Today in Madonna History: August 21, 1993

August 21, 2025 By in 1993, August Tags: , , , , , , 1 Comment

Rain Canadian maxi-single tray insert 550

On August 21 1993, Rain made its debut on the Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Single Sales chart, bowing in at #32.

While the inclusion of non-album track Up Down Suite (essentially a dub remix of Erotica outtake Goodbye To Innocence, retitled) and a remix of Waiting provided enough incentive for most fans to pick up the Rain maxi-single, interest apparently did not extend very much further. The maxi-single peaked at #13 the following week and would drop off the Maxi-Single Sales chart altogether after an unusually brief (by Madonna’s standards) six-week run.

Today in Madonna History: August 20, 1995

August 20, 2025 By in 1995, August Tags: , , , , 1 Comment

Human Nature UK Counter Display 2 550

On August 20 1995, Human Nature was released in Europe as the final single from the Bedtime Stories album.

In North America, Human Nature had been rush-released two months earlier in an attempt to re-engage radio programmers after a particularly poor reception to the Bedtime Story single – which had been virtually ignored by most stations who instead kept their focus on Madonna’s previous radio smash hit, Take A Bow.

Today in Madonna History: August 19, 1997

August 19, 2025 By in 1997, August Tags: , , , , , , 1 Comment

buenos_aires_madonna-1 buenos_aires_madonna-3 buenos_aires_madonna-2 buenos_aires_madonna-5 buenos_aires_madonna-4

On August 19 1997, Buenos Aires (from Evita) was released as a promo-only single to club DJs and radio stations in the USA to promote Evita on video.

Here is a full listing of the different mixes of Buenos Aires:

World Mix Edit
World Mix Edit – Shorter
Te Amo 12″ Extended Vocal Version
Te Amo 12″ Extended Instrumental Version
Te Amo 12″ TV Dub
Te Amo 12″ Acapella Version
Te Amo Single Edit
Te Amo Radio Version

Today in Madonna History: August 18, 2002

August 18, 2025 By in 2000, August Tags: , , , , 1 Comment

swept-away-movie-poster

On August 18 2002, the official poster for Swept Away was released.

The film Swept Away, starring Madonna and directed by her husband, Guy Ritchie, would open on October 11 2002 in US theatres. The movie was initially titled Love, Sex, Drugs, and Money, and was based on the 1974 Italian film Travolti da un Insolito Destino Nell’Azzurro Mare D’Agosto. Adriano Giannini and Bruce Greenwood also starred in the film. In the film, Madonna played a socialite stranded on an island with a handsome, Communist sailor (Giannini).

Today in Madonna History: August 17, 1960

August 17, 2025 By in 1960, August Tags: , , 1 Comment

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On August 17 1960,  Sean Justin Penn was born.

In the film, Truth Or Dare Madonna is asked, “Who has been the love of your life for your whole life?”  Madonna replies without hesitation, “Sean. Sean.”

Today in Madonna History: August 16, 2018

August 16, 2025 By in 2018, August Tags: , 1 Comment

On August 16 2018, Madonna celebrates her 60th birthday!

In honour of this special milestone, Madonna recently launched a campaign calling on her fans to make a donation to her charity, Raising Malawi:

“I have an unwavering commitment to providing vulnerable children with a loving home. For my birthday, I can think of no better gift than connecting my global family with this beautiful country and the children who need our help most. Every dollar raised will go directly to meals, schools, uniforms and healthcare. I want to come together with my friends, fans and supporters to change the lives of Malawian children and let them know they are nurtured, protected and loved. Through their generous commitment to this organization, Ripple will match each dollar donated to this campaign.” – Madonna

We can’t think of a more fitting and helpful way for fans to show their love and appreciation to Madonna on this special day than by making a donation. Not only will you be helping to make Madonna’s birthday wish come true, you will be providing valuable support to vulnerable children in Malawi. And with all donations to the campaign being matched by Ripple, your gift will have twice the impact! Show Madonna your dedication – make a donation!

Speaking of dedication – Madonna, we thank you for the music, for the art, for the rebel, for the heart, for the magic, and for the many years of creative inspiration. Here’s to many more!

Happy Birthday Madonna!

Today in Madonna History: August 15, 1992

August 15, 2025 By in 1992, August Tags: , , , , , , 1 Comment

On August 15 1992, This Used To Be My Playground spent the first of three weeks at #1 on the RPM Canadian Top 100 Singles chart. In RPM’s year-end tally of the biggest hits of 1992 in Canada, the hit placed at #8.

This Used To Be My Playground was written by Madonna, Shep Pettibone & Tony Shimkin (although he was not originally credited) and produced by Madonna & Pettibone.

In an interview with the fan site MadonnaTribe, Shimkin recalled a last-minute dash to complete the recording of the song’s orchestral parts:

“When we recorded it with Al Schmidt at Ocean Way studio in L.A., we had a 30-piece orchestra and Jeremy Lubbock did the string arrangements, (but) we never included the demo that had the solo string part in it when we had him chart everything out for the orchestra,” revealed Shimkin. “On the day we were recording, we thought we were done and realized we forgot the solo. I quickly sang the part to the copyist, who then charted it out for the violin players, and they got it recorded with one minute to spare on the clock. When you have a thirty piece orchestra, it can be super expensive to roll into a second hour of their time!”