# Into the Groove
**Into the Groove** is a 1984 dance-pop song by the American singer Madonna, written and produced with [Stephen Bray](https://www.edgepedia.org/stephen-bray) and featured in the film *Desperately Seeking Susan*. Although never released as a commercial single in the United States, it became a US number-one dance hit and gave Madonna her first UK Number 1, beginning a run of 13 British chart-toppers.[1](https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/madonna-into-the-groove-number-1-single/) • [2](https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-recording-preservation-board/documents/like-a-virgin-essay.pdf)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Writers and producers | Madonna and Stephen Bray, 1984; Madonna's first credit as a producer[1](https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/madonna-into-the-groove-number-1-single/) |
| US release status | Never a commercial US single; reached number 1 on the US dance chart[2](https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-recording-preservation-board/documents/like-a-virgin-essay.pdf) |
| UK chart peak | Number 1 on the Official Singles Chart for four weeks from 3 August 1985, after debuting at number 4 on 27 July 1985[3](https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/madonna-into-the-groove/) |
| Milestone | First of Madonna's 13 UK Number 1s and 64 UK Top 10 hits[1](https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/madonna-into-the-groove-number-1-single/) |
| Other number ones | Reached number 1 in England, Spain, Italy, Australia and elsewhere[2](https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-recording-preservation-board/documents/like-a-virgin-essay.pdf) |
| Album history | Not on the original *Like a Virgin*; added to a 1985 international reissue by popular demand[4](https://lcweb2.loc.gov/static/programs/national-recording-preservation-board/documents/like-a-virgin-essay.pdf) |
| UK sales | 957,000 combined physical, download and streaming-equivalent sales, her biggest-selling UK number one[5](https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/madonnas-top-20-biggest-songs-on-the-official-chart__23721/) |
## Origins and writing
Madonna wrote the song with Stephen Bray, her former Michigan bandmate in the pre-fame group Emmy and the Emmys. It was initially conceived for Cheyne, a teenage protégé of DJ Mark Kamins, the producer of Madonna's 1981 debut single "Everybody", with the demo funded by Kamins himself.[1](https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/madonna-into-the-groove-number-1-single/)
**Reworking for the film.** While filming *Desperately Seeking Susan*, her first lead movie role, a dance song was needed for a nightclub scene set at the New York venue Danceteria. Madonna suggested "Into the Groove" and, with Bray, reworked the lyrics and structure of the original demo for the film; she reportedly brought a cassette of the track to the filmmakers, whose team at Warner Bros. had not yet heard the song.[4](https://lcweb2.loc.gov/static/programs/national-recording-preservation-board/documents/like-a-virgin-essay.pdf) According to Madonna's own account, the inspiration behind the song was the dance floor itself, and she wrote it while watching a handsome Puerto Rican man from across her balcony.[6](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6672624/)
## Release and chart performance
In the United States it was never released as a commercial single, which made it ineligible for the [Billboard](https://www.edgepedia.org/billboard-magazine) singles chart, though it reached number 1 on the US dance chart after heavy MTV play through a video assembled from film clips.[2](https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-recording-preservation-board/documents/like-a-virgin-essay.pdf)
In the UK, "Into the Groove" entered the Official Singles Chart at number 4 on 27 July 1985 and climbed to number 1 the following week, holding the top spot for four weeks through late August before UB40 and [Chrissie Hynde](https://www.edgepedia.org/chrissie-hynde)'s cover of "I Got You Babe" replaced it.[3](https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/madonna-into-the-groove/) • [7](https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/madonna-s-official-number-one-singles-sales-revealed-__3750/) It spent 22 weeks in the Top 100 across 1985 and early 1986.[3](https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/madonna-into-the-groove/) The song topped charts in England, Spain, Italy, Australia and elsewhere.[2](https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-recording-preservation-board/documents/like-a-virgin-essay.pdf)
**Holding the top two spots.** During its run, a re-release of Madonna's "Holiday" sat at number 2 behind "Into the Groove" from 11 to 17 August 1985, making her the first female artist in UK chart history to simultaneously hold the top two positions.[8](https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/official-charts-flashback-1985-madonna-into-the-groove__19838/)
## Significance in Madonna's catalog
"Into the Groove" was the first of Madonna's 13 UK Number 1 singles and 64 UK Top 10 hits; those 13 chart-toppers stand as more than any other female artist has achieved in British chart history.[1](https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/madonna-into-the-groove-number-1-single/) • [8](https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/official-charts-flashback-1985-madonna-into-the-groove__19838/) No Madonna song has spent longer at UK Number 1, though "Vogue" (1990) and "4 Minutes" (2008) also recorded four-week reigns.[1](https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/madonna-into-the-groove-number-1-single/)
It was also a creative milestone: for the first time, Madonna was credited as a producer on one of her singles, co-producing with Bray.[1](https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/madonna-into-the-groove-number-1-single/) Because it was not a US commercial single, it was absent from the original *Like a Virgin* album and was added to a 1985 international reissue by popular demand; the Library of Congress essay on that album compares it to [Stevie Wonder](https://www.edgepedia.org/stevie-wonder)'s "Isn't She Lovely", a phenomenally popular song that was never a commercial single in its artist's home country.[2](https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-recording-preservation-board/documents/like-a-virgin-essay.pdf) • [4](https://lcweb2.loc.gov/static/programs/national-recording-preservation-board/documents/like-a-virgin-essay.pdf) On the Official Chart's all-time ranking of her biggest songs, combining physical sales, downloads and streaming equivalents, it ranks first with 957,000 units.[5](https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/madonnas-top-20-biggest-songs-on-the-official-chart__23721/) NME put its UK sales at 850,000 copies at the time of its chart run, calling it her biggest-selling UK single.[9](https://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/on-this-day-madonna-releases-into-the-groove-1985-768548)
The song has had a long afterlife. It re-entered the UK charts in 2026, peaking at number 17 on the Official Singles Chart Update that March.[3](https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/madonna-into-the-groove/)
## References
1. [Flashback 1985: Madonna scores first Number 1 single with Into the Groove, Official Charts](https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/madonna-into-the-groove-number-1-single/)
2. [Like a Virgin, National Recording Preservation Board essay, Library of Congress](https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-recording-preservation-board/documents/like-a-virgin-essay.pdf)
3. [INTO THE GROOVE – MADONNA, Official Charts song page](https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/madonna-into-the-groove/)
4. [Like a Virgin essay, Library of Congress (alternate URL)](https://lcweb2.loc.gov/static/programs/national-recording-preservation-board/documents/like-a-virgin-essay.pdf)
5. [Madonna's Top 20 biggest songs on the Official Chart, Official Charts](https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/madonnas-top-20-biggest-songs-on-the-official-chart__23721/)
6. [Madonna: Into the Groove (Music Video 1985), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6672624/)
7. [Madonna's Official Number One Singles' Sales Revealed, Official Charts](https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/madonna-s-official-number-one-singles-sales-revealed-__3750/)
8. [Official Charts Flashback 1985: Madonna – Into The Groove, Official Charts](https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/official-charts-flashback-1985-madonna-into-the-groove__19838/)
9. [On This Day – Madonna Releases 'Into The Groove', 1985, NME](https://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/on-this-day-madonna-releases-into-the-groove-1985-768548)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musical works and recordings › Compositions and songs › Pop, rock, and metal songs › Pop songs › Pop songs of the 1980s*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license