BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1984

NEW 2019 TRANSFER!
METICULOUSLY REMASTERED!

Originally posted March 28, 2012

“Sidewalk Talk” is a song by American record producer John “Jellybean” Benitez from his first extended play, Wotupski!?! (1984). It was released on October 21, 1984, by EMI Records as the first single from the EP. The song was written by Madonna and produced by Benitez. They had initially met in 1983 and Benitez worked as a producer on Madonna’s self-titled debut album. When he started work on his debut EP, Wotupski!?!, Madonna wrote “Sidewalk Talk” for him. The song features bass and electric guitars, synthesizers, piano, and drums. Lead vocals are sung by Catherine Buchanan, with background vocals by Madonna.

“Sidewalk Talk” debuted at number 36 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs chart for the issue dated January 5, 1985. After five weeks, it reached the top of the chart, replacing Nuance’s song, “Loveride”. In an article published in Billboard, Chin noted that “Sidewalk Talk” was an unusual song to reach the top of the dance chart since it was not released till then in commercially available 7-inch or 12-inch forms. The song was only serviced in remix form to the clubs. Chin added that the song’s “emergence without a hard copy, so to speak, is highly uncharacteristic of a market, in which the ‘commercial twelve’ is a given for a long-show pop record.” The song harkened back to the time when remix forms were not available except for club promotions. “Sidewalk Talk” ranked at number 20 on the year-end tabulation of the Top Dance Club Songs for 1985. The song was released in 7-inch and 12-inch formats after eight months and entered the Billboard Hot 100 chart at number 80 on the issue dated November 16, 1985. After twelve weeks, it reached a peak of number 18 on the chart. Its final appearance on the chart was on the week ending March 15, 1986. On the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, “Sidewalk Talk” reached a peak of number 51, and was present for a total of nine weeks.

“Sidewalk Talk” also charted in the United Kingdom, where it was credited as “Jellybean featuring Catherine Buchanan”. It reached a peak of number 41 on the UK Singles Chart on the issue dated February 1, 1986, and was present for a total of four weeks. On the Netherlands Single Top 100, it reached a peak of No. 31, while on the Top 40 comprehensive chart, it peaked inside the top-ten at number six. “Sidewalk Talk” also debuted and peaked at number 34 on the Official New Zealand Music Chart.

SIDE A:
Sidewalk Talk (Dance Mix) 6:05

SIDE B:
Sidewalk Talk (Funhouse Mix) 6:13
Sidewalk Talk (Acappella) 4:56

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

CHARTS:

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: EMI America ‎– 1A K060-20 0937 6, EMI ‎– 1A K060-20 0937 6
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM, Single
Country: Europe
Released: 1984
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Arranged By –Jellybean*, Stephen Bray
Backing Vocals [Uncredited] – Madonna
Engineer [Recording & Mix] – Michael Hutchinson
Producer, Mixed By – John “Jellybean” Benitez
Vocals [Uncredited] – Catharine Buchanan
Written-By – Madonna

NOTES:
Produced and Mixed for Jellybean Productions, Inc.
From the 12″ ‘Wotupski!?!

Printed in Holland
Made in EEC

Find theb 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL RESTORATION BY:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net

EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (DC)
Cartridge: Ortofon 2M
Stylus: Ortofon 2M Bronze
Isolation: Auralex Acoustics ISO-Tone Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck 
Phono Pre-amp: Schiit Mani
Soundcard: ESI Juli@ XTe Audio Interface
Monitiring: Novation Audiohub 2×4 Audio Interface
Record Cleaning: VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans: Epson Workforce WF-7610 Professional Printer/Scanner

SOFTWARE USED:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Down Sampling: iZotope RX Advanced 2, ocenaudio
Artwork Editor: Adobe Photoshop CS5
Click Removal: Manual
FLAC/MP3 Conversion: dBpoweramp
M3U Playlist: Playlist Creator

RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi

Username: btg
Password: burningtheground

You can help show your support for this blog by making a donation using PayPal. Thank you for your help.