Today in Madonna History: May 3, 1988

May 3, 2026 By sonicboy19 in 1988, May Tags: Broadway, David Mamet, Speed-the-Plow 1 Comment

On May 3 1988, David Mamet’s Speed-the-Plow premiered on Broadway at the Royale Theatre in a production by the Lincoln Center Theater, closing on Dec 31, 1988 after 279 performances. The original Broadway cast featured Joe Mantegna, Ron Silver and Madonna until August 30 1988, after which the production was recast with David Rasche, Bob Balaban and Felicity Huffman for the remainder of its run.

The play was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Play and Best Direction of a Play (Gregory Mosher). Silver won a Tony Award for Best Actor (Play).

It has since been produced countless times for regional and national theatre audiences worldwide.

Today in Madonna History: May 1, 1989

May 1, 2026 By sonicboy19 in 1989, May Tags: Canadian Singles Chart, Like A Prayer (Single), Live Videos 1 Comment

On May 1 1989, Like A Prayer spent its second week at #1 on the Canadian Top 100 Singles chart published by RPM magazine.

The Like A Prayer single would spend four consecutive weeks in the top spot, becoming Madonna’s longest-running #1 on the Canadian Top 100 Singles chart until 1994 when I’ll Remember spent five consecutive weeks at #1.

Today in Madonna History: May 31, 1985

May 31, 2025 By Jay in 1985, May Tags: Madonna The Videos 1 Comment

madonna-first-four-videos-1 madonna-first-four-videos-2 madonna-first-four-videos-3

On May 31 1985, Madonna The Videos was certified platinum for shipment of 50,000 units in the USA.

The photos above show the Australian release of Madonna The Videos on VHS.

Today in Madonna History: May 30, 2002

May 30, 2025 By Jay in 2002, May Tags: Die Another Day, James Bond, Michel Colombier, Mirwais 1 Comment

On May 30, 2002, People magazine mistakenly reported that Madonna was set to record a cover version of Gordon Lightfoot’s If You Could Read My Mind:

Madonna fans who are looking forward to seeing and hearing her on the new James Bond film, Die Another Day, will be chuffed to hear that her Madgeness will be taking a slightly bigger role in the flick than previously thought. Mrs R will record a cover of a song called If You Could Read My Mind for a spicy scene where Bond, played by Pierce Brosnan, seduces Halle Berry’s character, Jade. The song was originally recorded in 1970 by Gordon Lightfoot.

In fact, an original song titled Can’t You Read My Mind, written by Madonna & Mirwais, is registered in ASCAP’s database. String arranger Michel Colombier confirmed in May of 2002 that he had recorded a string arrangement for the song, referring to it as the theme for the upcoming Bond film. This suggests that it was likely an early version of the released theme song, Die Another Day, possibly featuring alternate lyrics that were later revised to tie in with the film’s title.

Today in Madonna History: May 29, 1990

May 29, 2025 By Jay in 1990, May Tags: Blond Ambition World Tour, Controversy, Like A Virgin (Single), Masturbation, Police 1 Comment

On May 29 1990, Toronto police threatened to arrest Madonna on the grounds of lewd and obscene behavior for the Like A Virgin masturbation sequence in her Blond Ambition concert. The show went on unaltered, and no charges were made after the tour manager gave the police an ultimatum: “Cancel the show, and you’ll have to tell 30,000 people why.”

Madonna performed 3 sold-out concerts at the SkyDome, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Today in Madonna History: May 28, 1994

May 29, 2025 By Jay in 1994, May Tags: I'll Remember, Something to Remember, William Orbit, With Honors 1 Comment

On May 28 1994, Madonna’s I’ll Remember (Theme From With Honors) hit #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the USA.

Matthew Rettenmund ranks the Guerrilla Beach Mix of I’ll Remember (by William Orbit) as the #9 of 25 Best Madonna Mixes. Here’s what Matthew says about the remix:

Madonna’s easy-listening staple I’ll Remember from the hard-to-watch With Honors got a deep remix by Orbit, which could be heard as spacey or as originating at the precipice of a vast ocean. (I’m thinking of Sinead O’Connor’s “Jackie” here.) I’m embarrassed I forgot this remix when I first created this list, but I’m not embarrassed to say I think it’s markedly superior to the lovely but unassuming original.

We love this remix and we love Matthew’s blog (Boy Culture)!

How does this remix rank among your top Madonna favourites?