Song #374: "Papa Don't Preach"--Madonna (1986)

So, by now, Madonna had already caused plenty of controversy, especially with the nausea-inducing number one smash, "Like A Virgin" from 1985. That song made me cringe so bad that, while working that summer before leaving for college at the then-new "Superstar Recording Studios" at Kings Dominion in front of The Grizzly, I penned a parody version, "Like Influenza", and recorded it. And yes, if you were hanging in line at The Grizzly or were walking past the studio, you would have heard it as I let the managers play the song. I still can't believe I did that, me being the "in-car only" singer that I am. Put me in a group, an ensemble, all good. Solo? Oh, no!

But anyway, the next year, I'm in Pittsfield, Massachusetts spending the summer on the air at WUPE and WUHN Radio, and we did play this song on WUPE, an "adult contemporary" format, which meant we didn't touch the "hottest" sounding hits of the day. I think we did play, for example, "Into The Groove" by Madonna, but not before 1pm (and that's a story for another day here on the countdown....).

This song, however, flipped the Madonna crowd on its head. Suddenly, people who screamed for her scalp after "Like A Virgin" were applauding her, while some in the "pro-choice" community weren't necessarily pleased. For Madonna, it was about standing up to male authority figures. I did like the song for its message in the chorus, but also for its music. 30 years later, my feelings stay exactly the same.