Category Archives: 1986

Today in Madonna History: December 27, 1986

December 27, 2025 By in 1986, December Tags: , , , , 1 Comment

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On December 27 1986, Billboard’s year-end issue hit newsstands with Madonna appearing on the following 1986 chart rankings:

  • Top Pop Artist: #2
  • Top Pop Album: “True Blue” #37
  • Top Pop Album: “Like A Virgin” #52
  • Top Pop Album Artist: #6
  • Top Pop Album Artist – Female: #3
  • Top Pop Singles Artist: #3
  • Top Pop Singles Artist – Female: #2
  • Top Pop Single: “Papa Don’t Preach” #29
  • Top Pop Single: “Live To Tell” #35
  • Top Pop Single: “True Blue” #76
  • Top Pop Compact Disc: “True Blue” #25
  • Top Adult Contemporary Artist: #9
  • Top Adult Contemporary Single: “Live To Tell” #12
  • Top Dance Club Play Single: “Papa Don’t Preach” #43
  • Top Dance Sales Artist: #3
  • Top Dance Sales 12-Inch Single: “Papa Don’t Preach” #29
  • Top Dance Sales 12-Inch Single: “Live To Tell” #37
  • Top Music Video: “Madonna Live: The Virgin Tour” #1

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Today in Madonna History: December 1, 1986

December 1, 2025 By in 1986, December Tags: , , , 1 Comment

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On December 1 1986, Madonna appeared on the cover of LIFE magazine, with photos by Bruce Weber. Madonna is photographed alone, as well as with her many brothers and sisters.

The headline: That Fabulous Couple: Madonna and the Camera.

Quote from Life Magazine:

“Her greatest role, is the one she was born to play: Madonna.”

Today in Madonna History: September 20, 1986

September 20, 2025 By in 1986, September Tags: , 1 Comment

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On September 20 1986, Madonna attended the Second Annual Commitment to Life Gala to Benefit AIDS Project Los Angeles at the Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles, California.

Today in Madonna History: September 10, 1986

September 10, 2025 By in 1986, September Tags: , , , 1 Comment

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On September 10 1986, True Blue was released as a single in Canada. Written & produced by Madonna & Stephen Bray, the title-track of her third album was a 1960’s Motown-inspired love letter to her husband, Sean Penn.

After including True Blue on 1987’s Who’s That Girl World Tour set list, the song appeared to have been written out of Madonna’s repertoire following her split from Sean. By 2015’s Rebel Heart Tour, Madonna had made amens with both Sean and True Blue, performing the track as a stripped-down, crowd-pleasing acoustic number.

Shep Pettibone’s remixes of the single marked his first of many collaborations with Madonna.

Today in Madonna History: September 8, 1986

September 8, 2025 By in 1986, September Tags: , , , , , 1 Comment

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On September 8 1986, Madonna’s third album, True Blue, was certified double platinum (for shipment of 2 million units) in the USA.

Here’s a snippet of Davitt Sigerson’s review of True Blue from Rolling Stone (July 17, 1986):

Madonna’s sturdy, dependable, lovable new album remains faithful to her past while shamelessly rising above it. True Blue may generate fewer sales and less attention than Like a Virgin, but it sets her up as an artist for the long run. And like every other brainy move from this best of all possible pop madonnas, it sounds as if it comes from the heart.

Today in Madonna History: September 5, 1986

September 5, 2025 By in 1986, September Tags: , , , , , , 1 Comment

On September 5 1986, Madonna was honoured with the Video Vanguard Award for her visionary videos at the 3rd annual MTV Video Music Awards at the Palladium in New York City.

Madonna found immense popularity by pushing the boundaries of lyrical content in mainstream popular music and imagery in her music videos, which became a fixture on MTV. Her videos depicted controversial subjects such as teen pregnancy, racism, religion, sex and violence.  She received the Video Vanguard Award for her contributions to the world of music video.

While there’s no denying Madonna was an early innovator in the art of music video, little did MTV – or those of us watching – know at the time that her most artistically groundbreaking work in the medium was yet to come.

Two things we did know at the time, however:

  1. Madonna’s insistence on sending Nikki Finn to collect awards on her behalf during this period was cute and everything, but mostly it just seemed…well…reductive.
  2. Madonna really liked that dress. But was it a dress?

Today in Madonna History: August 23, 1986

August 23, 2025 By in 1986, August Tags: , , , , , 1 Comment

On August 23 1986, Papa Don’t Preach spent the first of two weeks at #1 on Billboard’s Hot Maxi-Singles Sales chart.

Despite being more of a pop/rock song than a club-oriented cut – both in its original form and in Stephen Bray’s extended remix version – Papa Don’t Preach nevertheless managed to reach #4 on Billboard’s August 30th Hot Dance/Club Play chart due to the massive buzz surrounding the song and its undeniable crossover appeal.