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Like a Virgin
Studio album by Madonna
Released	November 12, 1984; August 5, 1985 (Re-release); May 21, 2001 (Remastered)
Recorded	April – September 1984, Power Station Studios, Manhattan, New York
Genre	Dance-pop, pop rock, dance
Length	43:10
Label	Sire, Warner Bros.; Warner Bros. (2001)
Producer	Nile Rodgers, Madonna, Stephen Bray
Professional reviews
	Allmusic link; Blender link; Robert Christgau (B) link; Entertainment Weekly (A) link; Rolling Stone link; Slant link; Stylus (favorable) link; Yahoo! Music (mixed) link;
Madonna chronology
Singles from Like a Virgin
	"Like A Virgin"; Released: November 6, 1984; "Material Girl"; Released: January 30, 1985; "Angel"; Released: April 10, 1985; "Into The Groove"; Released: July 23, 1985; "Dress You Up"; Released: July 24, 1985; "Love Don't Live Here Anymore"; Released: March 10, 1986 (Japan only);

This article is about the Madonna album. For the Madonna song, see Like a Virgin (song). For other uses, see Like a Virgin (disambiguation).

Like a Virgin is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, released on November 12, 1984 by Sire Records. The album was re-released in 1985 world wide (not in North America) with the bonus track "Into the Groove". In 2001, Warner Bros. released a remastered version with two bonus remix tracks (this version did not include "Into the Groove"). The RIAA certified it Diamond on May 21, 1998,^[3] recognizing ten million shipments in the United States. Worldwide, the album has sold over 21 million copies.^[4]

[edit] Album history

Nile Rodgers was chosen by Madonna as the producer of the album, mostly because of his work with David Bowie on his album Let's Dance^{[citation needed]}. Like a Virgin built on the sound and image that Madonna had created in her debut album, which was very much disco and pop-oriented. Madonna dedicated the album to "all the virgins of the world."

The album's title track was her first number one hit song. Madonna debuted the song at the first annual MTV Video Music Awards. In this performance, Madonna rolled on the floor in a white wedding dress, exposing her panties and garter belt, all the while wearing a belt that read "Boy Toy". The album's second single, "Material Girl", earned Madonna the nickname of "material girl" from the media. The song "Into the Groove" was included in the 1985 film Desperately Seeking Susan and due to its success - it hit #1 in various countries, becoming her first number one in the UK - was included in the re-release of the album.

The album was a huge success on the charts, but the critics were not really convinced of Madonna's skills and described her as an "unimportant annoying one-hit-wonder" with a voice similar to "Minnie Mouse on helium." The Grammy Award show largely snubbed Like a Virgin; although she did receive a few nominations at the 1985 MTV Video Music Awards, she lost each of them.

The sleeve image was by Steven Meisel who would become a regular collaborator. In 1992 he shot all the photographs for the infamous book Sex.

She later performed "Material Girl", "Angel", "Like a Virgin", "Over and Over", "Into the Groove" and "Dress You Up" on her 1985 Virgin Tour.

The version of "Stay" that appears on the album borrows its lyrics from two early Madonna demo tracks titled "Stay" and "Don't You Know". An early version of "Stay" appeared on the demo cassette that landed Madonna her record deal with Sire/Warner in 1982.

The title song was parodied by "Weird Al" Yankovic in the song "Like a Surgeon" and was also covered by former Dead Boys frontman Stiv Bators with his later band, Lords Of The New Church.

[edit] Album charting and sales

Like a Virgin has been certified Diamond for selling more than 10 million copies in the U.S. alone, and has sold over 21 million copies worldwide.^[5]^[6] The album entered the Billboard 200 at #3 in December 1984 and stayed within the top ten before hitting #1 in February 1985, where it stayed for 3 weeks.

