Today in Madonna History: April 29, 1995

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On April 29, 1995, Bedtime Story peaked at #42 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S.

Released as the follow-up to the longest-running U.S. #1 single of her career (Take A Bow), Madonna & Warner Bros. likely hoped that the momentum would carry over to the cutting-edge Björk penned title track. Despite a respectable reception in Europe (in the U.K. it performed better than Take A Bow) and significant buzz generated by its music video, Bedtime Story proved to be too unconventional for radio in North America, where it became her first fully promoted single to miss the Top 40 since Burning Up in 1983. It fared no better in Canada, peaking at #46 on May 1st, 1995.

The remixes for Bedtime Story, however, were a hit with North American D.J.’s and earned Madonna another #1 on Billboard’s Hot Dance/Club Play chart.

Today in Madonna History: April 28, 2010

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On April 28 2010, Madonna and Lourdes attended the 2nd Annual Bent on Learning Benefit in New York

The event held at The Puck Building was organized to raise funds to offer yoga in underprivileged inner city schools.

Today in Madonna History: April 27, 2010

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On April 27 2010, Madonna’s greatest hits collection, Celebration, was released as a piano, vocal and chord songbook.  The book included all of the 37 songs featured on the original 2-CD release.

Today in Madonna History: April 26, 1994

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On April 26 1994, Madonna attended the Los Angeles premiere of the Alek Keshishian film, With Honors.

Madonna contributed I’ll Remember (the theme song) to the soundtrack which was distributed by Maverick Records.

Today in Madonna History: April 25, 1987

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On April 25 1987, Madonna became the only female solo artist to have four Number One singles in the UK with La Isla Bonita.

Today in Madonna History: April 24, 2015

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On April 24 2015, the second single from Madonna’s Rebel Heart album, Ghosttown, was released as a 2-track single in Germany.

Digital Spy had this to say about the single:

If anyone will prove themselves indestructible come the apocalypse, then surely it will be the enduring might of Madonna that survives? According to her latest single Ghosttown, that’s exactly the case. “When it all falls, when it all falls down/ I’ll be your fire when the lights go out,” Madge promises her love on the haunting pop serenade, which gradually builds into a suitably theatrical finale ready for the Queen of Pop’s forthcoming world tour. It hears Madonna significantly more subdued and reflective compared to her handbag bangers of recent years, but by doing so it makes the biggest possible impact.

Today in Madonna History: April 23, 2015

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On April 23 2015, Tori Amos came to Madonna’s defense when questioned about the ageist undertones on social media – and by the media at large – in reaction to her “wardrobe malfunction” at the 2015 Brit Awards:

Madonna is an entertainer. There are very few people who could’ve gotten up off that floor. It wasn’t because of her that she fell, but it was because of her that the performance carried on. Some of the vilification comes from women as much as men. She’s making choices and she’s able to do things physically that a lot of people 25 years younger can’t; she got up and refused to allow that to shame her. I think people want her to be shamed into a role that they find acceptable for her age. It makes me sad that we can’t embrace Madonna and say, Wow, this is an artist who’s expressing herself in a certain way.”

— Tori Amos

Tori often incorporates one or two cover songs by other artists into her live shows, but there are only a handful of artists whom she has covered multiple songs, and Madonna is one of them. She has performed both Live To Tell and Like A Prayer at numerous concerts, with the most recent Madonna composition to join her live repertoire being Frozen, which made its debut in Amsterdam in 2014.

(Many thanks to YouTube user LittleQueenbee77 for the great live footage of this performance!)