Like a Prayer (song)
| Like a prayer | |
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| Madonna | |
| publication | February 27, 1989 |
| length | 5:39 |
| Genre (s) | Pop , gospel |
| Author (s) | Madonna , Patrick Leonard |
| album | Like a prayer |
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Chart positions Explanation of the data |
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Like a Prayer is a 1989 song written by Madonna , both written and produced by her and Patrick Leonard . It appeared on the album of the same name .
history
Like a Prayer is one of Madonna's best-selling songs. Over five million copies were sold. The hit took first place in many countries. The publication took place on February 27, 1989.
Madonna to Like a Prayer :
“My whole album is about religious subjects [...] The Catholic Church inspires me with its mysticism and magic. Like a Prayer is about me as a Catholic. When I moved from home at 17 and went to New York City , where many Catholics live, I learned the real meaning of Catholicism and how to live as a Catholic. But I also had to think about what would happen if I stood against my religion. "
The religious influence is very evident on Like a Prayer . Madonna describes it as: “a song about a young girl who loves God so much that she sees her partner in her. From the age of eight to twelve I had the same feelings and loved God that way. "
The song starts with an electric guitar solo, then Madonna sings an intro and then the drums begin. Besides the song bass parts by weight of a Moog Minimoog - synthesizer . The bass was played by Guy Pratt .
In 1990, a remix by Shep Pettibone appeared on the compilation The Immaculate Collection , which received some media attention. In the list of the 500 best songs of all time by Rolling Stone magazine , the song reached number 306 in 2010 and 239 in 2012.
In 2019, a version of Like a Prayer accompanied by Gregorian monk chants was part of Madonna's guest appearance at the final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 in Tel Aviv . Madonna's vocal performance was widely criticized in the media; the appearance also included elements that were not discussed with the organizers, such as gas masks and the flags of Israel and Palestine , which aroused criticism.
Music video
The music video was directed by Mary Lambert , who also directed the videos for Borderline and Like a Virgin . The film was shot at Raleigh Studios in Hollywood , California . At the beginning of the clip, Madonna sees a couple of white men beating up and killing a girl. The police innocently see an African American who is rushing to the aid , who is portrayed by Leon , as the perpetrator and arrests them. Madonna then flees from the real perpetrators to a church; in a dream she shows stigmata on her hands, she prays to St. Martin, a black saint (also Leon Robinson ), kisses him, and he comes to life. She later sings the song with a gospel choir . In order to ensure justice, she assures the police officers that they arrested the wrong one, who, according to Madonna's testimony, released him from prison. In the end, it turns out that the plot of the video is a play. In the video she is dancing on a field of burning crosses. While the burning crosses in the USA led to the removal and boycott of the video, European countries were “shocked” because of the “blasphemous scenes”. As a result, the main sponsor Pepsi canceled the commercial with Madonna and announced its involvement as a sponsor of their planned world tour (Madonna was allowed to keep the $ 5 million fee). Madonna: “ Back then, my tour sponsor Pepsi Cola caused the most problems. They were afraid because of the erotic allusions. But they paid, ran away and that was it. “The video was only broadcast at night on MTV in Germany . Both singles and albums became one of their greatest successes, also because of this rather involuntary advertising by condemnation by parent associations and church representatives.
Cover versions (selection)
- 1992: Bigod 20
- 1992: Marc Almond
- 1998: Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
- 2000: gong
- 2001: H2O
- 2002: Mad'House
- 2002: Limelight
- 2002: Rufio
- 2003: Nolwenn Leroy
- 2005: Gigi D'Agostino
- 2010: Glee
- 2011: Ida Sand
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Charts DE Charts AT Charts CH Charts UK Charts US
- ↑ Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of all time (2010 Edition), last.fm ( Memento from July 6, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of all time (2012 Edition), last.fm ( Memento from June 22, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ a b Express Yourself: The Making of Madonna's 20 Greatest Music Videos. 5: "Like a Prayer" (1989). In: Rolling Stone . Retrieved May 15, 2016 .
- ↑ The bizarre chart race of the Madonna covers. Laut.de, April 4, 2002, accessed May 28, 2017 .