In the beginning there was light, "Ray Of Light".
Crucified by the media for years, Madonna has rarely been recognized for her achievements. She has dominated the music industry since 1985, and has even collected more consecutive top five US singles than the Beatles (see Goldmine's first Madonna feature "Deca-dance" July 1992), but praise has been hard to come by. This year that has all changed. Her latest album "Ray Of Light" was honored at the 1999 Grammy Awards with six nominations and four awards, including a win for pop record of the year. Born again with a fresh sound, co-produced with electronica wizard William Orbit, her peers have taken notice. Over the years, we have come to expect the annual metamorphosis from Madonna, but we continue to be surprised. The reincarnated Madonna is an older, wiser, and kinder sort. "Ray Of Light" gave us a peak at her recent introspective journey.

Borrowing a line from the album's title track, "trying to remember, where it all began....", this feature will explore Madonna's early genesis and will reveal some never reported details about her unreleased catalog for the very first time. Some of these recordings have surfaced on various bootleg releases of varying quality while other Warner Brother's era masters remain in storage like the Dead Sea scrolls.

Here I will report which titles have been confirmed to exist with my exclusive interview with former Madonna collaborator Stephen Bray, and through online database searches of the public US copyright records at the Library Of Congress,  HYPERLINK http://www.locis.loc.gov
http://www.locis.loc.gov. This was not an "on-site" investigation, and the database does appear to contain errors, including name spellings. Madonna has multiple author entries under names like "Modonna", and her last name is sometimes spelled "Ciconi", among other creative combinations. Even Stephen Bray has an entry under "Brey". Madonna is almost always credited for lyrics on these recordings while her various collaborators are usually credited for music. Some of the unreleased Madonna songs found in the public copyright records actually have original cassette demos on file at the Library Of Congress in Washington DC.

Genesis
Media sensationalism has plagued Madonna for many years, and sometimes her early days have been made to sound more dramatic than they probably were. The truth is probably somewhere between the published extremes. Her early press described Madonna as growing up in poor, racially integrated neighborhoods that somehow helped shaped her world vision and her music. She was raised in two Detroit suburbs, Pontiac and the upper middle class Rochester Hills. Both of these cities reside in Oakland County, one of the most affluent in America. A few miles away are many homes of the corporate elite that work in the auto industry and related fields. Aretha Franklin also lives nearby. The Ciccone family in fact, did well enough to send her to a private catholic elementary school.

Her ballet teacher Christopher Flynn exposed Madonna to a wider cultural horizon. He took Madonna to art museums, and one of their frequent haunts was the mostly gay disco, Menjos, in Detroit. It was there she learned about racial and sexual diversity, and the dance club scene. With Flynn's encouragement, Madonna decided to pursue a professional dancing career. She enrolled at the University Of Michigan in Ann Arbor after graduating from Rochester Adams High. There she would meet her future song writing and production collaborator Stephen Bray at the now closed Blue Frog Disco over a Gin & Tonic. In the years to come, the pair would collaborate to produce several international top 5 hits including "Into The Grove", "Angel", "True Blue", "Each Time You Break My Heart", "Causing A Commotion", "Express Yourself", and "Keep It Together. At that time however, she had no intention of becoming a songwriter or vocalist. In the end, neither career could take off in Michigan. In the summer of 1978 she attended a dance workshop in North Carolina, and then left Bray behind to obtain real work in New York City that July.

Exodus
Contrary to popular belief, Madonna's arrival in New York City was also not as poverty stricken as portrayed in many of the "tell all" biographies. The traditional story line reported is that she had a cab driver drop her off in Times Square where she walked until a stranger took her in for a few weeks. This is usually followed by stories of date rape, fires in lofts, eating nothing but popcorn, and working at Dunkin Doughnuts. I once assisted a crew shooting footage for A&E's Madonna Biography back in 1993. They taped an interview with Madonna's brother Martin Ciccone. He described off camera the reports of Madonna eating out of the trash as, "bullshit". He mentioned that Madonna's father knew someone in New York before she went there, and that she frequently received money from the family. He maintained, "She was taken care of, and those reports hurt our family". No doubt she had a rough time at the beginning, and many describe her first NY apartments as less than attractive, but exactly how true the stories are, only Madonna knows for sure.

