This year marks the 30th anniversary of Madonna’s 1986 album, True Blue — and there’s a lot about it you probably don’t know.
Why hello, Danny Aiello!
“Papa Don’t Preach” was one of the most powerful tracks on the album, and the music video had just as much of an impact.
It tells the story of how a teenage girl confronts her father about her unplanned pregnancy. And her father? The role was taken on by none other than Italian-American actor Danny Aiello.
Shot in Staten Island
Directed by James Foley, the music video was shot over the course of three days in Staten Island and Manhattan. And we’re sure you noticed that Madonna, instead of her usual sex siren image, dressed down and opted for a more demure look to lend to the serious tone of the song.
Empowerment
The track also follows a theme of female empowerment, as the teenager determines her own decisions regarding her pregnancy.
Something which really hit home for Madonna, who explained during an interview with Rolling Stone, “It just fit right in with my own personal zeitgeist of standing up to male authorities, whether it’s the pope or the Catholic Church or my father and his conservative, patriarchal ways.”
Sexuality and freedom
In true Madonna style, “Open Your Heart,” directed by Jean-Baptiste Mondino, caused a stir as it saw her portraying the role of an exotic dancer, and followed themes of sexuality and freedom.
Madonna modeled her video around a peep show, perhaps making a comment on how men objectify women’s bodies.
“Open Your Heart”
But there’s also a fun fact you probably didn’t know about the set: It was built from scratch!
Speaking during an interview with Rolling Stone, Mondino said, “We found this place where we could actually build it. We just built the front of it and the little booth where the old man was inside. I guess it was my Hollywood period where I was in [a] Hollywood state of mind with my cranes, the building… We were very young [laughs] and everything was possible, I guess. I like the fakeness of it.”
Black wig?
In the beginning of the music video for “Open Your Heart,” Madonna can be seen wearing a black wig, which was originally a suggestion from Mondino who thought it would be interesting to change up her look.
However, according to Mondino, the moment he really won over Madonna’s trust was when he went back on his suggestion and admitted that she looked best blonde — hence why the wig comes off so early in the music video.
That kid!
Remember that cute kid in the “Open Your Heart” music video? Well, his name was Felix Howard, and he was 13 years old when he won the opportunity to appear opposite Madonna.
And it turns out that his meeting Madonna actually had an impact on his career. According to an article on LiveJournal, Felix went on to play in bands and later become a songwriter, with some of his writing credits including tracks for Amy Winehouse, Kylie Minogue and Holly Valance.
‘At Close Range’
According to Billboard, Madonna’s “Live To Tell” was the lead track from the True Blue album.
The video served as a publicity campaign for the 1986 indie/drama film At Close Range, starring Sean Penn and Christopher Walken.
New look
The “Live To Tell” video also sees Madonna sporting a more mature look, one of her many reinventions.
Speaking of her new image, Madonna told music critic Stephen Holden from The New York Times that she grew tired of “wearing tons of jewelry.”
She continued, “I see my new look as very innocent and feminine and unadorned. It makes me feel good. Growing up, I admired the kind of beautiful glamorous woman — from Brigitte Bardot to Grace Kelly — who doesn’t seem to be around much anymore. I think it’s time for that kind of glamor to come back.”
Sean Penn tribute
You may have forgotten, but Madonna and Sean Penn were once married. They wed on August 16, 1985, and while their love only lasted three years, in their heyday Madonna penned a tribute to Penn entitled “True Blue.”
Actually, Madonna dedicated her entire True Blue album to Penn in 1986, writing in the liner note, “This is dedicated to my husband, the coolest guy in the universe.”
Real friends
“True Blue” had not one, but two music videos made for it, both with a retro theme. But what you may not have known is the women sitting alongside Madonna in this video actually included her real-life friends, designer Erika Belle and actress Debi Mazar, Songfacts reports.
Two music videos
Directed by James Foley, the “True Blue” music video perfectly blends fashion, freedom and feminism.
As for the second video, it beat out multiple amateur entries for the MTV Make My Video contest, and the top prize went to Angel Garcia and Cliff Guest, whose video told the story of a young woman meeting her date for the first time.
Benicio del Toro
Madonna’s “La Isla Bonita” paid tribute to Latin culture and introduced Spanish to mainstream music — and it also starred a future Academy Award winner.
Long before Benicio del Toro was a household name, he could be seen sitting on the hood of a car in Madonna’s “La Isla Bonita” video, Entertainment Weekly reports.
Passion
It was the fifth and final single from her True Blue album, and the video explored themes of passion and rebellion.
According to Billboard, the track enjoyed popularity (although not as big as tracks from the same album, “Open Your Heart,” “True Blue” or “Live To Tell”) peaking at No. 4 in 1987 on the Hot 100 list.
Leave a Comment