Today in Madonna History: March 6, 1998

madonna toronto march 1998

On March 6 1998, Madonna spent the day in Toronto, Canada conducting a press conference and various print interviews to promote her new album, Ray Of Light, released earlier that week. She ended the day with a live, hour-long interview on Much Music hosted by VJ’s Master T (personally selected by Madonna herself after viewing reels of the station’s on-air personalities) and Geneviève Borne (a self-proclaimed Madonna fan and VJ from Much Music’s French-language sister station, Musique Plus).

The much-hyped event, which marked Madonna’s first and only visit to the Much Music studios, was prefaced by the Canadian music video channel’s second Madonnathon – a day of all-Madonna programming. The first, which featured her 1992 interview with Jonathan Ross and a then-recent press junket interview with The New Music’s Jana Lynne White (and all of her music videos), aired in January of 1993 at the height of the Sex/Erotica/Body Of Evidence backlash.

After the appearance was announced, fans seeking a limited hot spot inside the studio for the interview were asked to call in and were queried a series of Madonna-related trivia questions to prove their worthiness, while others who didn’t make it inside lined the streets of the Queen St W studios on the day of the event to welcome the Queen of Pop to Toronto.

Today in Madonna History: March 5, 1992

madonna-best-dressed-1991

On March 5 1992, Madonna won the title of Best-Dressed Female Artist in Rolling Stone magazine’s 16th annual Readers Poll.

Today in Madonna History: March 4, 1996

madonna-love-dont-live-here-anymore-video-1 madonna-love-dont-live-here-anymore-video-2 madonna-love-dont-live-here-anymore-video-3 madonna-love-dont-live-here-anymore-video-4 madonna-love-dont-live-here-anymore-video-6 madonna-love-dont-live-here-anymore-video-7 madonna-love-dont-live-here-anymore-video-8 madonna-love-dont-live-here-anymore-video-9

On March 4 1996, Madonna’s Love Don’t Live Here Anymore music video was shot at the Confitería El Molino in Buenos Aires, Argentina, during her day off from filming Evita.

The music video was directed by Jean-Baptiste Mondino, who worked with Madonna on her videos for Open Your Heart, Justify My Love and Human Nature.

Love Don’t Live Here Anymore was released as the fourth single from the Something to Remember ballads collection.

In her Evita diaries, published by Vanity Fair magazine in 1996, Madonna made reference to the video shoot:

“There are no words to describe the weariness I feel today. I have not slept well in days, and when I do, there is no comfort. My dreams are violent and full of betrayal. Like my life, there’s no escape. I feel the responsibility of this film. I cannot talk about Evita and her life without defending myself … Dear God, what have I gotten myself into? What is happening to me? Today we went to shoot a music video for my next song. But I kept forgetting the lyrics, and felt like crying each and every time I did it. It was so frustrating. It’s my own song!”

Today in Madonna History: March 3, 2000

American Pie Canadian CDMS Cover American Pie Canadian CDMS Inside Cover

On March 3 2000, American Pie was released as a single in the UK. The cover of the Don McLean classic would hit number-one on the UK singles chart the following week.

A huge international hit, American Pie also topped the charts in Canada, Australia, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Austria and Finland. In the U.S. the track was not released commercially in a strategic move designed to maximize sales of The Next Best Thing soundtrack, however it managed to reach number twenty-nine on the Hot 100 based on the strength of airplay alone.

Today in Madonna History: March 2, 2012

madonna-girl-gone-wild-single-1 madonna-girl-gone-wild-single-2

On March 2 2012, Madonna’s Girl Gone Wild single was released by Interscope Records. Girl Gone Wild was the second single to be released from the MDNA album.

Madonna co-wrote the song with Benny Benassi, his cousin Alle Benassi (known together as the Benassi Bros.), and songwriter Jenson Vaughan.

The CD single included:
Album Version – 3:43
Justin Cognito Extended Remix – 4:48

The CD Maxi-Single and iTunes Digital Remixes included:
Madonna vs Avicii – Avicii’s UMF Mix – 5:16
Dave Audé Remix – 8:05
Justin Cognito Remix – 4:48
Kim Fai Remix – 6:33
Lucky Date Remix – 5:06
Offer Nissim Remix – 6:49
Dada Life Remix – 5:15
Rebirth Remix – 6:49

Today in Madonna History: March 1, 1998

vlcsnap-2015-03-01-16h28m54s207vlcsnap-2015-03-01-16h17m11s65vlcsnap-2015-03-01-16h14m17s108

On March 1 1998, Madonna’s Ray Of Light album was featured in an episode MTV’s Ultrasound.

Kurt Loder visited Madonna in the studio during the recording of the Ray Of Light album in late 1997 for an exclusive chat and behind-the-scenes look into her recording process. He later joined her on the set of the Frozen video to conduct an additional interview for the episode. Madonna chatted about motherhood, her recent spiritual awakening, and the inspiration behind the album. Kurt also conducted interviews with collaborator William Ørbit, Guy Oseary and the director of the Frozen video, Chris Cunningham.

Today in Madonna History: February 28, 2006

madonna_sorry_maxi-single-1 madonna_sorry_maxi-single-2 madonna_sorry_maxi-single-3 madonna_sorry_maxi-single-4 madonna_sorry_maxi-single-5

On February 28 2006, the maxi-single for Sorry, the second single from Confessions on a Dance Floor, was released.

Sorry was one of the first tracks developed for Confessions on a Dance Floor. The songs were developed with a remixed perspective in mind. Madonna commented:

“Whenever I make records, I often like the remixes better than the original ones. So I thought, screw that. I’m going to start from that perspective”.