One of the ways Madonna made money on her own from 1979 to 1981 was by modeling in the nude. Past biographical explorations tend to paint Madonna as the starving model for art students and photographers who was later scandalized in 1985 when some of these pictures showed up in Penthouse and Playboy magazine. However, her own resume from this period proudly lists her as being featured in the German Penthouse Magazine of December 1981. This resume and other items can be seen at Stephen Caraco's "Early Era Collectors Guide and Photo Gallery at his Madonna Catalog Home Page  HYPERLINK http://www.madonnacatalog.com/earlyera/earlyera
http://www.madonnacatalog.com/earlyera/earlyera.htm. It was probably no surprise to Madonna when theses pictures resurfaced, at least with Penthouse. Some of them have also turned up on bootleg recording covers, and picture discs over the years such as, "Oh God, She's Madonna" which features her 1985 Live Aid performance with an introduction by Bette Midler.

Chronicles
In 1979 Madonna hooked up with boyfriend Dan Gilroy who was one of the founding members of the band Breakfast Club, with his brother Ed. Angie Schmit played bass, and Madonna joined the band as the drummer, while continuing to pursue avenues for professional dance. She continually auditioned for parts in Broadway shows and movies. However, it would take a trip to France to give Madonna the confidence to believe that she could be a vocal performer.

One of her auditions in early 1979 was for producer Jan Vanloo, who was looking for backing vocalists to tour with "Born To Be Alive" one-hit-wonder, Patrick Hernandez. It was decided to take Madonna back to France, all expenses paid, to make her into a disco star. After six months, about all that was accomplished was filling Madonna's head with ideas of pop stardom. Collectors have been surprised that no Madonna recordings of any kind have ever surfaced from this period, and there is no evidence to suggest that anything was ever recorded. Madonna eventually became ill, and claimed that she would return-if she could go back home to NY for a few weeks. She left everything in Paris, returned to Gilroy, and never went back to the Hernandez posse.

Back to New York in October 1979, Madonna was cast as the lead character of "Bruna" in the 8mm-cult film, "A Certain Sacrifice". Former director Stephen Lewicki described his experience to Goldmine last May; " I met Madonna just after she returned from France. Madonna was very close to Angie (Schmit of Breakfast Club) who was one of the (extra) "slaves" in my movie. It was made for a small group of punk aficionados, and then Madonna became famous, and reached a much larger audience (on VHS). It was an amateur fun thing to do and then it was fun to make money with it, get sued by Madonna, get interviewed countless times, and why not?" Today Lewicki is "very happy" not being in the entertainment industry. An outtake of this film recorded Madonna singing the Fifth Dimension hit "Let The Sunshine In" with other cast members and a short audio clip of this has been circulating on CD in the collector's bootleg market. The film itself contains the ensemble chant, 'Raymond Hall Must Die" and both of these are considered to be some of her earliest recorded performance vocals.

The second portion of "A Certain Sacrifice" was filmed later in November 1981, and in between filming Madonna recorded some bizarre backing vocals for Otto von Wernherr. "Otto" is thanked in the film credits, and it is possible he may have been one of the many extras in the film. Director Lewicki couldn't recall for sure. These songs were released in 1986 on independent labels after Madonna became a household name, and can be best described as sounding like "The Rocky Horror Picture Show", but not as good. On "Cosmic Climb", Madonna sings the chorus "Man have you got the time, to make this cosmic climb". "We Are The Gods" features her childlike backing vocals such as: "Oh my god! Mommy, mommy it's the gods!" and "Hail hail the gods are here". "Wild Dancing" sounds a little like the early B-52's with Madonna on the main hook "I'm looking for some wild dancing out on the street, looking for a chance to dance to the beat". Frequent Madonna collaborator Stephen Bray didn't know much about these tunes as he explained; "She never discussed these songs with me, and I have never heard them. They were probably just another job in her mind."

The three original Otto and Madonna recordings would have remained an interesting curiosity, had they been left alone. Greed however, encouraged the additional release of several re-sequenced songs that were never meant to exist. This turned many fans off to the original oddities, and to many other early era releases for the fear that they might be more bizarre tunes like "Give It To Me", "Shake", "Time To Dance", "On The Street", and "Oh My". Otto also taped an answer video to "Papa Don't Preach" called "Madonna Don't Preach" which aired in part on MTV in late 1986. Today he is reportedly retired somewhere in Europe.

In 1980 Madonna decided to perform lead vocals with her own band called Emmy. Gary Burke played bass (while also playing for Madonna's former group Breakfast Club), Brian Syms played lead guitar, and Madonna's college pal Stephen Bray joined them from Michigan to play drums. I spoke with Bray last March, exclusively for Goldmine. He explained how it all started; "Breakfast Club was always Dan and Ed Gilroy as front men with various back up. Madonna played the drums. Her time (with them in 1979) helped develop her early songwriting skills as well as instruction on guitar, which was later helpful when she formed Emmy. She already had 12-14 songs written when I showed up, and I just had to learn them." The songs from this period have surfaced on the bootleg release "Emmy & The Emmy's Live, First Time Out Of Manhattan". Included are the live tracks "Love For Tender", "No Time For Love", "Bells Ringing", "Drowning", "Are You Ready For It", "Best Girl", "Hot House Flower", "Simon Says", "Nobody's Fool", "Love Express", and one studio version of "Drowning". These songs resemble the punk rock of that period more than the Madonna we have come to know today.

