Madonna and the recently released musical film The Color Purple share a rather surprising connection.
The 65-year-old singer's frequent collaborator Stephen Bray spoke about his long-standing bond with the singer during a new interview with the New York Post.
The 66-year-old songwriter, who also served as executive music producer on the recently released musical film The Color Purple, opened up about his past with the hitmaker and discussed their ups and downs as a creative duo.
The producer, whose longtime collaborator was put into a medically induced coma earlier this year, began by recounting how they first met in their home state of Michigan.
“I played percussion in some of the dance classes she took. And then she moved to New York and played drums for [the band] Breakfast club in '79. And I followed her, so I took her place as the drummer for Breakfast Club,” he recalls.
Madonna's frequent collaborator Stephen Bray spoke about his longstanding bond with the singer during a new interview with the New York Post; the hitmaker will be seen in 2022
Bray then revealed that he had intended to have a song he wrote, entitled Ain't No Big Deal, appear on Madonna's 1983 debut album, but because he was not allowed to co-produce the song, it was left off the record.
He explained, “I was too proud – I wanted to be a producer like Quincy Jones. I didn't understand that writing the song was just as important in the kind of stratosphere of album making.”
The producer noted that the 'Borderline singer' continued quite successfully without me after the release of her debut record. And I learned one of the hardest lessons of my music career.”
Bray further recalled that Madonna contacted him to work on her second record, saying, “She came to me and said, 'Hey, let's write some songs for my next album.' And I was ready, willing and able to be part of the process.”
The pair subsequently collaborated on several songs, including Into The Groove, Angel and Papa Don't Preach, which he described as “one of the best things I've ever done.”
The producer spoke highly of the Grammy Award-winning singer, saying the pair have become extremely close over the years.
'We made music that we loved. And that writing relationship is one of the best I've ever had, because we just have the same instincts, and it was just so much fun. We finished each other's musical sentences,” she said.
Following the end of his long association with Madonna, Bray co-wrote and produced the music for the 2005 Broadway adaptation of The Color Purple, which was based on Alice Walker's book of the same name.
The 66-year-old songwriter, who also served as executive music producer on the recently released musical film The Color Purple, opened up about his past with the 65-year-old hitmaker and discussed their ups and downs as a creative duo
The producer, whose longtime collaborator was put into a medically induced coma earlier this year, began by recounting how they first met in their home state of Michigan; he was seen earlier this month
The producer praised the Grammy Award-winning singer, saying the pair have become extremely close over the years; Madonna can be seen in 2018
Following the end of his long association with Madonna, Bray co-wrote and produced the music for the 2005 Broadway adaptation of The Color Purple, which was based on Alice Walker's book of the same name.
The performer continued in the same capacity for the new film adaptation of the novel, which was released in theaters on Monday
The performer continued in the same capacity for the new film adaptation of the novel, which was released in theaters on Monday.
In 1985, an unset version of The Color Purple was released, and two of the figures involved in the production, Oprah Winfrey and Steven Spielberg, also served as executive producers of the new project.
The recently released film features the talents of an ensemble cast including Taraji P. Henson, Colman Domingo and Halle Bailey.
Much of the project's cast was also featured on the film's soundtrack album, which debuted earlier this month.
The new version of The Color Purple has been positively received by critics and audiences alike, and currently has an 89% rating on the website. Rotten tomatoes.
