Madonna’s 10 Best Songs That Radio Forgot

Madonna is on a triumphant streak lately that is quite fit for a queen. In addition to scoring a Golden Globe Award, the Material Girl has her directorial effort W.E. — which just earned an Oscar nomination — hitting theaters on February 3, will perform at the Super Bowl two days after that and has a highly-anticipated album on the way in March, via her new label deal with Interscope. And, like any red-blooded pop music fan, we’re chomping at the bit for the arrival of Her Madgesty’s new Nicki Minaj and M.I.A.-featuring single “Gimme All Your Luvin'”. That said, we’ve been spinning some of Madonna’s older jams in the meantime, and we couldn’t help but feel like some of her songs just don’t get, to quote from “Material Girl”, proper credit. Flip the dial on any given day and you’ll hear “Holiday”, “Express Yourself” and “Take A Bow”, but what about Madge’s songs that time — and radio — seem to have forgotten? We rounded up (what we think are) the 10 best of these below!

10. “RESCUE ME” (listen) ALBUM: The Immaculate Collection, 1990. “I’m talking….I’m talking,” Madonna declares at the beginning of this house-y love song — and boy, was she ever. This and “Justify My Love” kicked off the diva’s early-’90s period where she gabbed through tracks rather than singing on them.

9. “CAUSING A COMMOTION” (listen) Album: Who’s That Girl (Soundtrack), 1987. M meets her perfect match, but — yowza! — their sexy chemistry threatens to disrupt the universe! If only Who’s That Girl hadn’t taken a cue from the song’s lyrics and spontaneously combusted at the box office upon its release.

8. “I’LL REMEMBER” ALBUM: With Honors (Soundtrack), 1994. Madge has lost many friends and lovers over the years, but here she turns lemons into lemonade by cherishing the good times and learning from “the way that you changed me.” (She also turned cheesy lyrics to cha-ching by contributing this surprisingly saccharine post-Erotica ballad to the Brendan Fraser flick With Honors.)

7. “TRUE BLUE” Album: True Blue, 1986. Madonna gives her then-beau Sean Penn the gift of song, and the masses in turn get a ’60s-sounding retro girl group homage. It’s exclusion from her subsequent hits collections makes us think that some love letters are too painful to revisit — even if you’re the Queen Of Pop.

6. “GET TOGETHER” ALBUM: Confessions On A Dancefloor, 2005. Uh oh! Madonna has locked eyes with the man of her dreams on the dance floor, and she’s ready for some strobelight-lovin’. American radio unfortunately skipped over the bulk of Madonna’s Confessions singles. That’s a real shame, as the album boasted her finest material since Ray Of Light.

5. “KEEP IT TOGETHER” (listen) ALBUM: Like A Prayer, 1989. Even a Material Girl needs to lean on her family for support from time to time when fame gets to be too rough. The funky album version of this forgotten Like A Prayer gem is a true toe-tapper, but it pales in comparison to the Soul II Soul beat-infused single mix.

4. “THE POWER OF GOOD-BYE” ALBUM: Ray of Light, 1998. Madonna knows that it’s better to be alone for the right reasons than stay with someone for the wrong ones. This lush, ethereal William Orbit co-produced ballad will forever remind us of Felicity Season 1 TV promos. That’s a good thing, by the way!

3. “BURNING UP” ALBUM: Madonna, 1983. Madge has been tempting us with her saucy ways from the get-go, as evidenced by this, the second single of her career. Sample lyrics: “Unlike the others, I’ll do anything / I’m not the same, I have no shame — I’m on fire!” Why, you wicked little minx!

2. “JUMP” ALBUM: Confessions On A Dancefloor, 2005. When all is said and done, the future is uncertain, life is what you make of it, and therefore, Her Madgesty is happy to jump head-first into the great unknown. Are you ready to take her hand and join her?

1. “DEEPER AND DEEPER” ALBUM: Erotica, 1992. When love comes along, you can’t let it slip through your fingers. Madge employs parental advice — and Shep Pettibone’s relentless disco beat — in an effort to win her man. Bonus points for the unusual-at-that-time “Vogue” mash-up at the end.

Did we include any of your own favorite Madonna jams on our list? What did we miss? Let us know by burnin’ up the comments section below, or by hitting us up on Twitter and Facebook.