Cherish (Madonna Song)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

"Cherish" is a song by American singer
Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...
from her fourth studio album, '' Like a Prayer'' (1989). It was written and produced by Madonna and
Patrick Leonard Patrick Ray Leonard (born March 14, 1956) is an American songwriter, keyboardist, film composer, and music producer, best known for his longtime collaboration with Madonna. His work with Madonna includes her albums '' True Blue'' (1986), '' Who ...
, and was released by
Sire Records Sire Records (formerly Sire Records Company) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Records. History Beginnings The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gotteh ...
as the album's third single on August 1, 1989. "Cherish" was built around the themes of love and relationships, with
William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
's ''
Romeo and Juliet ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...
'' being one of the major inspirations. The track also included a line from " Cherish" by the 1960s band
the Association The Association is an American sunshine pop band from Los Angeles, California. During the late 1960s, the band had numerous hits at or near the top of the Billboard charts, ''Billboard'' charts (including "Windy (The Association song), Windy" ...
. Musically constructed as a
doo-wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a subgenre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, ...
-style pop song, it is regarded as a light-hearted track by critics and includes instruments such as a
drum machine A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument that creates percussion sounds, drum beats, and patterns. Drum machines may imitate drum kits or other percussion instruments, or produce unique sounds, such as synthesized electronic tones. A d ...
,
percussions A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...
, keyboards and a
saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to p ...
. Lyrically, it speaks of Madonna's devotion to her lover, and her promise to be always by his side. "Cherish" was included on Madonna's greatest hits compilations '' The Immaculate Collection'' (1990) and '' Celebration'' (2009). After its release, the song received positive feedback from reviewers, who were surprised by the change of content and the lighter image of Madonna's music in contrast to her previous singles from ''Like a Prayer'', which incorporated themes such as religion and sexuality. They compared certain lyrics of the song to
Juliet Juliet Capulet () is the female protagonist in William Shakespeare's romantic tragedy ''Romeo and Juliet''. A 13-year-old girl, Juliet is the only daughter of the patriarch of the House of Capulet. She falls in love with the male protagonist Ro ...
's lines in ''Romeo and Juliet''. "Cherish" was a commercial success, topping the Canadian music chart and reaching the top ten of the charts in Australia, Belgium, Italy, Ireland, the United Kingdom and the combined European chart. In the United States, "Cherish" peaked at number two on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number one on the ''Cash Box''Top 100, giving Madonna the record for the most consecutive top-five singles by any act with 16. A black-and-white
music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...
for the song was directed by photographer
Herb Ritts Herbert Ritts Jr. (August 13, 1952 – December 26, 2002) was an American fashion photographer and director known for his photographs of celebrities, models, and other cultural figures throughout the 1980s and 1990s. His work concentrated on b ...
at the Paradise Cove Beach in
Malibu, California Malibu ( ; ; ) is a beach city in the Santa Monica Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, about west of downtown Los Angeles. It is known for its Mediterranean climate, its strip of beaches stretching along the Pacific Ocean coa ...
. In the video, Madonna plays herself, while three co-actors dressed as
mermen Mermen may refer to: * The Mermen, a music group *Merman A merman (: mermen; also merlad or merboy in youth), the male counterpart of the mythical female mermaid, is a legendary creature which is human from the waist up and fish-like from the w ...
swim in and out of the sea. Academics noted that the mermen became symbols for the homosexual community and the oppression it faced. Madonna performed "Cherish" on her Blond Ambition World Tour (1990), where the performance included her dancers dressed up as mermen. Its symbolism was seen to de-sexualize men, relegating them to objects of desire.


