Today in Madonna History: July 24, 1987

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On July 24 1987, Madonna performed her Who’s That Girl World Tour at the Astrodome in Houston, in front of 40,000 fans.

The title Who’s That Girl Tour came to Madonna during rehearsals one-day when she looked at a gigantic image of herself projected on a screen on the stage. She commented,

“Oh god, what have I done? What have I created? Is that me, or is this me, this small person standing down here on the stage? That’s why I call the tour ‘Who’s That Girl?’; because I play a lot of characters, and every time I do a video or a song, people go, ‘Oh, that’s what she’s like.’ And I’m not like any of them. I’m all of them. I’m none of them. You know what I mean.?”

Today in Madonna History: July 21, 1987

On July 21 1987, the Who’s That Girl: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack album was released.

Who’s That Girl was released as the lead single from the soundtrack, it became Madonna’s sixth single to top the Billboard Hot 100 chart, making her the first artist to accumulate six number-one singles in the 1980s, and the first female performer to earn that many number-ones as a solo act.

The album’s second single, Causing a Commotion, was released on August 25, 1987. In the United States, the single quickly climbed up the chart, ultimately peaking at number two in the week of October 24, 1987, the same week Michael Jackson’s Bad advanced to the pole position. It remained in second position for three weeks, before descending from the chart.

The third song released from the album was the European single The Look of Love. In the United Kingdom, The Look of Love was released on December 12, 1987, and entered the UK Singles Chart at position 15.  The next week, it reached a peak of nine on the chart, her first single to miss the top five since Lucky Star in 1984.

Regarding her contributions to the soundtrack, Madonna said:

“I had some very specific ideas in mind, music that would stand on its own as well as support and enhance what was happening on-screen and the only way to make that a reality was to have a hand in writing the tunes myself… The songs aren’t necessarily about Nikki or written to be sung by someone like her, but there’s a spirit to this music that captures both what the film and the characters are about, I think.”

The only Madonna song not to be released as a single or performed live from the soundtrack was Can’t Stop. Madonna had been performing her three other songs from the soundtrack during the Who’s That Girl World Tour for over a month prior to the album’s release.

Today in Madonna History: July 11, 1987

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On July 11 1987, Madonna’s True Blue album was certified 5x platinum (5 million units) in the USA.  The album went on to sell an estimated 19 million units worldwide.

How many copies of True Blue do you own? Cassette? 8-Track? LP? CD? 

Today in Madonna History: July 6, 1987

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On July 6 1987, Madonna performed the first of two sold-out Who’s That Girl concerts at the Montreal Forum.  Madonna performed in front of 32,985 fans during the two dates (July 6 and 7).

Today in Madonna History: July 5, 1987

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On July 5 1987,  Madonna was interviewed by Jane Pauley on NBC-TV’s Today and caused a controversy when she referred to her hometown of Bay City, Michigan as “a smelly little town” – a comment that enraged the citizens of Bay City.

Today in Madonna History: July 3, 1987


On July 3, 1987, Madonna accepted a rare Canadian Diamond Album certification award at a press conference at Toronto’s Four Seasons Hotel on the eve of her sold-out concert at CNE Stadium. The certification award was presented by WEA Music Canada president Stan Kulin to commemorate over one million units sold of the True Blue album in Canada.

Madonna would receive a second Canadian Diamond Album certification for Like A Virgin in 1992.

Today in Madonna History: June 14, 1987

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On June 14 1987, Madonna’s Who’s That Girl World Tour 1987 opened at the Nishinomiya Stadium, in Osaka, Japan.