Rod McKuen’s Surprising Chart History: From Frank Sinatra to Madonna

Rod McKuen, a prolific poet and songwriter who died at age 81 on Thursday (Jan. 29), made a name for himself in the ’50s, but his surprising career stretched to not long before his death, as he worked with artists from Frank Sinatra to Madonna.

Rod McKuen also — perhaps surprisingly — has a co-writing credit on Madonna‘s “Drowned World/Substitute for Love,” which samples the McKuen-penned “Why I Follow the Tigers” by San Sebastian Strings. The first vocal you hear in the Madonna track is a man saying “you see,” which is a sample from “Why I Follow the Tigers.” After the release of “Drowned World,” McKuen clarified his writing credit on the song, saying that it wasn’t a mere sampling issue. He wrote on his website: “‘Drowned World’ follows the plot line of ‘Tigers,’ which is why Anita [Kerr] and I receive co-author credit on the song, and not merely ‘sampling mention.'” He also said: “I think Madonna’s lyric is terrific (and by the way so are the royalties generated by the track).”
“Drowned World/Substitute for Love” reached No. 10 on the Official U.K. Singles Chart, and was lifted from Madonna’s Grammy Award-winning Ray of Light album (No. 2 on the Billboard 200, No. 1 on the Official U.K. Albums Chart).

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