[edit] Track listing

#	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Material Girl"	Peter Brown, Robert Rans	Nile Rodgers	4:01
2.	"Angel"	Madonna, Stephen Bray	Nile Rodgers	3:55
3.	"Like a Virgin"	Tom Kelly, Billy Steinberg	Nile Rodgers	3:39
4.	"Over and Over"	Madonna, S. Bray	Nile Rodgers	4:12
5.	"Love Don't Live Here Anymore"	Miles Gregory	Nile Rodgers	4:50
6.	"Dress You Up"	Andrea LaRusso, Peggy Stanziale	Nile Rodgers	4:01
7.	"Shoo-Bee-Doo"	Madonna	Nile Rodgers	5:17
8.	"Pretender"	Madonna, S. Bray	Nile Rodgers	4:30
9.	"Stay"	Madonna, S. Bray	Nile Rodgers	4:06

1985 Re-issue bonus track

#	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
6.	"Into the Groove"	Madonna, S. Bray	Madonna, Stephen Bray	4:43

2001 Remastered version bonus tracks

#	Title	Writer(s)	Remixer(s)	Length
10.	"Like a Virgin" (Extended Dance Remix)	T. Kelly, B. Steinberg	John "Jellybean" Benitez	6:08
11.	"Material Girl" (Extended Dance Remix)	P. Brown, R. Rans	John "Jellybean" Benitez	6:07

Additional notes

"Into the Groove" is only available on the 1985 re-issue. It is not available on the U.S. version and is not included on the 2001 Remastered version. It became track number 6 on the 1985 version with all remaining tracks following suit.

[edit] Certifications, peaks and sales

"Like a Virgin"

Madonna's first #1 in several countries, including Australia and the U.S.

"Over and Over"

Lyrically, "Over and Over" deals with ambition and the drive to succeed.

"Love Don't Live Here Anymore"

The last single from Like a Virgin was released only in Japan and reached the top 3.

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Country	Peak position	Certification (if any)	Sales/shipments
Australia	2	7x Platinum^[7]	490,000+
Canada	3	Diamond^[8]	1,000,000+
Finland		Gold^[9]	35,000+
France	2	2x Platinum^[10]	600,000+
Germany	1	3x Gold^[11]	750,000+
New Zealand		5x Platinum^[12]	75,000+
Spain	1	2x Platinum	200,000+
Switzerland	3	2x Platinum^[13]	100,000+
United Kingdom	1	3x Platinum^[14]	900,000+
United States	1	Diamond^[15]	10,000,000+

[edit] Album credits

[edit] Personnel

Madonna – vocals, background vocals
Bernard Edwards – bass
Brenda King – background vocals
Curtis King – background vocals
Lenny Pickett – saxophone
Nile Rodgers – guitar, synclavier
Robert Sabino – synthesizer
Nathaniel S. Hardy, Jr. – synthesizer
Lucas Simms – background vocals
George Simms – background vocals
Dave Weckl – drums
Tony Thompson – drums

[edit] Production

Producers: Madonna, Stephen Bray, Nile Rodgers
Engineer: Jason Corsaro
Production manager: Budd Tunick
Audio Mastering: Bob Ludwig
Drum programming: Jimmy Bralower

[edit] Design

Art Direction: Jeri McManus, Jeffrey Kent Ayer
Photography: Steven Meisel
Stylist: Maripol
Design: Jeffrey Kent Ayer, Jeri McManus

[edit] See also

[edit] References

Preceded by Born in the U.S.A. by Bruce Springsteen	Billboard 200 number-one album February 9 – March 1, 1985	Succeeded by Make It Big by Wham!
Preceded by Now That's What I Call Music 5 by Various Artists Hounds of Love by Kate Bush	UK number one album September 21, 1985 – September 27, 1985 October 12, 1985 – October 18, 1985	Succeeded by Hounds of Love by Kate Bush Hounds of Love by Kate Bush

[0] ttp://www.avatarstudios.net/aboutus/index.html#AlbumCredits

[1] ttp://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:lifjzfaheh3k

[2] ttp://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=SEARCH_RESULTS

[3] Orange: Contrasting fortunes as Madonna and Jacko turn 50

[w4m-4] Madonna charts and sale figures

[amazon-5] Amazon.co.uk: Madonna Discography

[6] ARIA

[7] CRIA

[8] IFPI Finland

[9] Disque En France

[10] IFPI Germany

[11] [1]

[12] IFPI Switzerland

[13] BPI

[14] Billboard – Ask Billboard

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