Alternate versions of the Emmy songs and other live cuts have surfaced on various bootleg vinyl and CD releases ("The Early Years") that were not included on the original "Out Of Manhattan" release such as "Remembering Your Touch". "Little Boy", and "Safe Neighborhood" (according to Bray incorrectly called "Shit On The Ground" on bootleg releases). Bray was especially fond of "Shine A Light" which he instantly began to sing on the phone when I mentioned the title. These last three tracks appeared on bootleg vinyl in Europe and are credited as being written by Dan Giorlando. Bray didn't have any idea who that was, or why they would be listed that way. Some have thought that was a misprint for Dan Gilroy, but nobody seems to know for sure. Madonna recorded the lead vocal, and Bray had always thought that Madonna wrote them. The band played many gigs around town, and soon they got serious about producing their first studio quality demo.

On November 30th, 1980 Emmy recorded a four cut studio demo which was later distributed on TDK cassettes around New York. Today they are surfacing on various bootleg CD's. I asked Stephen Bray to describe what he remembered from these songs, and he commented on each this way;
"I Like) Love For Tender" - "Sort of our Byrds thing. Nice song, arrangement was too long though".
"No Time" - "This was a giddy up tempo romp, with drums and rhythm section stuff inspired by the fast playing Police and XTC attitude, but with a pop top. "
"Bells Ringing" - "Our most Psychedelic number I recall, too long again. It had a definite Stone's -ish attitude".
"Drowning" - "The best tune of the moment, I always thought. "

The Emmy demo was recorded at the Music Building on 8th Ave. in New York City, and Bray revealed;
"...I believe in room 1002 which belonged to Regina Richards. " Better known as just "Regina", she cracked the American top ten with what was considered to be the first Madonna sound a like hit called "Baby Love" in 1987. It was released as Madonna reached her apex with the "True Blue" album. Apparently Madonna was not amused according to Bray; "Regina Richards is a pro at imitation, she can do it all, and any singers style of voice. Madonna was not too happy with it." Contrary to popular belief, Madonna did not help write this song under another name, and there is no Madonna demo of this song. Bray commented; "She wouldn't do anything unless it had her name on it". His association with Regina also runs deeper. Her husband operates Black Lion Music and holds the publishing for Stephen Bray's compositions. This includes his portion of the publishing he splits with Madonna on their collaborations.

Eventually Emmy disbanded and Madonna moved forward with her first manager Camille Barbone of Gotham Management. She tried to cultivate Madonna into a solo artist in the style of Pat Benetar. Stephen Bray joined the studio band that provided the music to this August 1981 recording session. Madonna 's first solo demo included "Take Me (I Want You)", "Love On The Run", "Get Up", and "High Society (Society's Boy)". Bray made a special point to clear up an inaccuracy in reported Madonna history; " The Gotham tape was recorded at Media Sound, which was NOT Camille's (Gotham Sound) studio. Media Sound was a converted church where Camille got "spec" time with engineer Alec Head and Jon Gordon (he went on to produce Suzanne Vega). Gordon produced and played guitar. (Camille's) Gotham studio was a writing studio only. I don't believe anything but "room sound" tapes were made there". This revelation by Bray explains why there are very different studio and rehearsal versions of these songs, which have started to surface in the collectors market.

According to her July 22, 1981 Gotham contract, Madonna was supposed to get $250 for every unreleased master, and $500 for every released master plus a 3% royalty on the retail price of every record sold. This demo would eventually be circulated and turned down by the likes of Geffen and Atlantic Records. The ownership of the songs recorded during these sessions remained in a legal battle for years when Madonna later signed to Warner Brothers Records.

Stephen Bray and Madonna also recorded their own songs independently at The Music Building between 1980 and 1982. Some of these have appeared on Bray's high quality independent label release "Pre-Madonna" in 1996 and was not authorized by Madonna. However, it's not a bootleg since Bray owns the masters. Today, the remaining CD copies are now available through Bray's Soultone Entertainment web site http://www.soultone.com Featured on the disc are the previously unheard "Laugh To Keep From Crying", "Stay'81" and "Crimes Of Passion". An obvious highlight on this release are the original versions of four songs produced by Madonna and Steve Bray which got Madonna her Warner Brother's contract with Sire Records in late 1982. These are "Ain't No Big Deal", "Everybody", "Burning Up", and "Don't You Know".

