FEATURE:
Dreams of San Pedro…
Madonna’s La Isla Bonita at Thirty-Five
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THE fifth and final single…
IN THIS PHOTO: Madonna in 1986/PHOTO CREDIT: Herb Ritts
from Madonna’s 1986 album, True Blue, La Isla Bonita turns thirty-five on 25th February. The song was written and produced by Madonna and Patrick Leonard (with additional songwriting by Bruce Gaitsch). The initial composition of the song was first offered to Michael Jackson before Madonna both accepted it and wrote the lyrics and melody. I could see Jackson including it on Bad (1987) – a track from that album, Liberian Girl, has similarities. Often ranked alongside the best Madonna singles, it reached number one in the U.K. I think that True Blue showed a mature side to Madonna. Her songwriting and vocals were at their strongest, and her material was broad and nuanced. Whilst I associate True Blue with Madonna having cropped blonde hair, La Isla Bonita shows her with long locks. Look at how she appears in the videos for Papa Don’t Preach (the album’s seconds single) and Open Your Heart (True Blue’s fourth single). There are so many different styles and transformations – both fashion-wise and in terms of the songwriting! A sexy, stunning and sensual track, Madonna has performed La Isla Bonita on most of her world tours. It is a fan favourite and one of her absolute best releases. Normally, when an artist releases four or five songs from an album, they get weaker as you go along. I would say La Isla Bonita is as strong as Papa Don’t Preach. The antepenultimate track of True Blue (it appears after the title track), the Latin influence was new for Madonna. One can hear Latin influences on her latest album, Madame X (2020), but it didn’t appear too much between 1987 and 2020.
Madonna fans around the world will celebrate a mesmeric single on its thirty-fifth anniversary on 25th February. I am going to end with some critical reaction to the song. Before that, Smooth Radio gives us the facts and pertinent details behind one of Madonna’s greatest songs:
“What does 'La Isla Bonita' mean?
In case you were wondering, it's Spanish for 'The Beautiful Island'.
Now you know!
Who wrote 'La Isla Bonita'?
Madonna co-wrote the song with her regular collaborator Patrick Leonard, with additional lyrics from Bruce Gaitsch.
The song was written for Madonna's third album True Blue in 1986.
Where is San Pedro and what inspired the song?
The town of San Pedro in the island of Ambergris Caye, Belize is thought to be the main inspiration behind the song.
However, Madonna later told Rolling Stone: "I don't know where San Pedro is. At that point, I wasn't a person who went on holidays to beautiful islands.
"I may have been on the way to the studio and seen an exit ramp for San Pedro."
She also described the song as her tribute to the "beauty and mystery of Latin American people".
Michael Jackson turned the song down
That's right, Patrick Leonard originally wrote this for Michael Jackson for his Bad album, but Michael didn't like the title and turned it down.
Leonard then offered it to Madonna, who rewrote some of the lyrics.
However, Michael was only offered a demo version with just an instrumental rather than the lyrics. We'd love to have heard his take on it!
Where was the music video filmed?
The video was set in Los Angeles, and was directed by Mary Lambert, who also directed other Madonna videos including 'Borderline', 'Like a Virgin' and 'Like a Prayer'.
Actor Benicio del Toro appears in the video as a background character, playing a teenager sitting on a car hood.
Madonna plays two different characters in the video: a short-haired Catholic woman and a flamboyant Flamenco dancer.
How did it perform in the charts?
'La Isla Bonita' peaked at number four in the US, making it her 11th consecutive top-five hit, a feat surpassed only by the Beatles and Elvis Presley.
In the UK, it was Madonna's fourth number one single, and sold over 450,000 copies.
It was also a number one in Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Iceland, Poland and Switzerland”.
By 1987, Madonna was definitely the Queen of Pop! After releasing True Blue and it getting huge reviews (though I think it is underrated), La Isla Bonita arrived a couple of years before she elevated to new heights on the album, Like a Prayer. Always transforming and exploring new ground, La Isla Bonita was one of her strongest tracks to that date. This Wikipedia article provides the feedback and critical impressions of a masterful and hypnotic song:
“In a review for the album The Immaculate Collection, David Browne of Entertainment Weekly compared the song with the moves of Carmen Miranda on MTV. Slant Magazine music critic Sal Cinquemani, in a review for the True Blue album, called the song one of Madonna's greatest, most influential and timeless songs. Author Maury Dean in his book Rock 'n' Roll Gold Rush praised the song saying, "Madonna coos a Spanish lullaby. Sizzly romance blooms among the cozy sheltering palms. Tough tunes for most males to shrug off."
Rikky Rooksby, in his book The Complete Guide to the Music of Madonna called the song "a little escapism". Dawn Keetley in his book Public Women, Public Words called the song one of Madonna's most perfect songs capturing her inner emotional life. William McKeen called the song "tranquil" and "Up on the Roof type imaginary escapes from the city snarl, the kind of Latin-flavored sweets that Blondie could never resist." Ken Barnes of Creem wrote the song is "no "Open Your Heart", but its lilting (yet reflective) quality transcends the south-of-the-border cliches."
Jon Pareles of The New York Times said that "La Isla Bonita" was one of Madonna's "friendlier" love songs. Don McLeese of the Chicago Sun-Times believed that the song was the best song on the album, as well as the most memorable. Meanwhile, Steve Morse of The Boston Globe believed that it was one of her "prettier" songs. Joey Guerra of the Houston Chronicle, while reviewing Madonna's Sticky & Sweet Tour, called the song a true retro one. Marty Racine, from the same newspaper, believed that the song was one that stood out on the album. Los Angeles Daily News, when discussing Madonna's style of music, believed that "La Isla Bonita" was a song that was "pointing in [a] welcome direction”.
With Madonna co-writing and co-producing all tracks on True Blue, she was this amazingly talented and confident artist. Her music videos were iconic. Cinematic and imbued with so much style and story, there is a special place in my heart for La Isla Bonita. As it is about to turn thirty-five, I wanted to explore it more and give it the love and depth it deserves. An essential Madonna track, it will be adored and played for generations more! The fact it is a live staple shows how much love Madonna herself has for it. Here is my hearty salute to…
A Madonna classic.