"Rescue Me" is a song by American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 singer-songwriter Madonna

Madonna (entertainer)

Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...

. It was the second single to be released from her 1990 greatest hits compilation The Immaculate Collection

The Immaculate Collection

The Immaculate Collection is the first greatest hits album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, released on November 9, 1990 by Sire Records. It contains fifteen of her hit singles from 1982 to 1990, as well as two new tracks "Justify My Love" and "Rescue Me"...

on February 26, 1991 by Sire Records

Sire Records

Sire Records is an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group and distributed through Warner Bros. Records.-Beginnings:The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gottehrer, each investing ten thousand dollars into the new company. Its early releases as a...

. It was the album's third single in the United Kingdom in April 1991.

Background

The UK release was delayed until April 1991 due to the February release of the Remix of "Crazy for You

Crazy for You (song)

"Crazy for You" is a song by American singer Madonna for the 1985 film Vision Quest. It was released on March 2, 1985, by Geffen Records as the first single from the soundtrack album of the film, and later included on the ballads compilation Something to Remember...

" (the cover of which was much the same as that for the international release of "Rescue Me").

The UK-only and subsequently much-sought-after release of "Rescue Me", which featured a different cover picture, debuted in the top five and peaked at #3, selling 134,764 copies. A video of live footage clips from her Who's That Girl Tour, filmed three-and-half years previously, was used to promote the single.

Some of the remixes for "Rescue Me" include vocal samples from other Madonna songs. The Houseboat Vocal includes the "Hey" said by Madonna, followed by "What!" said by the back-up singers, from the single "True Blue", in the beginning of the remix. The S.O.S. Mix includes the "Watch out" from the beginning of the single "Open Your Heart

Open Your Heart (Madonna song)

"Open Your Heart" is a song by American singer-songwriter Madonna. It was released as the fourth single from her third studio album True Blue on November 12, 1986, by Sire Records. It has since appeared remixed on the compilation albums The Immaculate Collection and Celebration...

", but it is transposed down and distorted. The Titanic Vocal and Demanding Dub include the "So Now What?" sample taken from the single "Justify My Love

Justify My Love

"Justify My Love" is the first single by American singer-songwriter Madonna from her 1990 greatest hits compilation The Immaculate Collection and was released on November 6, 1990, by Sire Records. It caused international controversy due to the accompanying music video which was sexually explicit...

". The Demanding Dub also includes a sample of "Ladies" from the single "Vogue". According to The Official Charts Company, "Rescue Me" has sold 134,767 copies in the United Kingdom, as of August 2008.

Chart performance

"Rescue Me" debuted on the Billboard Hot 100

Billboard Hot 100

The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

 singles survey at #15 the week of March 2, 1991, and was one of the first singles in the 1990s that would debut at such a high position due to heavy pre-sales airplay. It was the highest debut for a single on the Hot 100 since Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson

Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...

 debuted at #20 the week of February 11, 1984 with "Thriller

Thriller (song)

"Thriller" is a song recorded by American recording artist Michael Jackson, composed by Rod Temperton, and produced by Quincy Jones. It is the seventh and final single from his sixth studio album Thriller. It was released on January 23, 1984 by Epic Records...

".

"Rescue Me" reached the top 5 in airplay

Airplay (song)

Airplay is a term used in the radio broadcasting industry to state how frequently a song is being played on over-the-air radio stations. For example, a song which is being played several times every day would be classed as receiving a large amount of airplay...

. However, by the time the single was commercially available, the song had already peaked at radio and eventually placed at #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. It was certified gold by the RIAA on May 24, 1991.

Elsewhere in the world, "Rescue Me" placed within the top 5 in countries such as the UK, Ireland, Italy, and South Africa. It also peaked at number three in Europe.

Despite the song's popularity, Madonna has never performed it live on any of her tours.