Once Madonna signed to Warner Brother's, much of her material from her first three Sire albums started out as demos produced by Madonna, and Bray. Bray described the process this way; "I would call her up and say 'I have another track for you', then we would get together. I am used to collaborating with others, so we would just work on a few songs, and she would use some of them later." At first this author tried to group these recordings into album "sessions" for Goldmine, but as Bray described; "We would just get together and work. If there was something she had them in mind for, she never told me." ". Often recordings from the same session would end up on different albums. Therefore, this author has listed Madonna's unreleased studio titles alphabetically following this article.

Early Bray-Madonna collaborations were apparently divided into individual song writing credits once Madonna got her album deal. "Everybody" was originally submitted to the copyright office as "Everybody, Dance" written by both Madonna and Stephen Bray. Later Madonna alone would get authorship for this song on her self titled debut album as Bray explained; " There was an agreement between Madonna and I not to consider "Everybody" as a co-write, but I guess the Library Of Congress never got word of the change in ownership." In the end, Bray received credit alone for "Ain't No Big Deal".

Many are surprised to learn that the song that won Madonna over to Sire Records company president Seymour Stein has never appeared on any of her own albums. Madonna's first Warner Brothers single "Everybody" was released in April 1983 and was produced by club DJ Mark Kamins (a rare remix by Rusty Egan was used on the vinyl 12" for the UK release only). Bray revealed, "Everybody was supposed to be her second release, not her first." After Madonna was signed in late 1982, several versions of "Ain't No Big Deal" were recorded with different producers in an effort to get the most out of the song. The first production was a 24track master recorded with Stephen Bray. The second production was done with Mark Kamins, and the third version was done with Reggie Lucas. The final production was a remix by Jellybean Benitez based on the Bray version. Once the record company decided to spend the time to produce several different versions of "Ain't No Big Deal", "Everybody" was issued as Madonna's first single instead.

Bray however got the sole writing credit for "Ain't No Big Deal" and in the meantime sold his publishing rights to July Fourth Music. Disco act Barracuda then recorded and released their own version on Epic Records before Warner Brothers had selected which Madonna version to use for her release. The song was then dropped from her first album and Madonna's then boyfriend Jellybean Benitez found and produced what would later become Madonna's first American top 40 single "Holiday" as the replacement. Years later the Reggie Lucas production of "Aint No Big Deal" was released on the B-side of the "True Blue" single, but the other versions remain unreleased. Bray added; "There was also another version of "Everybody " that Madonna used during club performances remixed by Jellybean Benitez, which has also has never been released."

In 1983 Madonna teamed up with producers Don and David Was for what would later become one of her least known recording sessions. Stephen Bray explained to Goldmine how it all happened after he joined Dan Gilroy to reform Breakfast Club; "After Emmy devolved, Breakfast Club hired me to play drums (in 1982). That (lineup) featured Dan and Ed on guitar and Gary on bass. This was the line up that was signed to ZE records (without Madonna) in 1983, and then MCA Records in 1986. (When) we got signed to ZE Records the label's A&R guy paired Madonna up with Was (not Was). They recorded "Shake Your Head (Let's Go To Bed)" for the Was (not Was) album "Born To Laugh At Tornadoes". They later replaced her lead vocal with Ozzy Osbourne for the release of the album (in 1983)". This portion of the lyrics could be considered very Madonna-esque, but the arrangement resembles new wave;

During the 1980's Bray wrote and produced dozens of hits with Madonna while participating as a full member of Breakfast Club, the band that she had left previously. Breakfast Club charted their own American hits including "Right On Track", "Never Be The Same", and "Expressway To Your Heart" in the late 80's. The band broke up shortly thereafter, and the second album that they recorded for MCA remains unreleased. A few years after the Madonna & Was (not Was) session Don Was explained to an UK newspaper; "We brought her up and she sang really well, but I've always imagined the vocalists as extensions of ourselves, and I couldn't relate to female vocals being our voice". Madonna was thanked in the album credits along with her club DJ boyfriend of the time, Jellybean Benitez. Don and David Was eventually planned the release of a Was (not Was) Greatest Hits collection with resurrected Madonna vocals, but she reportedly requested that her vocal not be released. The song was then re-released with a new mix by Tommy Musto and new vocals by Kim Bassinger in Europe in 1992.

