STRIKE A POSE- STEVEN KLEIN, W MAGAZINE SHOOT, 2003

SOMETHING TO REMEMBER

     By the summer of 1995, many people were saying Madonna's career was in decline. Granted she had just scored a mammoth, #1-for-seven-astounding-weeks smash hit "Take A Bow", but her career was in the toilet nonetheless. Madonna had something to say about that. She released a greatest ballads compilation, titled SOMETHING TO REMEMBER, which represented a somewhat softer image for Madonna. Featuring such standouts as "Rain", "Live To Tell", and "This Used To Be My Playground", the album also featured three newly recorded tracks- and along with her previous studio album BEDTIME STORIES, managed to successfully tone down her image and remind people what got her famous in the first place. Her music.

     "You'll See" was the first of the newly recorded tracks to be released. The song was a worldwide hit, peaking at #6 on the US Billboard charts. Madonna filmed the music video as a direct sequel to her previous ballad, "Take A Bow". "One More Chance" is an extremely underrated but beautiful ballad that deserves more attention!



   

     Madonna filmed two more videos for the album, a new cover of her own previous recording of "Love Don't Live Here Anymore" from her LIKE A VIRGIN album and a delicious version of the Marvin Gaye classic "I Want You" with a little help from Massive Attack. The song is a fan favorite with a lush and haunting video. You cannot deny that Madonna's artistry in the 90's is untouchable, and these songs are a perfect example of that.

"MADONNA, THE MDNA TOUR" WORLD PREMIERE SCREENING at the PARIS THEATER, NEW YORK

     Madonna channeled Marlene Dietrich at the world premiere of her MDNA tour screening in New York City.

TRUTH OR DARE PROMOTIONAL PHOTOS SHOT BY STEPHEN MEISEL 1991

MUSIC

     Released in August of 2000, "Music" became Madonna's 12th #1 hit. The song was a worldwide smash, often cited as one of the best songs of the 2000's. "Music" has become a staple in Madonna's live shows, as she has performed it in five of her tours.

     Madonna first performed the song on her DROWNED WORLD tour from 2001, and it's one of her best live performances, if you ask me. The energy is off the charts here.







     Madonna brought back the song in her following tour, the RE-INVENTION tour. This one is always special to me as it was my very first Madonna concert.







     Madonna completely re-imagined "Music" in her CONFESSIONS tour. Brilliantly mashing it with "Disco Inferno", it's an amazing performance with Madonna pulling out all the stops here.








     Madonna slays us yet again with this next performance of "Music". Once again fusing a disco classic in the mix this time with "Last Night A DJ Saved My Life", it's a stellar singing-and-dancing extravaganza that only Madonna could deliver.








     Madonna skipped the song on her 2012 MDNA tour, but brought it right back in a deliciously jazzy, 20's-inspired number on her REBEL HEART tour in 2015. The Queen of Re-Invention, she effortlessly proves time and time again how to give us a fresh new take on a beloved song every time.

STRIKE A POSE- STEVEN MEISEL, 1991

TRUE BLUE ALBUM

     On June 30, 1986, an album would be released that would go on not only to become Madonna's most successful studio album to date, but one of the top selling albums of all time. Madonna's third studio album, the follow-up to the massively successful LIKE A VIRGIN album, was called TRUE BLUE and dedicated to her new husband, Sean Penn. Madonna stripped off all the makeup and jewelry and delivered a more mature and sophisticated look and sound. Taut and stylish, the album was a bona-fide extravaganza, yielding five top ten smashes, including three #1's.

"Live To Tell" was the first single off the album. A powerful ballad, it was a different direction than before when it came to Madonna's songs. "Crazy For You" had proven Madonna could pull off a ballad, and she took it to another level with "Live To Tell". The song was also featured in Sean Penn's film, AT CLOSE RANGE. "Live To Tell" quickly went to #1 on the charts and is easily one of Madonna's most powerful and beloved songs.

   



     "Papa Don't Preach" was the second single off the album, and repeating the success of "Live To Tell", it quickly shot to the top spot on the charts. Controversial as hell, the song became a smash summer hit, with Madonna delivering some of her most passionate singing to date. Madonna was quickly becoming one of MTV's most daring and artistic video artists, and "Papa Don't Preach" pretty much cemented that fact. Shot like a mini-movie, the clip was immensely popular, sweeping the MTV Video Music Awards as VIDEO OF THE YEAR. A classic video.






