Today in Madonna History: August 26, 1989

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On August 26 1989, Madonna’s third single from the Like A Prayer album, Cherish, debuted at #32 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart.

Song review by Stewart Mason (AllMusic.com):

True Blue had the gimmicky quality of an early Cyndi Lauper single, like a new waver’s vague approximation of what a 1960’s girl group song might have sounded like. Cherish is a much more successful dip into the musical past, not least because the ’60s flavor is very slight, more of a mood than any kind of particular stylistic pastiche. Perfect pop touches like the flirty “ooh, ooh” backing vocals on the bridge and the dead-on introduction of a short, sharp horn section accent on the final chorus are part of what puts the song over, but the bulk of the credit belongs to Madonna’s bubbly and endearing lead vocal, which uses the helium-pitched high register of her early singles, but minus the occasional harshness of those songs. Cherish is a delight, one of many highlights on Madonna’s best album.

Today in Madonna History: August 21, 1989

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On August 21 1989, the music video for Cherish premiered on MTV in the U.S.  The video was the directed by Madonna’s frequent collaborator and friend, photographer Herb Ritts.

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While the single from the Like A Prayer album went on to become another hit single, it’s interesting to note that Madonna had previously written an entirely different song using the title Cherish. Her handwritten lyrics for the unreleased track – along with several others that have yet to surface in musical form – turned up at an auction in 2011.

Today in Madonna History: August 19, 1989

On August 19 1989, Cherish entered the Billboard Hot 100 at #37 in the U.S.

Today in Madonna History: June 24, 1989

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On June 24 1989, Madonna’s Express  Yourself single debuted at #21 on the Billboard Hot Dance Music/Maxi Single Sales chart.

The 12″ maxi single included the following:

  1. Express Yourself (Non-Stop Express Mix) – 7:57
  2. Express Yourself (Stop & Go Dubs) – 10:49
  3. Express Yourself (Local Mix) – 6:26
  4. The Look of Love (Album Version) – 4:00

Today in Madonna History: May 15, 1997

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On May 15 1997, Madonna’s Like A Prayer is named one of  “200 Best Albums Ever Made” by Rolling Stone magazine.

Today in Madonna History: April 11, 1990

On April 11 1990, the Keep It Together single was certified gold for sales of 500,000 units in the USA.

Written and produced by Madonna and Stephen Bray, the main inspiration behind Keep It Together was Madonna’s relationship with her family—whom she dearly missed after her divorce from actor Sean Penn.

Keep It Together became the last Madonna single release to feature a collaboration with Bray—a partnership that had begun romantically when Madonna & Stephen were college students at the University of Michigan. Madonna later persuaded Bray to join her in New York where he became the drummer for her band, Emmy. After briefly falling out over Madonna’s decision to work with more established producers after signing to Sire Records in 1982, the pair quickly made amends and went on to write and produce some of Madonna’s most memorable 80’s hits.

A final collaboration between Madonna & Bray, Get Over, was reworked by Madonna and Shep Pettibone for possible inclusion as one of the new tracks on The Immaculate Collection, but was instead given to Warner Bros artist Nick Scotti to record in 1991. Although Madonna’s background vocals are featured prominently in Scotti’s versions of the song, a full Madonna vocal version has yet to surface.

Today in Madonna History: March 21, 1989

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On March 21 1989, Madonna’s Like A Prayer album was released. Today marks the 34th Anniversary of this classic album. Do you remember the first time you heard Like A Prayer? Did you have it on cassette, CD or vinyl?

To celebrate this anniversary, we invite you to follow this link and explore the many exciting releases and controversies that came with this epic release: https://todayinmadonnahistory.com/tag/like-a-prayer/