Today in Madonna History: June 18, 1994

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On June 18 1994, Madonna’s I’ll Remember spent a second week at #1 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart in the U.S.  I’ll Remember spent a total of 4 weeks at the top of the chart, making it her longest running AC chart-topper to date at the time. This would be surpassed less than a year later when Take A Bow ended an incredible 9-week run at #1 on AC chart on February 18th, 1995 and remains her biggest AC hit in the U.S.

Today in Madonna History: June 15, 1994

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On June 15 1994, Dangerous Game was released on home video. The film was directed by Abel Ferrara, and starred Madonna, Harvey Keitel and James Russo.

In 2007, Ferrara recalled,

It was just another one of our films that never came out. But on that one, the audience didn’t really like the film. Madonna killed it. The first impression people get on a movie is the one that never gets out of their mind. So after Madonna got so trashed for doing Body of Evidence, she thought she was going to beat the critics to the punch and badmouth the film. And she actually got good reviews. She never got a good review from the Voice or The New York Times in her life, but she got good reviews for this movie, which she came out and trashed. I’ll never forgive her for it.

Today in Madonna History: May 28, 1994

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On May 28 1994, Madonna’s I’ll Remember (Theme From With Honors) hit #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the USA.

Matthew Rettenmund ranks the Guerrilla Beach Mix of I’ll Remember (by William Orbit) as the #9 of 25 Best Madonna Mixes. Here’s what Matthew says about the remix:

Madonna’s easy-listening staple I’ll Remember from the hard-to-watch With Honors got a deep remix by Orbit, which could be heard as spacey or as originating at the precipice of a vast ocean. (I’m thinking of Sinead O’Connor’s “Jackie” here.) I’m embarrassed I forgot this remix when I first created this list, but I’m not embarrassed to say I think it’s markedly superior to the lovely but unassuming original.

We love this remix and we love Matthew’s blog (Boy Culture)!

How does this remix rank among your top Madonna favourites?

Today in Madonna History: March 15, 1994

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On March 15 1994, Madonna attended the 8th annual Soul Train Awards with Rosie Perez at the Shrine Auditorium, in Los Angeles, California.

Today In Madonna History: March 8, 1994

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On March 8 1994, Madonna’s I’ll Remember (Theme From The Motion Picture With Honors) single was released.

I’ll Remember was written by Madonna, Patrick Leonard, and Richard Page.

It later appeared on Madonna’s ballads collection, Something to Remember.

Today in Madonna History: November 30, 1994

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On November 30 1994, Madonna’s second music video release from Bedtime Stories, Take A Bow, was released. The award winning music video (Best Female Video at the 1995 MTV Video Music Awards) was directed by Michael Haussman in Ronda and Antequera, Spain.

The bullfighter in the video was played by real-life Spanish bullfighter Emilio Muñoz. Muñoz reprised his role with Madonna in the You’ll See music video, also directed by Haussman in 1995.

Today in Madonna History: November 5, 1994

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On November 5 1994, Madonna’s Secret hit #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the USA.

Here’s what Larry Flick from Billboard had to say about Secret:

“The lushly layered album mix simmers with a strumming acoustic intro that breaks into a languid funk/R&B beat. As Madonna delivers a solid performance that emphasizes her increasingly strong lower vocal range, a meticulously woven arrangement of quasi-psychedelic colors and raw hip-hop elements percolates. Naturally, the hook is pure pop candy, sticking to the brain after one spin.”

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