"Like a Prayer" is the first single from Madonna's fourth studio album of the same name. The single was released on February 27, 1989 in Europe and United States (March 6 in UK and March 16 in Japan). In Japan and Australia, a mini-album titled ''Remixed Prayers'' was also released, (in August of the same year) which included remixes of the title track and also "Express Yourself".
The song is written and produced by Madonna and Patrick Leonard. It became one of Madonna's highest-selling singles in her career, selling over five million copies worldwide at the time of its release.
The single version of "Like a Prayer" (7" remix) is slightly different from the album version in some extra background production, including a shorter and heavier guitar intro, louder bass, string arrangements in the verses and electric guitar at the song's climax. In addition, the album version features bass guitar played by Randy Jackson, the 7" version has a much more complex part created and played by Guy Pratt, doubled by an analogue Minimoog bass synthesizer. Several of the versions of "Like a Prayer", excluding that on the album, were included on ''Remixed Prayers''. "Like a Prayer" was also remixed as a dance song by Shep Pettibone and it became almost as popular as the original version, though is often not as highly regarded by critics and fans alike.
The cover artwork for the 7" single featured Madonna in a praying pose (it features a unique version of the famous black & white photo - also found on the back cover of the album ). This 7" cover version has a "hand tinted" colour wash applied which gives the artwork a dream-like quality. The 12" (''Remixed Prayers'' also) artwork featured a painting by Madonna's brother Christopher of a classic (Catholic) naked Madonna wearing a halo and draped in a vine of thorns with a single blossoming flower. Of special note on this painted version of the cover - it features the letters MLVC (Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone) with a prominently "fallen" letter P near the heart of the Madonna, indicating Madonna's recent divorce and distancing from husband Sean Penn.
"Like a Prayer" was a massive hit worldwide. In the U.S. the song went straight to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in spring 1989 and also topped the Hot Dance Music/Club Play and Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales charts. It peaked at number 3 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. It was released in the UK on 6 March 1989 and entered the UK Singles Chart straight at #2 before climbing to #1 and remaining there for three weeks until Easter Sunday (26 March). It also reached number one in countries such as Australia, Canada, Italy, Belgium, Ireland and many others. "Like a Prayer" was Madonna's fifth number one single on the Eurochart Hot 100 Singles chart, reaching the top on March 25, 1989, and staying at number one for 12 weeks.
The highly controversial music video for the song was directed by Mary Lambert (who also directed "Borderline", "Like a Virgin", "Material Girl" and "La Isla Bonita"). It was shot at Raleigh Studios in Hollywood, California and Madonna's scenes with burning crosses were filmed on San Pedro Hills in San Pedro, California. The video features actor Leon Robinson and premiered on MTV on March 3, 1989, and later went on to win the Viewer's Choice Award at the 1989 MTV Video Music Awards. It attracted criticism for its subplot of Madonna making love to Saint Martin de Porres - which some perceived as being a black version of Christ, its use of Catholic iconography, including a scene where Madonna developed stigmata, and cross burning. The video topped MTV's countdown of "100 Videos That Broke The Rules" in 2005, and for the 25th anniversary of MTV (August 1, 2006), viewers voted the video as the "Most Groundbreaking Music Video of All Time".
In 1990, Madonna performed a dance mix of "Like a Prayer" during her ''Blond Ambition Tour'', the live performance for "Like a Prayer" was made with the musical arrangements of the song's 12" Dance Version and the 12" Club Version. After not having performed it for years, she seemed to have re-discovered the power of the track, including it in the set of short promo performances for 2003 album ''American Life''. It was also included in the 2004 ''Re-Invention Tour'', with a back drop film made by PJ Lopez. Madonna sung the same version of the song during her three song set on Live 8 in 2005. A heavy dance version of the song, mixed with fragments of the dance track "Feels Like Home" by Meck, features in her 2008-2009 ''Sticky & Sweet Tour''. On January 22, 2010, Madonna performed an acoustic version of the song live during the Hope for Haiti telethon, broadcast worldwide. Jon Caramanica of The New York Times commented: "For 20 years, that song has been the symbol of one of the most tumultuous and controversial periods in Madonna’s life. But for five minutes tonight, it was pure, put in service of something bigger than the singer."
In 1990, Madonna performed a dance mix of "Like a Prayer" during her ''Blond Ambition Tour'', the live performance for "Like a Prayer" was made with the musical arrangements of the song's 12" Dance Version and the 12" Club Version. After not having performed it for years, she seemed to have re-discovered the power of the track, including it in the set of short promo performances for 2003 album ''American Life''. It was also included in the 2004 ''Re-Invention Tour'', with a back drop film made by PJ Lopez. Madonna sung the same version of the song during her three song set on Live 8 in 2005. A heavy dance version of the song, mixed with fragments of the dance track "Feels Like Home" by Meck, features in her 2008-2009 ''Sticky & Sweet Tour''. On January 22, 2010, Madonna performed an acoustic version of the song live during the Hope for Haiti telethon, broadcast worldwide. Jon Caramanica of The New York Times commented: "For 20 years, that song has been the symbol of one of the most tumultuous and controversial periods in Madonna’s life. But for five minutes tonight, it was pure, put in service of something bigger than the singer."
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