Oh Father - Chart Performance

Chart Performance

In the United States, "Oh Father" was released on October 24, 1989, and debuted at number 55 on the Billboard Hot 100, during the week of November 11, 1989. The song became Madonna's first single since "Holiday" in 1984 not to enter the top ten in the United States, peaking at number 20 on the week of December 30, 1989. This ended her streak of 16 consecutive top five singles and 17 consecutive top ten singles. It was present on the Hot 100 for a total of 13 weeks. In Canada, "Oh Father" debuted at number 84 on the RPM Singles Chart on November 11, 1989. After nine weeks, the song reached a peak of number 14 on the chart, and was present for a total of 15 weeks. The song is to date Madonna's lowest charting single in Australia, where it only reached number 59, breaking a run of 20 consecutive top 40 singles. In Japan, the song reached a peak of number 12, and was present on the Oricon international chart for only six weeks.

"Oh Father" was not released as a single in most European territories until December 24, 1995, when it appeared on Madonna's 1995 compilation album Something to Remember. The 1995 single was released with different tracklisting and artwork which included a photography still from the 1989 music video. The song debuted and peaked at number 16 on the UK Singles Chart on January 6, 1996. It became the third single of her career to miss the top-ten position in the United Kingdom, after "Lucky Star" (1984) and "Take a Bow" (1994). According to The Official Charts Company, "Oh Father" has sold 58,730 copies in the UK as of August 2008. The song also appeared on the Irish Singles Chart for one week at number 25 on January 4, 1996. The song was more commercially successful in Finland and Italy, where it reached number six on both national charts. On the European Hot 100 Singles, the song debuted at number 73 on January 13, 1996. The next week, it reached its peak position at number 62 and became her lowest-charting single on the chart up to that point.