On June 9 1987, Madonna made her first TV talk-show appearance on NBC-TV’s The Tonight Show (hosted by Johnny Carson).
Monthly Archives: June 2018
Today in Madonna History: June 8, 1992
On June 8 1992, Madonna began recording sessions for the Erotica album at Soundworks, in New York.
While the writing and recording of Madonna’s previous albums had typically unfolded rather quickly, Erotica marked a change of pace in the creation of a Madonna record. Songwriting sessions for the set had occurred sporadically throughout the previous year with Shep Pettibone, Tony Shimkin and Andre Betts, in between movie projects and photo shoots for her upcoming coffee table book, Sex.
In contrast to the slick production qualities of the albums that preceded it, Madonna wanted Erotica to feature a darker, more gritty and less polished sound. This led to the decision to carry over many of the original demo vocals recorded during the songwriting process at Shep’s home studio to the final versions, with mainly lyrical additions/changes, musical overdubs, background vocals and final mixing taking place during the sessions at Soundworks.
One notable change that did occur in these final recording sessions was Madonna’s decision to swap her original lyrics for the song Goodbye To Innocence (which had gone through various incarnations in an attempt to keep the track off the cutting room floor) with the lyrics of the torch classic, Fever. An earlier arrangement of Goodbye To Innocence with lyrics intact was later featured on the pro-choice compilation album, Just Say Roe, while a dub version of the same arrangement was retitled Up Down Suite when it appeared as a b-side on the Rain maxi-single. Another rough demo of the same track (streaming above), which is referred to as the “Straight Pass” mix on its original submission for copyright registration, leaked to file sharing services in February, 2008.
Today in Madonna History: June 7, 1986
On June 7 1986, Madonna’s Live To Tell hit #1 in the USA. Live To Tell was written and produced together by Madonna and Patrick Leonard.
Speaking of Patrick Leonard, one of our all-time favourite Madonna collaborators — he currently has a Kickstarter campaign going for a new album called Bring The Circus Home, a collection of re-visited and re-imagined songs (piano-only, no vocals) that he and Madonna worked on and released together. Please check out Patrick’s Kickstarter campaign and donate/pledge if you can — this is an all-or-nothing campaign. He will not be able to proceed with the album if the goal is not met by Wednesday July 4.
Jay’s Note: I’m going to pledge $100 so I can get one of the limited edition vinyl releases! Woo-hoo vinyl!
This beautiful video shows Madonna collaborator Patrick Leonard playing a solo piano version of Live To Tell:
Today in Madonna History: June 6, 2013
On June 6 2013, a press release by Universal Music announced the release date of the MDNA World Tour concert film and live album:
Madonna’s groundbreaking, critically acclaimed, controversial and visually stunning MDNA concert will be available in the US on August 27th (August 26th globally), it was announced today by Universal Music. The two hour MDNA extravaganza was the most successful tour of 2012. Presented by Live Nation Global Touring, the tour included 88 sold out shows in 29 countries. Madonna and her ten member band lead by musical director Kevin Antunes and troupe of 25 dancers performed a wild two hour spectacle that fascinated, enthralled and entertained 2.2 million fans.
“Madonna spent six months personally editing the video footage from 30 cameras and many different shows to put together the MDNA DVD. Her attention to every frame, every detail and nuance and total commitment to show her creative vision has been done to perfection. Each song is like a short movie. One minute you are in an action movie and the next you’re at a golden era musical before shooting across to India and back for a house party to finish. It’s better than any 3-D Imax movie out there and at a break neck pace that would make any Olympian struggle for breath,” commented the show’s co- director and supervising editor, Danny B. Tull.
Songs included “Girl Gone Wild” and “Gang Bang” from Madonna’s MDNA CD which debuted at No. 1 in 35 countries as well as fan favorite classic Madonna songs such as “Hung Up”, “Express Yourself,” “Vogue,” “Open Your Heart,” “Like A Prayer” and “Celebration”.
“My show is a journey.. the journey of a soul from darkness to light. It is part cinematic musical theatre, part spectacle and sometimes intimate performance art. I know people can relate to it. It’s very important to me as an artist that my show not be taken out of context. It must be watched with an open heart from beginning to end.. I am sure if it is viewed this way, the viewer will walk away feeling inspired, invigorated and will want to make the world a better place.. And this of course is my intention,” remarked Madonna in her manifesto about the show.
Amongst the glowing reviews, the Daily Mail raved, “The queen of pop’s latest album MDNA provided the bedrock for a two hour show that sent out a powerful message to any young pretenders eyeing up her crown.. She remains one of the greats.”
“Madonna’s sold-out concert was a jaw-dropping sequence of stunningly designed set pieces; including an aerial drum crops, a battalion of dazzling dancers, an explosively bloody gangster fantasy and a surreal spiritual voyage,” remarked The Miami Herald.
“The Material Girl proceeds to take us through a song cycle that examined sex, liberation, sin , empowerment, love, addiction, rebellion and finally redemption.. She did it all in classic Madonna style – controversial and eye-popping,” commented The Dallas Morning News.
The MDNA DVD was directed by Danny B. Tull and Stephane Sennour and was produced by Madonna. Executive producers: Arthur Fogel, Guy Oseary and Sara Zambreno. Tour wardrobe was created by Arianne Phillips. Supervising Editor Danny B. Tull. Director of Photography Mark Ritchie.
Today in Madonna History: June 5, 2008
On June 5 2008, Madonna added a fourth Sticky & Sweet Tour show at New York’s Madison Square Gardens for October 12.
In total, Madonna enjoyed four sell-out shows at Madison Square Garden, generating $11.5 million in ticket sales from just under 62,000 fans.
This gave Madonna a record breaking 23 sold-out performances at the venue since 2001, a record for a single artist in that decade.
Today in Madonna History: June 4, 1987
On June 4 1987, Madonna appeared on the fourth issue of Sky magazine (United Kingdom).
Sky Magazine was first published in April 1987 and the final issue was released in June 2001. During that time, Madonna was the celebrity most featured on the cover of the magazine.
Today in Madonna History: June 3, 1989
On June 3 1989, Madonna’s Like A Prayer earned its 11th week at #1, and its 12th week in the Top 10 of the United World Chart (tracks).
Today In Madonna History 