Today in Madonna History: December 1, 1963

December 1, 2020 By sonicboy19 in 1963, December Tags: Family, Like A Prayer (Album), Madonna Fortin Ciccone, Mother, Patrick Leonard, Promise To Try 2 Comments

On December 1 1963, Madonna’s Mother, Madonna Fortin Ciccone died of breast cancer at the age of 30 in Pontiac, Michigan. Madonna was born in Bay City Michigan on July 11 1933 to Willard William Fortin and Elise Mae Fortin.

Madonna Fortin married Silvio Ciccone on July 2 1955 in Bay City, Michigan. Together, Madonna and Silvio had six children: Anthony, Martin, Madonna, Paula, Christopher and Melanie.

These are the lyrics for Promise To Try, written and produced by Madonna and Patrick Leonard for the Like A Prayer album:

Little girl don’t you forget her face
Laughing away your tears
When she was the one who felt all the pain

Little girl never forget her eyes
Keep them alive inside
I promise to try, it’s not the same

Keep your head held high, ride like the wind
Never look behind, life isn’t fair
That’s what you said, so I try not to care

Little girl don’t run away so fast
I think you forgot to kiss, kiss her goodbye

Will she see me cry when I stumble and fall
Does she hear my voice in the night when I call
Wipe away all your tears, it’s gonna be all right

I fought to be so strong, I guess you knew
I was afraid you’d go away, too

Little girl you’ve got to forget the past
And learn to forgive me
I promise to try, but it feels like a lie

Don’t let memory play games with your mind
She’s a faded smile frozen in time
I’m still hanging on, but I’m doing it wrong
Can’t kiss her goodbye, but I promise to try

Today in Madonna History: December 31, 1999

December 31, 2019 By Jay in 1999, December Tags: Awards, Express Yourself, Like A Prayer (Single), Much Music, Ray Of Light (Single), Top 100 Videos Of The Century 1 Comment

On December 31 1999, the following Madonna videos were included in the Much Music: Top 100 Videos Of The Century includes Express Yourself #3, Ray Of Light #8 and Like A Prayer #47.

Happy New Year!

Today in Madonna History: December 30, 1987

December 30, 2019 By Jay in 1987, December Tags: On the Cover of a Magazine, Pet Shop Boys, Smash Hits 1 Comment

On December 30 1987, Madonna was featured on the cover of Smash Hits magazine. Before the Pet Shop Boys became famous, Neil Tennant interviewed Madonna for Smash Hits:

Neil Tennant: Where are you from?

Madonna: I come from a big Italian family. I have eight brothers and sisters. I was born in Detroit and then moved to Pontiac and then moved to another city just north of Detroit. Those are all car factory cities so everybody’s families worked in the car factories. I went to three different Catholic schools – uniforms and nuns hitting you over the head with staplers, very strict and regimented. To my superiors I seemed like a very good girl. I was very good at getting into these situations where I was the hall monitor and I reported people who weren’t behaving. And I used to torture people but in the end it came back to me.

Today in Madonna History: December 29, 2005

December 29, 2019 By sonicboy19 in 2005, December Tags: Confessions on a Dance Floor, How High, ICON - Official Madonna Fan Club, Remix Videos, Stuart Price 3 Comments

On December 29 2005, Madonna’s Official Fan Club, ICON, published an interview with Stuart Price about his experiences working with Madonna on Confessions on a Dance Floor.

Here’s part of the interview they posted:

ICON: What’s the best part in being involved with Madonna’s new album?

STUART: Watching it take shape from a few demos done for fun into an entire spectacle with dancers, videos and nightclubs full of people!

ICON: What made you want to record this album in your home studio? Why not a big studio instead?

STUART: It wasn’t really thought about that much, we just found that we had got into several songs before we even thought about it. But that was the thing for much of the album concept; it wasn’t over-thought or analyzed. We liked the sound of my studio and so thought why go elsewhere?

ICON: How would you describe your collaboration with Madonna?

STUART: Like finding your favourite musician, comedian and friend all in one!

ICON: How is working on a Madonna project different from working with a new artist?

STUART: It’s not in many ways. She is very fresh, exciting and full of ideas the same way as someone is when they do their first record. The difference is she has the experience and integrity of someone who understands the creative process very deeply and can therefore suggest directions and ideas that can inspire greater heights.

Today in Madonna History: December 28, 1987

December 28, 2019 By Jay in 1987, December Tags: On the Cover of a Magazine, US Weekly 1 Comment

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On December 28 1987, Madonna appeared on the cover of the special year-end double issue of US Weekly magazine: The Sexiest, The Sassiest, The Boldest, The Best.

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Today in Madonna History: December 27, 2003

December 27, 2019 By Jay in 2003, December Tags: Britney Spears, Hot Dance Singles Sales, Me Against the Music, Nobody Knows Me, Nothing Fails 1 Comment

On December 27 2003, Madonna’s Nothing Fails/Nobody Knows Me single hit #1 and her collaboration with Britney Spears, Me Against The Music hit #2 on Hot Dance Singles Sales chart in US: it was the first time an artist had occupied the top 2 positions on the Singles Sales chart since Puff Daddy in 1997.