TAKE A BOW

Writers: Babyface, Madonna

Producers: Babyface, Madonna



The "Erotica" album explored the darker side of her personality, Madonna contends, while "Bedtime Stories" revealed a more romantic side. "I wanted a lot more r&b feel to this record", she said. "The idea going in was to juxtapose my singing style with a hard core hip-hop sensibility and have the finished product still sound like a Madonna record. I began the process by meeting with the hip-hop producers whose work I most admired. It was important, if I were to use a variety of collaborators, that the end product sound cohesive and thematically whole. I wasn`t interested in the variety pack approach."

Her search for R&B producers led to one of the most successful writer/producer of the 90s. "I got a call from her camp wanting to set up a meeting first to see if there was any interest in working together," Babyface remembers. "I went to her record company and met with her and we got along fine." What do two superstars talk about when they first meet? "We talked about the weather, and the music we liked," the producer explains. "And we were both pleasantly surprised at each other`s surroundings, in that she didn`t have a whole gang of security and I wasn`t traveling with a major posse either. It was refreshing to not have to go through that because a lot of younger producers she worked with brought in major security and major posses. Some celebrities that I work with, it`s such a major thing to get to them. So this was far more relaxing. After that, we decided to write together. She came over to my house - she`d drive herself. We went inside my writing room and just started going for it. We ended up writing two songs."

One of the songs was based on a piece of music Babyface had already written. "I didn`t know where to take it," he confesses. "Then I played it for Madonna and she immediately heard something in it. She clearly gave the song direction. We both wrote lyrics but she was the driving force. She was a great writing partner. She`s very clever in her lyrics and very picturesque." They both agreed that the first line of the lyrics should be the title, even though the words "take a bow" were never repeated in the song.

When it came time to record the song, Babyface found he was nervous at the prospect of being in the studio with Madonna. He wondered if she would be too anal about recording, "Maybe too much of a perfectionist," he elaborates. "And you can go years into the studio if you`re an perfectionist. I`m not that kind of an writer/producer. But it was very easy. And the mix was very easy, one of the quickest I`ve done. It was a joy."

"Take A Bow" was recorded with a full orchestra. It was the first time Babyface worked with live strings. "It was her suggestion, and it was Nellee Hooper who actually arranged the strings. She had worked with them many times before, but for me, it was a new experience. So I was learning new things. I had always thought about it, but never done it."

Madonna had a good chart year in 1994, with "I`ll Remember" from the film "With Honors" spending four weeks at number two, and "Secret", the first single from "Bedtime Stories", peaking at number three. "Take A Bow" entered the Hot 100 the week of December 17, 1994, and reached the top at the end of February, 1995. It remained on top for seven weeks, easily becoming Madonna`s biggest hit to date.

By Fred Bronson from "The Billboard Book Of Number One Hits" (1997).

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