REVEALED: Madonna and newly-released musical film The Color Purple share a surprise connection
Madonna and newly-released musical film the Color Purple share a rather surprising connection.
The 65-year-old singer's frequent collaborator, Stephen Bray, spoke about his longtime connection to the singer during a new interview with the New York Post.
The 66-year-old songwriter, who also served as the executive music producer of the newly-released musical film The Color Purple, opened up about his past with the hitmaker and discussed their ups and downs as a creative duo.
The producer, whose longtime collaborator was put into a medically induced coma earlier this year, began by speaking about how they initially met in their home state of Michigan.
'I used to play percussion in some of the dance classes that she was in. And then she moved to New York and was playing drums for [the band] Breakfast Club in '79. And I followed out, so I actually took her place as Breakfast Club's drummer,' he recalled.
![Madonna's frequent collaborator, Stephen Bray, spoke about his longtime connection to the singer during a new interview with the New York Post; the hitmaker is seen in 2022](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/12/26/16/79344505-12901353-image-m-2_1703606663461.jpg)
Madonna's frequent collaborator, Stephen Bray, spoke about his longtime connection to the singer during a new interview with the New York Post; the hitmaker is seen in 2022
Bray then revealed that he was supposed to have a song he had written, entitled Ain't No Big Deal, appear on Madonna's 1983 debut album, but because he was not allowed to co-produce the track, it was left off the record.
He explained: 'I was too proud - I wanted to be a producer like Quincy Jones. I didn't understand that having written the song was equally important in the sort of, you know, stratosphere of making albums.'
The producer remarked that, following the release of her debut record, the Borderline singer' went on quite successfully without me. And I learned one of the toughest lessons of my music career.'
Bray went on to recall that Madonna contacted him in order to work on her second record, stating: 'She came to me and said, "Hey, let's write some songs for my next album." And I was ready, willing and able to be a part of the process.'
The pair went on to collaborate on various tracks, including Into The Groove, Angel and Papa Don't Preach, which he described as 'one of the best things I've ever done.'
The producer spoke highly of the Grammy Award-winning singer and expressed that the pair grew particularly close over the years.
'We were making music that we loved. And that writing relationship is one of the best I've ever had because we just have the same instincts, and it was just so much fun. We would finish each other's musical sentences,' she said.
Following the end of his long-term collaboration with Madonna, Bray co-wrote and produced the music for the 2005 Broadway adaptation of The Color Purple, which was based on Alice Walker's book of the same name.
![The 66-year-old songwriter, who also served as the executive music producer of the newly-released musical film The Color Purple, opened up about his past with the 65-year-old hitmaker and discussed their ups and downs as a creative duo](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/12/26/16/79344827-12901353-image-a-3_1703606685655.jpg)
The 66-year-old songwriter, who also served as the executive music producer of the newly-released musical film The Color Purple, opened up about his past with the 65-year-old hitmaker and discussed their ups and downs as a creative duo
![The producer, whose longtime collaborator was put into a medically induced coma earlier this year, began by speaking about how they initially met in their home state of Michigan; he is seen earlier this month](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/12/26/16/79344501-12901353-The_producer_whose_longtime_collaborator_was_put_into_a_medicall-a-1_1703609792364.jpg)
The producer, whose longtime collaborator was put into a medically induced coma earlier this year, began by speaking about how they initially met in their home state of Michigan; he is seen earlier this month
![The producer spoke highly of the Grammy Award-winning singer and expressed that the pair grew particularly close over the years; Madonna is seen in 2018](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/12/26/16/79344503-12901353-The_producer_spoke_highly_of_the_Grammy_Award_winning_singer_and-a-2_1703609156604.jpg)
The producer spoke highly of the Grammy Award-winning singer and expressed that the pair grew particularly close over the years; Madonna is seen in 2018
![Following the end of his long-term collaboration with Madonna, Bray co-wrote and produced the music for the 2005 Broadway adaptation of The Color Purple, which was based on Alice Walker's book of the same name](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/12/26/16/79344829-12901353-Following_the_end_of_his_long_term_collaboration_with_Madonna_Br-a-3_1703609156769.jpg)
Following the end of his long-term collaboration with Madonna, Bray co-wrote and produced the music for the 2005 Broadway adaptation of The Color Purple, which was based on Alice Walker's book of the same name
![The performer continued in the same capacity for the new filmed adaptation of the novel, which was released in cinemas on Monday](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/12/26/16/79344909-12901353-The_performer_continued_in_the_same_capacity_for_the_new_filmed_-a-4_1703609156815.jpg)
The performer continued in the same capacity for the new filmed adaptation of the novel, which was released in cinemas on Monday
The performer continued in the same capacity for the new filmed adaptation of the novel, which was released in cinemas on Monday.
A version of The Color Purple not set to music was released in 1985, and two of the figures involved in its production, Oprah Winfrey and Steven Spielberg, also served as the new project's executive producers.
The recently-released movie features the talents of an ensemble cast that includes the likes of Taraji P. Henson, Colman Domingo and Halle Bailey.
Much of the project's cast was also featured on the film's soundtrack album, which made its debut earlier this month.
The new version of The Color Purple has been received positively by both critics and audiences, and it currently holds a rating of 89% on Rotten Tomatoes.