Background

"Cherish" was written and produced by Madonna and Patrick Leonard, and released as the third single from '' Like a Prayer'' (1989). The song is built around the themes of love and relationships, with
William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
's ''
Romeo and Juliet ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...
'' one of its major inspirations. Madonna was reading ''Romeo and Juliet'' during the breaks during rehearsals for '' Speed the Plow'', a Broadway show in which she was starring in 1988. On the third day of the ''Like a Prayer'' recording sessions, she presented Leonard with the lyrics of "Cherish", and explained that she had written the song "one sunny afternoon by the beach", but later confessed that it was actually written in her make-up room. "I wrote it in a superhyper-positive state of mind that I knew was not going to last", the singer recalled. Leonard introduced one line from the similar titled song by the 1960s band
the Association The Association is an American sunshine pop band from Los Angeles, California. During the late 1960s, the band had numerous hits at or near the top of the Billboard charts, ''Billboard'' charts (including "Windy (The Association song), Windy" ...
, "Cherish is the word I use", after which Madonna decided to include it on ''Like a Prayer''. The
B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...
of the single release of "Cherish" was a previously unreleased track called "Supernatural", initially composed during the recording sessions of her third studio album, '' True Blue'' and later completed in 1989. In 2009, during an interview with ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
'', Madonna confessed that she had never been able to predict if her songs would be successful, irrespective of her personal opinion of them. As an example, she cited "Cherish" as one of the most "retarded" songs she had written, but noted it became a commercial success. The song was also included on the 1990 compilation album '' The Immaculate Collection'' and the two-disc edition of her 2009 compilation '' Celebration''.