Track listing

• US Promo 12" double vinyl (PRO-A-4710)

1. "Rescue Me" (Titanic Vocal Mix) 8:15
2. "Rescue Me" (Lifeboat Vocal Mix) 5:20
3. "Rescue Me" (Lifeboat Dub) 6:02
4. "Rescue Me" (Houseboat Vocal Mix) 6:56
5. "Rescue Me" (Houseboat Dub) 5:23
6. "Rescue Me" (Demanding Dub) 5:20
7. "Rescue Me" (S.O.S. Mix) 6:23
8. "Rescue Me" (Disaster Dub) 3:20

• US Promo CD (PRO-CD-4710)

1. "Rescue Me" (Single Mix) aka Album Edit 4:53
2. "Rescue Me" (Alternative Single Mix) 4:57
3. "Rescue Me" (Titanic Vocal Mix) 8:15
4. "Rescue Me" (Houseboat Vocal Mix) 6:56
5. "Rescue Me" (Lifeboat Vocal) 5:20
6. "Rescue Me" (S.O.S. Mix) 6:23

• US Maxi-Single

1. "Rescue Me" (Single Mix) 4:51
2. "Rescue Me" (Titanic Vocal Mix) 8:15
3. "Rescue Me" (Houseboat Vocal Mix) 6:56
4. "Rescue Me" (Lifeboat Vocal Mix) 5:20
5. "Rescue Me" (S.O.S. Mix) 6:21

• US Cassette and 7" Single

1. "Rescue Me" (Single Mix) 4:51
2. "Rescue Me" (Alternate Single Mix) 5:06

• UK 7" Single

1. "Rescue Me" (Single Mix) 4:51
2. "Spotlight" (Edit)

• UK CD Single

1. "Rescue Me" (Single Mix) 4:51
2. "Rescue Me" (Titanic Vocal Mix) 8:15
3. "Spotlight" (Extended Mix) 6:26

• German 12" (9362-40062-0)

1. "Rescue Me" (Titanic Mix)
2. "Rescue Me" (Houseboat Mix)
3. "Rescue Me" (Lifeboat Mix)

• German CD (9362-40034-2)

1. "Rescue Me" (Single Mix) 4:53
2. "Rescue Me" (Titanic Vocal Mix) 8:15
3. "Rescue Me" (Demanding Dub) 5:20

Charts

Chart (1991)	Peak Position
Australia ARIA ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...  Singles Chart	15
Austrian Singles Chart	15
Canadian Singles Chart Canadian Singles Chart The Canadian Singles Chart is currently compiled by the U.S.-based music sales tracking company, Nielsen SoundScan . The chart is compiled every Wednesday, and is published by Jam! Canoe on Thursdays....	7
Dutch Top 40 Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting...	9
Eurochart Hot 100 Singles Eurochart Hot 100 Singles The European Hot 100 Singles has been compiled by Billboard and Music & Media magazine since March, 1984. The chart is based on national singles sales charts in 15 European countries: Austria, Belgium , Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden,...	3
French SNEP Singles Chart	21
German Singles Chart	15
Irish Singles Chart Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured...	3
Italian FIMI Singles Chart	12
Japanese Oricon Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc...  International Singles	9
Norwegian VG-lista VG-lista VG-listen is a Norwegian record chart. It is weekly presented in the newspaper VG and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation program Topp 20. It is considered the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from countries and continent around the world. The data is collected by...  Singles Chart	10
South African Singles Chart	4
Swedish Singles Chart	20
Swiss Singles Chart Swiss Music Charts The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75...	11
UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...	3
U.S. Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...	9
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play	2

Cover versions

The 2000 compilation album Virgin Voices: A Tribute To Madonna, Vol. 2 contains a cover by Adeva

Adeva

Adeva is a female African American house-music and contemporary R&B artist from Paterson, New Jersey, United States, the youngest of six children...

.

External links

• Mad-Eyes.net - "Rescue Me" Single Page