Burning The Ground Exclusive 1985
AN 80s AUDITORY ICON
“Material Girl” is a song recorded by American singer Madonna for her second studio album, Like a Virgin (1984). It was released on January 23, 1985, by the Sire label as the second single from Like a Virgin. It also appears slightly remixed on the 1990 greatest hits compilation, The Immaculate Collection, and in its original form on the 2009 greatest hits compilation, Celebration. The song was written by Peter Brown and Robert Rans, while Nile Rodgers produced the track. Madonna explained that the concept of the song was indicative of her life at that time, and she liked it because she felt it was provocative.
The song debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 during the week of February 9, 1985, at position 43, when “Like a Virgin” was descending out of the top ten. The single climbed the Hot 100 quickly, jumping 13 spots to number five the week of March 9, 1985, and eventually spent two weeks at number two, held off by REO Speedwagon’s “Can’t Fight This Feeling” and Phil Collins’ “One More Night”. The week when the song slipped to position three, her upcoming single “Crazy for You” reached number four, giving Madonna two simultaneous top-five hits. “Material Girl” reached the top of the Hot Dance Club Songs but was less successful on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, failing to enter the top 40 and peaking at number 49. It was placed at number 58 on the year-end chart for 1985, with Madonna becoming the top pop artist for the year. In Canada, the song debuted on the RPM Singles Chart at number 76, on the issue dated February 16, 1985. After five weeks, it reached a peak position of four on the chart and was present on the chart for a total of 21 weeks. It was ranked at number 46 on the RPM Year-End chart for 1985.
In the United Kingdom, “Material Girl” debuted on the UK Singles Chart at number 24 on March 2, 1985, and reached a peak position of number three. It was present for a total of ten weeks on the chart. Across Europe, the song reached the top-ten in Austria, Belgium, Ireland, Netherlands, Spain and the Eurochart Hot 100 Singles, while reaching the top 40 of Germany, Italy and Switzerland.
In Australia, the single debuted at number 25 on 17 March 1985 and peaked at number four three weeks later. It also reached the Top 5 in New Zealand and Japan.
SIDE A:
Material Girl (Extended Dance Remix) 6:07
Engineer [Assistant Engineer] – Melanie West
Engineer [Remix Engineer] – Michael Hutchinson
Remix – John “Jellybean” Benitez
Written-By – Peter Brown (2), Robert Rans
SIDE B:
Pretender (LP Version) 4:31
Written-By – Madonna, Steve Bray*
VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
U.S. CHART HISTORY:
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Material Girl | U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | #2 |
| 1985 | Material Girl | U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary | #33 |
| 1985 | Material Girl | U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs | #49 |
| 1985 | Material Girl | U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs | #1 |
| 1985 | Material Girl | U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club/Maxi-Singles Sales | #2 |
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Sire – 0-20304, Sire – 9 20304-0 A
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM, Maxi-Single
Country: US
Released: 1985
Genre: Electronic, Pop
Style: Synth-pop
CREDITS:
- Design – Jeri McManus
- Mastered By – Herbie Jr*
- Photography By – Victoria Pearson (2)
- Photography By [Of Madonna] – Steven Meisel
- Producer – Nile Rodgers
NOTES:
Produced for Nile Rodgers Productions, Inc.
Original version of “Material Girl” and “Pretender” from the Sire album Like A Virgin
Made/Printed in U.S.A.
Mastered by Frankford/Wayne New York.
Buy the 12″ at DISCOGS
VINYL TRANSFER & AUDIO RESTORATION:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net
THE GEAR:
Turntable: Technics SL-1200MK7
Cartridge/Stylus: Ortofon 2M Black PnP MkII
Turntable Isolation Platform: ISO-Tone™ Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro Spin Acrylic Mat
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
Phono Pre-amp: Pro-Jec Tube Box DS2
DAC: Alpha Design Labs GT40a USB DAC
Record Cleaning: VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans: Epson Workforce WF-7610 Professional Printer/Scanner
SOFTWARE:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Down Sampling/Dither: iZotope RX Advanced 2
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)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi
**24bit FLAC Only Available For Seven Days!
Password: burningtheground
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Rotação perfeita e uma boa limpeza!
Perfect rotation and a well done cleaning!
GRATO!
I remember the first time I saw MTV’s video for this song! Thanks for bringing back good memories, PaulT.
I like your site and what you do but i have to point out that you mist one clck around the 3 minutes.
Visiting the site I often don’t actually DL the offerings (either from not being interested or already having the release) but always read the release info. It is like very delicious icing on an already fantastic cake. The research for the info even if not time consuming, has to be commended.
It was reading the info for this that I am truly surprised that this song didn’t reach #1 (at least in the States). Besides Madonna mania building exponentially, the video for the song was iconic. I would say her best up to that point.
Oh, this is a treasure. It brings back memories when I was at high school. I was absolutely obsessed listening to this song. For me, this is an Eighties masterpiece: excellent remix, fantastic rework and completely dancey. I was overjoyed when they rereleased “Like A Virgin” adding two remixes but they sounded excessively loud and clipped. I’m grateful you took this gem and did a lovely and caring restoration. Your rip is marvelous. My old (and clipped) version is gone by now. Thank you very much.
You’re welcome, Alberto 🙂
Thanks again! Always fun to compare your analog tips to what I have digitally or otherwise (always grat to have 12’s I own masterfully archived too😎🥳).