Composition

"Cherish" is a
doo-wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a subgenre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, ...
style pop shuffle song and opened the second side of ''Like a Prayer''. It begins with the sound of
synths A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis an ...
and keyboard and Madonna repeatedly singing the words "cherish, cherish". This is followed by the sound from
drum machine A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument that creates percussion sounds, drum beats, and patterns. Drum machines may imitate drum kits or other percussion instruments, or produce unique sounds, such as synthesized electronic tones. A d ...
, as
percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...
and guitars accompany her voice. During the
bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...
, Madonna sings the line "Cupid please take your aim at me", as the keyboard sound becomes pronounced. The drum changes its rhythm and Madonna moves into the
chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song), the part of a song that is repeated several times, usually after each verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in whic ...
, "Cherish the joy/of always having you here by my side", accompanied by background vocals and a
bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...
. The second verse continues in the same way, with Madonna singing the line "Romeo and Juliet/they never felt this way I bet/So don't underestimate my point of view." As the second chorus ends, a
saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to p ...
starts playing as Madonna softly asks the listener, "Who? You! Can't get away, I won't let you", followed by Leonard's Association-inspired line. Background vocals continue repeating words over a
horn Horn may refer to: Common uses * Horn (acoustic), a tapered sound guide ** Horn antenna ** Horn loudspeaker ** Vehicle horn ** Train horn *Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various animals * Horn (instrument), a family ...
, playing in
B minor B minor is a minor scale based on B, consisting of the pitches B, C, D, E, F, G, and A. Its key signature has two sharps. Its relative major is D major and its parallel major is B major. The B natural minor scale is: Changes need ...
. The drums and the
percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...
start again and the chorus is sung twice, before fading out. According to the sheet music published by Alfred Publishing Co. Inc., "Cherish" is composed in the
time signature A time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, and measure signature) is an indication in music notation that specifies how many note values of a particular type fit into each measure ( bar). The time signature indicates th ...
of common time, with a moderately fast
tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given musical composition, composition, and is often also an indication of the composition ...
of 130 beats per minute. Set in the key of
D major D major is a major scale based on D (musical note), D, consisting of the pitches D, E (musical note), E, F♯ (musical note), F, G (musical note), G, A (musical note), A, B (musical note), B, and C♯ (musical note), C. Its key signature has two S ...
, "Cherish" has Madonna singing between the tonal nodes of A3 to D5. The song follows the sequence of G/D–D–Em7–D in the beginning as its
chord progression In a musical composition, a chord progression or harmonic progression (informally chord changes, used as a plural, or simply changes) is a succession of chords. Chord progressions are the foundation of harmony in Western musical tradition from ...
, which changes to D–Dm–C–Em7 during the verses and shifts to G–D/G–A–D/F in the chorus. The lyrics of "Cherish" makes it a simple love song, where Madonna talks about devotion and having her lover by her side, whom she would never leave. According to
semiotician Semiotics ( ) is the systematic study of sign processes and the communication of meaning. In semiotics, a sign is defined as anything that communicates intentional and unintentional meaning or feelings to the sign's interpreter. Semiosis is an ...
Thomas Sebeok Thomas Albert Sebeok (, ; November 9, 1920December 21, 2001) was a Hungarian-born American polymath,Cobley, Paul; Deely, John; Kull, Kalevi; Petrilli, Susan (eds.) (2011). Semiotics Continues to Astonish: Thomas A. Sebeok and the Doctrine of S ...
, the backbone of "Cherish" is constructed by incorporating titles of previous romantic pop hits. Songs such as "
Cupid In classical mythology, Cupid ( , meaning "passionate desire") is the god of desire, erotic love, attraction and affection. He is often portrayed as the son of the love goddess Venus and the god of war Mars. He is also known as Amor (Latin: ...
" (
Sam Cooke Samuel Cooke (; January 22, 1931  – December 11, 1964) was an American singer and songwriter. Considered one of the most influential soul music, soul artists of all time, Cooke is commonly referred to as the "King of Soul" for his distin ...
), " You Are My Destiny" (
Paul Anka Paul Albert Anka (born July 30, 1941) is a Canadian and American singer, songwriter and actor. His songs include " Diana", “ You Are My Destiny", “Lonely Boy", " Put Your Head on My Shoulder", and " (You're) Having My Baby". Anka also wr ...
) and "
I Can't Let Go "I Can't Let Go" is a song co-written by Al Gorgoni and Chip Taylor, who also wrote " Wild Thing". "I Can't Let Go" was originally recorded by the blue-eyed soul singer Evie Sands on George Goldner's Blue Cat label, which was popular in New Y ...
" (
The Hollies The Hollies are an English rock and pop band formed in Manchester in 1962. One of the leading British groups of the 1960s and into the mid-1970s, they are known for their distinctive three-part vocal harmony style. Singer Allan Clarke and ...
) are used within the first verse, while other verses use the words of such song titles as "
Burning Love "Burning Love" is a 1972 song by Elvis Presley, written by Dennis Linde, originally released by Arthur Alexander earlier in 1972. Presley found major success with the song, it becoming his final Top 10 hit in the American Hot 100 or pop charts, ...
" (
Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...
) and "Two Hearts" (
Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American Rock music, rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Nicknamed "the Boss", Springsteen has released 21 studio albums spanning six decades; most of his albums feature th ...
). Other instances include the Association song reference and Shakespeare's ''Romeo and Juliet''. Richard Burt, author of ''Shakespeare After Mass Media'', deduced that the lines on ''Romeo and Juliet'' and "I Can't Let Go" makes the speaker alternate between assertiveness and dependency. Sal Cinquemani from
Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New Yor ...
felt that although "Cherish" was a "radiant" song invoking the pop music of the 60s, "in the grand pop scheme, tpales only in comparison to their glorious counterparts, making ''Like a Prayer'' one of the quintessential pop albums of all time."


