Today in Madonna History: May 10, 1991

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On May 10 1991, the documentary Truth Or Dare was given an initially limited cinematic release by Mirmax Films in various North American markets. It was given a wide release across North America several weeks later on May 24, 1991.

The documentary – which chronicled on-and-off stage activity of Madonna’s 1990 Blond Ambition Tour – was directed by Alek Keshishian, while Madonna served as Executive Producer. The live segments were filmed at the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy in Paris, France.

Today in Madonna History: May 9, 1991

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On May 9 1991, a new music video for Like A Virgin featuring live and behind-the-scenes footage was released exclusively to MTV in the U.S. to promote the film Truth Or Dare. Outside the U.S., video channels were instead serviced with a live video for Holiday (which was eventually issued within the U.S. as well).

The Truth Or Dare clip for Like A Virgin was nominated for two MTV Video Music Awards in 1991: Best Choreography and Best Female Video. It marked the third time that a video for Like A Virgin had been nominated for an MTV Video Music Award for Best Choreography. The original video received three nominations in 1985 including a nod for best Choreography, and another live clip (which was also released exclusively to MTV) to promote the home video release of The Virgin Tour was also nominated in the category in 1986. Despite the numerous nominations, none of the three videos for Like A Virgin garnered any trophies from MTV.

Today in Madonna History: May 8, 2006

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On May 8 2006, Warner Bros. announced that Madonna would be releasing her Jonas Åkerlund-directed documentary I’m Going to Tell You a Secret as a DVD/CD package on June 20.

“It’s sort of a circle around three families: the family of the people I work with, the family that I live with, and the family of man, the world that I live in.”

“It’s about the trials and tribulations of putting a show together, the struggle to balance my life as an entertainer with my life as a mother, and it’s also about the world, my politics, my belief systems, my philosophy, about where I feel my place in the world is.”

Today in Madonna History: May 7, 1990

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On May 7 1990, Madonna graced the cover of People magazine.

The headline: Madonna’s new tour: her most outrageous act yet

A sample of the article by Montgomery Brower and Todd Gold:

After routinely violating almost every taboo about sex, sacrilege and the public display of underwear, what’s a girl to do for new material? Madonna revealed her answer in Japan, where she kicked off a four-month tour that will no doubt delight fans, fetishists, cross-dressers and topic-starved conservative columnists the world over. Mimed masturbation? Madonna’s got it, during “Like a Virgin.” Topless guys in foot-long pointy brassieres? They pop up a third of the way through the show. A hint of discipline? “You may not know the song, but you all know the pleasures of a good spanking,” Madonna cooed after “Hanky Panky,” an ode to the joy of the slap. Granted, there are quieter moments—Madonna as housewife in curlers, Madonna with fish-tailed mermen—but before you know it, there she goes again, confessing in song to a guy dressed as a priest. The 105-minute hullabaloo is amazing for its breadth of controversy. Perhaps even more remarkable is the fact that, so far as can be determined, not one of the show’s seven dancers has been sidelined with a groin injury.

“She said, ‘Let’s break every rule we can,’ ” says choreographer Vince Paterson. “She wanted to make statements about sexuality, cross-sexuality, the church and the like. But the biggest thing we tried to do is change the shape of concerts. Instead of just presenting songs, we wanted to combine fashion, Broadway, rock and performance art.”

Today in Madonna History: May 6, 1998

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On May 6 1998, Ray of Light was released by Maverick Records. The title track from her seventh studio album was issued internationally as the album’s second single.

Ray Of Light is based on a track called Sepheryn by Curtiss Maldoon, and was included on their 1971 self-titled album. In 1996, Christine Leach, Maldoon’s niece, recorded her version of the track with William Orbit. Leach said she had always loved Dave Curtiss and Clive Maldoon’s work and noted that Sepheryn had a dream-like quality. Leach revised the chorus melody while Orbit provided new music for the song. After Madonna heard Leach’s version of the track, she immediately took to it and began reworking its lyrics.

Maldoon said he “couldn’t believe it” after he heard it, and was pleased with what Madonna had done with his original composition. Madonna said about the song: “It’s totally out of control. The original version is well over 10 minutes long. It was completely indulgent, but I loved it. It was heartbreaking to cut it down to a manageable length.”

Madonna’s original unedited version was set to be included on a remix album titled Veronica Electronica that was initially discussed as a follow-up to Ray Of Light, but plans for the collection apparently never made it past the drawing board.

Today in Madonna History: May 5, 2005

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On May 5 2005, it was announced that Madonna would grace the cover of B&W Magazine, an American magazine dedicated to black and white photography.

The magazine featured an interview with Curtis Knapp, the photographer who took the cover photo in 1983, originally for Island Magazine. The photo was reused on the cover of B&W to celebrate his work.

Today in Madonna History: May 4, 2005

 

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On May 4 2005, a jealous Boy George lashed out at Madonna in the press for her ambitious nature:

“If Madonna were a drag queen, she would be called Ruth Less.

I don’t think the word ‘warm’ comes to mind with Madonna. Ice is the word that springs to mind.”

What drag queen name would you give Madonna?