Ray of Light (5:21)

“Ray of Light” is the second single by American songstress Madonna from her 1998 album of the same name, and is based on Curtiss Maldoon’s “Sepheryn”, although other than the first verse the comparison is loose. The song was written by Madonna, William Orbit, Clive Muldoon, Dave Curtiss and Christine Leach, and was produced by Madonna and Orbit.

Song information

The song is based on the track “Sepheryn”, which was originally written by Clive Maldoon and Dave Curtiss. William Orbit re-recorded the song with Christine Leach before he started working with Madonna. However, it ended up being recorded by Madonna with its lyrics only changed in a few areas, but with a different melody and instrumentation. All five (Madonna, Orbit, Maldoon, Curtiss and Leach) are credited for Madonna’s version of the song. The song was remixed by Victor Calderone, Sasha and Orbit.

Madonna performed “Ray of Light” with Lenny Kravitz at the 1998 MTV Video Music Awards (where it won six awards including “Best Female Video” and “Video of the Year” awards), at an Oprah Winfrey show in 1998, and at the 2006 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California. “Ray of Light” was also performed during the Drowned World Tour, the Confessions Tour [1], the Sticky & Sweet Tour, Live 8 and Live Earth.