"True Blue" is a song by American singer Madonna from her third studio album of the same name (1986). Written and produced by the singer and her collaborator Stephen Bray, it was released to radio on September 13, 1986. In Australia, New Zealand, and most European countries, it was released as the album's third single in the USA on September 17th 1986. Physically released as a single in the United States on October 9. A dance-pop song that takes influence from Motown and girl groups from the 1950s and 1960s, "True Blue" addresses Madonna's feelings for her then-husband Sean Penn.
Critical reception towards "True Blue" was generally positive, with praise being given to its retro, girl group influence. It topped the charts in Canada, the United Kingdom and Ireland. In the United States, it reached the third position of the Billboard Hot 100 and was the singer's tenth consecutive top-ten hit.
Two music videos were shot for the song. James Foley directed the official one that aired internationally, which shows Madonna in a 1950s-inspired blue setting, joined by backup singers. In the US, Sire Records teamed up with MTV for a competition called "Madonna's 'Make My Video' Contest". Fans were called on to make their own video and submit them for the singer's approval. The winning clip was shot in sepia and depicted a teenage romance. "True Blue" was included on Madonna's Who's That Girl (1987) and Rebel Heart (2015―2016) concert tours, and has been covered by a handful of artists, including Darren Hayes.
Background In early 1985, Madonna began dating actor Sean Penn, whom she met in the set of the music video for her single "Material Girl". They dated casually and married six months later, on her 27th birthday. She also met producer Patrick Leonard while on the Virgin Tour, where he was hired as musical director. Madonna's third studio album, True Blue, was announced in April 1986. It takes its title after a favorite expression of Penn's, which signifies a "very pure vision of love". For the project, she kept Leonard and also enlisted former boyfriend Stephen Bray, with whom she had worked on Like a Virgin (1984), her previous album.
Composed alongside Bray, the title track was described as Madonna's "unabashed valentine" for Penn, and influenced by the "direct antecedents" of her sound: Motown, girl groups from the 1960s such as the Shirelles, and songs like "Chapel of Love" (1964) by the Dixie Cups. Bray recalled that Madonna was "very much in love" when creating the track; "if she's in love she'll write love songs. If she's not in love she definitely won't be writing love songs". While looking back in 2015, the singer revealed that she "didn't know what I was talking about when I wrote [that song]".
Composition and release
"True Blue" and its parent album were recorded at Los Angeles' Channel Recording studios. Personnel working on the song included Bray on drums and keyboard arrangement, alongside Fred Zarr; Bruce Gaitsch played guitar while background vocals were provided by Siedah Garrett and Edie Lehmann. "True Blue" has been noted a "sweetly bubblegummy mix of '60s girl group sounds and '80s dance pop". In its lyrics, Madonna expresses her love and devotion for Penn. According to the sheet music published by Alfred Publishing Inc., it is set in the time signature of 12/8, with a moderate tempo of 120 beats per minute. The song is composed in the key of B major, and has a basic sequence of I–vi–IV–V (B–Gm–E–F) as its main chord progression. Madonna's vocal range spans a bit less than one and a half octaves, going from F3 to B4.
The "verse-and-chorus" composition is similar to that of "Chapel of Love", with Garrett and Lehman accompanying the singer's convincing "girly" vocals like a choir. It begins with a "pert call to attention", which then goes from "coy rejoinder" to "bossy command". Madonna sings, I’ve had other guys/I've looked into their eyes/But I never knew love before/'Til you walked through my door. In the "cooing" refrain, she sings in Betty Boop-like vocals, True love/You're the one I'm dreaming of/Your heart fits me like a glove/And I'm gonna be true blue/Baby, I love you. The bridge plays twice, and has Madonna singing the line No-oh more sadness/I kiss it goodbye.
"True Blue" began receiving airplay on American radio the week of September 13, 1986, when it was yet to be released as a single. In Australia, New Zealand, and most European countries, it was released as the album's third single on September 29. In the United States, a release was issued on October 9. "True Blue" has not been included in any of Madonna's major compilations, but was part of The Holiday Collection ―a four track EP released exclusively in the United Kingdom in August 1991.
Critical reception
Critical feedback towards "True Blue" has been generally positive. J. Randy Taraborrelli, author of Madonna: An Intimate Biography, deemed it a light-hearted, fun track. In the book Rock 'n' Roll Gold Rush, Maury Dean referred to "True Blue" as a "masterwork of simplicity interwoven with secret complexity [...] on one hand, it's just a basic Streetcorner ditty, with four basic chords. In another context, it's a counterpoint harmonic blanket, twirling with star-spangled timbre and dynamic drive". Matthew Rettenmund, author of Encyclopedia Madonnica, hailed it a "sweet tune" that features the singer "at her chirpiest and most flirtatious", and "best illustrates [the album]'s ―and Madonna's― dedication to Penn". AllMusic's Stewart Mason opined the singer's vocals resembled Cyndi Lauper's, albeit "with a slightly less kitschy attitude". From website This is Dig! Mark Elliott referred to "True Blue" as the most "representative" of the parent album's nine songs, and an "irresistibly catchy homage" to the 1950s and 60s.
