Madonna’s Landmark Album “Like a Virgin” Turns 30

Sire/Warner Bros.(NEW YORK) — Thirty years ago on Wednesday, the world was touched for the very first time by Madonna’s landmark sophomore album, Like a Virgin. While her self-titled debut produced a number of hits, Like a Virgin was the album that shot her into the stratosphere, and cemented her reputation — still intact today — as a pop provocateur.

The album’s controversial title track, written by Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly, wasn’t even written for Madonna, but when a label executive played it for her, she identified it as a song that would work for her. The single was officially released at the beginning of November and became her first #1 hit in December, but the world got its first introduction to the tune, and the album, at the very first MTV Video Music Awards in September of that year.

On that telecast, Madonna, clad in a wedding gown, sang the song while rolling around onstage in an extremely suggestive manner. It scandalized viewers and was the first of many eyebrow-raising MTV Video Music Award moments.

“The plan was for her to do ‘Holiday,'” recalls Nile Rodgers of Chic, the hit-making musician and songwriter who produced the Like a Virgin album. “And she changed it up on ’em and said, ‘No, I wanna do ‘Like a Virgin.’ So the thing that was cool about that was, the world was hearing ‘Like a Virgin’ for the first time, and really getting an idea of how innovative Madonna is.”

Around the time of its release, Madonna said of the album, “Like a Virgin is a much harder album, much more aggressive than the first record. The songs on that were pretty weak. On this one, I’ve chosen all the songs and I want them to be all hits — no fillers….I wanted every song to be strong.”

After “Like a Virgin” topped the charts, “Material Girl,” with its iconic Marilyn Monroe-inspired video, came next, reaching #2 and giving Madonna one of her more popular nicknames. The album also featured the hit single “Dress You Up” — denounced as “vulgar” by the then-powerful Parents Music Resource Council — and the popular track “Angel.” Madonna supported the album with her first-ever tour, which was a huge success.

Like a Virgin topped the chart and has sold more than 20 million copies worldwide and is one of the best-selling albums of all time. It’s Madonna’s best-seller, and she still performs the title track — often in drastically reworked versions — in concert. 

Like a Virgin marked the moment when Madonna took creative control of her career and her image, and showed she had artistic staying power. It also made her a bona fide superstar, as girls everywhere tried to mimic her style, becoming so-called “Madonna Wannabes.”

In his book Madonna: An Intimate Biography, author J. Randy Taraborrelli wrote, “Every important artist has at least one album in his or her career whose critical and commercial success becomes the artist’s magic moment; for Madonna, Like a Virgin was just such a defining moment.”

Nile Rodgers, who Madonna personally chose to produce Like a Virgin, has also produced for David Bowie, Mick Jagger, Diana Ross, Duran Duran, INXS, Daft Punk, Sam Smith and countless others. But, he says, Madonna has outpaced them all. 

“The biggest-selling record of my life is Like a Virgin,” he tells ABC News Radio. “That’s the biggest album I’ve ever produced.”

Follow @ABCNewsRadio
Copyright 2014 ABC News Radio