On November 4 2001, Madonna was named Britain’s highest-earning woman with an annual income of 30 million pounds ($43.8 million). The Sunday Times newspaper placed Madonna above J.K. Rowling, creator of the Harry Potter books. Rowling earned 24.8 million pounds ($36.2 million) in the year ending October 1 2001.
On November 2 1995, Madonna performed You’ll See (from her greatest ballads collection, Something To Remember) at the Top Of The Pops show on the BBC.
On November 1 2000, Guinness World Records announced Madonna as the Most Successful Female Solo Artist for selling 130 million records (singles and albums) and having 35 Top 10 singles and 12 Top 10 albums in the US with a UK total of 47 Top 10 singles and 14 Top 10 albums.
On October 31 1987, Madonna’s Causing A Commotion reached #1 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Club Play chart in the USA.
I’ve got the moves baby, you got the motion
If we got together we’d be causing a commotion
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?
On October 29 1983, Holiday made its debut on Billboard Hot R&B Singles & Tracks chart in the U.S. It peaked at #25 on the R&B chart on January 14, 1984.
On October 26 1993, Madonna performed at the Juan Ramon Loubriel Stadium, in Bayamon, Puerto Rico and caused a stir when she wiped a Puerto Rican flag on her crotch in front of 26,000 fans. The Puerto Rican House of Representatives charged Madonna with desecration of the flag and passed a resolution to condemn her.
The following (poor quality) video shows Madonna wiping her crotch with the flag:
There are no good photos of the event, so we decided to celebrate with some awesome photos of Deeper and Deeper from The Girlie Show.
Today In Madonna History 