CoronaVinyl Day 417 (Various Artists); Who's That Girl Soundtrack by Various Artists

For an explanation of CoronaVinyl, click here.

Today's post is a special one in the CoronaVinyl pantheon, as it is the first CoronaVinyl post I have made -- a mere 26 months into this pandemic -- when I have actually had COVID.  Yes, folks, despite doing everything right (seemingly, anyway), including sleeping on the couch the last six nights, avoiding my family (who all tested positive last week) as much as possible by staying on different floors of the house, and having everyone wear masks inside, this sumbitch virus still managed to enter my double vaxxed and boosted body.  At least I can sleep in my own bed tonight.  Stay vigilant, people, and don't be lulled into a false sense of security just because we're two years into this.

Anywho, today's CoronaVinyl category is "Various Artists," and I went with the soundtrack to the 1987 Madonna vehicle Who's That Girl.  After a successful acting debut in 1985's Desperately Seeking Susan, Madonna starred in the commercial flop Shanghai Surprise with her new husband Sean Penn.  Somehow, she got another starring acting gig as the headlining star in 1987's screwball rom-com Who's That Girl.  The movie was another box office failure, but the soundtrack did alright.

Four of the soundtrack's nine songs were performed by Madonna, and the other offerings were by former Bay City Roller Duncan Faure, Club Nouveau (who's cover of Bill Withers' "Lean On Me" hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks earlier in 1987), future fine art photographer Michael Davidson, British new wavers Scritti Politti, and Coati Mundi, who also played a role in the film.  

In the title track, Madonna continued what she started the previous year with "La Isla Bonita," where for some reason she decided to work Spanish into her songs.  No matter, the song went to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, making her the first artist to have six #1s in the '80s and the first female solo artist ever to top the chart six times.  Another one of her songs from the soundtrack, "Causing a Commotion," went to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100, and a third, "The Look of Love," wasn't released as a single in the U.S., but went to #9 on the UK pop chart.

For how poorly the movie performed, the album somewhat made up for it, reaching #7 on the Billboard album chart, #1 on five international album charts, and the Top 5 in another eleven countries.  It eventually went platinum in the U.S. and has sold over six million copies worldwide.

Favorite Song on Side 1:  "Causing a Commotion" by Madonna
"Causing a Commotion" isn't Madonna's best offering, but it's still a finely crafted '80s dance pop song.

Favorite Song on Side 2:  "Best Thing Ever" by Scritti Politti
I like this one because I can absolutely imagine it being the background song for a montage in a terrible '80s movie.  Which it probably was!