Critical reception

Wayne Robins from ''
Newsday ''Newsday'' is a daily newspaper in the United States primarily serving Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI" ...
'' believed that "Cherish" exemplified the "kind of random pop we'd get if ostmodern author William Burroughs were the program director of a Top 40 radio station." Burt compared the song and Madonna's delivery of the lyrics with the dialogues spoken by Shakespeare's
Juliet Juliet Capulet () is the female protagonist in William Shakespeare's romantic tragedy ''Romeo and Juliet''. A 13-year-old girl, Juliet is the only daughter of the patriarch of the House of Capulet. She falls in love with the male protagonist Ro ...
, and found similarity in the, "Sweet so would I, Yet I should kill thee with much cherishing" from the play, with the lyrics of "Cherish". Allen Metz, one of the authors of ''The Madonna Companion'', felt that "Cherish" as the opening song of the B-side of ''Like a Prayer'', reaffirmed the sweet and happy romanticism that was missing from the A-side of the album adding, "As much a child of pop as of the church, Madonna is restored by music's healing power, in this case with a mixture of classic sweet soul and L.A. pop moderne." Music critic J. D. Considine, while reviewing the ''Like a Prayer'' album for ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
'' complimented the song for creating an effective balance, contrasting its lighthearted nature with the trauma of " Oh Father", the next song. Considine also found retro-rock references in the song. Freya Jarman-Ivens, one of the authors of ''Madonna's Drowned Worlds'', felt that the song was one of the last works on pure romanticism by Madonna. "She should come back to the formula from time to time, but I guess she has moved beyond all of that", Jarman-Ivens added. Carol Clerk, author of ''Madonnastyle'' noted that the "refreshing" nature of the song was particularly noticeable if one follows Madonna's catalog chronologically, especially embedded between the anthem like nature of the previous release, " Express Yourself", and the lament of the succeeding release, "Oh Father". Scholar Maria Raha wrote in her book ''Cinderella's Big Score: Women of the Punk and Indie Underground'' that the song was full of "trite" lyrics. Andy Goldberg from ''
The Jerusalem Post ''The Jerusalem Post'' is an English language, English-language Israeli broadsheet newspaper based in Jerusalem, Israel, founded in 1932 during the Mandate for Palestine, British Mandate of Mandatory Palestine, Palestine by Gershon Agron as ''Th ...
'' said that "Cherish" took "Madonna back to her old stomping grounds, the lively bass line and lilting melodies of hit albums past." Kevin Phinney from ''
Austin American-Statesman The ''Austin American-Statesman'' is the major daily newspaper for Austin, the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is owned by Hearst Communications. The distribution of the following ''The New York Times'', ''The Washington Post'', '' ...
'' was surprised by Madonna's contribution to the song and confessed that he " oundit difficult to be believe that she even wrote this?" Phinney continued that he wanted Madonna to go in a more mature direction and compose songs musically similar to "Cherish". Writing for ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'', Richard Harrington explained that "while songs on ''Like a Prayer'' dealt with matters opening her heart, with 'Cherish' Madonna dealt with matters which were close to her heart." This view was also shared by Ian Blair from ''
Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...
'' who categorized the song as being sung for the "happy-go-lucky lovers and dreamers". ''
The Dallas Morning News ''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation in 2022 of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885, by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the ' ...
'' Lennox Samuels appreciated the light-hearted theme of the song and complimented Madonna and Leonard for not sticking with personal subject matters only on the album. Dale Anderson from ''
The Buffalo News ''The Buffalo News'' is the daily newspaper of the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area, located in downtown Buffalo, New York. It was for decades the only paper fully owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway. On January 29, 2020, th ...
'' opined that the song would become one of Madonna's most forgettable releases, but was also hopeful that it would not. This opinion was shared by Don McLeese of the ''
Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...
'', who added that "Cherish" was not something expected from Madonna at that point of time. McCleese was disappointed that Madonna went back to the "happy-go-lucky, lovey-dovey" kind of songs, which did not match her self-image. Dan DeLuca from ''
The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', often referred to simply as ''The Inquirer'', is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded on June 1, 1829, ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is the third-longest continuously operating da ...
'', while reviewing Madonna's
Drowned World Tour The Drowned World Tour (billed as Drowned World Tour 2001) was the fifth concert tour by American singer Madonna, launched in support of her seventh and eighth studio albums, '' Ray of Light'' (1998) and ''Music'' (2000). It began on June 9, 20 ...
in 2001, compared "Cherish" with songs by Chris Robinson, humorously adding that "only if he was gay he would sing something like that."
Lucy O'Brien Lucy O'Brien (born 13 September 1961)Author Biography, O'Brien, Lucy – She Bop: The definitive history of women in rock, pop, and soul, London: Penguin, 1995 is a British author and journalist whose work focuses on women in music. Early musi ...
, author of '' Madonna: Like an Icon'', felt that the song was typical of Madonna's previous musical endeavors, and would have been more suitable for her third studio album, '' True Blue'', whose songs mainly dealt with romance and relationships.


