Editing Like a Virgin (album) (section)

== Background ==
[[File:Nile Rodgers (52790312845).jpg|thumb|Madonna chose [[Nile Rodgers]] (''picture'') to produce ''Like a Virgin'', due to his work with [[David Bowie]].]]
Following the release of her 1983 [[Madonna (Madonna album)|self-titled debut album]], and hit singles like "[[Holiday (Madonna song)|Holiday]]", "[[Lucky Star (Madonna song)|Lucky Star]]" and "[[Borderline (Madonna song)|Borderline]]", Madonna became, according to author Craig Rosen, "one of the most exciting new artists of the 1980s".<ref name="rosen" /> Despite this, the singer wasn't entirely pleased with how her first album had turned out, and was eager to start working on its follow-up.<ref name="ClassicPopMakingof">{{cite web |last1=Lindores |first1=Mark |title=Making Madonna – ''Like a Virgin'' |url=https://www.classicpopmag.com/2021/10/classic-album-madonna-like-a-virgin/ |work=[[Classic Pop (magazine)|Classic Pop]] |access-date=April 14, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211102173402/https://www.classicpopmag.com/2021/10/classic-album-madonna-like-a-virgin/ |archive-date=November 2, 2021 |date=October 24, 2021}}</ref> Of her upcoming second album, she told British magazine ''[[NME]]'': "The production won't be so slick, because where [[Reggie Lucas|Reggie]] [Lucas] and [[Mtume]] come from is a whole different school. I want a sound that's mine", and even hinted at working with a British producer.<ref name="Easlea3">{{harvnb|Easlea|2012|pp=25–27}}</ref> To ensure the album be exactly as she envisioned it, Madonna requested her label [[Sire Records]] that she be allowed to [[Record producer|produce]] herself, a request that was immediately denied.<ref name="ClassicPopMakingof" />

Angry with the label, the singer would publicly vent during interviews, and refer to her bosses as a "hierarchy of old men [...] a chauvinistic environment to be working in because I'm treated like this sexy little girl".<ref name="tara2">{{harvnb|Taraborrelli|2002|p=85}}</ref><ref name="ClassicPopMakingof"/> The executives at Sire decided to allow Madonna to work with any producer of her choice.<ref name="ClassicPopMakingof" /> She picked [[Nile Rodgers]], co-founder of American [[disco]] band [[Chic (band)|Chic]], and main producer of [[David Bowie]]'s ''[[Let's Dance (David Bowie album)|Let's Dance]]'' (1983), one of her favorite albums of the time.<ref name="Bego1">{{harvnb|Bego|2000|pp=94–96}}</ref> Rodgers had previously met Madonna after attending one of her gigs at a New York City nightclub, and was impressed with her stage presence; "I kept thinking to myself, 'Damn, is she a star', but she wasn't at that time. I always wanted to work with her and this seemed like the perfect opportunity".<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Smith|first=Ubarly|title=Rodgers: Is He Back in 'Chic'?|date=September 1, 1986|volume=71|issue=12|issn=0040-781X|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|location=Manhattan}}</ref> However, when the time came he initially hesitated, as he had been warned by several people that Madonna was a "totally self-centered bitch" and a "pain in the ass to work with".<ref name="Bego1"/> When the two actually met, Rodgers quickly changed his mind and said the singer was great and a "true professional".<ref name="Bego1"/> Madonna, by her part, "couldn't believe that the record company actually gave me the money so that I could work with [Rodgers]".<ref name="rosen" />