The origin of Madonna’s Sanctuary
For the lead single for her debut, Left of the Middle, Natalie Imbruglia nicked a song from LA band Ednaswap, who had all but given up trying to nail down its consummate version and are still struggling to break beyond cult status (with the release of their third album, Wonderland Park, they just might).
The results? Imbruglia is reputed to be the 13th richest woman in the U.K. this year, having made over $8.5 million dollars from her debut single and album (with album sales largely propelled by that Top 10 take on Ednaswa’s “Torn”). Meanwhile, Ednaswap lead singer/co-songwriter Anne Preven has yet to see a dime. Imbruglia makes musical history as one of the first artists to play Saturday Night Live before her album is actually released, and Anne has yet to receive one phone call of thanks.
Compare Imbruglia‘s behavior with that of Madonna, and it’s easy to see why Preven could be peeved. For her Bedtime Stories album, Madonna anted to revamp the Ednaswap’s “Sanctuary.” Not only did she ask permission, but she also met with Preven to discuss the song’s reconstruction.
“At first, I hated it,” Preven says. “I’m a control freak, and I have a certain visionof the way I want a song to turn out, so it’s hard to let go. I made specific suggestions, like, ‘Put the verse back in here,’ and ‘Add some harmonies there.’ She had re-written the lyrics, clipped them and spun them over to the same melody, so it was like this intense house-y kind of thing. I put my two cents in, and she respected that. She didn’t change it back, but she listened. Once I heard her whole album, though, I understood what she was going for, so it worked out in the end.”
Source: www.727records.com
Thanks to our forum member Howiet