Today in Madonna History: July 14, 1987

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On July 14 1987, Madonna’s second studio album, Like a Virgin was certified 7x platinum (7 million units) in the USA.

According to author J. Randy Taraborrelli, “Every important artist has at least one album in his or her career whose critical and commercial success becomes the artist’s magic moment; for Madonna, Like a Virgin was just such a defining moment”.

Madonna – Stay (Rough Mix Edit)

Today in Madonna History: July 13, 1985

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On July 13 1985, Bette Midler introduced Madonna at Live Aid’s charity concert in Philadelphia:

“I want you to know I have no idea why I was asked to introduce this next act — because you all know, I am the soul of good taste and decorum.  However we are thrilled to be able to introduce to you today a woman whose name has been on everyone’s lips for the last six months. A woman who pulled herself up by her bra straps and has been known to let them down occasionally.”

Madonna was happy to tell the global audience of 1.9 billion viewers: “I ain’t taking off shit today.”

Today in Madonna History: July 12, 1986

On July 12 1986, Madonna’s third album, True Blue, debuted at #1 on the UK Albums Chart.

Here’s the AllMusic review of True Blue by Stephen Thomas Erlewine:

True Blue is the album where Madonna truly became Madonna the Superstar — the endlessly ambitious, fearlessly provocative entertainer that knew how to outrage, spark debates, get good reviews — and make good music while she’s at it. To complain that True Blue is calculated is to not get Madonna — that’s a large part of what she does, and she is exceptional at it, but she also makes fine music. What’s brilliant about True Blue is that she does both here, using the music to hook in critics just as she’s baiting a mass audience with such masterstrokes as “Papa Don’t Preach,” where she defiantly states she’s keeping her baby. It’s easy to position anti-abortionism as feminism, but what’s tricky is to transcend your status as a dance-pop diva by consciously recalling classic girl-group pop (“True Blue,” “Jimmy Jimmy”) to snag the critics, while deepening the dance grooves (“Open Your Heart,” “Where’s the Party”), touching on Latin rhythms (“La Isla Bonita”), making a plea for world peace (“Love Makes the World Go Round”), and delivering a tremendous ballad that rewrites the rules of adult contemporary crossover (“Live to Tell”). It’s even harder to have the entire album play as an organic, cohesive work. Certainly, there’s some calculation behind the entire thing, but what matters is the end result, one of the great dance-pop albums, a record that demonstrates Madonna’s true skills as a songwriter, record-maker, provocateur, and entertainer through its wide reach, accomplishment, and sheer sense of fun.

Today in Madonna History: July 11, 1987

On July 11 1987, Madonna’s Who’s That Girl made its U.S. chart debut at #43 on the Billboard Hot 100. The single entered the Hot 100 Airplay chart at #32 in the same issue.

Today in Madonna History: July 10, 1985

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Madonna I'm Not Ashamed

On July 10 1985, The Playboy magazine issue of nude Madonna photos was released.

Today in Madonna History: July 9, 1987

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On July 9 1987, Madonna performed her Who’s That Girl World Tour to a sold out crowd of approximately 60,000 fans at the Sullivan Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.

Today in Madonna History: July 8, 1993

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On July 8 1993, Madonna began rehearsals for The Girlie Show World Tour.

The original rehearsed set list included the following songs:

Erotica
Fever
Vogue
Rain
True Blue
Express Yourself
Deeper and Deeper
Why’s It So Hard
In This Life
The Beast Within
Like A Virgin
Bye Bye Baby
Live to Tell
La Isla Bonita
Holiday