"This Used to Be My Playground" is a song performed by
Madonna. It is the theme for the film
A League of Their Own, which starred Madonna as well as
Tom Hanks, Geena Davis and Rosie O'Donnell.
The song was written and produced by Madonna and Shep
Pettibone, and recorded as one of the last songs during the
sessions for her 1992 studio album
Erotica. Released in the summer, the single was a
worldwide hit, spending one week at number one on the U.S.
Billboard Hot 100 in August 1992, and became Madonna's tenth
chart topper, breaking her tie with Whitney Houston to become
the female artist with the most number one singles at that
time. The song entered the charts in the UK top five, peaking
at number three for two weeks and was another top five hit for
Madonna in numerous other markets.
Though featured in the film, it was not available on the
soundtrack album. It was originally available on the
Olympics-inspired
Barcelona Goldcompilation album released that summer,
but in a shorter edit than any of the versions on the
commercial singles. It would later be featured on Madonna's
1995 ballads compilation,
Something to Remember.
In spite of its commercial success, Madonna has never
performed it in any of her concerts or media appearances. It
also does not appear on succeeding greatest hits albums
GHV2(2001) and
Celebration(2009). A reference to this song was made in
2006 by singer Robbie Williams in his song "She's Madonna".
The music video, directed by Alek Keshishian, was filmed in
June 1992 at Raleigh Studios in Hollywood, California and
Malibu Beach and world premiered on MTV on June 29, 1992. The
video was commercially released in 2004 as a bonus feature on
the 2-disc special edition DVD of
A League of Their Own. The video shows a photo album
being viewed by somebody and Madonna singing in different
settings from the different pictures inside the album.
The 2000 compilation
Virgin Voices: A Tribute To Madonna, Vol. 2features a
cover by British New Wave/synthpop band A Flock of
Seagulls.