the Live to Tell story

by jason/yessaid

On August 22, 1996, in Greensboro, North Carolina, Tori Amos performed Madonna's "Live to Tell" for the first time...

* mp3 - Live to Tell from Aug. 22, 1996

In 1992 I read my first Tori Amos interview in Glamour magazine. At the time, I was more into Madonna than Tori Amos, and Tori mentioned Madonna in the interview. So of course, that got my attention. Tori said that she really liked Madonna and would cook her a plate of spaghetti anytime.

A few months later I bought the Crucify EP, which has three covers on it. Knowing that Tori did covers got my imagination going sometimes. I got the idea that it would be really nice to hear Tori sing a Madonna song. After seeing Tori in Atlanta at the Fox theater, I realized that if I asked Tori to sing a song, she might actually sing it. She's too nice, really. It's wonderful. I had asked her to sing "Space Dog" in Atlanta, and she did. I requested "Father Lucifer" in Raleigh and she sang it, too. However, I was still pretty shy about requesting songs. It just felt weird saying, 'hey sing this please.' I'm sure Tori likes that she doesn't have to play requests for a living anymore

Before the Charlotte show (August 21), I decided to make a bizarre request. I asked her to sing what I consider to be Madonna's best song, "Live to Tell." I had thought out how I would approach the request and everything. And when I met Tori before the show, I told her that I used to be a Madonna fan and that I had read the Glamour interview in which she had said that she too liked Madonna. Tori nodded (though she made an expression like she wasn't really a fan). Then, I told Tori that it had always been a fantasy of mine to hear her sing a Madonna song. At first I asked if she would sing her favorite, then suggested "Live to Tell." Tori began to very quietly sing a few words of it under her breath. I asked if she knew the song. She said yes, but she'd have to try it out first. Then Tori asked me, "The show tomorrow is gonna be your last one?"

I said, "Yeah, I think so."

She said, "Well, if I don't get it tonight, I'll try tomorrow." I was ecstatic and gave thanks, etc. Floating indeed.

The next day, at the pre-soundcheck meet-and-greet, I gave Tori her birthday present and said, "Did you remember my request?"

She grinned and said, "You just wait and see..." So we hugged and I waited...

And yes, she sang it that night. It was the first encore. Tori left the stage after singing "Me and a Gun" then came back about two minutes later carrying a few pieces of paper. She sat down and set the pages up on the piano. She then said to the audience that she'd messed up so many times already that night, "why not try something I've never done." Then she began "Live to Tell." Midway through the song, she dramatically threw the pages (most likely lyrics, but we don't know really) to the floor. The song was hers, and it was incredibly beautiful.

After the show I was able to thank Tori, and she said, "No, thank You, for opening my eyes to the song."

I later found out that after soundcheck the previous day, Tori bought a Madonna CD with "Live to Tell" on it so she could learn the words and music. She and Steve Caton wrote the words and some music out and Caton was going to play guitar on the song, but Tori decided to do it solo.

Two months later, I attended a show in Roanoke, Virginia. Tori told me she had received many requests for "Live to Tell" since her birthday show, but it was a one-time thing.

Seven years later (on March 16, 2003), Tori performed "Live to Tell" again, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.