Category Archives: 1998

Today in Madonna History: June 20, 1998

June 20, 2019 By in 1998, June Tags: , 1 Comment

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On June 20 1998, Madonna’s Ray of Light became the #1 dance single on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs chart. The hit single remained #1 for 4 weeks!

Ray of Light was written by Madonna, William Orbit, Clive Muldoon, Dave Curtiss, Christine Leach, and produced by Madonna and Orbit.  Ray of Light is based on Curtiss Maldoon’s Sepheryn.

“It took a long time to do the album, months. And it wasn’t like we were slacking. We actually did have to work fast, and there were many times when we had to move on. One of Madonna’s favorite phrases was: ‘Don’t gild the lily.’ In other words, keep it rough, and don’t perfect it too much. It’s a natural urge for computer buffs to perfect everything because they can, and we were very wary of that.”

—William Orbit on working with Madonna; Keyboard magazine

Today in Madonna History: May 29, 1998

May 29, 2019 By in 1998, May Tags: , , , 1 Comment

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On May 29 1998, Madonna visited The Oprah Winfrey Show to promote her album, Ray Of Light.

Madonna sat down for a lengthy interview and performed two songs from her new album, the title track, Ray Of Light, and Little Star – both for the first time on television.

The episode marked Madonna’s second visit to Oprah, following a 1996 appearance to promote her film, Evita.

Today in Madonna History: May 16, 1998

May 16, 2019 By in 1998, May Tags: , , , 1 Comment

On May 16 1998, Larry Flick’s glowing review of Madonna’s Ray Of Light single was published in Billboard magazine.

The single would debut at its peak position of #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S.

Today in Madonna History: April 20, 1998

April 20, 2019 By in 1998, April Tags: , , , , , 2 Comments

On April 20 1998, Madonna’s Frozen single peaked at #2 on the RPM Canadian Top 100 Singles chart.

Frozen would be bumped to #3 the following week before creeping back into the runner-up position for another two weeks, making it her biggest hit in Canada since Take A Bow in 1995.

You’ll See had spent a single week at #2 in early 1996.

Today in Madonna History: March 14, 1998

March 14, 2019 By in 1998, March Tags: , , , , , , , 1 Comment

On March 14 1998, Madonna’s Ray of Light album was reviewed in Billboard magazine.

The Ray of Light album would debut at #2 in the U.S. the following week, being held back from the top spot by the blockbuster soundtrack for the film, Titanic.

Meanwhile in Canada, the album would enter the chart at #1, pushing Titanic into the runner-up position.

Today In Madonna History: March 13, 1998

March 13, 2019 By in 1998, March Tags: , , , , 2 Comments

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On March 13 1998,  Madonna was a guest on NBC-TV’s The Rosie O’Donnell Show. Madonna performed Frozen to promote the Ray Of Light album.

Today in Madonna History: March 6, 1998

March 6, 2019 By in 1998, March Tags: , , , , , , , 2 Comments

madonna toronto march 1998

On March 6 1998, Madonna spent the day in Toronto, Canada conducting a press conference and various print interviews to promote her new album, Ray Of Light, released earlier that week. She ended the day with a live, hour-long interview on Much Music hosted by VJ’s Master T (personally selected by Madonna herself after viewing reels of the station’s on-air personalities) and Geneviève Borne (a self-proclaimed Madonna fan and VJ from Much Music’s French-language sister station, Musique Plus).

The much-hyped event, which marked Madonna’s first and only visit to the Much Music studios, was prefaced by the Canadian music video channel’s second Madonnathon – a day of all-Madonna programming. The first, which featured her 1992 interview with Jonathan Ross and a then-recent press junket interview with The New Music’s Jana Lynne White (and all of her music videos), aired in January of 1993 at the height of the Sex/Erotica/Body Of Evidence backlash.

After the appearance was announced, fans seeking a limited hot spot inside the studio for the interview were asked to call in and were queried a series of Madonna-related trivia questions to prove their worthiness, while others who didn’t make it inside lined the streets of the Queen St W studios on the day of the event to welcome the Queen of Pop to Toronto.