For Erika Wexler from Spin, it is a "cute retro throwaway" that "exude[s] innocence and harmony. Love is as simple as the lyrics". In this vein, Slant Magazines Sal Cinquemani said "True Blue" was an "authentic throwback to the girl-group-era pop". For the Chicago Tribune, Jan DeKnock also praised its girl group influence, and described the song as a "charming [...] perfect end-of-summer confection that will do equally well with pop and adult contemporary listeners". James Croot from New Zealand website Stuff said it was the "crowning glory" of the parent album; "[a] toe-tapping 1950s-inspired ditty [...] pop-song confection perfection. Filled with hooks and eminently sing-a-longable, it can still brighten the mood of even the most trying day". For Los Angeles Times Robert Hilburn, "['True Blue'] mixes the innocence of '50s R&B, with the punch of Spector's '60s classics for a contemporary blend of 'In the Still of the Night' and 'Be My Baby'". It was noted a "cross between 'Heaven Must Have Sent You' and 'Chapel of Love'" by Rolling Stones Davitt Sigerson, while John Quayle from the Observer–Reporter said it was a "sickenly sweet throwaway".
In more critical reviews, Matthew Jacobs from HuffPost wrote that, "taken as anything other than homage, ['True Blue']'s a silly, meandering tune. But heard as a could-be outtake from the Grease soundtrack, it's a song that's still worthy of singing into your hairbrush in the bathroom mirror". While Gavin Scott, from Australian website Chart Beats, said it was the "cheesiest" single of Madonna's career after "Hanky Panky" (1990), Albumism's Justin Chadwick deemed it one of the parent album's "campy, borderline contrived moments". Even though he named it "dated and simplistic", Terry Hearn from The Metropolist concluded that, "hearing this [song] from the woman who was singing 'Like a Virgin' could be disorienting, but what a feat it is to shock people by being so simple and pure. It represents a clever inversion of what is expected from pop music stars". Rikky Rooksby deemed it a "merely cute [...] saccharine uptempo update" of Like a Virgin album track "Shoo-Bee-Doo", but felt it did not live up to being the album's title track. A writer for The Wichita Eagle was not impressed with "True Blue", believing that it came off as "sassless and neutered" when compared to the other songs on the album. Nathan Smith from the Houston Press dismissed "True Blue" as "embarrassingly cute and entirely forgettable. [...] [it] sounds influenced more by the retro cheese of Grease than any genuine human feeling".
"True Blue" is Madonna's 47th best single according to Entertainment Weeklys Chuck Arnold, who applauded its "bouncy charm". On The Guardian's ranking, it came in at number 40; Jude Rogers deemed it a "well-tailored, retro-positioned pop [song] that's aged remarkably well". It was named the singer's 33rd best single by both the staff of Rolling Stone, and Melissa Ruggieri from USA Today. The former said that it "found Madonna sounding blissfully smitten", while according to the latter, "[it] might be the most innocent [she] has ever sounded". Idolators Robbie Daw deemed it one of the singer's best songs that "radio forgot".
Chart performance "True Blue" debuted on the US Billboard Hot 100 at number 40 the week of October 4, 1986. It was one of the year's highest-debuting singles, alongside "Say You, Say Me" and "Dancing on the Ceiling" by Lionel Richie. Almost one month later, it became Madonna's tenth consecutive top-ten single, which tied her with Brenda Lee as the second female in the rock era to score this amount of consecutive top-tens. "True Blue" reached the chart's third spot on November 15, and remained on that position for three consecutive weeks, and a total of 16 weeks on the chart overall. The song performed well on other Billboard charts, reaching the fifth and sixth spots of the Adult Contemporary and Hot Dance Club Songs charts, respectively. "True Blue" ranked 76th on the Billboards year-end Hot 100 chart. In October 1998, the single was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipment of 500,000 copies. In Canada, "True Blue" debuted at number 84 on the RPM Top Singles chart for the week of September 27, 1986; two months later, it reached the chart's first spot, becoming Madonna's fifth number-one single in the nation and her third consecutive number one from the True Blue album, following "Live to Tell" and "Papa Don't Preach".
In the United Kingdom, "True Blue" debuted at the third position of the singles chart on October 4, 1986. One week later, it reached the top spot and became Madonna's third number one in the country. "True Blue" was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) on October 10, 1986, and has sold over 557,000 copies as of March 2015. The single also saw success in Ireland, where it was Madonna's fourth number one hit. In Australia, the song reached the chart's top-five and was given a platinum certification by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for the shipment of 70,000 copies. Similarly, in New Zealand, "True Blue" peaked within the chart's first three spots. The single was successful across Europe, reaching the top-five of most countries, and coming at number one on the European Hot 100 Singles chart. It had a moderate reception in Sweden, where it barely cracked the top 20.
Music videos Official