Another obscure song from 1983, "Sidewalk Talk" written by Madonna was released on under Jellybean's credit for his debut album. It features most vocals by Catherine Buchanan with Madonna on back up. This version topped the American dance charts in 1983, and it is common item in any Madonna collection. Bray revealed to Goldmine however, that there is another unreleased version produced by Madonna and Stephen featuring Madonna on all the vocals.

Psalms
Madonna's second album the 1984 "Like A Virgin", was produced by Chic founder Nile Rogers. Three songs however started out as Madonna-Bray productions, and remain unreleased in their original form. These include "Angel", "Over And Over", and "Shoo-Bee-Doo". Another Madonna-Bray tune, "Don't You Know" from her Sire-Warner demo was re-written into the version of "Stay" that appears on the "Like A Virgin" album. In a late 80's interview, Nile Rogers revealed that he had remixed "Like A Virgin" for the 12" dance single, but his version was passed up in favor of the remix done by Jellybean Benitez. Rogers did get his remix of "Angel" released a few months later, but to this day, the Rogers remix of "Like A Virgin" remains in storage.

The "Vision Quest" movie soundtrack featured two Madonna songs, "Crazy For You" and "Gambler". The original plan however was to also include the still unreleased "Warning Signs" which Bray describes as "a good synth track". The tittle even appeared on early promo literature for the film before it was withdrawn. It was written during the same demo sessions for "Shoo-Be-Doo" and "Gambler" along with another title, which Bray did not recall at the time of this writing. "Crazy For You" is rumored to have had some revisions made to it once arrangers were brought in to help out Jellybean with the production of his first ballad. He had been used to producing dance tracks, and there are thought to be alternate takes of the song in the vaults. Bray revealed to Goldmine that is was Jellybean Benitez who taught him how to get around in the studio, and make all the equipment work together.

The movie "Desperately Seeking Susan" also inspired a tune of the same title that never saw the light of day in addition to the monster hit "Into The Grove". This was also written and produced by Madonna and Stephen Bray. Bray described what happened this way, "She was actually going to give 'Grove' to another singer to record that was working with producer Mark Kamins, but the movie producers heard it, and wanted it for the film. Then we did the other song which was never used."
The "True Blue" era began when Madonna recorded the first of several collaborations with Patrick Leonard who worked with her on the "Virgin Tour". The pair wrote and copyrighted "Get Up Stand Tall" in 1985. This song later became "White Heat", the third cut on the "True Blue" album which is copyrighted separately from "Get Up Stand Tall". During this period Madonna also recorded the original version of "Spotlight" with Stephen Bray which never made this album. Later, changes to the music and the lyrics and were submitted to amend the 1985 copyright when the Jellybean remix was released on the dance collection "You Can Dance" in 1987. The original version of "Spotlight" remains unreleased.

Another Madonna-Bray demo for "Eachtime You Break My Heart" also remains unreleased. Bray describes it as "virtually unchanged from the version later recorded and released by Nick Kamen" with Madonna backing vocals in 1986 except the original demo features Madonna on the lead vocal.

Bray also confirmed another title that he wrote with Madonna called "Working My Fingers To The Bone" that was never registered with the Library Of Congress. I asked him if this was an early version of "Where's The Party" since that song features a similar theme, and he replied "No, that concept was already worked out with Pat Leonard, and then I was brought in to help finish it." Bray does have a tape of Madonna singing "Working My Fingers To The Bone", but it has never been released in any form. Demos for the 1988 "Like A Prayer" album generated two songs that to this day have not been released in any form or even submitted to the US copyright office. According to Bray, he owns Madonna demos for "Love Attack", and "First There's A Kiss" which he co-wrote and co-produced with Madonna. He also prefers the original demo version of "Express Yourself" which he describes as "better than the released version I always thought". He also holds another demo version of "Keep It Together".

As the "Like A Prayer" album ran its course, many fans were surprised that no dance remix was issued for "Cherish" as is the normal custom when songs are released as singles. Billboard Magazine reported that "a Madonna song" had been remixed by Hank Shocklee and Phil Castellano during this period which has never surfaced. This is believed by some to be the unreleased dance mix of "Cherish". Also appearing on this album is the Prince-Madonna collaboration "Love Song". An outtake of this track has recently surfaced on the Prince bootleg "Jewels From The Vault", and is only one of several unreleased Prince-Madonna collaborations that are rumored to exist from that recording session.

