LISTEN: This long-forgotten Madonna track never made it on her debut album but it still had everyone talking
Wotupskii!!?! in 1984. The song was initially released as a 12-inch promotional single to US DJs and clubs on October 21, 1984.
Promoted to clubs by EMI Records in October of that year, it became an instant hit, reaching #1 on the Billboard Hot Dance/Club Play chart on February 2, 1985.
Madonna contributed vocals to the chorus and bridge, while Buchanan performed the verses. The song eventually gained commercial success, peaking at #18 on the Billboard Hot 100 on February 1, 1986.So how did the song come to be?Well, Madonna met John “Jellybean” Benitez, who worked as a DJ at the Funhouse club in lower Manhattan in 1983.
They started dating and worked on her self-titled debut album, released in 1983. When Benitez started to put together his own debut EP, he asked Madonna to write a song for him, and within two days, she penned “Sidewalk Talk”.Upon its release, “Sidewalk Talk” received mixed reviews from critics, with some questioning the decision to credit Buchanan as lead vocalist instead of Madonna, who was much more famous.