     The third single off the TRUE BLUE album was the title track- a sweet, catchy ditty dedicated to her husband and gleefully inspired by the girl groups of the 1960's. "True Blue" was a top 5 hit, peaking at #3 on the Billboard charts. It sounded like nothing else on the radio at the time.






     Madonna wasn't finished hitting #1 on the charts yet. For her fourth single, she went all out with a knockout song and music video that was daring, sexy, and like nothing we had ever seen before. "Open Your Heart" was relentlessly catchy and tore up the airwaves yet again. The song was a huge hit, and the video was just as successful. She looks absolutely smashing here- yet another timeless, iconic clip that was also nominated for Best Video of the Year.

 





     The fifth and final song released off the album would once again go on to become one of her most legendary and loved songs- "La Isla Bonita". Stalling at #4, the song was a sizzling ode to Latin culture that came with another delicious music video. Madonna delivered another iconic costume and look for the video, looking sensational in that red Spanish dress. Only Madonna could pull this off.

ON THE COVER OF A MAGAZINE- VOGUE, OCTOBER 1992

JOAN OF ARC

     One of the songs off Madonna's 2015 REBEL HEART that seemed to strike a chord among fans was "Joan of Arc". She sang the beautiful ballad on the ELLEN show.

STRIKE A POSE- TRUTH OR DARE PROMOTIONAL SHOTS, 1991

UNDERRATED TRACKS- WAITING

     EROTICA is now considered one of Madonna's most artistic and daring moments- one of her greatest albums. Such a rich era, both sonically and visually. There isn't a dull moment to be found on this masterpiece album, and "Waiting" has long been one of my favorite Madonna tracks. I'm literally obsessed with her spoken word phase- fans, you know what I'm talking about! She did it on "Justify My Love", "Rescue Me", "Erotica", and "Waiting"- and on other tracks off the album. This song is sexy and sassy, with a thumping bass line and those wonderfully raspy, spoken bits... god I love this era.

MTV 10TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL, 1991

     1991 marked the 10th anniversary of MTV, and a special aired on ABC that year featuring some of the biggest names in music. Madonna appeared in a pre-taped segment, which stood out as all other "performances" were done onstage. Her segment was performance art of the highest order as she reflected back on the last ten years of her career and her first appearances on the music video channel. The clip was highly entertaining, and was by far the most memorable segment of the television special.

MADONNA'S GREATEST BALLADS

     Nobody does a ballad like Madonna.

 

DINNER WITH MADONNA- Kurt Loder Interview, 1991

STRIKE A POSE- VANITY FAIR BY HERB RITTS, 1991

LIKE A VIRGIN ALBUM

 

     Madonna's follow-up album to her debut smash was of course LIKE A VIRGIN, released on November 12, 1984 and produced by legendary Nile Rogers of CHIC fame. The album was extremely successful, becoming her first #1 album that yielded five hit singles. LIKE A VIRGIN set a record in becoming the very first solo album by a female to sell over five million copies in the US alone, and remains one of the biggest selling albums of all time with sales of over 22 million copies worldwide. Her first album introduced the world to Madonna- LIKE A VIRGIN made her a global superstar overnight and one of the most famous women on the planet.

     The title track, "Like A Virgin", was a global smash, becoming Madonna's first #1 single and staying there for an astonishing six weeks. The song is one of the most memorable tunes of the decade and one Madonna is probably most associated with.



     "Material Girl", the second single, was another monster hit. The song would peak at #2 on the charts, and the video homaged Marilyn Monroe. "Material Girl" became one of Madonna's signature songs and most memorable videos.



     The third single off the album was "Angel". The song peaked at #5, even with no official video and no live performances. It's a song Madonna has never performed live, to my knowledge.



     Madonna would have another smash hit peaking at #5 with "Dress You Up". The song was the opening number from her VIRGIN tour she launched to promote the album, and the footage from that was used as the music video, which honestly works quite well. Many of her live performances could easily be music videos and this is no exception. Her outfit, the choreography, and colors all scream 1985.



     Featured on the re-issue of the LIKE A VIRGIN album, "Into the Groove" was released outside North America as a single and as the B-side of "Angel" in the US. The song was featured in her feature film debut DESPERATELY SEEKING SUSAN and Billboard named the song Dance Single of the Decade.

STRIKE A POSE- Q MAGAZINE PHOTO SHOOT BY DAVID LA CHAPELLE, 1998