Holiday - Live at Live Aid, John F. Kennedy Stadium, 13th July 1985

This buoyant musical celebration was Madonna's first hit. Released on her first album, it's one of her favorites, and the song she has performed most often in concert. In America, it was her third single, following "Everybody" and "Burning Up." "Everybody," released ahead of the album, bubbled under on the Hot 100 at #107 on January 22, 1983. Over the next year, Madonna slowly gained momentum, thanks in large part to club play and MTV exposure. "Burning Up" didn't chart, but "Holiday" hit its peak of #16 on January 28, 1984, setting the stage for her unprecedented chart domination.

This was written by Curtis Hudson and Lisa Stevens, who were members of Pure Energy, a dance/pop group from East Orange, New Jersey. Stevens came up with the chords on a keyboard, then a few days later, Hudson added the bassline and the "Holiday... Celebrate" part. They fleshed out the song and recorded a demo with Stevens singing. They shopped the song around but couldn't find any takers - Mary Wilson of The Supremes is among those who turned it down. Then their friend John "Jellybean" Benitez, a club DJ they had worked with, asked if they had anything for a new artist he was producing on the Warner Bros. label who needed one more song for her album. They gave him "Holiday," and Benitez produced it for Madonna, sticking close to the original demo. Benitez, who was dating Madonna at the time, became a top producer known for his dance remixes.

A very basic video was made for this song showing Madonna dancing to it, flanked by her brother, Christopher Ciccone, and friend, Erika Belle. It didn't have enough production value for MTV, but Madonna's next two videos - "Lucky Star" and "Borderline" - were huge hits on the network.