Live To Tell (1986)

FORMATS: 7" Vinyl, 12" Vinyl

HISTORY AND NOTES: "Live To Tell" was written and recorded for the motion picture At Close Range, which starred Madonna's then-husband Sean Penn. The somber ballad marked a shift not only in Madonna's music, but in her image as well.

The 7" and 12" vinyls both included the Edit and Instrumental versions, while the 12" also featured the full-length Album Version.

The song was a huge success (becoming Madonna's third Hot 100 #1 hit and also becoming her first #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart) and was eventually included on Madonna's third album, 1986's  True Blue, as well as 1990's The Immaculate Collection, 1995's Something To Remember, and 2009's Celebration compilations.


TRACKLISTINGS:

7" Vinyl
A Live To Tell (Edit)
B Live To Tell (Instrumental)

12" Vinyl
A1 Live To Tell (Album Version)
B1 Live To Tell (Edit)
B2 Live To Tell (Instrumental)


CHARTS:

THE BILLBOARD HOT 100
Debut Date: April 12, 1986
Peak Date: June 7, 1986
Peak Position: #1 (1 week)
Week-by-week Rundown: 49-35-24-14-11-5-2-2-1-2-4-11-20-31-45-59-75-100-// (18 weeks total)
Final Week on Chart: August 9, 1986

The Billboard Hot 100 Top 10: June 7, 1986 (the week that “Live To Tell” peaked at #1)
1. Madonna “Live To Tell”
2. Patti LaBelle “On My Own”
3. Whitney Houston “Greatest Love Of All”
4. Nu Shooz “I Can’t Wait”
5. Mike “All I Need Is A Miracle”
6. Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark “If You Leave”
7. Level 42 “Something About You”
8. The Jets “Crush On You”
9. Billy Ocean “There’ll Be Sad Songs (To Make You Cry)”
10. George Michael “A Different Corner”

HOT 100 SINGLES SALES
Debut Date: April 26, 1986
Peak Date: June 7, 1986
Peak Position: #2
Week-by-week Rundown: 29-16-12-8-3-3-2-2-7-16-22-32-// (12 weeks total)
Final Week on Chart: July 12, 1986

HOT 100 AIRPLAY
Debut Date: April 19, 1986
Peak Date: May 31, 1986
Peak Position: #1 (3 weeks)
Week-by-week Rundown: 28-21-13-10-5-2-1-1-1-2-8-16-31-// (13 weeks total)
Final Week on Chart: July 12, 1986

HOT DANCE MUSIC / MAXI-SINGLES SALES
Debut Date: May 3, 1986
Peak Date: June 21, 1986
Peak Position: #3
Week-by-week Rundown: 23-17-11-8-10-5-5-3-3-4-11-27-// (12 weeks total)
Final Week on Chart: July 19, 1986

ADULT CONTEMPORARY
Debut Date: April 19, 1986
Peak Date: May 31, 1986
Peak Position: #1 (3 weeks)
Week-by-week Rundown: 28-19-13-3-2-3-1-1-1-3-5-6-12-16-20-25-29-40-// (18 weeks total)
Final Week on Chart: August 16, 1986