{Note: The Madonna Timeline is an ongoing feature, where I put the iPod on shuffle, and write a little anecdote on whatever was going on in my life when that Madonna song was released and/or came to prominence in my mind.}
It doesn’t matter who you are,
It’s what you do that takes you far…
Funny that the iPod should choose ‘Over and Over’ at this time – one of my favorite bloggers, Amanda Talar, recently posted a FaceBook memory of Kids Incorporated – which I recall mostly for the fact that Martika sang this very song on the show.
My other memory of the song came a few years later, when Madonna released her non-stop dance remix collection, ‘You Can Dance’, in 1987. God, those synth drum machines sound so 80’s… where are my neon day-glo leg-warmers? I won’t even mention the elaborate dance routines I worked out to this song’s seven-minute-plus dub version. (Have I embarrassed myself enough? Hey, it was the 80’s, and we all made a lot of mistakes back then.)
As an eleven-year-old boy, the lyrics meant less to me than the catchy hook and beats, but a bit of the sentiment must have gotten through, because as fragile and superficial as some would make me out to be, I’m pretty resilient – and I do get up again, over and over. Determination, ambition, hard work, inspiration, blood, sweat, and tears – I love that this song refuses to give up.
And here’s that exercise-inducing dub version – all seven-plus-minutes of it:
Comments
Oh man, this series of Madonna songs always brings me back to where I was and what I was doing too.
The Martika reference is killer. I actually saw her in concert back in the 80s and this summer while shopping in Ptown heard her song (Toy Soldiers). I called my buddy to tell him about it and we both were wondering what ever became of her.
BosGuy – It’s somewhat blasphemous to think of it, but it may have been Martika who brought me back around to Madonna, and the rediscovery of the Like A Virgin album, thanks to her ‘Over and Over’ rendition. Hard to believe…
Talk about great timing. I feel recharged being reminded of this song (and of course Martika) — and also “Determination, ambition, hard work, inspiration, blood, sweat, and tears – I love that this song refuses to give up” was exactly what I needed to read!
Thank you!
Amanda – It’s the power of the 80’s!
I’m a huge Martika fan. my favorite songs are Toy Soldiers and Love Thy Will Be Done and I loved Kids Incorporated. Couldn’t get enough of it. Another famous singer came from there. Stacey Ferguson, better known now as Fergie
J – I had no idea Fergie got her start on KI! That is priceless. (And I totally wanted her ponytail…)
Sorry to burst the thread bubble here, but it was not Martika who sang “Over and Over” on Kids Incorporated. It was Renee Sands (Sandstrom) who would eventually become one third of the awesome female pop band of the ’90’s “Wild Orchid” of which Fergie (Stacy Ferguson) was also a member. Don’t want to take anything away from Martika, though. She WAS that show and was an amazing, all around, talent! You can see Renee sing “Over and Over” on YouTube by doing a simple search. Martika was singing back up, and on stage, however. Love them all!!
Chris – You have killed a dream. Just kidding – thanks for the clarification – I wasn’t completely sure it was Martika – she’s just the only one I remembered on the show. I will totally check it out on YouTube now. Thanks again!
[…] been pointed out by a thoughtful reader that my memories of Kids Incorporated and Martika are slightly skewed, and the actual singer of Madonna’s ‘Over and Over’ on that show was Renee […]