Now Available: Madonna, “Hanky Panky” – Digital Single

30 years ago this week, Madonna had one of her singles certified gold, a feat which has happened to her so many times over the course of her career that we aren’t even 100% sure what number gold single this one was. We can confirm, however, that it was one of only two singles which were released from I’M BREATHLESS, her tunes from the Dick Tracy soundtrack, which is certainly something that makes it stand out in the crowd.

Co-written by Madonna with Patrick Leonard, one of her frequent collaborators during this era of her career, “Hanky Panky” also stands out just in terms of its musical style: it’s a jazzy tune, one that shifts from a minor key to a major key when it hits the chorus. The lyrics – which were birthed from a line in DICK TRACY where Madonna’s character, Breathless Mahoney, tells Tracy, “You don’t know whether to hit me or kiss me” – are also more than a little ear-catching, given Madonna’s less-than-subtle request to “spank me,” but given who we’re talking about, to suggest that they’re shocking is to say that you really don’t know much about Madonna.

In the end, “Hanky Panky” wasn’t one of the Material Girl’s biggest hits, but the song did hit #10 on the Billboard Hot 100, and it’s a tune that she’s continued to throw into her live set on occasion.

Since “Hanky Panky” went gold 30 years ago this week, we decided we’d celebrate by adding the digital single to Rhino’s catalog, which means that you can finally get the Bare Bones Single Mix of the song as well as the Bare Bottom 12” Mix. (See what she did there?) Also included on the single: “More,” another tune from I’M BREATHLESS, but it’s the same version as can be found on the soundtrack, so it’s a nice bonus, but it’s also likely something you already own, particularly if you’re enough of a fan that you’ll be snapping this up.