Madonna ~ Holiday 1983 Disco Purrfection Version

Ed Gordon of Kings Of Spins asked me to remix Madonna's "Holiday" using the music stems. I started with everything but the drum track, which was not included in the pack he sent me. Once that vocal track was completed, I went on the search for the drum and other assorted tracks to complete the remix. It was released on October 19, 1983 making it 40 years old and so I decided to remix it to celebrate this remarkable achievement.

Madonna released two singles "Everybody" and "Burning Up" before her third single "Holiday" hit big! The song was written by Curtis Hudson and Lisa Stevens, members of group Pure Energy out of New Jersey. They then shopped the demo with Stevens on vocals but were turned down even by ex Supreme Mary Wilson.

Disappointed, they continued to shop it until friend DJ John "Jellybean" Benitez asked them if they has a song they could contribute to his newest talent, Madonna. They handed over "Holiday" and the song peaked at #16 on the Hot100 January 28, 1984 setting the scene for her chart domination.

A spartan video for "Holiday" was shot in the studio with her brother Christopher and friend Erika Belle flanking her. No matter that MTV decided to not put it in heavy rotation, but it still did very well in the clubs peaking at #1 for five weeks on the Billboard disco chart.

The song is one of Madonna's favorites and it has become her most performed song in her concert repertoire. It charted three times in the UK #14 in February, 1984, then #2 in 1985 (held out of the top spot by "Into The Groove" and then in 1991 when it peaked at #5.

Hudson and Stevens remarked in an interview "The song still generates money," Hudson told Blog critics in 2015. "If we did nothing else, the royalties from 'Holiday' could support us."