Today in Madonna History: December 24, 1983

On December 24 1983, Madonna was named runner-up for Top Dance/Disco Artist Of The Year in Billboard magazine’s year-end issue, while Michael Jackson took top honors.

The double-sided club hit Holiday/Lucky Star peaked at #3 on the Top Dance/Disco Singles Of The Year tally, while Madonna’s second entry at #26 combined points from her first two single releases, Everybody and Burning Up/Physical Attraction.

Today in Madonna History: December 23, 1989

On December 23 1989, RPM Magazine published Canada’s Top Singles of 1989. The listing included the following Madonna singles:

  • #1 – Like A Prayer
  • #8 – Express Yourself
  • #9 – Cherish

Today in Madonna History: December 15, 2005

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On December 15 2005, the second of a two-part interview with Madonna conducted by Molly Meldrum aired on Australian morning show Sunrise on Channel Seven.

Meldrum had been one of the earliest champions of Madonna’s music in the land down under, with his influential music video show Countdown playing a significant role in Burning Up reaching #13 on the Australian singles chart in 1984.

Madonna returned the favour by granting Meldrum exclusive interviews throughout the 80’s and 90’s, culminating with this 2005 interview to promote her album, Confessions On A Dance Floor.

Today in Madonna History: December 14, 1985

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On December 14 1985, Dress You Up peaked at #5 on the UK singles chart.

It was Madonna’s eighth UK Top-5 hit of 1985:

  1. Like A Virgin  #3
  2. Material Girl  #3
  3. Crazy For You  #2
  4. Into The Groove  #1
  5. Holiday (re-release)  #2
  6. Angel  #5
  7. Gambler  #4
  8. Dress You Up  #5

Today in Madonna History: December 13, 1990

On December 13 1990, Madonna’s Blond Ambition World Tour Live was released exclusively on LaserDisc by the trek’s sponsor, Pioneer.

Recorded at the final show in Nice, France, the concert had originally aired as a live HBO special in the U.S.

The LaserDisc release would go on to win a Grammy award (Madonna’s first) for Best Music Video, Long Form in 1991.

Today in Madonna History: December 12, 1986

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On December 12 1986, Open Your Heart was released in North America as the fourth single from True Blue. The song was written by Madonna, Gardner Cole & Peter Rafelson and produced by Madonna & Patrick Leonard.

The single’s worldwide b-side, White Heat, an album track from True Blue, developed a relatively high profile due to its inclusion as the flip-side to two of Madonna’s #1 hits–the aforementioned Open Your Heart and 1987’s Who’s That Girl, released only six months apart. Gaining further exposure as a set-list staple during the Who’s That Girl Tour, the live performance of White Heat foreshadowed some of the dramatic elements that Madonna would expand upon in future tours.

White Heat’s original submission for copyright was registered to Madonna & Leonard under the working title Get Up, Stand Tall with a 1985 date of creation. Notes from the registration on file also list the title Dangerous–but it is likely just another working title that was being considered rather than a separate recording.  White Heat is thought to have been among the earliest songwriting collaborations between Madonna & Leonard to be completed, coming shortly after their first composition, Love Makes The World Go Round, surfaced during Live Aid in the summer of 1985. The sequence of the registration numbers for the two songs suggests that they may they have been completed within a month or two of each other. Madonna’s version of Open Your Heart (which she revised from the Cole/Rafelson demo) is also thought to have been recorded with Leonard during the same time period.

The liner notes of True Blue dedicated White Heat to actor James Cagney, who in 1949 played ruthless, deranged gang leader Arthur “Cody” Jarrett in the Warner Brothers film, White Heat. Several clips of Cagney’s dialogue from the original motion picture were used in the song for dramatic effect.

Today in Madonna History: December 11, 2009

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On December 11 2009, Madonna’s official website announced that Revolver would be released as the second single from the deluxe edition of her greatest hits collection, Celebration. The digital maxi-single would be released on December 29th, with the CD maxi-single hitting North American stores in late January and a vinyl 12″ following in early February 2010. This would be Madonna’s final single release under her contract with Warner Bros. Records.

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