Today in Madonna History: July 3, 2015

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On July 3 2015, the third single off Madonna’s Rebel Heart album, Bitch I’m Madonna, climbed eight spots on the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart to #7 in the USA.  The hit dance song remained the Greatest Gainer for the second week in a row.

Thank you Justin for the great artwork above! – Jay

Today in Madonna History: July 2, 1990

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On July 2 1990, Roman Catholic groups condemned Madonna’s Blond Ambition concert as blasphemous due to her controversial show’s sex and religious themes and planned to cancel her concerts in Rome and Turin.

Madonna made this speech in response to the threats:

I am an ltalian-American, and I am proud of it.
Proud of being an American because it is the country I grew up in, the country that gave me the opportunities to be who I am today and a country that believes in freedom of speech and artistic expression.
 
My show is not a conventional rock show but a theatrical presentation of my music.
And, like theatre it asks questions, provokes thought and takes you on an emotional journey.
Portraying good and bad, light and dark, joy and sorrow, redemption and salvation.
I do not endorse a way of life but describe one, and the audience is left to make its own decisions and judgments.
This is what I consider freedom of speech, freedom of expression and freedom of thought.
 
Every night, before I go onstage, I say a prayer not only that my show will go well but that the audience will watch with an open heart and an open mind and see it as a celebration of love, life and humanity.
*This is an edited transcript of the speech.  The full speech is included in the video posted above.

Today in Madonna History: July 1, 1988

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On July 1 1988,  Madonna made a surprise unscheduled appearance on NBC-TV’s Late Night With David Letterman. Sandra Bernhard was David’s scheduled guest.

Today in Madonna History: July 31, 2015

On July 31 2015, Madonna’s Blond Ambition World Tour documentary, In Bed With Madonna (aka Truth Or Dare) was certified platinum by BPI (British Phonographic Industry) for sales of over 50,000 units on DVD/home video in the UK.

Today in Madonna History: July 30, 2015

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On July 30 2015, Billboard announced that Madonna’s single Bitch I’m Madonna would hit #1 on the Hot Dance Club Play chart for the issue dated August 15 2015. It would become Madonna’s 46th #1 on the club chart and her third consecutive chart-topper from the Rebel Heart album.

Rebel Heart was Madonna’s second consecutive album to have all of its North American singles reach #1 on the Hot Dance Club Play chart. Aside from Rebel Heart and MDNA, her other studio albums that achieved this feat are Music, American Life (excluding promo-only chart makers Nobody Knows Me and Mother And Father which peaked at #4 and #9 respectively) and Confessions On A Dance Floor.

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Today in Madonna History: July 29, 2001

On July 29 2001, Madonna appeared on the cover of Tele 7 Jours (France) magazine.

Today in Madonna History: July 28, 1990

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On July 28 1990, Hanky Panky hit its peak position of number-ten on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S.

The rarely seen official video for Hanky Panky was recorded at the May 27th 1990 concert in Toronto, Canada. Rather than use live audio from the tour, Warner opted to overdub the live performance with the album version. The video was broadcast for a few weeks and then withdrawn from rotation in most countries. Although no official reason was given, it is assumed that due to the low-budget nature of the video, it was only ever intended to serve as an initial promotional push for the song, with its subsequent withdrawal from rotation being part of the plan.