Lucky Star

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"Lucky Star"
Single by Madonna
from the album Madonna
B-side(s)	"I Know It"
Released	August 8, 1984 (Worldwide) August 25, 1984 (Japan)
Format	Vinyl (12") CD Single Vinyl (7")
Recorded	1983
Genre	Pop
Length	5:38
Label	Sire Records Warner Bros. Records WEA International
Writer(s)	Madonna
Producer(s)	Reggie Lucas
Chart positions
#4 (U.S.) #14 (U.K.)
Madonna singles chronology
"Borderline" (1984)	"Lucky Star" (1984)	"Like a Virgin" (1984)
Madonna track listing
	"Lucky Star" (1)	"Borderline" (2)
The Immaculate Collection track listing
"Holiday" (1)	"Lucky Star" (2)	"Borderline" (3)
Alternate covers
Cover of the U.K. 7" release of Lucky Star
Cover of the U.K. 12" release of Lucky Star

"Lucky Star" is the fifth and final single American singer Madonna released from her 1983 debut album, Madonna. It is consider by many to be one of Madonna's classics.

Contents 1 Song history 2 Personnel 3 Credits 4 Chart performance 4.1 Charts 5 Official versions 6 Included on 7 References

[edit] Song history

"Lucky Star" was penned by Madonna and produced by collaborator Reggie Lucas. The song was the first song Madonna wrote when she signed with Warner Bros. The simple but catchy love song, was released as the last single from her debut album in August 1984 and became a big hit charting in the Top 10 in multiple countries. The songs chorus is famed for incorporating the famous Mother Goose nursery rhyme "Starlight, star bright, first star I see tonight...".

In the summer of 1983 the album versions of "Holiday" and "Lucky Star" were released in the U.S. to DJs as a 12" promotional vinyl single. The song was originally released in September 1983 in the U.K., but failed to make an impact on the charts (bubbling under the UK chart at #171). The U.K. 7" single - in a 'Sunglasses' sleeve - is one of Madonna's rarest single releases and sells for around £500, while the 'Sunglasses' 12" is more common but still desirable and sells for £50. The single was re-issued the following year and became Madonna's second Top 20 hit in the UK. In the UK some copies of the reissued 12" vinyl, in a 'TV' screen' sleeve came with a free poster.

A music video was made for the 1984 single release of the song and was directed by Arthur Pierson. The video showed Madonna dancing around with her backup dancers (her brother Christopher and friend Erica Bell), dressed in black on a white background. The video exploited her "Boy Toy" image and featured Madonna with a wild haircut and dressed in black punky clothes, that she would later describe as 'rags'. Styled by designer Maripol. The video is also famous for showing off her much talked about belly button. Two versions of the video were released commercially: an extended version using an edited remix of the song was released in Madonna's very first video collection in 1984 (which also included "Burning Up", "Borderline", and "Like A Virgin"), and a shorter version using the album edit of the song was released with the "Immaculate Collection" DVD.

The single's B-side was the album version of "I Know It", a song written by Madonna. On the German 7" vinyl single the song "Think of Me" was included as the B-side. Again, like "I Know It", "Think of Me" was also originally included on Madonna's debut album. Some maxi-singles also featured "Borderline" as a B-side.

Madonna re-recorded this song in 1990 for The Immaculate Collection but this version was later abandoned and the original was used. This 1990 version has surfaced on the internet - the backing track appears to be same.

She also performed "Lucky Star" several times live on stage during her major concert tours. First in spring 1985 on The Virgin Tour, two years later, on the Who's That Girl World Tour and on the 2006 Confessions Tour, paying homage to Swedish pop group ABBA, when Madonna uses a white cape with a sparkling Dancing Queen writing on the back, while singing it over the music of megahit Hung Up.

[edit] Personnel

• Vocals by Madonna.
• Arranged by Dean Gant
• Synthesizers by Dean Gant, Programming- Ed Walsh.
• Electric and acoustic pianos by Dean Gant
• Guitars by Reggie Lucas, Ira Siegal and Paul Pesco.
• Drum programming by Reggie Lucas and Leslie Ming.
• Tenor saxophone by Bobby Malach.
• Background vocals by Gwen Guthrie, Norma Jean Wright, Madonna, Brenda White and Chrissy Faith.

[edit] Credits

• Written by Madonna and Reggie Lucas.
• Produced by Reggie Lucas.
• Remixed by John "Jellybean" Benitez.

[edit] Chart performance

"Lucky Star" became Madonna's first Top 5 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. More importantly, the single was the first of 16 consecutive Top 5 hits on the chart for her, a feat that surpassed even The Beatles' record. The track also had modest showings on both the Adult Contemporary and R&B charts.

The single debuted on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 singles chart at #49, the week of August 25, 1984, at the time becoming Madonna's highest debuting single (to date). The single experienced notable strides during its journey up the chart, finally peaking at #4 the week of October 20, 1984. "Lucky Star" remained in the Top 10 for 5 weeks, in the Top 20 for 8 weeks, and in the Top 40 for 12 weeks.

In the U.K., the song was a moderate success, peaking within the Top 20.

In Australia, the first territory where Madonna had enjoyed immediate chart success, the single was a relative failure, only reaching #36 in November 1984. This can perhaps be attributed to the large Australian sales of the parent album throughout the year and the release of the "Like A Virgin" single within weeks of "Lucky Star"'s chart debut.

[edit] Charts

Chart (1984)	Peak position
Australia AMR Sales Chart	36
Canada	16
Japan (ChartJapan)	2
UK Singles Chart	14
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	4
U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary	19
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks	42

[edit] Official versions

• Original versions

1. Album Version aka Full Length Version 5:38
2. LP Edit 3:57
3. Instrumental 4:35
4. Hung up/Lucky Star Confessions Tour Rehearsal 10:10

• Remixes

1. New Mix/ U.S. Remix 7:15
2. Shep Pettibone/Goh Hotoda Mix (on the Immaculate Collection) 3:36

• Music Video Versions

1. Video Edit 3:44
2. Video of Edit of New Mix 5:04

[edit] Included on

• Madonna
• The Immaculate Collection
• Snatch Original Soundtrack

[edit] References

• "Chart Performance of Madonna Records - A Compiled History" (2004). MLVC.ORG: Charts Retrieved from http://charts.mlvc.org/CHThist.php on December 9, 2005.
• "Holiday" (2004). Madonna: Single Summaries Retrieved from http://www.madonnanation.com/charts/ on December 9, 2005.
• Mad-Eyes.net - "Lucky Star" Single Page