The "I'm Breathless" album, Music From and Inspired by the film Dick Tracy wasn't supposed to be a complete album at all. Originally Madonna was only going to do a few songs, but the project grew into her own separate release. The most unlikely, but lucrative addition to the project was "Vogue", the gay-underground influenced dance anthem that was first planned as the B-side of the "Keep It Together" single until Warner executives heard the track. This massive hit was co-written and co-produced with Shep Pettibone who had remixed many of Madonna's "Like A Prayer" dance singles. Madonna once explained to Interview magazine that she had to change some of the lyrics because the song was on an album for a Disney movie. Some have suspected that the original lyrics to this favorite may have been more controversial. There are in fact two different copyright registrations for "Vogue". The first was in Feb 1990 and the second was submitted in May 1990 which supports the revision theory.

There are alternate rehearsal versions of "Sooner Or Later", "More" and "What Can You Loose" which have all surfaced on a bootleg 7" vinyl release in Europe. Another title called "Dog House" was reported by the media to have been recorded for this album, but the evidence does not support this claim. A song called "To Love You" co-written by Madonna and Andy Paley listed at the Warner-Chappell Publishing database is thought to be from this album period, but it also remains unreleased under that title.  HYPERLINK http://www.warnerchappell.com
http://www.warnerchappell.com

Madonna's first greatest hits "The Immaculate Collection" included two new songs, "Rescue Me", and "Justify My Love", but another title called "Get Over" didn't make the final selection. This Madonna-Bray collaboration remains unreleased with Madonna's lead vocal. Another version was recorded and released by Nick Scotti who had met Madonna at a party. It first appeared on the Soundtrack to the film "Nothing But Trouble". This was produced by Madonna and Shep Pettibone and features prominent Madonna backing vocals. Another remixed version appears on his debut Reprise album. This was Stephen Bray's last released collaboration with Madonna before he began a five-year hiatus that started with the birth of his daughter. During that time Bray built a recording studio and today lives in southern California.

Collaborations with Shep Pettibone however, continued with the album "Erotica". It is rumored that some of the songs from this album started out as demo productions with her DJ and remixer Junior Vasquez including a title called "Love Hurts". This song is said to have evolved into the Madonna-Pettibone song "Erotica" which became the album title track. Copyright records do not support this claim, but handwritten alternate lyrics (said to be Madonna's) did appear on the auction block featuring this alternate chorus:

There are also other unreleased orphans from the "Erotica" period. These include "Actions Speak Louder Than Words" which is copyrighted separately from the released "Words". Another title called "Cheat" appears to contain a line that was used in "Thief Of Hearts", but the copyright records also refer to the alternate title for "Cheat" called "Drunk Girl" which may have some connection to the released song "Bad Girl" which does appear on the album. "Deeper And Deeper" also started out with alternate arrangements and lyrics according to reports that Pettibone gave to EQ magazine. Two other tunes "Shame", and "You Are The One" have never seen the light of day in any form, but do have copyright registrations. In fact, "Shame" has an original Madonna demo on file at the Library Of Congress.

Evidence does not support the other rumored titles from the "Erotica" sessions which include "Freak", "No Entry", and "Throb" even though they appeared in trusted media publications. Early press for this album also spoke of "Show And Tell", "Eating Out", and "Out To Lunch" which have not surfaced, and they do not appear in the copyright records. They may be early re-writes of the released "Where Life Begins", or media error. Another title which was called "Queens Pearls" or "Queen Of Pearls" by the media eventually turned up as the club hit "Queens English" by former 1990 Blonde Ambition Tour dancers Luis and Jose. This song features Madonna backing vocals and was produced by Junior Vasquez. Alternate Madonna versions of this song could not be confirmed to exist.

Just after Erotica Madonna gave a demo of "Just A Dream" co-written and produced with Patrick Leonard to Blonde Ambition Tour dancer and backing vocalist Donna DeLory. Donna used the song on her MCA Records debut, but the Madonna lead vocal recording remains unreleased. Today, Donna is the vocalist in the duo group Bliss.

When Madonna began to record for her 1994 "Bedtime Stories" album, she at first continued with Shep Pettibone as her main collaborator. Several songs were recorded before she abandoned his productions for work with producer Dave Hall who offered a more R&B flavor. The Pettibone productions remain unreleased from these sessions. "Something's Coming Over Me" (was later re-titled "Secret"), "I Will Always Have You" (was later re-titled "Inside of Me"), and "Id Rather Be Your Lover" all have separate copyright registrations and demos different from the Madonna-Dave Hall productions at the Library Of Congress. Strangely, Pettibone is not credited as a co-author on these songs in the "Bedtime Stories" album credits (he only gets a "thank you for understanding"). He is credited as co-author for those three songs in the Warner-Chappell Publishing database.

