Today in Madonna History: August 11, 1989

On August 11 1989, Madonna’s Express Yourself single was certified Gold by the R.I.A.A. for shipment of over 500,000 units in the U.S.

Today in Madonna History: August 10, 1985

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On August 10 1985, Into The Groove spent the first of four weeks in the #1 position on the UK Singles Chart. It was Madonna’s first chart-topping single in the UK, where she has collected a total of thirteen #1 hits to date.

As an added validation, Into the Groove was Madonna’s first self-produced release (co-produced with Stephen Bray). While artists co-producing their own work is common today, it was relatively unusual at the time, particularly for female artists. The immense success of the single undoubtedly helped convince the powers at Sire/Warner to grant Madonna the artistic freedom to co-produce her next album, True Blue, together with her collaborators Stephen Bray and Patrick Leonard.

Today in Madonna History: August 9, 1986

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On August 9 1986, Madonna’s Papa Don’t Preach spent the first of two weeks at #1 on the Top 100 Canadian Singles Chart.

Today in Madonna History: August 8, 1984

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On August 8 1984, Madonna’s Lucky Star was released.  Lucky Star became Madonna’s first U.S. top five hit (No. 4), and the first in a string of 17 consecutive U.S. top fives. The video was directed by Arthur Pierson, a stark performance piece bringing together her brother Christopher Ciccone and Erica Bell as backup dancers. The clip was filled with black rubber jelly bracelets, lace and a certain gyrating belly button.

Lucky Star was written by Madonna and produced by Reggie Lucas and Jellybean Benitez.

Today in Madonna History: August 7, 2012

 

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On August 7 2012, Turn up the Radio was released in North America.

Written by Madonna, Martin Solveig, Michael Tordjman and Jade Williams, and produced by Madonna and Solveig, the song was released as the third and final international single from the MDNA album.

Today in Madonna History: August 6, 1987

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On August 6 1987, Madonna attended the Who’s That Girl premiere at the National Theatre in New York City.  Prior to the screening of the film, Madonna spoke briefly to a massive crowd in Times Square.

Today in Madonna History: August 5, 1990

On August 5 1990, Madonna – Live! Blond Ambition World Tour 90 was broadcast live on HBO-TV from Stade de l’Ouest, Nice, France and seen in more than 4.3 million households – it was the most-watched entertainment special in the network’s 18-year history (at the time).