thumbsup::inlove:

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Great thread and epic, game changing song! Grand slam lyrics, production and video. Of course the media downplays the impact today but that entire 'transition' was a MAJOR big deal at the time. NO female pop star ever did anything so radical and risky prior or since. This was kind of risky in many ways than Erotica when she was consistently the biggest star in the world for almost 10 years. She had really nothing left to prove.

W/ LTT it was her *followup to LAV, a ballad w/ a 200% different look and sound.* The media and GP were tripping out over...all of it. Almost everyone expected her to maintain the still very popular LAV look and sound. W/ this song and era she did what Cyndi and almost every other female didn't do prior or since! LTT was the first sign she wasn't fcking around far as the official confirmation on how brilliant she was as both a biz woman and singer/songwriter! I never get tired talking about LTT, how it's hands down my fav. M ballad by a mile, one of her best iconic songs and best (underrated) ballads by any female pop star! True Colors by Cyndi was good and similar w/ the dark production but was corny, preachy and formulatic. LTT has/had this extra unique overall IT factor. Way more organic, genuine and soulful. As most know she did it on ONE take and of course there's the infamous rumor of being able to hear the sounds of paper w/ the lyrics on the recording (which I still can't hear) lol. Ace song!

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That was a brilliant time, I remember being away, off the grid so to speak, no cell phones, barely a radio nearby and when I returned LIVE TO TELL had hit and everyone was talking about it. They were all saying to me, have you heard Madonna's new song and at that point I hadn't so I was sort of shocked but pleasantly surprised at the outcome. Remember this was before the internet, social media, and entertainment shows were only on at night -- maybe it was Entertainment Tonight or something, A very innocent, quiet, but wonderful time for discovery of stuff like this. Yes, it was risky but oh sooo brilliant!

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Totally agree SomeofShane! Not only was this song like nothing Madonna had done before, it was nothing like what was on radio at the time. Such a breath of fresh air and truly one of her greatest achievements on record.

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That was a brilliant time, I remember being away, off the grid so to speak, no cell phones, barely a radio nearby and when I returned LIVE TO TELL had hit and everyone was talking about it. They were all saying to me, have you heard Madonna's new song and at that point I hadn't so I was sort of shocked but pleasantly surprised at the outcome. Remember this was before the internet, social media, and entertainment shows were only on at night -- maybe it was Entertainment Tonight or something, A very innocent, quiet, but wonderful time for discovery of stuff like this. Yes, it was risky but oh sooo brilliant!

Yep, it's crazy how 'modern', high tech and glitzed up people 'thought' the '80s were during that time. The only real major 'inventions' and ways to get access to media were MTV, radio, CDs and double and triple cassette players w/ the ability to do high speed dubbing and record songs off the radio lol. I friggin remember paying $10-$15 for a shit cassettes left/right (which is like $30 today). All barely remembered or talked about even by people old enough to remember but not known at all to teens today- most who've never paid for a single song or album! :/ . Yet, for basically 15-20 years this was the only way it was.

Not until just around 2000/01 w/ downloading followed shortly by social media did we get what we have today. Back then (far as getting music or access to music) was really not much of a stretch than the 60s! All you really had was radio, TV entertainment shows and MTV to hear a new Madonna song. Basically at the mercy of just a few outlets. Still, something so cool, suspenseful and innocent about it all. NO leaks, LQ or HQ clips, teasers, 'promos', social media rumors etc etc...

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Yes - and I miss every minute of it! ;)

Yep, it's crazy how 'modern', high tech and glitzed up people 'thought' the '80s were during that time. The only real major 'inventions' and ways to get access to media were MTV, radio, CDs and double and triple cassette players w/ the ability to do high speed dubbing and record songs off the radio lol. I friggin remember paying $10-$15 for a shit cassettes left/right (which is like $30 today). All barely remembered or talked about even by people old enough to remember but not known at all to teens today- most who've never paid for a single song or album! :/ . Yet, for basically 15-20 years this was the only way it was.

Not until just around 2000/01 w/ downloading followed shortly by social media did we get what we have today. Back then (far as getting music or access to music) was really not much of a stretch than the 60s! All you really had was radio, TV entertainment shows and MTV to hear a new Madonna song. Basically at the mercy of just a few outlets. Still, something so cool, suspenseful and innocent about it all. NO leaks, LQ or HQ clips, teasers, 'promos', social media rumors etc etc...

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I was a teenager and loved Madonna's persona and look at the time. Like Jan I was somewhat shocked by this song and the video. I remember listening intently to the song and the just watching the video in a calm awe. It was such an interesting turn and she looked so beautiful.

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