Also never released are "Love Wont Wait", and "Bring It". "Love Won't Wait" was eventually given to Gary Barlow to re-record for his 1997 Arista album "Open Road". These were Madonna's last collaborations with Shep Pettibone before he went on an industry hiatus. Pettibone is a favorite among Madonna fans and today sources tell me that Shep has been investing his millions in real estate, including a hotel in Oceanside, New Jersey. He has just recently returned to working on music.

The Dave Hall sessions for "Bedtime Stories" produced four other cuts that also never made the album. "Keep On" has a publishing record at Warner-Chappell and remains unreleased, but it could be an earlier version of the released "Don't Stop" which shares that lyric. "Freedom" was later used on the various artist charity release "Carnival". "Honesty" has a publishing record at Warner-Chapell Publishing that has never been released. And finally, "Let Down Your Guard" appeared on a UK picture disc b-side

There is also an unreleased rap for "Id Rather Be Your Lover" by the late 2Pac Shakur which may later surface on a future 2Pac box set. The released version features a different rap by Me'Shell Ndegeocello. The 2Pac rap is currently only found on his bootleg album "East 2 West" which is readily available on the Internet featuring Madonna's lead vocal. The lyrics to his unreleased rap are:
Hey, they minds diff'rent from what they lips say even when the media is gettin' greedy you make they hips sway hitin' with the bomb ambition. I caught you peepin', no more sleepin' I got you freakin' through the through whole weekend. Fakes speakin', is it mashin' or just they heat try to get me all up in your satan sheets. What they say, a blonde and a thug brotha the way you getting' paid, I wish I was yo lova

The late 1995 Madonna ballads collection "Something To Rememeber" spawned the dance remixes for "Love Don't Live Here Anymore" which were issued to club DJ's at the promotional level, but not at retail. These are well liked by Madonna collectors, and additional ballads converted to dance anthems were expected to follow. Instead "Evita" took over, but not before dance mixes of the Marvin Gaye remake "I Want You" leaked out. Junior Vasquez may have produced this mix. It is thought to have been officially commissioned due to the high quality of the mix. Other so-called "official/unreleased" remixes are usually of a lower standard, and are actually bootleg versions.

Madonna's most recent studio album "Ray Of Light" was originally planned as techno project with Robert Miles, Trent Reznor, Nelle Hooper, Babyace, and William Orbit as musical collaborators. In the end, only Orbit was retained. There may be early demos of the "Ray Of Light" songs co-produced with one or more of the original line-up, but none have turned up so far. One track "Skin" is known to have first been titled "Flirtation Dance", and may have had different lyrics. This alternate title is documented on the songs copyright submission. Ever since this album was released, reports of a never completed dance remix album called "Veronica Electronica" featuring songs from the "Ray Of Light" album have been rather persistent. There are thought to be officially commissioned unreleased remixes of "To Have And Not To Hold" by Goldie, which were never turned back in to Madonna. Another track from "Ray Of Light" called "Has To Be" appears on the album only outside of North America. Other reports of unreleased mixes have not been well supported, and are probably independently produced bootlegs.

False Profits
The demand for unreleased Madonna recordings has increased greatly in the last few years. Unfortunately misinformation is eventually accepted as fact by the fan base. Sometimes releases label recordings as Madonna or Madonna related when they have nothing to do with her at all. The earliest Madonna bootleg fraud was the inclusion of the song "Lies In Your Eyes" on some collections (such as "Cover Girl"). This song was supposed to feature Madonna with the band I-Level on this supposedly unreleased track from the "Vision Quest Soundtrack". This has proven not to contain any Madonna vocals. Both Stephen Bray and the Warner-Chappell Publishing have confirmed that the unreleased "Vision Quest" song title is the previously mentioned "Warning Signs". Bray also informed Goldmine; I-Level sent us a demo and I remember discussing it. We liked it but we never recorded it". Other reports of lost Madonna songs for the mid 80's "Fast Forward Soundtrack", and a tune called "Call Me Mr. Telephone" have also proven to be false according to Bray, even though both claims were printed in a major Madonna biography.

Most bootleg Madonna releases are live performances from 1985 Virgin Tour, The 1987 Who's That Girl Tour, The 1990 Blonde Ambition Tour, or The 1993 Girlie Show. Quality varies greatly as do the track listings. Some come direct from the sound mixing boards at the venue. Not all releases contain the complete show, and some are even mislabeled. It is best to consult with other collectors to know which releases offer the best sound before making a purchase unless you are interested only in the unique photo cover.