My step dad was a huge Marilyn Monroe fan so this video made him so mad! 😆 don’t know why it was clearly a homage! “she’s no Marilyn!” 😆😆😆 well ok hahahaha
You’re welcome, ING 🙂
Thanks for the rip, Paul! I am pretty sure I did not buy this 12″ and not sure why. Probably because I just started collecting 12″s in 1984 and didn’t have a lot of money. Anyway, classic song and I always thought it was very catchy! Thanks again!
You’re welcome, Fred. Enjoy 🙂
Thanks a lot for this one. Yet another Madonna classic; she had so many nice and different tracks back than, melodies that stuck. I did not get the Monroe-reference in the clip, but the theme of ironical role-reversal I have always found original and funny.
Madonna was brilliant during this period I wish that she could return to this fun type of music.
I agree and probably Madonna agrees, too, at least to the point of returning to the 80s physically, as we can unfortunately all derive from her looks today. But true, this period was amazing. I always remember her drive and charisma, straight on from dress you up which she did in a Holland show when she was not well-known yet. Then came Live-Aid and well the rest is history. Her tracks were fun yet not superficial. But it is hard or impossible to stay on the top and yet not change. I understand that any artist will try to expand… Read more »
Hey Paul, I’m so happy that you decided to rip this Madonna classic. I don’t think you ever have, which is quite surprising, since you have ripped so many of Madonna’s classic 12-inches. I also like that you are seizing on the zeitgeist of Madonna’s “Celebration Tour” this year. I love Madonna, even though I don’t think she is the nicest person around. Her music is what matters to me the most. I love your handling of her vinyl records. To me, it’s like we are getting the closest thing to the master tapes. I haven’t really liked the sound… Read more »
Not really sure why this is necessary, being that it is still available both digitally and physically on the initial album reissue CD. I thought the main point of this site was to offer things that weren’t available in other formats. Not to criticize Paul and his efforts, but I often think his rips sound too low and since this isn’t a re-do, again, find this unnecessary. Just my thoughts of course!
Why do people have to be so rude? I think Paul’s rips sound superb much better than the CD or digital versions. If you don’t like Paul’s rips why do you visit this site I am sure there is somewhere else that you can be hateful. Just my thoughts.
Rudeness is in the eye of the beholder, but thanks for the gaslighting attempt! I don’t think anything I wrote was “rude,” nor did I say I didn’t enjoy visiting BTG, but I find your “handle” ironic (and, no, not iconic) since clearly you aren’t really supporting Madonna–or any other artist for that matter–by visiting and downloading music from a site that isn’t actually authorized to reproduce and share copyrighted material. Perhaps instead of immediately having an emotional reaction to a stranger’s comments (mine or anyone else’s) you should re-think why it is offending you so much. Then, turn off your phone or… Read more »
I would argue that the vast majority of what Paul posts is unavailable on cd or whatever cd it is/was available on is extremely hard to find or expensive to purchase. Now, Madonna is a rare artist from the early-mid 80s who has made all her 12″ mixes available on cd single or cd re-issues…so in your eyes, yes, this post may seem pointless as this mix is widely available on cd. However, I need to agree with others’ posts all over this site for years that very often Paul’s rips are much better sounding than their formal cd release.… Read more »
Fred, thanks for your response, but I have to politely disagree with you. Since the CD with this mix is presently on US Amazon for $13.11 new/from $3.30 used and while this specific mix isn’t available individually one can buy the album with it as a bonus track for $9.49 on MP3, this is readily and abundantly available. The quality of a CD or a digital download will vary for all of us, but personally I’ve never found any of Madonna’s older CD singles to possess mediocre or poor sound quality. Obviously older 80’s pressings (when the technology was born) will sound… Read more »
Excuse me, JohnnyCakes, but I believe Paul and so many others, like the sound produced from the vinyl record itself. It has a much warmer sound compared to the digital source, such as a download or a CD pressing. It has also become the practice of many labels today to brick wall the sound and produce a louder output. I’m no audiophile, but I think Paul’s renderings sound superb. Also, the matter of me talking about the master tapes, it’s just that when these songs were first pressed, it was a true impression of the analogue master. So many times,… Read more »
Hey Jeff, thanks for your response, but not sure why you had to make another one. I personally love the sound of my own copies of vinyl on my own turntable coming through a nice set of headphones. Each album and 12″ single has its own unique “sound” and while I agree with your comments about some reissues sounding “bricked” and the process of remastering can be complicated, the fact remains that you and others (and myself sometimes) aren’t facing is that we are all downloading copyrighted material. I certainly celebrate when DJ Paul contributes to those excellent Olivia Newton-John reissues in an… Read more »
PS As far as getting close to the master tapes, her forthcoming reissue campaign will surely handle that from the actual master tapes, no?
I find many “remasters” to do little more than max out the volume and many sound inferior and sharp compared to the originals. There are exceptions… the Depeche Mode remasters were wonderful & others have been too, but many are merely produced to sound akin to modern streaming masters so they sound “at the same volume.” Hopefully this won’t be the case with her but if her hits collections are any indication I’m not holding my breath.
The Depeche Mode 12” remaster sets have been really well done. As you said, much too often ‘Remastered’ tracks usually end up being forced through a brick wall limiter, losing all the dynamics.
Exactly… I was thinking of the DM album remasters but now I’m curious to check those 12” sets!