Today in Madonna History: January 12, 1988

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On January 12 1988, Possessive Love, a song written by Madonna, Patrick Leonard & Jai Winding and performed by Marilyn Martin was released as the lead single from Martin’s second album for Atlantic Records, This Is Serious. Martin is perhaps best known for her chart-topping duet with Phil Collins, Separate Lives. Though Possessive Love failed to make any chart impact, Madonna’s involvement in the song has kept it from being completely forgotten.

In an interview by Breathe Cast writer Timothy Yap, Martin was asked about the circumstances surrounding the song:

I met Pat Leonard when I began the search for a producer for my second album. He’s the one who approached Madonna with the idea of writing a song for me and she graciously agreed. Pat called me one day while he was working on her Like a Prayer album and asked if I would like to come and sing backgrounds [on Cherish]. Talk about an ‘Are you kidding?’ moment! That was the only time I met her. She was impressive to say the least. Very in charge. She absolutely knows her mind and insists on her music being true to her vision. She was very focused and a tad intimidating, but that’s not surprising given her amazing success over the years. I thought it was pretty cool that before agreeing to write Possessive Love for me to sing on my album she asked Pat Leonard if I was a nice person.”

Martin’s claim that the song was written specifically for her rather than being a leftover from one of Madonna’s album sessions is likely accurate, given the fact that Winding was never involved in songwriting sessions for any of Madonna’s albums. Winding’s involvement as a musician in the Who’s That Girl Tour suggests that the song may have been written at some point during the 1987 tour.

The sentiments expressed in Possessive Love appear to align with the issues Madonna was reportedly facing in her marriage to Sean Penn at the time, with reports of their initial separation dominating the tabloids in late 1987. Madonna would revisit and further elaborate on her marital woes on the Like A Prayer album track, Til Death Do Us Part, which was written later in 1988.

Today in Madonna History: October 14, 2009

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On October 14 2009, Madonna appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine, with a classic shot by Herb Ritts.

Inside the magazine, Madonna was asked about how she felt when she first heard Material Girl and Like A Virgin:

I liked them both because they were ironic and provocative at the same time but also unlike me. I am not a materialistic person and I certainly wasn’t a virgin, and, by the way, how can you be like a virgin? I liked the play on words, I thought they were clever. They’re so geeky, they’re cool.

When asked if she could predict whether a song would be a hit or not:

I’ve never been a good judge of what things are going to be huge or not. The songs that I think are the most retarded songs I’ve written, like Cherish and Sorry, a pretty big hit off my last album, end up being the biggest hits. Into The Groove is another song I feel retarded singing, but everybody seems to like it.

Today in Madonna History: September 21, 1989

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On September 21 1989, Madonna was featured on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine for the second time that year (she was also featured on the cover in March 1989).

Herb Ritts took some amazing shots of Madonna for the cover. We’ve shared a few of what we consider to be the best from that shoot. We can’t look at these photos without hearing Cherish in our heads!

Today in Madonna History: December 23, 1989

On December 23 1989, RPM Magazine published Canada’s Top Singles of 1989. The listing included the following Madonna singles:

  • #1 – Like A Prayer
  • #8 – Express Yourself
  • #9 – Cherish

Today in Madonna History: October 7, 1989

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On October 7 1989, Madonna’s Cherish single hit #2 on the USA Billboard Hot 100 chart.

With the success of Cherish Madonna overtook The Beatles on the list of all-time consecutive top 5 singles in US (16 singles) and also tied with Michael Jackson for the artist with the most consecutive top 10 singles in the 1980s (17 singles).

Today in Madonna History: August 13, 1952

On August 13 1952, one of Madonna’s closest friends, Herb Ritts, was born in Los Angeles, California.

Ritts specialized in black and white photography and music videos, including Madonna’s Cherish music video and the photoshoot for Madonna’s True Blue, Like A Prayer and Immaculate Collection albums (among others — the list just goes on and on).

Throughout the 80’s and 90’s, Herb was at Madonna’s side taking the most beautiful photos of her possible. We thank him from the bottom of our hearts for capturing Madonna during this time in her life and career.

Today in Madonna History: August 1, 1989

On August 1 1989, Madonna’s Cherish single was released as the third single from her Like A Prayer album. The hit single was written and produced by Madonna and Patrick Leonard.

Watch the HD version of the Cherish music video, re-released on August 1 2021:

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