Dress You Up

"Dress You Up"
A blonde woman standing over a black background looks over her shoulder.
Artwork for most 7" vinyl releases
Single by Madonna
from the album Like a Virgin
B-side"Shoo-Bee-Doo"
ReleasedJuly 24, 1985
Recorded1984
Genre
Length4:01
Label
Songwriter(s)
  • Andrea LaRusso
  • Peggy Stanziale
Producer(s)Nile Rodgers
Madonna singles chronology
"Into the Groove"
(1985)
"Dress You Up"
(1985)
"Gambler"
(1985)
Music video
"Dress You Up" on YouTube

"Dress You Up" is a song by American singer Madonna from her second studio album, Like a Virgin (1984). It was released as the album's final single on July 24, 1985, by Sire Records. Composed by Andrea LaRusso with lyrics by Peggy Stanziale, and produced by Nile Rodgers, who also played guitar on the track, it was the final song to be added to the album. Rodgers had asked the writers to compose something similar to the work of his band Chic but, due to LaRusso and Stanziale being busy with other projects, the composition took time. When the lyrics were submitted, the producer initially rejected them, as he felt there was no time to compose a melody; Madonna, however, liked the lyrics and convinced him to include the song on Like a Virgin. Musically, "Dress You Up" is a dance-pop song whose lyrics are an extended metaphor for fashion and lust, comparing dressing up with passion.

Upon release, the song was positively received by music critics, with some deeming it "irresistible"; in retrospective reviews, it is now considered one of Madonna's best singles. Despite positive feedback, "Dress You Up" was added to the Parents Music Resource Center's "Filthy Fifteen" list due to the sexual innuendo on its lyrics. It fared well commercially, becoming the singer's sixth consecutive top-five single in the United States' Billboard Hot 100. Overseas, it peaked within the top ten in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. "Dress You Up" has been included in four of Madonna's concert tours, the last being 2015–2016's Rebel Heart Tour; the performance from the Virgin Tour (1985) was released as music video to promote its home video release. "Dress You Up" was used in a 1999 Gap TV spot, and covered by the cast of Glee in 2013.

  1. ^ Pitchfork Staff (September 10, 2018). "The 200 Best Albums of the 1980s". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on September 10, 2018. Retrieved April 24, 2023. She was only a year removed from the effervescent electro-pop of her debut, and singles like "Dress You Up" and "Angel" revisited that sound...