Fever (Little Willie John song)
Background and composition
### Background and composition

In 1992, American singer and songwriter [Madonna](/wiki/Madonna "Madonna") recorded a cover version of "Fever" for her fifth [studio album](/wiki/Studio_album "Studio album"), *[Erotica](/wiki/Erotica_%28Madonna_album%29 "Erotica (Madonna album)")* (1992\). It was released on March 6, 1993, by [Maverick](/wiki/Maverick_%28company%29 "Maverick (company)"), [Sire](/wiki/Sire_Records "Sire Records") and [Warner Bros.](/wiki/Warner_Bros._Records "Warner Bros. Records"). Madonna served as a producer for the song along with [Shep Pettibone](/wiki/Shep_Pettibone "Shep Pettibone"). She was in the studio putting down tracks for the album and had just recorded a song called "Goodbye to Innocence". She was going through the final stages of production on the song and suddenly started singing the lyrics to "Fever" over "Goodbye to Innocence". Madonna liked the way it sounded so much that she recorded it. In September 2008, Madonna's version was used in television promos for the [fifth season](/wiki/Desperate_Housewives_%28season_5%29 "Desperate Housewives (season 5)") of *[Desperate Housewives](/wiki/Desperate_Housewives "Desperate Housewives")*.

According to author Rikky Rooksby, Madonna changed the composition of the original version by adding drum rhythms, accompanied by a beatbox sound like [snare drums](/wiki/Snare_drums "Snare drums"). Removing the chord progression of the original, Madonna introduces original lyrics into the song. Instrumentation of the track includes [strings](/wiki/String_section "String section"), [marimba](/wiki/Marimba "Marimba") and finger\-pops at various intervals throughout. Rooksby noticed that Madonna sang with a distant and disembodied voice, and relegated it to the dance music accompanying the lyrics.


How does the composition of Madonna's version of 'Fever' differ from the original?