In November of 1986, Madonna’s “Open Your Heart” became the third #1 single off her hit album True Blue. The song was a massive success for the singer, but it was not actually intended to be her song. In today’s Daily Earworm, we examine the story behind the hit single, who it was written for, and how it ended up in Madonna’s hands.
Making the Music
Songwriters Gardner Cole and Peter Rafelson began writing the song that would become “Open Your Heart” in 1984. Though they were used to hammering out a song in a couple of days, the duo toiled over the song for a year, but they could not get it right. They liked the song, but it just didn’t feel like a hit yet. So, they continued to tinker with it.
It was written as a rock and roll song called “Follow Your Heart,” a title that, oddly enough, had been inspired by a local health food restaurant and their ads. Cole and Rafelson had begun the process of submitting it to the Temptations, but they instead settled on Cyndi Lauper as the perfect artist to record it.
Cole and Rafelson recorded a demo for the song, but they never got the chance to play the song for Lauper. Cole’s management was working with Madonna to find material for True Blue, and they brought several songs, including “Follow Your Heart,” to her. Cole was surprised to hear that the pop star liked the song, even though it didn’t really fit with the type of music that she had been recording.
After Madonna requested that the demo be re-recorded with a female vocalist, Cole reworked the demo with his girlfriend, Donna De Lory, on vocals. Madonna liked the new demo so much that she not only took the song, but she also hired De Lory as a backup singer. Madonna, however, didn’t want to use the song in its current synth-rock form. She and her writing partner, Patrick Leonard, reworked the music, changed a few of the lyrics, and the dancy “Open Your Heart” was born. The song was the first one that the pop singer recorded for True Blue.
The Success of “Open Your Heart”
Madonna’s revamped dance-pop version of “Open Your Heart” debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at #56 on December 6, 1986. It slowly climbed up the charts until it reached the top spot on February 7, 1987. The song hit #1 in El Salvador, as well, and it landed in the Top 10 in a total of 11 countries.
Bolstered by “Open Your Heart,” “Live to Tell,” and “Papa Don’t Preach,” True Blue hit #1 in a record-breaking 28 countries worldwide. The album became one of the best-selling albums in history, selling over 25 million copies.
“Open Your Heart” was nominated for an American Video Award in 1987, as well as 3 MTV Video Music Awards. It won an ASCAP Award in 1988 for Most Performed Song.
What Could Have Been…
Who knows what would have happened if Cole and Rafelson had gotten the song to its intended target? Maybe the song would have been just as big for Lauper, or even bigger. Maybe she would have passed on the song altogether. We can only wonder what the song would have sounded like with Lauper’s voice and potential reworkings. So, unless Lauper someday makes a cover of the song, we will just have to be satisfied with Madonna’s version.
The Daily Earworm is a daily column that tells the stories, from the historic to the lesser-known, of some of the music industry’s greatest songs, albums, and artists. Here are some other music tales that you may find interesting:
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