Today in Madonna History: May 6, 1995

On May 6 1995, Madonna’s Bedtime Story single dropped to #52 on the Billboard Hot 100 and completed her incredible run of 32 consecutive Top 40 hits in the USA.

Today in Madonna History: March 25, 1995

On March 25 1995, Madonna’s Bedtime Story music video was featured in an article in Billboard magazine.

The article focused on Warner’s decision of previewing the video in movie theaters, which was a new marketing strategy that had not been attempted previously.

Today In Madonna History: March 18, 1995

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On March 18 1995,  Madonna hosted a pajama party for 1,500 fans at Webster Hall, in New York, to celebrate the premiere of the Bedtime Story music video broadcast live on MTV. During the party, Madonna also read a bedtime story of Miss Spider’s Tea Party by David Kirk.

Today in Madonna History: February 27, 1995

On February 27 1995, Madonna’s Bedtime Stories album was certified double platinum for shipment of over two million units in the U.S.

Today in Madonna History: February 18, 1995

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On February 18 1995, Madonna performed Secret and Take A Bow on the Wetten Dass TV show in Ravensburg, Germany.

Today in Madonna History: February 13, 1995

Bedtime Story UK 12inch 550

On February 13 1995, Bedtime Story was released in Europe by Maverick Records as the third single from the album Bedtime Stories. In North America, the single was delayed until April due to the sleeper success of Take A Bow, which continued its slow-but-steady climb to the top of the Hot 100.

Bedtime Story was written by Björk, Marius De Vries & Nellee Hooper and was produced by Hooper & Madonna. Björk’s original demo, titled Let’s Get Unconscious, was reworked by Hooper & DeVries and renamed Bedtime Story for its submission to Madonna. Björk later revisited elements of the song’s lyrics in Sweet Intuition–a b-side from her 1995 single, Army Of Me.

In a 2001 interview for NYLON magazine, writer James Servin asked Björk whether it was true that she had written the lyrics to Bedtime Story for Madonna because she liked the idea of her expressing a viewpoint that was paradoxical to her controlled public image:

“I think at the time, yes. But that’s like six years ago, when everything about [Madonna] seemed very controlled. I think she’s a very intuitive person, and definitely her survival instincts are incredible. They’re like, outrageous. At the time, the words I thought she should say were, ‘I’m not using words anymore, let’s get unconscious honey. Fuck logic. Just be intuitive. Be more free. Go with the flow.’ Right now, she seems pretty much to be going with the flow.”

This prompts me to ask Björk if she thinks she might have put those mellowing-out thoughts into Madonna’s head. “Well, I wouldn’t credit myself for that,” she says. “Not at all. That’s a question for you to ask her.”

I sent a fax to Madonna via her publicist Liz Rosenberg, with the question: “Did singing the lyrics Björk wrote for Bedtime Story lead you in the direction of going more with the flow?” A day or two later, I receive this e-mail from Liz Rosenberg: “I wish I could get an answer from Madonna for you. She’s deep into rehearsals for her tour, and I can’t get any info from her for a while. I can tell you that Madonna certainly thinks Björk is inspiring and a brilliant artist. Madonna is a huge fan of her music. I’ve never thought Madonna was a ‘go with the flow’ person before or after recording Bedtime Story. She goes with a flow – but it’s a flow of her own creation, if you know what I mean.”

Today in Madonna History: January 30, 1995

Soul singer Babyface (L) and Madonna pos m-tab-ama-2 m-tab-ama-3

On January 30, 1995, Madonna and Babyface performed Take A Bow at the 22nd annual American Music Awards at the Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, California.

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