To celebrate the 25th anniversary of Madonna’s “Vogue” reaching N)1 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, we reached out to the song’s co-producer and co-writer, dance legend Shep Pettibone, for — amazingly — his first interview in 20 years.
We talked to Pettibone, of course, about the genesis and making of “Vogue,” but also his later work with the diva on The Immaculate Collection and Erotica, the sampling lawsuit against him and Madonna over “Vogue,” and why he stepped away from the music business nearly 20 years ago.
“I think at that point they were going to [make it a] b-side” for “Keep It Together,” but once executives heard the track, “The attitude was like, ‘This isn’t gonna be a b-side. How can we get this out there?’” It found a home on Madonna’s Dick Tracy-inspired I’m Breathless album, and became the set’s lead single — and her eighth Hot 100 No. 1.
You know I am amazed that it’s been 25 years since “Vogue” hit No. 1 [on the Billboard Hot 100]. I don’t know if you sort of contemplate that sort of stuff very often. Does it even register that it’s been that long since the song has been out?
It doesn’t, really. First of all, it seems like the song that never ends. I mean, you’re forever hearing it. It’s always on a radio somewhere, or being played somewhere, you know, in a club. It’s still a dance floor filler after all these years too, which is amazing.
It continues to live on, through covers and interpolations, and so forth. Certainly that must be very nice to know that something you’ve made continues to have a long life.
Yeah, exactly. But no, it doesn’t feel like 25 years. It’s wild.
Full interview on Billoboard.com HERE
