On April 12 1994, Madonna sent a handwritten note to David Letterman wishing him a “Happy Fucking Birthday”.
Sent less than two weeks after her infamous profanity-laced appearance on the Late Show, the cheeky letter takes Letterman to task for having used the controversy to his advantage.
On March 31 1994, Madonna guested on CBS-TV’s Late Show With David Letterman: during the 20-minute interview, she said the word “fuck” 13 times, made obscene remarks and wisecracks, refused to leave the set and was rude to her host; her lewd and vulgar behavior caused a public and media controversy and Letterman also expressed his displeasure by her appearance on his show.
Watch the video!
On March 26 1994, I’ll Remember, Madonna’s theme song from her friend and collaborator Alek Keshishian’s film With Honors, was reviewed by Larry Flick in Billboard magazine.
I’ll Remember would earn “Hot Shot Debut” status on the Hot 100 in Billboard’s April 2nd issue for being the week’s highest debut at #35.
On December 6 1994, Madonna’s Take a Bow was released (as a physical single). Take A Bow was selected to be the second single from Madonna’s sixth studio album Bedtime Stories.
The ballad was written and produced by Madonna and Babyface.
Billboard Single Reviews gave the song a very positive review:
The follow-up to the top five smash Secret is a plush pop ballad that pairs La M with the red-hot Babyface, who has become best friend to many a diva in recent times. As close to perfect as top 40 fare gets, this single has a delightful, immediately memorable melody and chorus, engaging romance-novel lyrics, caressing live strings, and a lead vocal that is both sweet and quietly soulful. A lovely way for the singer to close ’95 — and one more good reason to investigate her essential Bedtime Stories collection.
On November 29 1994, Madonna: Innocence Lost, the made-for-TV movie based on Christopher Andersen’s 1991 book Madonna Unauthorized, premiered on Fox-TV. Madonna was played by 26-year-old newcomer Terumi Matthews.
Pop Matters had this to say about the TV movie:
Based on Christopher Andersen’s 1991 biography Madonna Unauthorized, the film’s introduction borrows verbatim from a three-page letter Madonna wrote to Stephen Jon Lewicki to appear in his 1979 underground feature A Certain Sacrifice. In it (and in the voiceover by Matthews), she writes, “I was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan where I began my childhood in petulance and precociousness. By the time I was in the fifth grade, I knew I wanted to be a nun or a movie star. Nine months in a convent cured me of the first disease. During high school I became slightly schizophrenic as I couldn’t choose between class virgin or the other kind. Both of them had their values as far as I could see.” It’s through quotes such as these that we are given the veracious-feeling lens of Madonna’s early days pre-New York and, subsequently, pre-fame.
On November 5 1994, Bedtime Stories entered the UK album charts at number-two. It was Madonna’s second consecutive studio album to miss the top position on the UK charts, but it would be her last until 2015’s Rebel Heart, which also topped out in the runner-up position.
Which album denied Bedtime Stories its shot at earning Madonna another number-one debut in the UK? A greatest hits collection by perennial favorite of hockey (or in this case – soccer) moms everywhere, apparently….Bon Jovi.
We welcome you to ease your disbelief with the soothing sounds of the underrated Bedtime Stories album cut, Love Tried To Welcome Me.
“Instead of spring, it’s always winter
And my heart has always been a lonely hunter.”
On October 8 1994, Madonna’s Secret debuted at #30 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the USA.
Madonna’s hairstyle on the cover for Secret was inspired by Jean Harlow.
Today In Madonna History 