On December 14 2005, Madonna’s Confessions On A Dancefloor was certified Gold and Platinum by the RIAA for sales of 500,000 and 1,000,000 in the USA.
Today in Madonna History: December 13, 1990
On December 13 1990, Madonna’s Blond Ambition World Tour Live was released exclusively on LaserDisc by the trek’s sponsor, Pioneer.
Recorded at the final show in Nice, France, the concert had originally aired as a live HBO special in the U.S.
The LaserDisc release would go on to win a Grammy award (Madonna’s first) for Best Music Video, Long Form in 1991.
Today in Madonna History: December 12, 1986
On December 12 1986, Open Your Heart was released in North America as the fourth single from True Blue. The song was written by Madonna, Gardner Cole & Peter Rafelson and produced by Madonna & Patrick Leonard.
The single’s worldwide b-side, White Heat, an album track from True Blue, developed a relatively high profile due to its inclusion as the flip-side to two of Madonna’s #1 hits–the aforementioned Open Your Heart and 1987’s Who’s That Girl, released only six months apart. Gaining further exposure as a set-list staple during the Who’s That Girl Tour, the live performance of White Heat foreshadowed some of the dramatic elements that Madonna would expand upon in future tours.
White Heat’s original submission for copyright was registered to Madonna & Leonard under the working title Get Up, Stand Tall with a 1985 date of creation. Notes from the registration on file also list the title Dangerous–but it is likely just another working title that was being considered rather than a separate recording. White Heat is thought to have been among the earliest songwriting collaborations between Madonna & Leonard to be completed, coming shortly after their first composition, Love Makes The World Go Round, surfaced during Live Aid in the summer of 1985. The sequence of the registration numbers for the two songs suggests that they may they have been completed within a month or two of each other. Madonna’s version of Open Your Heart (which she revised from the Cole/Rafelson demo) is also thought to have been recorded with Leonard during the same time period.
The liner notes of True Blue dedicated White Heat to actor James Cagney, who in 1949 played ruthless, deranged gang leader Arthur “Cody” Jarrett in the Warner Brothers film, White Heat. Several clips of Cagney’s dialogue from the original motion picture were used in the song for dramatic effect.
Today in Madonna History: December 11, 2009
On December 11 2009, Madonna’s official website announced that Revolver would be released as the second single from the deluxe edition of her greatest hits collection, Celebration. The digital maxi-single would be released on December 29th, with the CD maxi-single hitting North American stores in late January and a vinyl 12″ following in early February 2010. This would be Madonna’s final single release under her contract with Warner Bros. Records.
Today in Madonna History: December 10, 1983
On December 10 1983, Madonna was featured on the back cover of Billboard magazine with the caption: “A Star Is Born!”
Very perceptive, Billboard! Bravo!
Today in Madonna History: December 9, 2001
On December 9 2001, Madonna presented the Turner Prize to artist Martin Creed at London’s Tate Britain gallery.
Madonna half-seriously plugged her greatest hits album, GHV2, before explaining her feelings of ambivalence towards the merit of awards in relation to the artistic process.
“Art is always at its best when there is no money, because art has nothing to do with money and everything to do with love. Like love, it can be inspiring, inexplicable, provocative and sometimes infuriating. Nevertheless, we can not live without it, so that is why I’m here – not because I think one artist is better than another, but because I want to support any artist who not only has something to say, but has the balls to say it. In a time when political correctness is valued over honesty, I would also like to say – right on motherfuckers! – everyone is a winner.”
Channel 4 unsuccessfully attempted to censor the speech during the live broadcast, and later issued an apology for Madonna’s choice of words, which aired prior to the 9pm watershed. Madonna later explained that she had not intended to use profanity until the producers asked to review the content of her speech prior to the broadcast, sparking her defiance.
Today in Madonna History: December 8, 2003
On December 8 2003, Love Profusion was released as the final U.K. single from the American Life album. The track was written and produced by Madonna & Mirwais.
