Category Archives: October

Today in Madonna History: October 3, 1985

October 3, 2023 By in 1985, October Tags: , , , , , 1 Comment

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On October 3 1985, Madonna’s second single from the motion picture Vision Quest, Gambler was released by Geffen Records in select markets.

Gambler was entirely self-written by Madonna and produced by John “Jellybean” Benitez.

Gambler was never released in the United States, but it went to #4 in the UK.  The single also reached the top-ten in the charts of Australia, Belgium, Ireland, Ireland, Netherlands and Norway.

The music video for the song is an excerpt from the film.

Madonna has performed the song only once, on her Virgin Tour in 1985.

Alex Henderson from Allmusic called the song “an ultra-infectious gem that, unfortunately, isn’t on any of the Material Girl’s CDs” and felt that Gambler should have been a big hit.  

Would you like to see Madonna perform “Gambler” on a future concert tour?

Today in Madonna History: October 2, 1995

October 2, 2023 By in 1995, October Tags: , , , 1 Comment

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On October 2 1995, the music video for I Want You made its world premiere on VH1 in the U.S.

Shot on August 5th and 6th in Long Island City, New York by director Earle Sebastien, the video was inspired by the short story A Telephone Call – A Terrible Day Tomorrow by American author, Dorothy Parker.

Today in Madonna History: October 1, 1990

October 1, 2023 By in 1990, October Tags: , , , , 1 Comment

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On October 1 1990, Madonna was named the top-earning female entertainer of 1990 by Forbes magazine with an annual income of $39 million.

Here’s an excerpt from this issue:

By Matthew Schifrin with Peter Newcomb

October 1, 1990

SHE HAS JUST FINISHED a rigorous song and dance routine in Nice, France.  Madonna Ciccone, the 32-year-old bleached-blonde pop star, walks across the stage and pretends to rough up her background vocalists.  Clad in an ivory-colored bustier and trousers from a business suit, Madonna then looks out at the crowd of 35,000 fans, grabs her crotch, raises her fist and yells, “I’m the boss around here.” The crowd roars.

This routine was repeated at almost every Madonna performance this summer, but it’s more than play-acting.  She is the boss.  She is the president and sole owner of a multi-million-dollar corporate organization that in peak season has hundreds of employees and operates through nearly half a dozen entities, including Boy Toy Inc., Siren Films and Slutco.

Congratulations, Madonna.  The critics may attack you, but you are one heck of a moneymaker. The nation’s top-earning female entertainer for 1990, Madonna brought in an estimated $39 million in pretax earnings.  She has staying power, too.  While performers like Whitney Houston and Cyndi Lauper rise fast and fade fast, Madonna has stayed near the top for all five years FORBES has compiled its list of America’s highest-earning entertainers.  Since 1986 Madonna has earned at least $125 million.

Today in Madonna History: November 3, 2000

November 3, 2022 By in 2000, October Tags: , , , , , , 1 Comment

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On November 3 2000, Madonna guested on CBS-TV’s Late Show With David Letterman to promote the Music album. She performed an acoustic version of the album’s second single, Don’t Tell Me.

The performance featured several firsts for Madonna: her first live performance to promote the Music album; her first TV appearance following the birth of her son Rocco; her first performance on guitar since her pre-fame days in NYC band Emmy; her first unplugged/acoustic live performance; her first live performance with longtime guitarist Monte Pittman; and her first (and only) musical performance on the Late Show.

Despite being promoted as such, it was not, however, Madonna’s first time back to the Late Show after her infamously censored 1994 appearance. She had made a brief, unscheduled visit to the set to drop off a valentine for Letterman during a 1995 taping of the show.

Today in Madonna History: November 1, 2006

November 1, 2022 By in 2006, October Tags: , , , , , 1 Comment

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On November 1 2006, Madonna appeared on NBC-TV’s Dateline in an interview with Meredith Vieira to discuss the controversy surrounding her adoption of David Banda.

Today in Madonna History: October 31, 2006

October 31, 2022 By in 2006, October Tags: , , , 1 Comment

On October 31 2006, Madonna read to a small group of children from her new book, Too Good To Be True, the sequel to her best selling children’s book, The English Roses, at Warner Brothers Records in New York.

Today in Madonna History: October 30, 2006

October 30, 2022 By in 2006, October Tags: , , , , , , , 1 Comment

On October 30 2006, Madonna appeared on the cover of People magazine with the headline: Madonna’s Adoption Drama.

Here’s a snippet of the article:

Bringing Home David By Karen S. Schneider

As Madonna and Her Husband, Guy Ritchie Welcome Home Their New 13-Month-Old Son from Malawi, Local Human Rights Groups—and Some of the Boy’s Relatives—Raise Questions Over the Legality of the Adoption.

Madonna had only seen a snapshot of David Banda and had learned only basic information about him when she and her husband, Guy Ritchie flew to the African nation of Malawi on Oct. 3. But when the singer arrived at the Home of Hope Orphanage Centre and met the 13-month-old boy, says Madonna’s spokeswoman Liz Rosenberg, “It was love at first sight.” Adds a witness: “The look of pure joy on her face was beyond words, not unlike when her children [Lourdes, 10, and Rocco, 6] were born.”

About a week later—even as a storm of controversy was brewing over the planned adoption—Madonna’s happiness was echoed in a dimly lit room of the High Court in the Malawian capital of Lilongwe. The pop superstar, 48, and her director husband, 38, met, for the first time, with David’s dad, a farmer named Yohane Banda. Through a translator who spoke Banda’s Chichewa language, “she asked lots of questions,” says Banda, 32. “How old I am, what I do for a living, everything.”

Madonna also made promises—to provide Banda’s only child with a loving home, and to bring him back to Malawi to visit. For the singer, the face-to-face with Banda marked a turning point in an almost year-long effort to adopt a child from an impoverished nation where she helps fund six orphanages. (She has also pledged to sponsor improvements through the Millennium Promise program.) For Banda—who ekes out a living farming onions and cabbage, and placed David in the church-run Home of Hope when his wife died—it was a chance to give his son, he tells PEOPLE, “a brighter future.” Adds David’s grandmother Asineti Mwale, 56: “God has heard our prayer. May he bless this kindhearted woman abundantly.”