Today in Madonna History: October 7, 1989

cherish-october-1 cherish-october-2 cherish-october-3

On October 7 1989, Madonna’s Cherish single hit #2 on the USA Billboard Hot 100 chart.

With the success of Cherish Madonna overtook The Beatles on the list of all-time consecutive top 5 singles in US (16 singles) and also tied with Michael Jackson for the artist with the most consecutive top 10 singles in the 1980s (17 singles).

Today in Madonna History: October 6, 1992

erotica promo

On October 6 1992, Madonna was interviewed by Steve Blame in Milan, Italy during the Sex/Erotica promo tour.

Today in Madonna History: September 28, 1998

empress-2 empress-1 empress-3 empress-4

On September 28 1998, Hans Christian Anderson’s The Emperor’s New Clothes was released as a book with audio CD by the Starbright Foundation, to benefit seriously ill children.

Each snippet of the story is performed on an audio CD by one of 23 celebrities, including: Jay Leno, Liam Neeson, Angela Lansbury, Madonna, Carrie Fisher, Jeff Goldblum, Dan Ackroyd, Robin Williams, Joan Rivers, Steven Spielberg, General Norman Schwarzkopf, John Lithgow, and others. Contributing illustrators include Maurice Sendak, Mark Teague, Chris Van Allsburg, Berkeley Breathed, Steven Kellogg, Tomie de Paola, Graeme Base and others.

On the CD Madonna tells the story from the perspective of the Emperor’s Wife (illustrated as Marie Antoinette by Daniel Adel).

Today in Madonna History: September 27, 2002

dieanotherday usa sheet music die another day rit 550

On September 27 2002, the theme and title-track for the twentieth film in the James Bond franchise, Die Another Day, received its world premiere on New York radio station Z100. The song had been due to hit the airwaves on October 10th, but when Z100 got their hands on the track ahead of schedule they immediately added it to their heavy rotation playlist. Other stations quickly followed suit, prompting an early but very strong debut at #41 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S. and becoming the chart’s highest first-week entry of the year.

Die Another Day was written and produced by Madonna and Mirwais with string arrangement by the late, great Michel Colombier. After being introduced to Madonna through Mirwais, Colombier arranged strings for Madonna’s 2000 hit Don’t Tell Me, scored her film Swept Away and arranged the American Life tracks Nothing Fails and Easy Ride. Colombier sadly lost a brief battle with cancer in 2004, leaving behind a legacy of celebrated collaborations with the likes of Serge Gainsbourg, Prince and Joni Mitchell, to name only a few.

Madonna’s Bond theme was first performed during 2004’s Re-Invention Tour, where it became a visual showstopper with its ambitious and impressively executed tango-influenced choreography.

Today in Madonna History: September 26, 1988

On September 26 1988, Madonna began recording the Like A Prayer album in Los Angeles, California with collaborators Patrick Leonard and Stephen Bray.

Madonna had begun writing for the album during the down time of her Broadway run in David Mamet’s Speed-The-Plow, for which she gave her final performance in late August. With her marriage to Sean Penn on the rocks, Madonna found herself at a personal and creative crossroads – with plenty to express.

 

Today in Madonna History: September 25, 1993

madonna_gs_sept_25-2 madonna_gs_sept_25-3 madonna_gs_sept_25-4 madonna_gs_sept_25-5 madonna_gs_sept_25-6 madonna_gs_sept_25-7 madonna_gs_sept_25-8 madonna_gs_sept_25-9 id_mad_93.jpg madonna_gs_sept_25-10b madonna_gs_sept_25-11 madonna_gs_sept_25-12 madonna_gs_sept_25-13 madonna_gs_sept_25-14 madonna_gs_sept_25-15 madonna_gs_sept_25-16 madonna_gs_sept_25-17 madonna_gs_sept_25-18

On September 25 1993, Madonna’s The Girlie Show tour opened with 2 sold-out concerts at Wembley Stadium in London, England.  Over 144,000 fans attended the two shows in London.

The Girlie Show was launched in support of Madonna’s 1992 album, Erotica. The show had the central visual theme of a “sex circus”. Described as “a mixture of a rock concert, a fashion show, a carnival performance, a cabaret act and a burlesque show”, the show had a more complex stage than those from Madonna’s previous tours: it had a runway that led from the centre of the main stage to a minor stage, a revolving elevated platform in the middle of the main stage, balconies in the rear of the stage, and a giant illuminated Girlie Show sign above stage, among other features. The tour was directed by Madonna’s brother, Christopher Ciccone; costumes for the tour were designed by Italian fashion house Dolce & Gabbana.

Did you see The Girlie Show live in person? 

Today in Madonna History: September 24, 1983

holiday-madonna-train-0 holiday-madonna-train-2 holiday-madonna-train-3 holiday-madonna-train-4

On September 24 1983, Madonna’s Holiday hit #1 on the Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart in the USA. Holiday was Madonna’s first #1 single on the dance charts.