Chart performance

In the United States, "Cherish" debuted at number 37 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 singles chart. The next week it moved to number 28 on the chart, becoming the week's "greatest gainer" song. After three weeks, as "Cherish" entered the top-five of ''Billboard'' Hot 100, music industry prognosticators theorized that the song would become Madonna's eighth number-one song on the Hot 100. However, the song started facing competition from fellow singer
Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreogr ...
's single " Miss You Much", which also moved into the top-ten the same week. The popular media pitted the two women against each other and tried to create rivalry between them. The song eventually peaked at number two on October 7, 1989, the same week "Miss You Much" topped the Hot 100. "Cherish" became Madonna's 16th consecutive top-five single, a record by any artist in Hot 100 chart history. It was present on the Hot 100 for a total of 15 weeks. Unlike previous Madonna singles, "Cherish" was not a dance hit and did not make an appearance on the
Hot Dance Music/Club Play The Dance Club Songs (also known as National Disco Action, Hot Dance/Disco Club Play, and Hot Dance Club Play) was a chart published weekly between 1976 and 2020 by ''Billboard'' magazine. It used club disc jockeys set lists to determine the mos ...
chart, but was able to top the
Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...
chart, her third after " Live to Tell" and " La Isla Bonita". "Cherish" also helped Madonna to win the Top Adult Contemporary Artist trophy at the 1989 ''Billboard'' Music Awards. On the year-end charts of ''Billboard'', "Cherish" ranked at number 59 on the Hot 100 and number 31 on the Adult Contemporary chart. In Canada, "Cherish" debuted at number 80 on the ''RPM'' Singles Chart on August 14, 1989. In its ninth week on the chart, the song reached number one, staying there for two weeks. "Cherish" was present on the chart for 17 weeks and was the ninth best-selling Canadian single for 1989. The track also reached number-one on the ''RPM'' Adult Contemporary chart in its seventh week. On September 1, 1989, "Cherish" was released in the United Kingdom and entered the UK Singles Chart at number 16. The next week, the song moved to its peak position of number three, becoming Madonna's 21st top-ten single in the United Kingdom. According to the
Official Charts Company The Official UK Charts Company Limited (formerly Music Industry Chart Services Limited), trading as the Official Charts Company (OCC) or the Official Charts (formerly the Chart Information Network), is a British inter-professional organisation ...
, the song has sold 200,000 copies there. "Cherish" entered the
Australian Singles Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian record chart, music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA beca ...
at number 17 on September 17, 1989, and reached a peak of number four, staying on the chart for 16 weeks. In the Netherlands, "Cherish" debuted at number 24 on the
Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 () is a weekly music chart compiled by ''Stichting Nederlandse Top 40''. It started as a radio program titled "Veronica Top 40", on the offshore radio, offshore station Radio Veronica in 1965. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" ...
chart, and reached a peak of number 15, the next week. "Cherish" also reached the top ten on the record charts across European nations, prompting it to reach number five on the
European Hot 100 Singles The European Hot 100 Singles was compiled by '' Billboard'' and ''Music & Media'' magazine from March 1984 until December 2010. The chart was based on national singles sales charts in 17 European countries: Austria, Belgium (two charts separately ...
chart. It also became the most played single on radio across Europe during the week of October 21, 1989.


