Today in Madonna History: November 5, 1994

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On November 5 1994, Bedtime Stories entered the UK album charts at number-two. It was Madonna’s second consecutive studio album to miss the top position on the UK charts, but it would be her last until 2015’s Rebel Heart, which also topped out in the runner-up position.

Which album denied Bedtime Stories its shot at earning Madonna another number-one debut in the UK? A greatest hits collection by perennial favorite of hockey (or in this case–soccer) moms everywhere, apparently….Bon Jovi.

We welcome you to ease your disbelief with the soothing sounds of the underrated Bedtime Stories album cut, Love Tried To Welcome Me.

“Instead of spring, it’s always winter
And my heart has always been a lonely hunter.”

Today in Madonna History: November 4, 1991

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On November 4 1991, Madonna’s The Immaculate Collection was certified triple platinum (for shipment of 3 million units) in the USA.

Here’s a quick review of The Immaculate Collection by Rolling Stone magazine:

A perfect Madonna CD: You get timeless pop such as Holiday, provocations like Papa Don’t Preach, dance classics like Into the Groove and a then-new Lenny Kravitz-produced sex jam, Justify My Love, which samples Public Enemy.

Today in Madonna History: November 3, 1989

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On November 3 1989, Bloodhounds of Broadway was released in New York.

Here is the review summary by Hal Erickson of the New York Times:

Produced for theatrical released by PBS’ American Playhouse, Bloodhounds of Broadway is not exactly a remake of the 1952 film of the same name, though both pictures use the same Damon Runyon stories as inspiration. The scene is Broadway: the time is New Year’s Eve, 1928. Madonna plays small town girl-turned-hoofer Hortense Hathaway, who loves gambler Feet Samuels (Randy Quaid) more than somewhat. Since it is known far and wide that Feet has not a penny to his name, he must find some way to pay off his debts in a hurry. So he offers to sell his huge feet to a demented-an operation which will, alas, cost Feet the use of his life. Upon waking up to the fact that Hortense loves him, Feet decides that he prefers breathing to pushing up daisies. Meanwhile, a society doll named Harriet MacKyle (Julie Hagerty) turns on the spigots when her pet parrot is laid low by a clumsy gunman. And while all this is transpiring, high-roller Regret (Matt Dillon) has to beat a murder rap. Even while Regret is sweating it out, “The Brain” (Rutger Hauer), who is bleeding profusely after confronting the business end of a shiv, searches high and low for someone willing to donate blood to save his life. If you can, keep an eye out for author William Burroughs as a butler. Bloodhounds of Broadway was the first non-documentary effort of filmmaker Howard Brookner-and the last, since he died before the film was released. To gloss over the film’s plot holes, the distributors added a Winchell-like narrator to the proceedings, courtesy of actor Joseph Sommer.

Today in Madonna History: November 2, 1999

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On November 2 1999, the Madonna: The Video Collection 1993-99 was released on home video and DVD.

Madonna: The Video Collection 1993-99 was released as a collection of Madonna’s favourite videos from 1993-1999. The collection contains 14 videos: Bad Girl, Fever, Rain, Secret, Take A Bow, Bedtime Story, Human Nature, Love Don’t Live Here Anymore, Frozen, Ray Of Light, Drowned World, The Power of Goodbye, Nothing Really Matters, and Beautiful Stranger.

Today in Madonna History: November 1, 1992

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On November 1 1992, Madonna’s Sex book hit #1 on the Washington Post non-fiction bestseller list.

Here’s a snippet of Zoe Heller’s article on the Sex book in The Independent:

It starts out black and white, S & M, down and dirty. In various urban crypts and dungeons, we see Madonna bound up by multi-pierced lesbians (they point knives at her throat and crotch); Madonna biting at a male arsehole; Madonna whipping a large PVC-clad woman. There is Madonna as Weimar-style decadent, cavorting with gay strippers, and as cutie schoolgirl, being raped by skinheads in a school gym. You get the picture.

As Sex proceeds, colour photography is introduced – a washed-out, Fifties sort of pastel – and Madonna emerges from subterranea to expose herself on roadsides and in pizza parlours. Interspersed throughout are scraps of Madonna-think: a tribute to her vagina (‘It smells like a baby to me, fresh and full of life’), a horrifyingly cutesy account of masturbating for the first time (‘honey poured from my 14-year-old gash and I wept’). You get the prose.

Today in Madonna History: October 31, 2006

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On October 21 2006, Jump was released as the fourth and final single from the album Confessions On Dance Floor. It was written by Madonna, Stuart Price & Joe Henry and produced by Madonna & Stuart Price.

In Canada, the CD maxi-single for Jump is notable for being Madonna’s last single to receive a commercial release in any physical format. Her subsequent Warner-era singles were imported from the U.S. by Warner Music Canada.

Today in Madonna History: October 30, 1992

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On October 30 1992, the public libraries in Mesa, Arizona, cancelled their orders for Madonna’s Sex book after local residents protested its purchase.

Here’s a snippet from Vicki Goldberg’s New York Times article on the book:

Madonna’s new book, as even your butcher knows by now, is simply, classically titled Sex. It comes sealed in a Mylar bag (much as condoms do) with a label reading “Warning! Adults Only!” and a price tag of $49.95. Reportedly she does not want it open in bookstores, but HMV Records at Lexington and 86th Street will let anyone who gives a donation to Lifebeat AIDS see one page, for one minute, in a mock confession booth.

Warner Books, a Time Warner company, is the publisher (Ice-T must not have been enough trouble for one year). A million copies went on sale in five countries and five languages on Wednesday, attended by a good deal of deliberately decadent hoopla. The profit on the first printing could reach $26 million. Any questions?