Here’s Why Late Rock Legend Lou Reed Has a Credit on Madonna’s ‘Confessions II’ Album

Friday (June 5) night at the Beacon Theatre in New York City during Tribeca Festival, Madonna debuted a nearly 14-minute visual project centered around the first six songs from her upcoming album Confessions II.

The world premiere of the Confessions II short film was followed by a Q&A with Madonna, directors David Toro and Solomon Chase (TORSO) and host Anderson Cooper. There was a lot to unpack in the wide-ranging discussion: lasers shooting out of lower-body orifices, unreleased songs, hot n’ sweaty bathroom hookups, a Benedict Cumberbatch cameo and more.

But there was one small, unusual item Billboard noticed in the film’s credits that was not explained during the Q&A (which didn’t open up for audience or media questions at any point). In the Confessions II end credits, which contain the songwriting credits for the six Confessions II songs that appear in the film, Lou Reed was listed as a songwriter on “Danceteria.”

Lou Reed and Madonna are both musical icons associated with NYC, artists who forged their creative identities in the city’s fertile but unforgiving fires. But as far as we know, they never creatively collaborated during the Velvet Underground founder’s lifetime. The closest they seem to have come to crossing paths publicly was at the 2008 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame ceremony, when Madonna was inducted into the Rock Hall alongside Leonard Cohen and Reed was there to give Cohen his flowers.

So, what gives? Well, Billboard reached out to Madonna’s reps, and the reason is about what you would imagine. Madonna’s “Danceteria” — a song inspired by the iconic, defunct dance club that Madonna frequented in the early ‘80s before taking over the globe — includes a small but famous portion of Reed’s biggest (and only Billboard Hot 100) hit, “Walk on the Wild Side.” During “Danceteria” (which includes a lyrical reference to Debi Mazar, whom pre-fame Madonna hung out with at the NYC club and even made out with), the Queen of Pop briefly sings the immortal “do-do-do, do-do, do-do-do” portion of that song. Thus Reed is duly credited alongside Madonna, Andrew Watt and Stuart Price as a cowriter on “Danceteria” for the interpolation.

Madonna is far from the first artist to interpolate this portion of Reed’s best-known song in the cultural mainstream. A Tribe Called Quest’s 1990 classic “Can I Kick It?” interpolated it in 1990, as did Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch (the pre-acting rap group of Mark Wahlberg) in 1991 on “Wildside.” Marky Mark’s version actually peaked higher on the Hot 100 than Reed’s, reaching No. 10 compared to his No. 16 pinnacle. Haim’s 2019 track “Summer Girl” interpolates the same bit of “Walk on the Wild Side,” too. And, of course, let’s not forget the clean-shaven sounds of Hooray for Everything.

This article was first published by Billboard U.S.