Music video

"Cherish" was promoted by a black-and-white
music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...
that was
directed Direct may refer to: Mathematics * Directed set, in order theory * Direct limit of (pre), sheaves * Direct sum of modules, a construction in abstract algebra which combines several vector spaces Computing * Direct access (disambiguation), a ...
by
Herb Ritts Herbert Ritts Jr. (August 13, 1952 – December 26, 2002) was an American fashion photographer and director known for his photographs of celebrities, models, and other cultural figures throughout the 1980s and 1990s. His work concentrated on b ...
and was filmed on July 22, 1989 at Paradise Cove Beach in
Malibu, California Malibu ( ; ; ) is a beach city in the Santa Monica Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, about west of downtown Los Angeles. It is known for its Mediterranean climate, its strip of beaches stretching along the Pacific Ocean coa ...
. Its world premiere took place on
MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
on August 21, 1989. Ritts was one of Madonna's preferred photographers at that time and so she asked him to direct the "Cherish" video. Ritts reportedly tried to talk her out of it by saying, "But I'm a still photographer. I don't know anything about film." Undaunted, Madonna replied simply, "Well you have a few weeks to learn." The director practised with a Super 8 film camera while working on a job in Hawaii and after returning confirmed to Madonna that he could helm the video. "Two weeks later, I was filming 'Cherish'. I directed it and did the camera work as well. It was invigorating," he told art curator François Quintin in a 1999 interview. The video was conceptualized by Ritts, who wanted to portray
mermen Mermen may refer to: * The Mermen, a music group *Merman A merman (: mermen; also merlad or merboy in youth), the male counterpart of the mythical female mermaid, is a legendary creature which is human from the waist up and fish-like from the w ...
in their natural habitat, but Madonna baulked at the idea since she wanted to be portrayed as herself, but keep the mermen also. Four male performers were signed for this, one of them being Tony Ward who would become Madonna's boyfriend later, with the other three being water polo players from nearby
Pepperdine University Pepperdine University () is a private university, private Christianity, Christian research university affiliated with the Churches of Christ, with its main campus in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Pepperdine's main campus consists ...
. There were four merman tails created by Global Effects in North Hollywood, California for the video. Three full-size tails for the mermen were cast in a solid highly flexible rubber, each weighing around . This was necessary to make them neutrally buoyant in water as lighter tails would have floated, causing the swimmers to be head-down in the sea. Once in these tails, the polo players needed to be carried to and from the water and once in it, they had tremendous swimming power and agility. This was partly due to a plastic spring-like armature cast into the flipper of each tail. One of the reasons this video was shot in black and white is because the water was very cold, causing Madonna's already pale complexion to look even whiter. According to Maura Johnston of ''Rolling Stone'', following its release "The playful video became an MTV staple, a light jaunt on the beach after the controversy-drenched
lips The lips are a horizontal pair of soft appendages attached to the jaws and are the most visible part of the mouth of many animals, including humans. Mammal lips are soft, movable and serve to facilitate the ingestion of food (e.g. sucklin ...
for 'Like a Prayer' and the future-shocked 'Express Yourself'." Fouz-Hernandez deduced a relationship between the music and the images in the video for "Cherish", saying that they complemented each other; the author felt that this in turn encouraged the viewer to watch the video repeatedly. Fouz-Hernandez talked about the balancing of height and depth occurring in the video. The visual depictions of the mermen and the lighting used in the video were influenced by Ritts' still photograph known as "The Male Nude Bubble", which showed nude male models inside a giant water tank, with a white cloth entwined around them. Many of the qualities in the photos, including the floating nature of the models, were present during the swimming and the posing of the mermen. Carol Vernallis, author of ''Experiencing Music Video'', found homoerotic connotations between Madonna and the mermen. The mermen in the video exist in a self-contained world of their own, where they procreate with their own kind, both biologically and socially. The fact that the mermen did not seem to possess genitalia led Vernallis to believe that the video associated them with other works by Ritts, namely homoerotic sculptural images without penises. Their tails drew different meanings, including sexual ones and Christian symbolism. Since in contemporary art, images of mermen are rare while mermaids are common, they are sometimes called fairies partly because it is not known how they came to be. Vernallis believed that the mysteriousness and the elusiveness of the mermen in the video played a crucial role. They never address the camera directly and are often shown disappearing from view. Since remaining invisible is a central theme in the homosexual community, for the author this actually portrayed oppression and the desire to watch but never be seen.