Also becoming more common are counterfeit duplicates of Madonna's official releases on CD and picture discs from countries like Mexico, China, Bulgaria, Russia, and the Ukraine. Other popular items are the illegitimate "Greatest hits" collections that tend to be revised and re-issued in these same countries as Madonna's career progresses. One release called "Madonna Best 98" from Asia even mistakenly contains tracks by Bananarama. Many of these earn their collectable value from the unique picture covers and alternate graphics. These illegal issues cost the recording industry millions of dollars in lost revenue in those very same markets every year.

The latest bootleg scam is to imply the familiar name of a popular producer onto a bootleg dance remix in an attempt to lend credibility to what is really an unauthorized, and even a homemade version. Rumors of a canceled Madonna remix album have given fuel to bootleggers who try to pass off an unauthorized version, as "one of those unreleased, but official" mixes. I know of at least three cases.

Alternate dance remixes of "Crazy For You '96", "Candy Perfume Girl" and "Ray Of Light" are all currently circulating in the collectors market. They were thought by many fans to have been remixed by Tony Moran (on white label vinyl), Todd Terry (found on CD boot collection), and Hani (for "Veronica Electronica") respectively. The names associated with these mixes are familiar and popular with those who frequent the club scene, and give a sense of quality to the collector who buys them. I recently spoke with an unnamed industry insider who works closely with all three of these producers on a daily basis. He strongly explained to me "They have (had) nothing to do with (those) titles, or any other (Madonna) tittles for that matter." At that point, I mentioned that Tony Moran does list Gary Barlow's single "Love Won't Wait" (written by Madonna and Shep Pettibone) on his remixography (which appears to be truly unreleased). I was then told by my source "Yeah, but the Gary Barlow record was a fiasco, it's better if you just keep (them) out of anything about (Madonna)." He added "The problem is that Madonna works only with a small group of people, a very small camp, and (they're) not a part of it. Todd, Hani, and Tony, they've never done anything (for) her."

If a bootleg release implies that a song was remixed by an industry heavyweight like Junior Vasquez, buyer beware is this authors advice! It doesn't mean that it is really true. Technology has made it possible to produce convincing remixes. Some versions may have been done by that big name for their own dance club as claimed, but they still may not have been officially commissioned. Production qualities can very greatly, and some are simply be the original production with a new drum and bass track mixed on top of it. Don't be fooled until you have heard it yourself. Some of them are very good.

Confusion surrounding Madonna inspired projects has sometimes fueled additional sales. Twice this seems to have been encouraged by the Record Companies. When the reported collaboration between Madonna and Michael Jackson fell apart for his Sony album "Dangerous", many were surprised to find a very Madonna-like "mystery girl" credited on the track "In The Closet". It was revealed much later that the cameo appearance was actually princes Stephanie of Monaco on the Jackson record. This was long after many Madonna fans had already purchased the curiosity believing that Madonna may have had something to do with the track, including this author. Just a few years later "If Madonna Calls" by Junior Vasquez was originally implied to have an actual Madonna vocal sample from Junior's answering machine on the record. This vocal was at first credited to "Who's That Girl" near a "thank you" to Madonna on the first pressings. After most Madonna collectors ran out and bought the record, it was later credited to Kelly Bienvenue. Both "In The Closet", and "If Madonna Calls" do however, remain interesting Madonna inspired items.

MY2K
Madonna has saturated our pop culture in the last decades of the 20th century. Most people have seen more of her than they ever thought that they could, or should as far as celebrities are concerned. We have looked down her throat in "Truth Or Dare", we have seen up her skirt in "Sex", but what has often overlooked is the music brought her to our attention in the first place. Finally the respectable Madonna seems to have emerged in the public view brought on by maturity and motherhood . The later half of 1999 has seen the release of "Beautiful Stranger" from the Austin Powers movie "The Spy Who Shagged Me", and the Spanish-English duet with Latin heartthrob Ricky Martin, called "Be Careful With My Heart". Madonna is going to end this millennium on top.

Insights into Madonna's creative process and growth since her early days remain undiscovered on her unreleased recordings of various kinds. There is pressure mounting from fans to release some of these on a "from the vaults-type" Madonna collection. There is even some concern that these recordings are not being preserved properly. Bray revealed that his 24 track studio master, of "Ain't No Big Deal " is "lost, and even the engineer doesn't know where it went. Unless someone gets these recordings together, they are only going to get damaged or lost and forgotten." Bray mentioned that he could not release "Desperately Seeking Susan" or another other Warner-era recorded demo without Madonna's co-operation due to the exclusivity clause in her Warner contract. The recordings that he issued independently on the original "Pre-Madonna" CD feature recordings prior to her 1982 contract. He added, "Maybe one day she will have a change of heart".