Category Archives: 1984

Today in Madonna History: October 20, 1984

October 20, 2023 By in 1984, October Tags: , 1 Comment

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On October 20 1984, Madonna’s Lucky Star hit #4 the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart in the USA.

Jellybean Benitez said this of the Lucky Star recording session:

“She was unhappy with the whole damn thing, so I went in and sweetened up a lot of music for her, adding some guitars to Lucky Star, some voices, some magic.  I just wanted to do the best job I could do for her. When we would play back Holiday or Lucky Star, you could see that she was overwhelmed by how great it all sounded. You wanted to help her, you know? As much as she could be a bitch, when you were in the groove with her, it was very cool, very creative.”

Today in Madonna History: August 8, 1984

August 8, 2023 By in 1984, August Tags: , , , , , 1 Comment

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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 4, 1984

August 4, 2023 By in 1984, August Tags: , , 1 Comment

On August 4 1984, Madonna attended the Jackson 5’s Victory Tour at Madison Square Garden in New York.

The show was the first of two sold-out shows at the Garden (17,000 fans attended each night).

After the show, Madonna went backstage to hang out with Michael and the rest of the Jacksons.

Today in Madonna History: June 16, 1984

June 16, 2023 By in 1984, June Tags: , 1 Comment

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On June 16 1984, Madonna’s Borderline hit #10 on the Hot 100 in the USA.

Today in Madonna History: February 11, 1984

February 11, 2023 By in 1984, February Tags: , , 1 Comment

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On February 11 1984, Madonna’s self-titled debut album, Madonna, debuted at #85 on the UK albums chart, just as Holiday hit #7. It fell off the chart the following week, but re-entered at #55 on February 25. The album was re-released in Europe in July 1985 with new artwork, re-titled The First Album. A 2001 international remastered edition of the album restored its original artwork and title in all markets.

Today in Madonna History: January 28, 1984

January 28, 2023 By in 1984, January Tags: , , , , , , , 1 Comment

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On January 28 1984, Madonna’s single, Holiday hit #16 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the USA.

Holiday was released on September 7, 1983, and became Madonna’s first hit single and remained on the charts from Thanksgiving to Christmas in 1983. It was Madonna’s first song to enter the Billboard Hot 100, at 88 on the issue dated October 29, 1983 and reached a peak of 16 on January 28, 1984 and was on the chart for 21-weeks. The song debuted at eight on the Hot Dance Club Play chart on the issue dated November 2, 1983 and was Madonna’s first number one single on the Hot Dance Club Play chart remaining at the top for five weeks.

In the United Kingdom, Holiday has been released three times as a single; in January 1984, reaching number six, and in August 1985 reaching number 2 (only being kept from number one by her own Into the Groove single). Its third release in 1991 included new artwork to promote The Immaculate Collection with a limited edition EP titled The Holiday Collection, which contained tracks omitted from the compilation; this version peaked at number five.

The photos for this post are from Madonna’s Solid Gold performance of Holiday.

Today in Madonna History: January 27, 1984

January 27, 2023 By in 1984, January Tags: , , , 1 Comment

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On January 27 1984, Madonna performed Burning Up and Holiday on the UK music program The Tube.  The show was broadcast live from the Hacienda Club in Manchester.