"Hanky Panky" | ||||
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Single by Madonna | ||||
from the album I'm Breathless | ||||
B-side | "More" | |||
Released | June 12, 1990 | |||
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Length | 3:57 | |||
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Madonna singles chronology | ||||
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"Hanky Panky" is a song by American recording artist Madonna from her soundtrack album I'm Breathless. It was released on June 12, 1990, by Sire Records as the album's second and final single. Written and produced by Madonna and Patrick Leonard, the song was developed from a line in the parent film, Dick Tracy, talking about a woman who enjoys being spanked by her partner. Performed in an almost comical style, "Hanky Panky" is a jazz and swing song with a changing bassline and minor to major key-shift in the chorus. It caused some controversy in Ireland because of its innuendo and racy lyrics, with women's groups deeming them as harmful; Madonna later clarified that the lyrics were intended as a joke.
The song garnered positive response from music critics, many of them highlighting its lyrical content. It was a commercial success, becoming a top-ten hit in many countries including Australia, Ireland, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States, while topping the chart in Finland. Madonna has performed the song on two of her concert tours; on the 1990 Blond Ambition World Tour, and 14 years later on the Re-Invention World Tour. The song has been covered by several tribute acts, and was also performed on the television series Ally McBeal (1997).
In 1990, Madonna starred in the film Dick Tracy as Breathless Mahoney—a new role introduced for her—with Warren Beatty, her boyfriend at the time, playing the titular character. After the shooting for Dick Tracy was over, Madonna started working on the soundtrack. She had begun recording three songs by Stephen Sondheim for the film—"Sooner or Later", "More" and "What Can You Lose"—which would be part of the album, but also had to write and develop new songs comparable in style to her previous releases. She produced the entire album, including the Sondheim songs. "I want people to think of me as a musical comedy actress. That's what this album is about for me. It's a stretch. Not just pop music, but songs that have a different feel to them, a theatrical feel", she said at the time.