Live performance and covers

Madonna has performed "Cherish" live only during the 1990 Blond Ambition World Tour. Onstage, the performance mirrored the sequence from the music video, with the appearance of three of Madonna's dancers, dressed as mermen. Author Carol Clerk noted in her book ''Madonnastyle'' that the outfit worn by the singer during this sequence was the simplest and the softest costume of the show. It consisted of a black mini-dress trimmed and stitched with a stuffed West African stork, called the marabou. Madonna gyrated around her dancers, while playing with a
harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orchestras or ...
. During the chorus, the dancers lifted their prosthetic fish-tails and joined them with each other. Guilbert felt that the performance de-sexualizes men, since they are relegated to objects of adoration, like the three mermen dancers. This view was shared by Mark Bego, author of ''Madonna: Blonde Ambition'', who said that "Madonna and her girls go into a very girlish mode, but they give the feeling that they are in charge, be it playing with the mermen, or teasing them." Two different performances were taped and released on video, the ''Blond Ambition Japan Tour 90'', taped in
Yokohama is the List of cities in Japan, second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous Municipalities of Japan, municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a popu ...
, Japan, on April 27, 1990, and the '' Blond Ambition World Tour Live'', taped in
Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one millionRenato Russo included an acoustic cover of the song on his 1994 album '' The Stonewall Celebration Concert''. His version was appreciated by Alvaro Neder of
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
. The 2000 compilation album ''Virgin Voices: A Tribute To Madonna, Vol. 2'' contains a cover by
worldbeat Worldbeat is a music genre that blends pop music or rock music with world music or traditional music. Worldbeat is similar to other cross-pollination labels of contemporary and roots genres, and which suggest a rhythmic, harmonic or textural co ...
group Loop Guru. An
alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...
cover of the song by The Prayers was included on the 2007 Madonna tribute compilation '' Through the Wilderness''.


Track listing and formats

*US / CAN / JPN 7" and cassette single # "Cherish" (fade) – 4:03 # "Supernatural" (non-LP track) – 5:12 *US promo 7" single # "Cherish" (fade) – 4:03 # "Cherish" (LP version) – 5:03 *CAN promo 7" single # "Cherish" (fade) – 4:03 # "Supernatural" (non-LP track) – 5:12 *UK / European 7" single # "Cherish" (7" version) – 4:03 # "Supernatural" (non-LP track) – 5:12 *UK 12" single / Reissue CD maxi-single (1995) # "Cherish" (extended version) – 6:18 # "Cherish" (7" version) – 4:03 # "Supernatural" (non-LP track) – 5:12 *Digital single (2024) # "Cherish" (7" version) – 4:03 # "Cherish" (extended version) – 6:18 # "Supernatural" – 5:12


Credits and personnel

*
Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...
 – songwriter, producer *
Patrick Leonard Patrick Ray Leonard (born March 14, 1956) is an American songwriter, keyboardist, film composer, and music producer, best known for his longtime collaboration with Madonna. His work with Madonna includes her albums '' True Blue'' (1986), '' Who ...
 – songwriter, producer, remixer, arranger *James Guthrie – mixing *
Herb Ritts Herbert Ritts Jr. (August 13, 1952 – December 26, 2002) was an American fashion photographer and director known for his photographs of celebrities, models, and other cultural figures throughout the 1980s and 1990s. His work concentrated on b ...
 – cover art, photographer *Jeri Heiden – calligraphy, artwork design * Marilyn Martin – background vocals Credits and personnel adapted from ''Like a Prayer'' album liner notes.


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications and sales


See also

* List of number-one singles of 1989 (Canada) * List of Hot Adult Contemporary number ones of 1989 * List of ''Cash Box'' Top 100 number-one singles of 1989


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


External links

* {{authority control 1989 songs 1989 singles Black-and-white music videos Cashbox number-one singles Madonna songs Music videos directed by Herb Ritts RPM Top Singles number-one singles Sire Records singles Songs written by Madonna Songs written by Patrick Leonard Song recordings produced by Madonna Song recordings produced by Patrick Leonard Warner Records singles Mermaids in popular culture Mermen Music based on Romeo and Juliet