On July 7 1984, Warner Bros. Records took out a full-page ad in Billboard magazine to congratulate Madonna on the Gold certification of her self-titled debut album.
The ad featured the first look at a new photo shoot Madonna had recently completed with Steven Meisel. This image would later appear on the back cover of her next album, Like A Virgin.
On May 26 1984, this classic Madonna photo by Helmut Werb was featured in No 1 UK magazine, along with the lyrics to Borderline.
Here are more amazing photos from that photo session:
On May 16 1984, Madonna performed Dress You Up at Keith Haring’s birthday party held at the Paradise Garage in New York.
Here’s a short clip from the performance:
On May 13 1985, Madonna was featured on the cover of People Magazine.
The headline: That Man-Smasher Madonna! On Tour
Once Madonna was expected to fizzle, but with a hit film and a sold-out tour, she’s now the hottest item in showbiz.
On May 12 1984, Madonna’s Borderline peaked at #4 on Billboard’s Hot Dance/Club Play chart (then known as the Dance/Disco chart).
The hit song was written and produced by Reggie Lucas.
On February 15 1984, Madonna’s Borderline single was released in North America. Borderline was the fourth North American single to be released from her self-titled debut album, while in most other markets Lucky Star was released ahead of Borderline. It was written and composed by producer Reggie Lucas, and remixed by Madonna’s then-boyfriend John “Jellybean” Benitez.
In an interview recalling the launch of Madonna’s recording career, Sire Records head Seymour Stein stated, “I dared to believe this was going to be huge beyond belief, the biggest thing I’d ever had, after I heard Borderline. The passion that she put into that song, I thought, there’s no stopping this girl.”
In the United States, Borderline became Madonna’s first top-ten hit when it reached #10 on the Billboard Hot 100 on June 16, 1984. In Canada, it peaked at #25 on September 15, 1984.
On December 22 1984, Madonna’s Like A Virgin single hit #1 in the USA. It was her first number one single in the USA, and it remained at number one for six weeks.
In 2000, Like A Virgin, was honored by Rolling Stone and MTV, as the fourth song on their list of the 100 Greatest Pop Songs. It was voted ten on VH1’s 100 Best Songs of the Past 25 Years. The song was listed at ninety-five on Billboard’s Hot 100 All-Time Top Songs. In 2003, Madonna fans were asked to vote for their Top 20 Madonna Singles of All-Time, by Q magazine. Like A Virgin was allocated the fifth spot on the list.
