Open Your Heart (Madonna Song) - Writing and Recording

Writing and Recording

"Open Your Heart" was originally a rock 'n roll song with the title "Follow Your Heart" and had been written for singer Cyndi Lauper by songwriters Gardner Cole and Peter Rafelson, although it was never played to her. The Temptations were also considered for the song. Their manager Benny Medina decided that they wanted to record the song after all, but upon hearing that Madonna had already recorded it, changed their mind. The original title according to Cole, was from a local health food restaurant called Follow Your Heart in Canoga Park, California, where he was in love with a waitress named Lisa and she was the original inspiration for the lyrics. In Fred Bronson's book The Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits, Cole explained,

"Peter and I usually write very quickly. It's usually a day or two a song, but for some reason this didn't really hit us as a hit song. We didn't give up on it. We just kept working on it over the course of a year. Thank God we did. It was the first song that was cut on the True Blue album. It made me nervous as a writer, because a lot of times the very first song that gets cut doesn't make it in the long run. But the song ended up making the album, which really opened up a lot of doors for me."

Cole's manager Bennett Freed was working with Madonna's management and they were looking for new material for her album. Three of Cole's songs were chosen for reviewing, including "Open Your Heart". Madonna's manager Freddy DeMann overheard the song and thought it would be a hit for Madonna and he asked Cole to re-demo a female demo version. Her female backup singer, Donna De Lory was Cole's girlfriend and he immediately asked her to sing the demo. Despite the fact that it did not fit exactly with the choice and genre of songs Madonna was singing at that time, she nevertheless accepted it. Madonna recorded "Open Your Heart", altered the lyrics thus earning a co-writing credit, and along with Patrick Leonard added a bassline underneath the song which turned it into a rock-dance track rather than the original rock 'n roll genre. The song was the first recorded cut for the True Blue album in late 1985 and ultimately made it to the final released tracklist.