On July 22 1985, Like A Virgin was certified 5x Platinum in the US – the first solo album by a female artist to be certified for shipment of 5-million copies. The album remained a consistently strong catalogue seller well into the next decade, eventually earning a Diamond certification (the RIAA’s highest certification award) in 1998 for shipment of over 10 million copies in the US.
And no wonder! On occasion, I pull out Like a Virgin and am astonished at the absolute sadness of sad ballad Love Don’t Live Here Anymore-This, friends-is Madonna’s first-and best-ballad vocal performance that cries out-“I CAN ALSO CRY OUT SAD BALLADS!-I’M A BALLAD SINGER AND I REINVENT MYSELF! No wonder Madonna is a town crier!